What To Do About College

We have many friends who have not taken the traditional path for going away to college that is expected after high school. In fact, I feel they have taken an even wiser method---using the CLEP tests to gain college credit and degrees in half the time and at a third of the cost. They can do this on their own or use CollegePlus! a program that works with students to achieve this goal. Since many of you have asked about our thoughts on college and since I have a daughter about to graduate I thought it was fitting to share some resources:

College Without Compromise:
An Encouraging Guide to Starting Early, Finishing Economically and Protecting Your Homeschool Vision
This nifty book is a complete overview of the how, why and keeping the vision. A wonderful resource! I got all of these a few years ago and felt I learned so much.

Making Wise Decisions About College and Life After Homeschool
Excellent and addresses many concerns those have about sending their children to college and what they will do with their lives. Really gets you thinking...

Accelerated Distance Learning
The New Way to Earn Your College Degree in the Twenty-First Century
a manual  to get started in and the how-to's of CLEPing


. You can even begin CLEP'ing  while your children are in high school so they get some college credit under their belts early on--and this method is not just for homeschoolers! Many people have used this method achieving successful results around their flexible schedules.


Happy browsing!



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How to Plan for a Homeschool Year

I was recently listening to Family Strategies "How to Plan for a Homeschool Year" and began to think about how I personally like to plan for a year of school and thought I would share a bit with you! Every year at tax time we like to take a portion of our return and by some or most of our curriculum (like I am sure so many of you like to do.) So I like to spend time looking over catalogs and picking out what we will use for the following year.

Now because I have a large family I have had to develop a system of how to do this efficiently and wanted to share my little binder method of how I keep records of everything in tact especially with eight children!

I have a binder labeled Fuentes Christian Academy Curriculum and within that binder I have a section for every year like 2009, 2010, 2011 and each section contained there is an entire page devoted to one child. I put their name at the top and under that I list all their mandatory and desirable subjects to be covered that year. I also like to put in ideas, prices (to compare), and mark what I already have available since we have alot of books that can be handed down. This has helped me so much in the past years to keep things orderly and efficient. I can look back and see what we used 5 years ago and if I own the teachers edition to it without having to search for it when buying curriculum online.I also have one bookcase devoted to curriculum which is not active and just for storing and another that is actively being used for the current year.

Here are some great books that I like to review and read to encourage me to get focused before a new school year:

Managers of Their Homes
this book helps to get mama's, homes and families organized. I like to refer to this because the Maxwell's are great encouragers when it comes to being good stewards of time and this helps me to refresh my focus for a new school year (also used by the Duggar family)

Managers of Their Schools

-now that you have organized your home it's time to do the same with your school!
This book defends the text book approach and has great ideas that I had never thought of for cutting your time in half  homeschooling especially with a large family. Valuable information!

Charlotte Mason Companion-teaching the gentle art of learning. I like this because I want to remember to lighter and fun side of homeschooling making it natural and great ideas here too.

Here is a favorite tried and true method of teaching little ones to read---I have used it with 5 of my children. Right now my  little Joshua is going through it and is already reading 5 word sentences at lesson 18! Love it!

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

it works I tell you, it really does!

Last year I purchased this nifty book and found it worth every penny:

Story Starters

--my daughters and sons were highly motivated to jump into creative writing using this book. The book contains half written adventurous stories and the children get to finish them any way they like! My boys loved it--and trust me, they are not the kind that like to write! They would much rather be in the yard somewhere hunting helpless squirrels...(can anyone relate?)

And by the way...can you guess what  the mystery product for the day at Vision Forum is?

That's right! It's Building a Winning Curriculum---and it's 90% off----

today only just ONE DOLLAR!!!!

What a wonderful resource to help us with our planning and so timely!

And in case you haven't been read any of my other posts this week, here is a quick reminder to let you know that this is the FINAL DAY of Vision Forum's amazing Spring Sale ending at MIDNIGHT.

You are not still here, are you?!?

Click here to see all deals less than $5.

Here for less than $10 or here for all of them!


I'm off to shop for our little school----see you there!

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Godly Resources for Raising Sons--- Part 1

"Dear Mrs. Fuentes, I have several sons, would you mind sharing some resources to help me raise them for the Lord?"
---a dear reader inquires.

