A City Life For Me

  I had in my mind to write a post on the good parts of 2020, mostly because I needed reminding that it was still a good year, despite innumerable difficult parts!  I knew I would have a little bit of time between baths and when Ben returned home with the food pantry load that needs sorted tonight. Somehow in that space of time, the five year old managed to splash the entire contents of the tub all over the bathroom and down the hall, which of course made the kitchen ceiling leak...again.  Thankfully it had been mudded but not yet painted from the last bathroom catastrophe.  I was still in the middle of cleaning up the frying oil in the kitchen from dinner when all of this happened.  Sort of made me feel ungrateful for 2020 again! So before I forget...here are some bright spots in 2020 for our family.  Add some of yours in the comments! Three of my children got saved this year - Liberty, Nehemiah, and Henry Our church got kicked out of the public school....

Elaine requested that we sing Who Is He in Yonder Stall? for our hymn this month.  This is my favorite Christmas song, though only the first line talks about the nativity.  The song tells the story of what Jesus did on earth.  He came as a baby so that He could die, and now He has resurrected and rules through the earth from His throne in heaven.   Who Is He in Yonder Stall?  is written differently in different hymnbooks.  Some separate each line of the stanzas into their own short stanzas.  I learned it with two couplets per stanza before the chorus.  I also have usually heard this sung with several choruses omitted, to shorten the length of the song.  My PDF includes three choruses, but you can just print pages 3-4 again if you would like to include the refrain after each stanza. I usually laminate my song and attach the pages with jump/binder rings.  For this hymn, I put my pages together to hang vertically making one complete ve...

Years ago I used to follow a blog that hosted a "Works-for-me-Wednesday" blog party.  I learned a lot of homemaking tips!  This one has stuck for years... If you want to keep your shower and tub soap-scum free, just fill a dishwand scrubbie with half vinegar and half blue dawn dish soap.  When you are in the shower, use the wand to give your tiles a quick scrub.  It makes it very easy to get the grout clean too!  Because you don't have to drag out a bunch of cleaning supplies and get on your hands and knees, I find it is easier to be consistent in keeping things shiny!  I would put the dish soap in first, then the vinegar.  Store it upright like pictured below so the soap doesn't drip out in between showers.  Give it a quick shake and scrub away! What's your best homemaking hack!

              

Psalm 42:11

I have learned a lot this month! I can crawl on my knees, pull up to standing, walk along furniture, eat more food with my new tooth, and sleep through the night. I love the piano and can’t wait to learn to play it myself. I melt mommy’s heart all the time with my hugs and smiles. What can you do??? Peter's best friend...Simon Mama loves cuddles I can do my sippy cup!

This year I moved away from the Homemaker's Friend planner to try something new.  I really  like the layout of the Homemaker's Friend, and I LOVE the Scriptures on each weekly spread and tabbed divider.  But, I felt like the cover stock was a little too thin and I just wore it out far before the year was done.  I also did not use several of the sections at the back on a regular basis.  I tried having the coil removed and punching the pages to put in a binder, but I lost too much of the edge in doing so. A friend had been posting about Bullet Journaling on her blog, so I decided to give it a try!  I really like it!  I purchased a Moleskin hardbound journal with grid lines inside, and each week I hand draw my planner spread.  I now follow several "bujo" (bullet journal) idea pages on Instagram, and I have incorporated several of their items into my own bujo planner.  However, for me the bullet journal is not an art book or a mood tracker....

I have a few new favorite things to share with you! PRODUCTS :: Mama's Refill Bible Study Membership I know I have shared Busy Mama Bible Studies/ Mama's Refill with you before.  It remains my top recommendation for Bible Study and quiet time!  I have started using some of the principles and lessons to do Bible class with my older kids during school.  Looking for repeated words, marking certain words, taking the big picture apart into pieces and putting it together again - these all help with the learning, memorization, and application of Scripture!  Right now, you can get Mama's Refill membership at 20% off with the code SPRING2020.  This is the best purchase you can make this year!   ::Lilla Rose Swerve I have long been a fan of Lilla Rose flex-clips.  They are comfortable and secure, and don't rip your hair out, unlike elastics and claw clips.  Recently I tried one of their new products called a Swerve .  It's a contoured pin that se...

Continuing in the thoughts of my last post , when Jehoshaphat was faced with a difficult situation of almost certain anihilation, he turned his eyes to God and trusted the Lord to fight for him.  After the Lord sent a message through His prophet with instructions for Judah in the battle, their immediate response was to bow, worship, and sing praise to God.  God hadn't yet done anything, but Judah praised Him for what they knew He was going to do -- fight for them. These thoughts have been brewing for a little while, since the outbreak of COVID-19 that has turned our whole world upside down.  At first, our church wasn't able to meet at the public school we were renting because the schools were closed down.  So, we had church in our dining room for two weeks.  It was all very last minute, and unplanned.  My mind was swirling and things seemed uncertain.  I turned on my iTunes and started a playlist on random.  Each song, though having little to d...

For the last couple of months, in between my study time for ladies' Bible study group, I have been marinating in 2 Chronicles 20.  It is the story of King Jehoshaphat and the great multitude that comes against him in battle.  This force is more than he can handle.  Jehoshaphat has just been strengthening Judah, building the defences, and teaching the people from God's Word.  He is a good king. So Jehoshaphat doesn't just try to handle everything on his own.  He doesn't call up the reserves.  No - he leads his people in a national fast, culminating in a gathering before the house of the Lord.  And there Jehoshapat prays.  He adores God.  He praises God's strength.  He reminds God of His past works, and His future promises.  He calls God to notice that they have gathered at God's house to ask for God's help.  And then he throws himself at God's mercy, and leaves it all in God's hands, withwith these amazing words: "O our G...

I haven't always made Easter a big celebration.  Usually on Easter we pull out our new spring church outfits.  We always have a nice ham dinner.  But otherwise, Resurrection Sunday is a busy ministry day for our family. Recognizing that celebrating Christ's resurrection is just as important, if not more important, than celebrating His birth, I have been trying to make an effort to make it a special family holiday.  Here are some things I am doing to accomplish this! Sometimes our family celebrates Easter on Monday, when we can focus on it after the minsitry at church is completed.  I spread a nice table with tablecloth and our special dishes. I make a special menu. Sometimes Ben puts together a rough cross and we nail our sins to it, as a visual picture of what Christ did on the cross.  Then we celebrate His resurrection, recognizing that He did not stay dead, but conquered death, the cross, and our sins.  This year we will do t...

Here is another visualized hymn.  This one is made for the kids to color before it is laminated.  If you would like a playable file, you can find it HERE , along with a PDF of the musical score.  I prefer to use hymnal.net but sadly this song is not in their database. Download Printable PDF