Camping and a Few of my Favorite Links

I am having a wonderful time at camp this week! I’m volunteering as the camp nurse at His Kids Camp, a camp for special needs kids at Camp Luther. I haven’t even been her for 24 hours and have already been touched by the kids, their buddies (each camper is paired with a buddy or two to help with activities, meals, etc.) and the other volunteers and staff members.

I’ll write a full post about His Kids Camp next week but for today I’m going to list some of my favorite websites. It’s a diverse group, and I hope you’ll enjoy them as I do. When I update my blogs I’ll be suggesting new links, so please let me know what your favorite links are, either in the comments or in an e-mail to shelly@shellyburke.net.

First of all, His Kids Camp. Click here for more informationabout the camp. If you know a special needs camper, or would like to be a buddy or volunteer, please contact Josh or Christina—contact information is on the website.

If you’re like me and you really don’t like to do housework, check out the Fly Lady at www.flylady.net. You’ll find hundreds of tips on clearing the clutter, organizing your home, and keeping it clean. She also discusses the emotional aspects of clutter and getting rid of clutter. On one page she says, “ Our FlyLady system is all about establishing little habits that string together into simple routines to help your day run on automatic pilot.” I don’t use every single part of her system, but I’ve found enough great information to make it worthwhile.

I am so thankful for the pastors that have been a part of my life. We don’t see the many, many hours they devote to shepherding their flocks of church members; they’re part of some of our happiest and saddest moments on earth. Today I came across a great article that reminded me to thank our pastors (priests and other church leaders). Read “What Our Pastors Wish we Knew” and encourage your pastor today!

For pro-life news that you probably won’t get elsewhere, go to www.lifenews.com. LifeNews covers the topics of abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia, bioethic issues like human cloning and stem cell research, and campaigns and elections and legal and legislative issues.

One of the best books I’ve read recently is “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. The book documents her year of “Test driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons of popular culture about how to be happier.”

I’m happy in my life—don’t get me wrong! And Gretchen was happy in her life, too. She wanted to make sure she felt grateful every single day, in the ordinary things. She wanted to look past the little things that bugged her, to the bigger picture. She wanted to set a higher standard for herself in all of her roles—as mother, daughter, writer, and so on.

“The Happiness Project” will inspire and motivate you to consider what you can do to make your life a little happier. The website is full of great information to help you design your own happiness project. I have used many of Rubin’s hints and tips and some of her downloads. I also get her monthly newsletter. This is a book and site like The Flylady; you probably won’t use everything you read, but you’ll find enough useful information to make it worthwhile!

Please let me know what you think of my suggestions, and don’t forget to share your own favorite links! 

“And He will give His Angels Charge Over You”…in a Burning Tractor

by Shelly Burke

from Google Images

I ask God to protect my loved ones every morning. Unless they are traveling, it’s usually a general prayer, something along the lines of, “Please keep them safe in everything they do today.”

I said that prayer, as always, one morning last week.

A few hours later, Tim sent me the picture below. He had been driving the tractor to fill in a hole in the road and noticed it was overheating. He drove it off the road (thankfully not near any grass as it’s VERY dry here), got out to open the hood and see if he could tell what was wrong, and saw smoke, and then flames.

Thankfully he’d grabbed his cell phone when he got out, so was able to call 911 immediately. It took the fire trucks about 20 minutes to arrive, and by that time the tractor was a complete loss.

Tim sent the picture to my cell phone, and I didn’t realize how serious the situation was until I sent it to my e-mail (I still have a non-smart phone with a tiny screen!). When I saw how completely the tractor was destroyed, I sat down and took a deep breath. The situation could have been tragic had Tim not gotten out when he did…had he not parked the tractor away from anything flammable…had not God’s angels been watching over him.

I said a heartfelt prayer of thanks—thanks that God protected my husband, and thanks that I don’t have to list every possible situation in which my family might need protection.  .  

“And He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep the in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thee dash thy foot against a stone” (or burning tractor).

Psalm 91: 11-12

Thank You, Lord, for protecting my family, and especially for protecting Tim last week.  THANK YOU for giving your angels charge over those I love. Please guard everyone I love from every danger of body, mind or soul. Amen. 

Teach Your Children Well

By Shelly Burke, Author, Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide 

(from Google Images)

As a Christian parent, your greatest task is to bring your children up believing in God and teaching them about Him, His Word and how they can live God-pleasing lives.

How can we as parents make sure that our children know the Lord? How can we instill in them the desire for faith and the desire to live a God-pleasing life?

