How To Make Bender Doll Angels

Christmas Tradition

by Jeannine Carroll

I wrote The Christmas Gift because I love this simple tradition and wanted to share it with other families. I, also, believe there is no greater gift we can give children than helping them to know the real meaning of the Christmas story. 

 The story and tradition, shared in the book, focus's on Christ's birth and sharing God's love through acts of kindness.  At the beginning of the Christmas season, the family puts out the empty manger and bag of straw. With each good deed, they put a piece of straw in the manger. By Christmas morning, the goal is to have a full manger and give baby Jesus the gift of a warm bed, filled with kindness. But, we also know that Jesus is the very best Christmas Gift of all!

I'm sharing this tradition, just in case you don't have the book set yet, to let you know that I have added an angel to the set!  In the book, there is an angel on each page. She is watching over the family as they do their good deeds.  

When my niece, Ashley, who is a young Christian mother, read the book, she suggested that I add an angel to the set.  Parents could move the angel to different places each day, during the Christmas season, to remind their children that God's loving care is always watching over them - And sometimes He uses angels! 

Since I have put all the sets together and paint each baby Jesus, I wanted to find an angel that I could make  I found the Bender Dolls and I love them!  I came up with angels dressed in white and angels dressed in Christmas colors.  After many parents asked for a boy angel, I now have one!

Boy Angel-Afro-American

Boy Angel in my Etsy Store

Father's Day- My Guiding Star

by Jeannine Carroll

I teach senior fitness classes and wanted to have a gift for the father's on Father's Day.  I wrote this story to portray the immense importance of Christian father's and the role they play in guiding their children.
I made a star tie tac to give each father.  It was fun!  (I marbled red, white and blue polymer clay and cut the stars out with little cookie type cutters).

                                                                                                                                                                   

Tie Tacs and Card for Fathers

As a boy, one weekend my family decided to go camping in the nearby Rockies.  After Mom and my two younger siblings had gone to bed, Dad and I were waiting for the campfire to die down.  Finally we shoveled some dirt over the coals and made sure no hot spots were left.  We’d be leaving tomorrow.

Dad said, “Come on, Son.  Let’s take a walk.”  We took a path that lead to an overlook.  As we stopped, I stared down with fascination at a vast ocean of sparkling lights. The city looked endless.

“Now turn around,” Dad instructed, as he switched off his flashlight.  I turned away from the lights of the city below.  My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the nearly moonless night and I could make out shadows of pines and a few aspens.

         “Look up,” Dad said.  I looked up and was amazed by the hundreds of stars I could see.  At home they were a pale sight compared to the bright lights of the city.  Here they were brilliant.

        Dad said, “You know people have not always had electricity and cars and computers. For thousands of years, they looked up to the heavens for guidance.  These stars helped them to find their way.  Now we look to gadgets to help us find our way, thinking we’d be lost without them.”

        “Son, you will never get lost if you remember to look up for God’s guidance.  Sometimes you will have to step away from the world’s brightness to see the true light.”

        As I listened to my dad, even at that young age, I knew that the brightest guiding star God had given me, was talking to me right now.

••••••••••

        Fathers have been guiding their children since the beginning of time.  The greatest have taught them to look up to find answers to life’s purpose.

Please accept this pin as a symbol of the “Guiding Star” you have been to the generations that follow close behind you. Thank you for accepting the life’s work of being a father.  There is no greater calling.

Happy Father’s Day!

       

"Flying a Sign"

I recently had a long talk with a woman who had spent many years of her life homeless.  She had worked for carnivals for twenty-five years and had developed friendships with other workers.  Many of them had alcohol or drug addictions.  They would travel together, sometimes sleeping in cars or pitching in to get a motel room.
When the economy turned down, they could no longer make it working in the carnivals.  She told me about "flying a sign."  When they needed money, one of them would go out for a few hours and stand on a corner with their signs, asking for help.
I was fascinated to hear about the ways people responded to them.  She told me that they were often given bags with toiletries and toothbrushes (which is funny since she didn't have any teeth).  They received snack bags and lots of protein bars and bottles of water.
She told me that they had people who would regularly give them bags of groceries.  They, also, received lots of gift cards from Chick-fil-A (Way to go Christians!) and other places.  She said that there was one thing they didn't get but could use and that was laundry detergent. 
Did you know people were doing this?  I didn't.  Not too long ago, I saw a young man get out of his car and go over and give someone a loaf of bread.  I thought this was an isolated event.  Little did I know!  I am so inspired by the goodness of people!  Thank all of you who are regularly helping others in this way!