Unsurprisingly, when I did a survey and asked all my readers what you would like to read more on--the majority vote was for more posts on raising sons!

 Yes, raising boys is a HUGE task and  I have several favorite resources I would love to share. It is important to invest in godly resources that promote the biblical goals you have for your family, as it so easy to crash and burn or even be directionless running on auto pilot.  And just a quick note, if your boys are too young for these, don't think for one minute that these are not for YOU! This is the *perfect* time for mom and dad to learn how and why they should raise their sons and they will be much more equipped to do so after reading and listening to many of these resources below. I can't tell you how much it benefited me to have an understanding of boyhood and manhood before my boys got older.

Reclaiming a Culture of Virtuous Boyhood--$10

Twenty-first century Christian boys have much to learn from boys of the past. Issues of courtesy to women, sacrifice, and vision are critical to raising modern boys. Our goal must be to move beyond the pretty platitudes and to aspire to rebuilding an entire culture of virtuous boyhood, such that every aspect of a young man’s life is preparation for chivalrous leadership in the name of Jesus Christ.

This one is a favorite, a classic and would love to pass these on to my children when they have their own family!

Listen to a sample here.

Preparing Sons to Provide for a Single-Income Family-from $4.87

Don't be fooled by this title! This excellent book is broken up into chapter explaining how from the ages of 3-5 and up how to begin instilling character in your sons and using their gifts for God's glory. I learned so much from this book and it is still a favorite of mine.

Plants Grown Up-- from $25.98

This is what Polished Cornerstones is for daughters--also by Doorposts. Fully loaded with activities, Bible studies and encouragement to help your young son grow into a godly man.

What Our Father Taughts us about Girls---$10

How should young men treat young women “as sisters, with all purity?” Learn how to interact with girls; protect girls; handle flirtatious girls; and how to encourage your sisters in Christ. This message reveals the attitudes that three young men learned to cultivate as they listened to their father’s instruction, studied Scripture, and then interacted with the fair sex with gallantry and manliness.

Listen to a sample here.

Christian Manhood-$9 ( a steal, I bought mine for $20!)

This is a book that I have my sons working through for the past few years. It is broken up into 45 chapters of valuable Bible study with questions and answers. Everything from how to choose heroes, how to treat women, building relationships with siblings and much more goodness.

Thoughts for Young Men: Addressing the Greatest Challenges in a Young Man's Life--$8

Thoughts for Young Men addresses the four great temptations that plague most young men: sloth, lust, love of pleasure, and peer pressure. J.C. Ryle, the last of the great Puritans, tackles each of these subjects with a tenderness and tact that is unsurpassed. First written toward the end of the nineteenth century, it remains to this day the most relevant and helpful book on the subject in print.

The Influence of Older Children on Younger Children--now $7

Have you ever wondered why so many Christian familes are losing their children to the world? Here is one reason: By failing to win, disciple, guide, and protect the eldest children, fathers and mothers often find a multiplicity of sorrows and divisions within the home.On the other hand, wise parents who seek the help of the Lord and carefully shepherd their eldest children often enjoy blessed reinforcement and encouragement in the training of the younger children. In this practical and scriptural look at the biblical principles of children and mentorship., Dr. S.M. Davis draws from the Apostle John’s letter to Gaius to illustrate how the actions of older siblings greatly influence the paths of younger children, for good or evil.

Still a favorite that I love listening to!

Listen to a sample here.

These are just a few for now,

I will do a Part 2, sometime very soon...



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Love the artwork above? Click on the image to purchase--its only $18.98 on sale right now!
or here to view more beautiful art like pictured above.

Note: Not only are these resources very affordable but they are easily integrated into your homeschool curriculum as well. And don't forget about investing into grandsons lives too!





This post is linked at Raising Homemakers, Far Above Rubies and Women Living Well.

Using Praise to Build Up Your Home

Today I would like to share with you some wisdom gleaned from here.

At the tea, Mrs. Duggar was asked if she had any advice to give to parents, the advice she gave was:

"Be sure to praise your children and praise them alot because whoever praises them will win their hearts."