In Deuteronomy 6 Moses says these words to the Israelites, shortly after receiving the Ten Commandments. “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:6-9)

In other words, we infuse these beliefs in our children by making them a central, integral part of our lives and theirs. I’ve edited the above verses to reflect the reality of life in 2012: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts—in the midst of busy schedules, make time for ME first. Your most important job as a parent is not to make sure your kids are in the most activities, or are the “best” at anything they are involved in. Your job is to impress My commandments on your children so that they will follow them all the days of their lives.

Talk about Me when you are driving your kids to school or activities. Sing Christian songs or memorize Bible verses when you’re in the car. Say prayers with them before they go to bed, and talk about the day’s events. When did they feel My presence? When they bring up a difficult situation, listen…and ask them what I would do. When they wake up, remind them that I will be with them throughout the day and ask them how they will show My love to their friends.

Send them text messages on the cell phone that seems to be tied to their hands. Text them Bible verses of encouragement. Tell them you’ve prayed for them before a test. Load Christian music on the iPod or MP3 player that seems to be attached to their head.  

Write Bible verses on notecards and tape them to the mirror in the bathroom, to their bedroom door, the refrigerator, the dashboard of their car.

No matter the age of your children, take every chance to fill them with God’s Word and His love and instructions. As they get older they will be more and more influenced by others. Cody will enter his junior year and Morgan her freshman year of college in the fall. Tim and I won’t have the day-to-day contact with them that we do now. They’ll be exposed to many different people with different beliefs and opinions, probably including some that will contradict their Christian upbringing.

I thank God that both of our children were brought up in the church, and I pray every day that they will remember their Christian background and that God will put Christian friends in their paths.

Also from Deuteronomy: “Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong you days…” (Deut. 5:33)

Dear Lord, please help me to remember that teaching our children about You is the most important thing we can do as parents. Please help us to put that task above all the other things that seem so urgent and important. Please remind us that there are many, many teachable moments every single day; help us to take advantage of all of those moments, so that our children will grow up knowing You and Your will and Your Love. Amen.

I’m also the editor of a Christian newspaper, the Nebraska Family Times. 

                               Read my blog entry today, titled “Do Not Lose Heart.”             

School Schedules and Shots, or...The More Things Change...

School Schedules and Shots, or... The More Things Change...

By Shelly Burke, Editor and Publisher, Nebraska Family Times

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

This summer I’ve been thinking of all the things that will change in just a few months, when Morgan goes to college. This week, however, I got to do a few things just one more time.

Morgan set up her first semester schedule with her advisor on Monday. (She got to do it over the phone since we live so far away, so she didn’t get to experience the “fun” of long lines and finding out classes were full.) It was fun to see her excitement at her new schedule and hear about the classes she will be taking. She wishes more of her classes would be in the morning and isn’t thrilled with her math class, but overall is very excited to start in the fall. This reminded me of her excitement (and sometimes the disappointment) after the first day of school during grade school and high school. 

I also set up an appointment for her to get her meningitis shot before she leaves. (This vaccination is for a certain strain of bacterial meningitis that usually occurs where many people live together—like college dorms—and is often very serious and even deadly.) This also reminded me of the many other times I scheduled shots for her—while she was a baby, before kindergarten, before 7^th grade, and now before college. I felt like a “mean mom” when I took either child in for shots—they were usually happy and as babies, unsuspecting of what was going to take place.

Morgan, however, is not the least bit nervous about this shot…I will be there to hold her hand if she wants me to though.

I wonder if she’ll let me go shopping for school supplies with her? I’ll be sure to pick out a big box of crayons! 

Stormy Thoughts and Stormy Skies...and God's Promise

All of these pictures were taken outside of our home
this afternoon. The rainbow was much more
beautiful in "real life"! 

Stormy Thoughts and Stormy Skies…and 

God’s Promise

By Shelly Burke, Editor and Publisher, Nebraska Family Times, and author, Home is Where the Mom Is

As I pulled weeds this afternoon I had stormy thoughts. Too many friends are facing serious health problems and personal difficulties. I heard news that promises turmoil in my own family’s life over the next few months. There’s no way around these problems; our friends and our family will just have to go through them.

This afternoon we had a nice, much-needed rain shower. After the shower I went outside to see where the storm was moving. I was awed to see one of the most beautiful double rainbows I’ve ever seen. It stretched all the way across the sky and I could see the whole thing, which is very unusual.

Seeing the rainbow reminded me of God’s promise to Noah, as he and his family came out of the ark after the flood.

