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Keeping Christ in Christmas: 8 Practical Ways
We recently pulled out the Christmas boxes. Surrounded by a hodgepodge of fake pine, glitter, and the faint aroma of cinnamon spice, I reminded myself of the importance of keeping Christ in Christmas. It’s easy to get so caught up in holiday festivities that we overlook the reason for celebrating. Keeping Christ in Christmas If the idea of focusing on Jesus at Christmas resonates with you—and if you want less stress and deeper peace this Christmas—here are eight suggestions to help you. 8 Tips for Keeping Christ in Christmas 1. Keep Christ in Christmas by slowing down. Whether you’re shopping for gifts or decorating your home, aim to complete these…
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4 Ways to Have a Christ-Centered Christmas
December has arrived, and I’m not sure I’m ready. I’ve been staring down my to-do list and feeling anxious. I want our family to have a Christ-centered Christmas, but my to-do list is stealing my focus. Sadly, the demands of this season feel more like an invitation to stress than an invitation to worship. Advent is the season for fixing our eyes on the coming Christ, the One who came in the flesh two thousand years ago and will come again to reign forever in glory. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised there is an enemy out to distract me throughout this season of anticipation. After we cut down the…
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How to Raise Frog Eggs and Have a Blast Doing It
Spring is here, and the world is coming alive again. As we embrace longer days, sunshine, and spring bulbs rising through the soil, this season is a perfect opportunity to help our kids connect with nature. This year, our little family is learning how to raise frog eggs, and we’re having a blast in the process. Providing children with opportunities to interact with wild creatures in safe ways is one of the best ways to spark life-long interests in the natural world. A frog egg project is a great place to start, and even the least savvy naturalist can pull this off. I remember multiple frog egg projects throughout my…
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10 Outdoor Activity Ideas for Families
While community playgrounds and backyard sliding boards offer hours of entertainment for our children, greater adventure awaits those who are willing to lace up their trail shoes and head to the woods. Today, we’ll explore 10 creative and inexpensive outdoor activity ideas for families. A local community park, nature conservancy, or State Park can be a great resource for instilling an appreciation for the natural world in our children. Teaching kids to connect with wildlife develops a passion that can extend into adulthood. Creative Outdoor Activity Ideas for Families Here are ten creative outdoor activity ideas for families to help your kids enjoy nature: 1. Wildflower Identification Many people are…
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8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children
Do you want to be more conistent and focused as you pray over your kids? Today, we’ll explore eight powerful Scriptures to pray over your children. First, I invite you to join our family in the forest on the day I decided to be more intentional about praying for our kids. 8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children It’s a quiet Saturday morning on the cusp of spring when I sense that we need a change of pace. The oldest is glued to the laptop, and the youngest is watching his second movie of the day. I need to think of a better option before too much screen time…
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6 Creative Ideas to Help You Show Hospitality This Fall
It’s a clear evening overlooking Granite Creek. The sun has slipped behind the canyon walls, and alpenglow paints the West Ridge salmon. I’m not thinking about how to show hospitality this evening – not in the least. The year is 2001, and I’ve just entered the identity-searching decade of my twenties. This will be the decade when I stumble blindly in the relentless search for the woman I want to become. I’ll begin my teaching career in the public high school. I have no way of knowing these things now, of course. For now, I’m content with my three-month job of washing dishes in the lodge where the teachers come…
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25 Christmas Bible Verses for Inspiration and Hope
In a season saturated with commercialism and consumerism, it’s easy to lose the meaning of Christmas. Today, we’ll explore 25 Christmas Bible verses to help us turn to Christ this month. We’ll also apply these Scriptures by discussing meaningful Christmas traditions that serve others. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free Advent devotional to encourage you this Christmas. Let’s begin by turning to God’s Word. 25 Christmas Bible Verses Here are 25 Christmas Bible verses for hope and joy this season. 25 Christmas Bible Verses to Inspire and Bring Hope 1. Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) For to us a child is born, to us a…
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5 Christ-Centered Christmas Traditions
The world is aglow in colorful lights as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Light of the World. Sadly, it’s easy to become so engrossed in the hustle and bustle of the season that we forget why we are celebrating. Perhaps you’d like to help your family celebrate with some Christ-centered Christmas traditions this year. Let’s look at five family traditions that can help us keep Christ at the center of our Christmas celebrations this year. 5 Christ-Centered Christmas Traditions If we want to be more attuned to the wonder of the incarnation, we begin by slowing down. We stand in awe that the God of all creation…
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How to Choose a New Thanksgiving Tradition for Your Family
November is here with the grey branches of maple trees reaching heavenward and once-vibrant fields of wildflowers wielding frost-burned tufts in unison. We pull the Thanksgiving decorations from the basement shelves and start thinking about instituting a new and meaningful Thanksgiving tradition for our family. It seems appropriate that this month of transition is also culturally known as the month for giving thanks. We are often most desperately in need of reminders to practice gratitude when the tides are shifting in our lives. November has always felt like a changing of the tides for me. November is the time when the kids bound from the bus wearing feathers in their…
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5 Things to Do in Autumn Without Ghosts and Goblins
I recently took the kids to the woods in search of fall decorations to help us celebrate autumn. We returned home with plastic bags overflowing with sticky pinecones, acorns, leaves, ferns, and rocks. The pinecones found new homes in baskets throughout the house, the leaves are scattered across the dining room table while crayons made leaf imprints on construction paper, and the acorns and stones found their way to vases. We have been on a quest to celebrate autumn without embracing spookiness, and this activity is part of our journey. We can celebrate autumn without celebrating spookiness. Today, we’ll explore five things to do in autumn without celebrating the spookiness…