And when asked;

"What do you do with the lazy child?"

Her answer again was to praise them, of course she meant in honesty when they were doing good things (not to be confused with flattery which might puff up pride in a child).

This is valuable wisdom since the flesh is prone to do the opposite. I see a remarkable change in my children when I praise them for the things that they have done right. It is so easy to overlook the ten good things they did in the day and see only the multitude of mistakes and criticize. Children are children and are still learning and we as parents need to be patient and practice long suffering with them.. Grace and mercy needs to be factored in abundantly--we cannot run our home like a drill sergeant spewing forth commands and be merciless to the weak. Our children are still learning when and how to obey and we cannot expect perfection. 

Think about ourselves----how many times in a day do you sin against God? Even in small ways sin is sin and therefore: disobedience. God is graceful and patient towards us--we must apply this to our children as well. 

The Bible reminds us that:

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise bring healing. Proverbs 12:18

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Proverbs 25:11

So today, mothers, I challenge you to put into place-
The Praise Project!
I have heard it  said that for every negative thing you say to a person it takes ten positive things to make up the difference. Vow from this day on to purposefully praise your children and to hold your tongue when you are tempted to lash out, yell or complain.  Give it a whirl and see how it transforms your home. Praise empowers souls to holy heights. It arms them with confidence and can point them towards honorable nobleness, while the opposite--tearing them down, utterly incapacitates.

If you are prone to criticizing and grumbling towards your children make a promise to change today
--it is not too late. 






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Building Healthy Family Culture

I am so excited to see this brand new resource to help us build up strong homes:

To Survive and Prosper: It’s Time to Think Strategically
About Your Children, Your Household, and Your Family Culture!

strat-e-gies: The art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal.

If you are a Christian parent living in the twenty-first century, you need to think strategically about your family. Settling for the priorities and practices of the world is a proven formula for disaster. As parents, we must do more than settle. We must self-consciously choose. This requires strategic biblical thinking. It means self-consciously building your family culture. And whether the subject is entertainment choices, home décor, travel, music in the home, or dealing with antagonistic relatives, it means that wise, Scripturally-informed parents must think creatively as they aggressively engage impediments and obstacles to success.

A 20-Week Energy Boost of Strategic Thinking and Encouragement from Doug and Beall Phillips

Family Strategies: An Invitation from Doug and Beall from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

These are the weekly messages from Doug and Beall that are included:

1. How to Organize Your Home to Promote Family Unity
2. How to Cultivate a Love of Reading with Your Children
3. How to Make Mealtime Meaningful
4. How to Prepare for a Year of Home Education
5. How to Take Children Safely Through an Airport
6. How to Involve the Whole Family in Family Worship
7. How to Address the Plague of “Jive Talk” in Your Home
8. How to Encourage Masculinity in Sons
9. How to Encourage Femininity in Daughters
10. How to Handle a Social Worker Visit
11. How to Wage War on Sibling Rivalry
12. How to Use Household Decorations to Teach Character
13. How to Talk to Your Children about Miscarriage
14. How to Involve the Whole Family in Hospitality
15. How to Build an Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your Children
16. How to Watch a Movie As a Family
17. How to Cultivate a Love of Meaningful Poetry with Your Children, and Why Doing So Is Important
18. How to Prepare Your Children to Listen to a Symphony
19. How to Take a Road Trip with Your Family
20. How to Select the Best Locations for Family Vacations

As the parents of eight children and the founders of Vision Forum Ministries, Doug and Beall Phillips have spent the last decade collecting and implementing helpful strategies for building a strong, safe, and visionary family culture.

Now, beginning Tuesday, February 28, they will be sharing some of the most practical and proven strategies for building a vibrant family culture through their new 20-week, 30-minute episodes audio series called Family Strategies. 

Listen to the new Audio Samples here.

If you order by February 28 you will save $10, plus receive two bonus messages as a free gift.
This is a 20-message series sent directly to your inbox each week for less than $5 per message. But make sure you order by February 28, as that price will go up! With your order confirmation email, they will also send you coupons to download two important, family-affirming bonus messages for FREE:

Victories: Moments Small and Large Which Define Christian Parenting,
and How to Evaluate a Suitor.


