The Learned

Not a crazy question at all, and I am glad you reached out because it is so so important that you have assurance of salvation. It seems to me that what is lacking here is an intimate relationship with the Lord because if you are constantly in a two-way communication, there will be no room for this sort of fear or anxiety because He calls you by name and you hear His voice everyday in your devotion and prayers. Do you hear His voice? If not, find time to read the Bible and ask Him questions or share your heart before reading so that when He replies you on the same topic, you know He is speaking and you are hearing correctly. The Holy Spirit speaks all the time -- we just need to listen. Worshipping God is like the water you drink, prayer like the air you breathe and the Word like food you eat.  We pray without ceasing -- prayer is talking to God. We talk to Him about anything and everything from the moment we wake up till the moment we lay our heads and even throughout the night. Pr...

Once they know how to read, they get a full NKJV kid bible. I go for the Precious Moments heirloom edition because that's the one my siblings and I received. A good book will be one that draws them closer to God. I recommend my favourite fiction of all time: Children of the Voice 1,2,3 by Ian Smale I've been giving out a Bible based Advent calendar which I made. It goes through Matt 1 and Luke 1-2 with devotionals and activities till Christmas. It's like Elf on the Shelf but letters from mom. Free. As usual.. here's my Facebook page: Free Devotional Advent Calendar printables: There are two versions to download (printable and original): https://facebook.com/groups/kingdomheirsgroup/ Biblical Advent Calendar with Activities and Devotionals following the Real Christmas Story with verses. Fun for the whole family.

Drawers are a must or everything will land on the floor quicker. Secondly, when it comes to young kids and boys, do the fixed folding method. I don't know what it's called but my nephew sort of invented this way of folding like for travelling where clothes cannot be undone easily but super easy to fold into. You can hit a person with it and it wouldn't come undone. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxDf5ulA2oad558JkQX5wh5oIA411kiBN&si=yiYCBShNWyANTyS0 Ranger Folding Playlist I asked my nephew about it. He sent me this link. It's not as good as my nephew's improvised version but should do the trick

If your state still mandates studies in difficult times like this, here are a few options: Khan Academy will help with Math.  As for science, get them to focus on a project like inventing something together. Hopefully something that will help their sibling or family cope with the situation. At this stage, they can just focus on brainstorming and research.  For language arts, have them write ✍🏻 a life story about what is going on right now and how they feel. Try to encourage descriptive words and metaphors. They can also read books that relates to this situation. One of the books I would recommend is Good Morning, Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn. There is a story at the beginning about being in a hospital. It's on Google as a free PDF. History - read books on when certain chemotherapy and other inventions were made and how certain people in the past fought cancer and lived.

Christmas is about giving and that's what my kids look forward to. They give each other presents and our budget is way less than $50 per kid.  For family members, I shop at Salvation army or equivalent. So I buy presents for all the kids and adults including grandma and grandpa. Sometimes I grab a bargain at other places like Kmart or the post office or online.  Each kid wants to give to each adult. There are 3 kids and 4 adults including grandparents, so each person gets to give 6 gifts. Multiply that by all the kids. I like to give them separate from my hubby as well, so that just adds up... That's a lot of gifts...  This year, I plan to do it the other way around -- instead of youngest open presents first, it's youngest gives the presents first. So she gets to give to everyone in the family and watch them open the presents she gave them (and wrapped to the best of her ability). I also have pillowcases in case she doesn't do a good job wrapping and gives up. So the pi...

 Think you should talk to your church pastors that there's not enough room to nurse in the nursery. Something is not right. They need to rethink the nursery room space. It is a good problem but they need to know about it. Public Nursing may be convenient but may not be helping our men who are struggling with the issue of lust. We don't want to be a stumbling block in church. Especially when they're not strangers, but people you know. My opinion anyway. Unless you have ninja skills like half the moms do... Personally, I don't use nursing clothes... I find that rather inconvenient.. I just pull my shirt up... I guess that's why I prefer a room.

My husband is a changed man now. He still nags every now and then but I let it in one ear, out the other and out the window. The truth is that men nag more than women. It's not just your husband. Don't feel unlucky in any way. You did not get married to a rotten apple. Men are men. He is now much happier and tries his very best to be nice to the kids. He blows up at them every now and then but is no longer a monster the whole day. He is trying to talk nicely to them and even started 'teasing' with them a little which is really the best he can do. But they seem to like it. He has finally signed himself up for a course after not working for a year and a half, and not knowing what to do with his life. Now he actually has a plan to take up welding so he can work for a certain company. He takes the kids to a megachurch nearby but without me -- I refuse to go because I am actually pastoring in my parents church I grew up in, albeit online -- it's been hard for my kids to ...