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making

 between me and you…Whenever I bring clouds over the earth

and the rainbow appears in the clouds…I will remember my covenant

 between me and you…Never again will the waters become

 a flood to destroy all life.” Genesis 9:12-14

My friends and family and I are not facing a literal flood, of course. But the circumstances in each of our lives could be devastating. I was reminded of God’s promises to each of us; that He will walk beside us through any and all of the troubles we experience. That He is only a prayer away. And that, at the end of our lives, no matter how stormy, as believers we will spend eternity with Him! 

Thank You, Lord, for reminding me of Your promises to each of us. We are not alone; You are always with us. 

Not Written in Cement

Not Written in Cement
by Shelly Burke, author of Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home, and Editor and Publisher of the Nebraska Family Times

(image from Google Images)

I love summer! It’s great to have a “break” from the regular routine and schedule. When our kids were in grade-school, I made summer goals for them, as well as a schedule for our days. If we didn’t have some sort of schedule we didn’t accomplish anything, and while that’s ok once in awhile, it was still important to do things like chores around the house and nap (or rest) time.

Making summer goals was important to us too! I knew that if we didn’t consciously make and write down goals, we wouldn’t accomplish them. Most of the goals were “fun” things; going to the zoo, eating ice cream at the park, or watching the fireflies after dark (for more suggestions for summer fun, go to "Zoo...and Other Ideas for Summer Fun"  . I added a few practical goals, too, like teaching Cody and Morgan the basics of cooking and laundry, practicing math skills at the grocery store, and reading every day.

While you’re making your summer schedule and goals, remember that they don’t have to be perfect the first time! It’s better to get started with some sort of schedule than to not have a schedule for most of the summer as you’re trying to make the “perfect” schedule. And it’s better to start a list of goals and fun things to do and accomplish at least some of them, than to not make a goal list at all.

Look at your schedule as a suggested way to spend time—not as an iron-clad “we must do this at exactly this time.” Remember to have fun—even if that means staying up way past bedtime to look at the stars or missing a nap to see out-of-town friends who are visiting. Be flexible and willing to change what isn’t working. It’s not written in cement!

Be flexible with your goals, too. If missing naps to take part in the summer reading program makes the rest of the day miserable for a tired child and everyone he is around, create your own summer reading program at home. If an opportunity for a fun all-day event comes up, skip naps that day!

What are your summer goals, for yourself or for your kids? How does your schedule change in the summer?

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

(I’m also blogging at Nebraska Family Times.

Check out the post today, titled “Tired of Enduring.”)

A Mother's Reflection on the Final Judgement

(In honor of Mother's Day next Sunday, I'm reprinting this. A stage of motherhood is coming to an end, for me, as our daughter graduates from high school next week and will be going to college in the fall. I'll post more reflections on motherhood at a later date. This week will be spent making mints (I borrowed a cow mint from a friend!), finding pictures, writing thank-you notes to the administration and teachers at Lakeview high school and doing a long list of related graduation and graduation party errands. It will be a wonderful week, especially seeing my parents and one of my sisters and her family! (See www.nebraskafamilytimes.blogspot.com for the "controversy" regarding the prayer at graduation at Lakeview.) May God bless all mothers!) 

A Mother’s Reflection on the Final Judgment

(received via internet)

For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat;

I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink;

I was a stranger and you let Me in;

I needed clothes and you clothed Me;

I was sick and you looked after Me;

I was in prison and you came to visit Me.

            Matthew 25:35-26

“When Lord? When were You hungry and I fed You?”

            “How could you ask that, you of the 3 million peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the 100 ways to fix hamburger—which could have been steak if you hadn’t been feeding Me?”

“But thirsty, Lord?”

            “I was in the lemonade line that came in with the summer heat and flies, and left mud on your floors and fingerprints on your walls, and you gave Me a drink.”

“But naked Lord? And homeless?”

            I was born naked and homeless. You sheltered Me, first in your womb, and then in your arms, and clothed Me with your love (and spent the next 20 years struggling to pay the mortgage, the fuel bills, and keep Me in jeans).”

“Oh, Lord, but I never knew I visited You in prison. I’ve never been in a prison.”

            “Oh, yes, you were. For I was imprisoned in my littleness, behind the bars of my crib, and I cried in the night and you came. I was imprisoned inside a 12-year old body that was exploding with so many emotions I no longer knew who I was, and you loved Me into being Myself. I was imprisoned behind my teenage rebellion, my anger, my stereo set, and you came and sat by the wall of My hostility, took the abuse I heaped upon you, and waited in love for Me to open the door.”

“Now, enter into the kingdom of My Father, prepared for you since the foundation of the world.”