For about the price of a fancy cup of coffee, you can get real, weekly encouragement  from Doug and Beall in which they share their favorite and best strategies for building family unity.

Click here to order Family Strategies.


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Dear Readers, it is an honor to share valuable resources on this blog to help you build stronger homes to the glory of God!  I thought I would also mention that Vision Forum also has godly resources for children:

V is for Von Trapp: A Musical Family Alphabet

and
Teach Them to Your Children: An Alphabet of Biblical Poems, Verses and Stories

Priced at $17.00 but is now on sale at only $8.50
and you can click here to browse more.

A Mother's Hand

 In the above portrait, there are three generations--a grandmother, mother and child.


I wanted to share some lovely quotes on the influence we have as mother's to remind ourselves as we begin our week: 

A Mother's Hand

There is more power in a mother's hand than in a king's scepter.

--Billy Sunday

A Mother's Song

What a mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin.

-Henry Ward Beecher

A Mother's Knee

Education commences at the mother's knee, 

and every word spoken within hearsay of little children

tends toward the formation of character. 

-Hosea Ballou

The job at hand is enormous, and we must seek God as our guide through every mountain top
and every valley as we raise our children.

"Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up."

Galations 6:9


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Won't you join us on this wonderful journey of motherhood?

And if you would like a simple and easy 
Valentine's Day craft for the children
click here.

You may find beautiful art for your home as pictured above at Art.com


This post is linked at Raising Homemakers and Far Above Rubies.

Neglecting to Instruct Your Children

"If you neglect to instruct (your children)

in the way of holiness,

will the devil neglect to instruct them

in the way of wickedness?

No; if you will not teach them to pray,

he will to curse,

swear, and lie;

if ground be uncultivated,

weeds will spring."

- John Flavel

Thank you, Mrs. White, for sharing this!

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Teaching Children to Listen

I have eight children and I am always working on training them~it truly seems like it is a never ending process! We have our good days and then our not-so good days-- the mountains and the valleys! :) That is why I love good teaching on training--like this gem from Above Rubies that I received in my inbox today to remind me of the importance of being diligent in that area and not to grow weary:

EAR TRAINERS

Part 1

"The ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise. He that refuses instruction despises his own soul: but he that hears reproof gets understanding"
(Proverbs 15:31-32).

What is the first thing we should teach our children? When I ask women this question at seminars they give me lots of very good answers, but usually not the one I am looking for. What is my answer? I believe that the first thing we teach our children is how to listen.

If children do not learn how to hear, they will not learn to obey. If they do not learn to listen, they will not learn to hear the voice of God speaking to them. If they do not learn the art of listening, they will not learn to acquire knowledge. If they do not learn how to hear, they will not come to faith, because "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). How you train your children to hear will determine their relationship with God!

It is possible to hear but not really hear. That's why Jesus constantly said, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." We have to learn to listen with our ears but this takes training. All parents are ear trainers. By the way we parent; we train our children to have obedient ears-or, disobedient ears, lazy ears, dull ears, defiant ears, resistant ears, gullible ears or even forgetful ears. What kind of ears are you training your children to have? When you ask them to do something but they take no notice of you, you are training them to have defiant ears. When you ask them to do something but they delay doing it, they have dull ears. When you ask them to do something, but they don't bother doing it until you have asked for the sixth time and by now you are shouting, you are telling them that they do not have to obey until the sixth time! You are producing lazy ears. What will God have to do to get their attention?

What kind of ears does God want our children to have?

SHAMA EARS

When God told Solomon that he could ask God for anything he liked, Solomon responded by asking for "an understanding heart" (1 Kings 3: 9). The margin in my Bible gives "hearing" for "understanding." The Hebrew word is shama and means, "to hear with attention and obedience, to give undivided listening attention." This is what Solomon wanted more than anything else, more than riches and fame-a hearing heart. May God give us wisdom to teach our children how to have hearing hearts.

The word shama is synonymous with obedience. Proverbs 25:12 says, "As an ear ring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to an obedient (shama) ear."

Proverbs 1:5 says, "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning." There is no way we can teach our children to be wise without teaching them to hear with undivided attention.