Thought Conditioners

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was the author of The Power of Positive Thinking.  When he was young he memorized 40 little verses, most of them ten words or less.  These have been published in a book called Thought Conditioners , which I am not sure is still in publication.  Here is a link to a pdf of all of them and Dr. Peale's insights:   Dr. Peale's Thought Conditioners.  Thank you Sermon Publications for making them available!

What a great idea!  You may have verses or sayings that just come into your head when something happens.  I know I do, but I don't remember ever making a point of memorizing them.  We may not know where they are found in the Bible or who said them, but they still impact our decisions and thoughts.

What if we made a point of teaching these simplified "Thought Conditioners" to our children?  Summer is a great time for learning together.  We could make cards with the verses on them and review them in the car on a road trip or at other times.

I have made a page titled Bible Verses to Inspire.  You can see the entire verses on the link at the top of this page.  I am using the NIV but you may prefer another version.  Some verses I memorized in the KJV and they just come naturally to my mind.  

I have shortened some verses, but have not changed the original meaning, to make them easier to remember.  I will include where they are found in the Bible.  I am not using all of Dr. Peale's original verses and I have added some of my own.

Here are some powerful Thought Conditioners:

1.  "What is impossible with men is possible with God."  
Luke 18:27

Good Deeds- Bookmarks

by Jeannine Carroll

I recently received a surprise gift from a group I love and teach.  I wanted to thank each of them in a personal way, without spending too much.
I had a collection of used greeting cards so I decided to make bookmarks for them and write a thank you note on the back.  My hope was that they would keep the bookmarks and be reminded of how much I treasure each of them!  

Bookmarks

Father's Day Quotes

I love to celebrate Good Fathers!  If  you have been lucky enough to have one, you have been truly blessed!  I would love to hear your stories about your father!

Here are some of my favorite quotes and sayings:                                                                                                 

"A child looks up at the stars and wonders.

Great fathers put a child on his shoulders and

 helps them to grab a star."

"A good father is one of the most unsung,
unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the
most valuable assets in our society." ~Billy Graham

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a Father's protection." 

 ~Sigmund Freud

"The greatest gift I ever had came from God;

I call him Dad!"

"A dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall, but instead,

picks you up, brushes you off

and lets you try again."

"Some people believe in Heroes, but they haven't met my Dad."

"My Father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person,

he believed in me." ~Jim Valvano

"My father didn't tell me how to live...

He lived, and let me watch him do it."

~Clarence Kelland

"Next to eternal life, the most precious gift that our Father in Heaven can bestow upon man,

 is his children." ~David G. MaKay

"Every father should remember that one day his child will follow his example instead of his advice."

"Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown!"

Happy Father's Day!

At Days End by John Hall

John Hall's poem says so much!  At the end of the day, I like to take a quick look over all I did and ask myself, "What if I hadn't done that?  Would it have mattered?

At Days End

Is anybody happier because you passed his way?

Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?

The day is almost over, and its toiling time is through

Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?

Can you say tonight in parting, with the day that's slipping fast, 

That you helped a single brother, of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?

Does the man whose hopes were fading, now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?

Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say

You have earned one more tomorrow, by the work you did today?

(Thank goodness we don't have to earn Heaven! ~J.C.)

Working Mother

For twenty-five years I ran a child-care business in my home.  I, also, taught classes for parents and child-care workers.  I often read "Working Mother" in my classes.  It touched the hearts of parents who knew the pain of leaving their children in someone else's care and it helped child-care workers to empathize with some parent's emotions.  I never wanted us, in the child care field, to feel we were somehow superior to parents who had to make the decision to work!

Working Mother  

As I sit here chained to my computer and phone, I steal a thousand quick glances at your pretty picture on the corner of my desk.  With each glance I breathe a silent prayer that God will be with you because I cannot.  I dream of baking cookies for after school snacks instead of making assembly-line coffee, each mug programed for the exact amount of sugar, sweetner, coffee and cream.

I dream of chairing PTA meetings instead of typing proposals and specifications.  I want to be there for you.  I want to participate in your life instead of watching from the sidelines and hearing about it secondhand.

I did not conceive you so that others could rear you.  I did not carry you nine months and then anxiously count fingers and toes so that I could get calls from school when you are sick or upset.  These calls send me into a frustrated frenzy because you must pour out your fears to another woman.