Hungry people are angry people. That’s why it’s so important to make it a point to have fruit time an hour before meals for two reasons: one, to keep anger at bay, and secondly, for enzymes.  It’s quite obvious who is at fault. And mama bear being mama bear would definitely defend the kids and put dad in his place. Been there, done that. It’s only natural.  But what is the right thing to do as a mom and wife? Lashing back will only ruin what’s left of that marriage. If the dad complies, calling the dad out privately is the best answer there is. Try to calmly explain the situation to him and encourage him to apologize for his bad behavior. If he doesn’t comply, just keep quiet or even remind your kids of the importance of speeding up when daddy gives an instruction…… and teach them to communicate better— that should acknowledge that she has heard him and are working on obeying and request extra time if necessary. Then, when daddy is not around, remind them again that they are l...

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness not godliness. If I scream at my children when they don’t follow instructions, get frustrated and fault them for every mess in our house, and have no grace and love my children learn that Mom cares more about having things done exactly her way than about listening to the needs and hearts of her children. Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,” the taxi-driver to every childhood event, the counselor when my children fail or are hurt. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the chil...

 Our church we now join online because it is the church I grew up in and the church I am still serving in as a pastor but we have moved overseas. I still preach every weekend and worship lead. My parents are the founders and often go back several times a year. It is complicated indeed. A year ago, I fell in love with a local church. It was difficult for my kids to cope with an online church so they liked the idea of attending a church on site. My hubby and I served playing the piano there for a year just to “help out” but eventually, was called in weekly. It started to seem like we were regulars when that was not my intention, even though I loved that church deeply. I prayed about it and soon left it. I believe it was not a coincidence that it just so happened to be exactly a year since we stepped into that church. Maybe God allowed us to serve there for a year just to teach me something about ministry. My husband now takes the kids to a nearby mega church or the Salvation Army on ...

YouTube money can be just from ads for content or by selling a product. I strongly advise you to pray about what products or what video content to create because it is a ministry and not just about money. Marketplace is a ministry and we are ministers of God and we minister to God in the marketplace.  What is your calling? You only have one life to live. Time is life. Don't just go where the money is because time can buy money but money can't buy time and time is life. Don't spend your life on money.. money is a servant, which Jesus says to use to buy relationships. We can earn money but by doing what He calls -- seeking His kingdom means focusing your life on your calling and all these wealth will be added unto you. I'm sure you know all that but sometimes we get carried away and start thinking what to promote to get the money in and what is in demand and then we start to get distracted and before we know it, a couple of decades of our lives are gone making worthless v...

Someone brought up an interesting concept of Halloween that I am still pondering on.. Her post: "The Night of Halloween" 'Twas the night of Halloween And all through the town All the Christians were hiding  There were none to be found Their porch lights were off Their doors tightly locked And they simply ignored it If a child came and knocked They claimed to be standing  Against evil that night Yet their decision to hide Had caused Satan no fright It was more like a gift  That they let him run free Instead of shining out Jesus For the whole world to see The children still came home With bags full of treats  Yet none could have said  That his soul had been reached For on that night that was darkest The light hid away Allowing old Satan  To have his own way And as I end this I wonder What would Jesus have done? When confronted with darkness  Would he too have run? Don't dare to believe it My Christ would not fear For when Satan came calling  He woul...

Is your husband wanting you to make all the decisions? First, think about him, not you. That’s love, right? Not about your rights as a woman and spouse, but why he is doing what he is doing. Men are made differently. If you read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, you’ll have a better understanding — that in their minds, it’s all about “Do I have what it takes to be a man?” But when that man does not have confidence in himself, he would push all decision making on to you. My husband is just the same. Why he doesn’t have confidence is probably the result of how he was brought up as a child - violence at home, abusive father, etc. So, now knowing the reason behind it, there are a few things to do as a wife: 1. Make the decisions and take the blame for everything. Your husband has given this job to you because he doesn’t want to take the blame. The truth is, no matter what decision you make, he will complain and point the finger at you. And if you choose not to make the decision, he will be u...

Your husband may sound like a terrible person. That’s because he chooses to be. He doesn’t need to always be that way.  Sometimes it helps to suck it up and pretend like you’re a single mom already. I highly discourage you to go head on with him on this — like demand he man up. There’s no way getting love that way. That’s doomed to fail. I hope you’ve not done that before.  There’s a difference between fighting for your rights and fighting for your marriage because you can’t have both. If it’s rights you want, it’s rights you get and you lose your marriage. But if it’s marriage you want, it’s rights you loose but down the road, there is possibility for love and rights. Most women these days choose rights and lose everything. They’ll go to court for it. And they’ll win. But they leave empty hearted with a broken family.  It may take years to come around but it will help if you pretend you’re already a single mom on one end and try your best to love on the other hand — may ...