QASHAV EARS

When King Saul disobeyed the word of the Lord, the prophet Samuel came to him and said, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken (qashav) than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

The word qashav describes acute hearing. It means "to prick up the ears, sharpening them like an alert animal." Children with qashav ears will be ready for God to use as soldiers in His army.

TACHUS EARS

James 1:19 says, "Let every man be swift (tachus) to hear." This Greek word means, "prompt or ready." Most Bibles translate it as "quick to hear." It describes instant obedience. True hearing results in immediate action. I used to say to my children, "Delayed obedience is disobedience."

How do we teach our children this kind of hearing? As soon as they can understand a command, we teach them to obey that command. But before they can obey, we must make sure that they have heard us. Sometimes, you may have to get your little child to repeat your command to make sure they have heard you. Don't yell commands from another room. Always give commands eye to eye and face to face so that you know your children have heard what you ask them to do. When you know that they have heard, teach them how to obey straight away. Don't accept anything less. This takes time and effort, but remember, mother, you are an ear trainer! This is one of your most important tasks as a parent!

May God help us to be parents who train prompt and obedient hearers.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Oh God, please forgive me for not diligently training the ears of my children. Please help me to train children who have obedient ears.  Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am a diligent ear trainer!

If you enjoyed this post and would like to subscribe to the Above Rubies newsletters, you may do so here.




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Raising Sons Series

So many of you, my dear readers, let me know that you would like to hear more about raising boys!

We have been blessed with five boys ourselves that we are in the process of learning to raise--it has been quite a journey.:)

I thought that I would let you know that my husband, Steve, is starting a series called

"Raising Sons"

that you might be interested in.
His most recent post on the topic is:

Raising Sons: Shaping Their Masculine Identity


and speaking of godly sons, see that beautiful wreath above?

A 17 year old young man would like to become a missionary pilot for the Lord and sells these beauties in an effort to do so~


click here for a chance to win it!

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Preparing Our Sons

"We must prepare our sons to go out into the world, face obstacles, work hard, and provide for a household with integrity. Mothers can unwittingly undermine this preparation by mollycoddling their sons.

If mothers are protecting and pampering their sons, they will grow up to be milksops (also known as sissies),  and obviously, this is not honoring to God.

Our aim for our sons is maturity. 

We want them to be able to stand with their father against his enemies in the city gate (Psalm 127). We want them to be tough, not fragile. Mothers cannot fight their son's battles and they should not shelter them from consequences of their actions....Mothers must be hard-headed when it comes to sons and not rush in to protect them from the hard consequences of the world."

-Nancy Wilson,
Praise Her in the Gates: The Calling of Christian Motherhood

While my five sons are young right now, I am encouraged by this thought because it helps me to have a vision of how I would like them to be and where I would like them to go in life. I know that I definitely need to be reminded to let my sons learn what the world is really like without rushing to their defense.

What are your thoughts about raising sons?

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It Must Be Christmas

I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland and my little sons trying to bring snowballs indoors! I could not believe my eyes since we do not ever have snow until December! I have a busy day today--three of my children, Stephen, Ravi and Joy, are getting baptized at church tomorrow AND we will be celebrating Joy's 8th birthday as well!

The month of November marks a very busy time for our family since we have 4 birthdays including the holidays in just two months. I know that marks a busy time for all of you too as many of you have started Christmas shopping! Some of you are already done (you know who you are)!!! I wanted to share with all of you where I would like to do much of my Christmas shopping this year at my one of my absolute favorite places- VISION FORUM! It is a truly  wonderful place you can find wholesome resources for the entire family!

Here are some of their new products:

Since I love tea and the Duggars, this DVD caught my eye immediately...
 

Tea with Michelle Duggar

only $15

and Jasmine Baucham's newest book that I would love to get for my daughters, especially because they had a chance to meet her earlier this year:

Joyfully at Home
only $18

For all of you who love learning how to run a large family, like myself, they have this new book that looks quite interesting:

Large Family Logisitics

-$24

and if you missed Victoria Botkin's webinar not too long ago--it is now on CD (9 CDs) entitled:

She Shall Be Called Woman-
just $35 (trust me, it's worth it! I had the chance to listen to it and she is sooo wise)

My boys let me know about 100 times that they wanted these swords below, I have seen them in real life and they are high quality and cannot break easily, you can click on the banner below to read more and to view an entertaining video of Doug Phillips's son fighting eachother with them:

And look at the pretty new dresses they have for the dolls, my little Joy was enamored with this little outfit:

 Elsie's Party Dress
-$19

and instead of getting my older daughter a purity ring, which we have been keeping an eye out for--I was so pleased to find that Vision Forum has is offering this as another wonderful option...