For now we do the best we can.  Weekends are OURS.  Cobwebs, laundry and yard work somehow take a backseat because cobwebs, grass and dirty clothes do not lose teeth, skin knees or outgrow blue jeans.  These weekends are crammed full of tiny lessons on self-esteem, values, maturing, quiet understandings and fun.  I pray that a strong bond is being built between us.  Mother to daughter, friend to friend, woman to little woman.

So here's to all the kids who don't feel in the least deprived.  Here's to the child care workers with nerves of steel and unending patience.  Here's to the schoolteachers and school secretaries who play surrogate mother.  Here's to the grandmas who stand in the gap between the three o'clock dismissal and the five o'clock rush hour.  And, here's to the "liberated" career moms who blow secret kisses to photographs while taking other people's messages and typing other people's memos.   by Marilyn Loeffel

Ruth Calkin's Poems and Songs Touch My Heart

Here is a poem by poet/songwriter, Ruth Calkin:

I Wonder

You know, Lord, how I serve You

with great emotional fervor,

in the limelight.

You know how eagerly I speak for You

at a women’s club.

You know how I shine when I promote

a fellowship group.

You know my genuine enthusiasm

at a Bible study.

But how would I react, I wonder,

if You pointed to a basin of water

and asked me to wash the calloused feet

of a bent and wrinkled old woman,

day after day,

month after month,

in a room where nobody saw

and nobody knew.

Here is a link to her website: Poem: I Wonder

Does this poem touch your heart as it does mine?  It is said that the choices we make when no one is looking tell us who we really are.  

Lord, I pray that I will find someone's feet to wash every day while no one is looking. Let me find balance this year between the "small acts done with great kindness" and all the other things that go with being a Christian woman, mother and wife.

                      You won't want to miss Ruth singing her song: My God is So Big.                          It's a delight!  Here's the link: My God is So Big

Love Lives Here

I love this quote by Dolly Carlson:

"Festive decorations are a gift from your heart to the hearts of those who enter your home.  They simply and sweetly say, 'love lives here' and we were expecting you, welcome!"

I wish I could say that my home was always ready for company, but it's a goal I'm still working on.  If you have children still at home, you have an even harder job!  When families are young, so many things are more important than is spotless home.  I get it!

Decorating for seasons and holidays can be a fun family activity and tradition.  This year, I grew small pumpkins called "Jack Be Little" in my garden.  They are adorable!  They can be put in fruit bowls or included with other decorations.  You could even paint faces on them.

I, also, plan on adding them to gift baskets along with some homemade pickles or other canned goods.  Adding a little something extra to baskets of cookies or flowers or apples can bring a smile.

I love the idea that decorating lets visitors know they are welcome and cared about!

"Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything it covers." ~Kahil Gibran

Make Me a Blessing

Make Me a Blessing by George Shuler

Lord, I pray that I will prove true!

Loneliness

Loneliness is an epidemic, even in the U.S.  People may feel isolated and lonely because of death, age, divorce, moving, children growing up and of so many other things.  I remember a transition period in my life where I dreaded weekends because I would be alone.  If I had at least one plan for the weekend, it would be so much easier.  I would go to church and wish someone would ask me to go to lunch with them.  I had family nearby, but everyone was busy with their own lives!

Mother Teresa talks about the poverty of feeling unwanted in the following quote:

Things They'll Remember:

The stories that you read to them

Before they go to bed

The comfort of your presence

While their prayers are being said

The birthday cakes with candles

For all their growing years

the sharing of their secrets

the drying of their tears

The snowman that you helped create

The visits to the zoo

Summer outings at the beach

The family barbecue

Little things that seem to go

Unnoticed and unsung

Are the things they will remember

Of the days when they were young

And the loving care that lies behind

These little things will be

A lasting recollection

And a cherished memory.

(Found on This 'N That )

Traditions of Kindness- Plant a "Sharing Garden"

Traditions of Kindness- Sharing Garden

I love working in my gardens, especially when I have been blessed with an abundance of something!  One week it may be peonies and another it may be cucumbers.  I love to give them away!
This is a tradition we can start with our children that doesn't have to cost a lot of money and can "harvest" great rewards!
Find a place to grow something.  If you have a place for a garden, that's great!  If not, even a flower pot will do!  Let the children help with the planting and upkeep - What wonderful lessons they will learn!
We are never too poor to find ways to help others!