A Father-Daughter Purity Locket

-What a great idea! Read the description:

This one small piece of jewelry has for centuries been the symbol of a special relationship between two people. Carefully guarding the treasured faces that we desire to keep closest to us, it often remains a prized possession throughout a lifetime, passed on to future generations as a special family heirloom.
After much searching, Vision Forum is pleased to offer a locket worthy of such lofty history and promise. Beautifully embossed with a floral design, this 7/8" sterling silver locket is the perfect gift for those special young ladies in your family.
It is an especially fitting gift on a special occasion, as a loving gift between a father and daughter to symbolize the importance of purity and remaining as a joyful daughter under her father’s protection until the time of release to her future husband. Comes on a delicate, sterling silver 16" chain in a small gift box.

{But shhhhh-----don't tell her.}

I'm telling you I am like a child in a candy store when it come to Vision Forum and their catalogs!

Sometimes it is way too hard to pick--

and PLEASE tell me I won't have to!

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Note: Dear readers, I wanted to let you know that I am a VF affiliate. If you are planning on doing any of your Christmas shopping there would you consider making a purchase through this site? All you have to do is click through any of the links in this post or on their products/catalog I have listed in my sidebar. Your doing so will help to feed HUNGRY children---8 to be exact! ;) Haha, just kidding--nothing like a little humor to brighten our days. But on a serious note--thank you so much if you do! And have a blessed day!

A Vision of Glory and Splendor

"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is place in her bosom to be nursed and trained! 

Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into it's soul to see its possibilities could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no others hands the sacred and holy trust given to her."

---JR Miller, a preacher from the 1900's,

from the amazing book, The Family 

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-One of my favorites older posts from 2007! Reposting for you to enjoy!

The Tender-Hearted Mom

It is not uncommon to see a mother grab her child in anger in the grocery store or in the church. Even mothers who are normally easy going and tender-hearted can be exasperated beyond belief. Of course, they never have an excuse to sin before God and to sin against their child but they do need help. The older women are to lovingly hold them accountable to be kind and tender-hearted instead of mean and and hard-hearted. Another way the older women can help the younger women to love their children is to remind them to be wise like God.

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.         ( James 3:17-18, emphasis added)

..House rules are often a point of conflict between the children and mothers. They are certainly necessary but it is critical how they are enforced. Sometimes  young mothers become like marine drill sergeants at boot camp. As a result, the rules are enforced in a cruel and hard-hearted way through threats, screaming, yelling, and name calling. It may result in an outwardly compliant child who remembers to make their bed and take off their muddy shoes, but it is also likely to produce a child who is likewise cruel and hard in their heart. Gentleness and mercy are more important than external rules. 

Help the young mothers to be consistent with enforcing house rules but to do it in love.

If they must err, it should be on the side of mercy since "...mercy triumphs over judgment"

(James 2:13)

-Martha Peace, Becoming a Titus 2 Woman 

You can find this great book and other godly resources for the home at Books on the Path.




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Large Family Dynamics--A Look Inside

I love the fact that we have a large family. Since I was an only child, it is almost like I have another chance to relive my youth in a family of many siblings (except now I am in charge!). It has truly been an adventure, a joyous adventure in having 8 children and getting to live each moment with them--the fun, the exciting, the good and the bad.

There has been so much I have had to learn in how to raise a brood this size so I appreciate when I see lists like the following that bring a smile.

Large Families..

-Accept donations of restaurant-size cookware!!!

-are CHAOTIC and NOISY and FUN

-have no matching socks...but 58 white non- mates

-always have someone to play with... never bored or lonely

-lots of babysitters, readers, and rockers

-never have a dull meal

-are never picky eaters! there's someone to eat it!!!

-have an ever ready sports team

-never have moldy leftovers (ha!)

-and yes the parents DO know what causes them...

-and no, moms are not supermoms or super organized

-do not have overabundance of patience, just lots of opportunities to cultivate patience!


 (Source-A Christian Home)

Large families are a blessing in so many ways and children are a joy to raise. Money might be tighter but the riches of having a large family are priceless!



A great resource about large families would be the Duggars who have have 18 children--read how they do it here:

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The Battleground

I love having talks with my children around the meal table. They are the next generation for the Lord so I want to pour all I can into them. Having these special talks at breakfast, lunch  and dinner important to me because this is where I teach so much on worldview and fighting the cultural battles their generation faces.

Today I threw out the question of reformers. Who were the reformers of the past and who would be considered reformers today? My children were quick to name many including present reformers who are on the battlefield of reforming the church, culture, family, media and education. I then asked them if someone wrote a book about modern day reformers who would be put in it and would their names be included? This set off a spark. My children were totally engaged.

They began to formulate ideas of how they could reach this generation. A few children instantly came up with their own ideas of what they could put into action immediately. I called them to the battle, to fight on the front-lines, to give their lives. I reminded them that in heaven, the people who have celebrity here on earth will probably be last in heaven and the ones that are lowly, meek and humble, the ones that are poor but gave their all to share Christ, to care for widows and orphans ---that they will be first. I know that those are the people that will be richly rewarded in heaven.

We have to teach our children to be soldiers. To have courage to speak to godless nations. To have loyalty to the God that they serve. To be one minded and not double minded.  To serve God and not any other masters. Can our sons fight and lead armies for our King? Can our daughters raise generations that will love and serve Him that will teach generations to come?

The battle ground is wide and vast. There is much to destroy---- and much to reform and rebuild. We cannot do it without soldiers--we cannot do it without God and without teaching the next generation to lead the way with His spirit.

Parents, this is the battleground. God has called us to it. We will call our children to it and our grandchildren to it--and may we all be found courageous and nobly faithful in fighting the war passionately until our very last breath.

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The Start of a New School Year

School has started around here at the Fuentes home and last week we had a great back to school party full of treasure hunts, bowling and tennis with our family and checking out our fresh new supplies and books. Visions of science experiments, unit studies, and hands on projects are all dancing around in my head so I am trying to careful to jot everything down so I don't forget a single one!

One of the things that I know that is a challenge for homeschoolers since we have such flexibility  is overloading our schedule with things that have us frantically running here and there. Lessons, sports, clubs, activities, events and the like can keep us all living in our automobiles from one event to another without really experiencing much needed down time at home. 

We need to choose wisely what things our family participates in and not overload our schedules. All those things can look and sound good and we sign up for them with zeal but we can sacrifice what is best in its place and end up with a frazzled mother at the end of her rope, especially if she has several children she is trying to taxi around. Many mothers have trouble just concentrating on school let alone trying to fit several more things onto her plate, other mothers prioritize their outings more than schooling and then become alarmed when they begin to fall drastically behind. While I believe it is wonderful to have freedom in our homeschooling, I believe it is also the parents responsibility to make sure the job gets done.

Consider this, what if a family chose NOT break up their family, especially when Dad was home and  instead chose to do things together? Instead of Billy running out to chess club to play against a few strangers why not have him play against Dad or Grandpa? What if instead of choir, you sang Christian songs/hymns as a family as a ministry to a nursing home? I actually know families that do this. They value their time together and do not feel pressure to conform to what everyone else is doing. Take sports for instance. If they have a couple of sons they don't drag them all to different practice locations and games all through the week. Instead they will opt to choose a sport as a family like tennis, volleyball, swimming or rollerskating that they can do together. When they want to play competitively as teams they invite other families over to play against their family. The Duggar family, who have 19 children, is a wonderful example of this. I believe we need to try to think more outside 'the box' and know that doing more is not always best. Don't get me wrong now, I am not saying to not join anything, but what we do choose we need to choose wisely.