“Kind hearts are the gardens,                                     Kind thoughts are the roots,                                     Kind words are the flowers,                                  Kind deeds are the fruits,                                Take care of your garden                                 And keep out the weeds,                              Fill it with sunshine                                    Kind words and kind deeds”                                    ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Update:  Several people have shared with us this year!!  It is so wonderful to have fresh squash, tomatoes,  cucumbers, etc.  We only planted a few vegetables in my flower garden this year and I am loving the fresh vegetables!!  Thank you!!

Get Hungry for the Important Things!

This is my prayer for you and for me, that we can concentrate on what's truly important and not just on what's urgent!  Trust me, time with young children and grandchildren goes too fast!

Secret Good Deed:

Make everyone you meet today feel special.  Give them a smile, a compliment, a word of encouragement, a hug or just listen to them!

Children and Outdoor Play - Building Self-Esteem

by Jeannine Carrol 

• Risk in Childhood

Allowing children to face challenges while playing outdoors can build self-esteem.

"When I was growing up, every neighborhood had a vacant lot somewhere where children gathered - building forts, picking berries, digging to China, and just hanging out.  I regret that children do not have that now."  ~Nancy Alexander

How can we safely allow children the freedom other generations were allowed? 

Over "Stuffing' Our Lives

by Jeannine Carroll

A few yeas ago, I was traveling across Mexico.  I had taken my second trip to Mexico to learn more about their culture and way of living.  For three days I lived with a family in the city of Chihuahua.  According to our standards, this was a very poor family, but in their city, they were middle class.  They lived in a five-room cement home, one of the very few with a black-iron security fence around it.

They were a warm and loving family that went out of their way to make me feel at home.  They were so proud to show me that they had a shower and even though I couldn't get the hot water to work, I was very thankful for it!  They always had food prepared when they knew I was going to be there and they asked me each day if I wanted to take a shower.  I know that this family was careful not to waste anything and I really hoped I was not causing a hardship for them.

 As I look at this family, that we would say has very little, I can't help but wonder.

Prayers For Children

by Jeannine Carroll

What were the prayers you were taught as a child?  So many of us were taught this little prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep.

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

What were our parents thinking?  Today we would not think of sending a child to bed worrying that they might "Die before they wake"!

Here is a prayer I wrote to replace this one for the children in my life:

As I lay down to sleep tonight,

I pray, Dear Lord, you'll hold me tight

And surround me with your loving arms

Until the morning light.

What are some of the prayers you or your children have prayed?  Please share them with us!

Juggling Five Balls

"Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you're keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls...are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered."  ~James Patterson

Do you feel as challenged as most parents do when it comes to deciding how your family will use it's time? There are the everyday choices, that are already made for us, such as work, school, and chores. Then you add church, sports, volunteering, entertainment, etc.   We feel like we need more hours in our day!!

Do you know that children can feel the stress of having too many things to do?  Even though they may be the ones asking or even begging to be allowed to be involved in sports, clubs, plays.or special events, parents need to be the gatekeepers that will help them to find a balance.

Making time in our schedule for important activities, takes courage.  Courage not to be influenced by the urgent or even good activities, when they put too much stress on our family!  Trust yourself!  If you are feeling overwhelmed, even by doing good, chances are, your children are, too!

A Mother's Journey

by Jeannine Carroll

I wrote this poem on Mother's Day in 2005.  My daughter had called  to wish me a happy Mother's Day.  She, also, had a surprise for me!  She was expecting her second baby!  What a wonderful surprise!! 

My mother has Alzheimer's and although she is still with us, we have lost sharing memories with her.  I thought about my daughter beginning motherhood, the joys of being a grandmother, and my mother at the end of her journey.  This is what I wrote:

A Mother's Journey

by Jeannine Carroll

A young mother, intoxicated with the joy of motherhood,

begins a journey across the mountain tops

and valleys of her heart.

Does she now this is forever?

Through love and nurturing, her children grow, as she has grown.

Gone are the nighttime feedings, diapers and story times.

Her children are entrusted to others- teachers, peers, coaches...

Do the entrusted know they hold her heart in their hands?

The time comes to share her children with their "life's love".

Vows are exchanged at "happily ever after" weddings.

Mother rides in the backseat

as her children take their place in the front.

Do they know how long the road ahead will be?

Her children become parents.

Oh, the joys of being a grandmother!

Tiny bundles of memories- How fast time went!

Do they know how soon today will become yesterday?

Now, Mother needs "mothering".

How hard it is to accept the help she needs.

How beautiful to see how lovingly it is given!

Being a mother was the journey of a lifetime!

How had she known?

Mother's do not get paid for their work because it is priceless!

Happy Mother's Day and never forget how important the job you are doing is!!