 Of course there will be things you participate in, just like my family does, but use discernment and choose sparingly because it can all add up too quickly. I have a friend who guards her family time fiercely and there is wonderful fruit from it. Are they confined to the home? Hardly! They are always busy, interacting with many people--Christians and non-Christians--but actively doing things together as  a family. Think of all the glorious memories they are making! Think of all the wonderful training and shepherding time that will take place! What I often think is most needed is time to cultivate and nurture family time and relationships without the emphasis of always 'being out and going somewhere', which can sometimes breed discontentment. We think that those things are so fulfilling but can really often lead us to feeling exhausted and empty in the end.

Families today hardly have time to eat together let alone hold a conversation of depth, and when Dad comes home from work they barely have time to welcome him as they rush past him out the door. Because we see this as a trend in families today we should not feel pressured to emulate it. Instead we should do what we can to guard it against it and preserve the best for our families. The state of families today are desperate for change and strengthening and we would be good to use our time together wisely.

May the Lord give us all wisdom as we fill our schedules with good things and embark upon a blessed new school year!

It Is Your Business

"You cannot control your children, you say.

Then the Lord have mercy on you!
It is your business to do it,
and you must do it,
or else you will soon find they will control you.
No one knows what judgment
will come from God
upon those who allow
sin in children
to go
unrebuked."




~ C.H. Spurgeon




(Hat tip to Megan Anderson)

Witchcraft Aimed At Your Children

Have you been to your local books store lately? I have, and in the children's section the aisles of books are overflowing with witchcraft, vampires and the dead all targeted at our precious preteens and teenagers.

Why are books like these so popular? Because as the world grows more evil as fascination with things that are evil will abound.

 Pastor Mark Driscoll shares his thoughts on popular titles such as Twilight, Eclipse, The Nacromancer, Spirit Bound, Dead Flame, The Sorceress, Hells Heroes, Spells and the many other popular witchcraft books sold on Amazon aimed at your children that you ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH:

Parents, are you aware of what your children are reading?

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The Gentle Mother

I love art that displays a mother being gentle with her children, beautiful motherhood touches lives around us in powerful ways and the influence runs deep.

I am always so inspired by gentle mothers that I see around me. Their gentle voices, their unnerving patience---all traits I so desire to greatly cultivate in myself. If we are to "love our children" the world around us should be able to validate Gods Word as true by being around us and seeing that our interaction with our children affirms that.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all." Phillipians 4:5

If we are to raise sons and daughters that will also love their children, it is imperative that it is modeled it for them. How many times have your caught yourself raising your voice to your children and have found them doing or saying exactly what you were doing later that day? They mimic all that we do, so from the minute we awake we must practice what I call 'purposeful parenting'. Everything we do they are absorbing and taking in like sponges. Our responsibility is to teach them to have self command and learn to heed the Word of God.



This is why I love watching 19 Children and Counting. Michelle and Jim Bob do their best to be patient with all of their 19 blessings when some of us struggle with just two!!! What a testimony and ministry they have given the world many times over of how the Lord can be central and His words active and true. I believe the Lord blesses them immensely because of their willingness to obey. Here is a clip of Michelle, who is ever so patient with all of her children--especially during her pregnancies and hardships---accepting the Mother of the Year award by Vision Forum. I know this has been circulating but still wanted to post this for others who haven't had a chance to see it. Her sweetness is a powerful reminder to all of us moms to emulate the meekness of Jesus and how it is beautiful is God's eye and to those who are watching:

Courtship Questions for Potential Suitors

When a young man and woman begin a courtship there are many things to think about and questions that need to be answered. Stacy and James McDonald are graciously sharing a very thorough list of courtship questions they have personally used in their family. The list truly provides food for thought and even if you only used part of this list or created your own set of questions it is a wonderful starting point especially for those younger ones who are preparing for marriage and still formulating their thoughts on issues and to take a good hard look at their lives and see where they stand on issues:

(Click on the button to view them)

I am going to have my daughters sit down and look at these questions as I am sure it will make for a wonderful discussion time.

Vision Forum is also offering a new package helpful with this area:

Preparing Our Sons and Daughters Resource Pack

We own several of these resources and definitely would suggest this as a starting place for those who are going the courtship route.

It is so important to prepare our older children and so that
even the courtships of our sons and daughters bring glory God in heaven!


Have a blessed day!





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