by kathilipp | Nov 26, 2014 | God, Home, Praying God's Word |
Quotes
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. -Theodore Roosevelt
Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now. -A.W. Tozer
Thanksgiving is a time when the world gets to see just how blessed and how workable the Christian system is. The emphasis is not on giving or buying, but on being thankful and expressing that appreciation to God and to one another. – John Clayton
Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. – Henry Van Dyke
Dear Lord; we beg but one boon more: Peace in the hearts of all men living, peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving. – Joseph Auslander
Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. -E.P. Powell
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. -John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude! -Henry Ward Beecher
If we meet someone who owes us thanks, we right away remember that. But how often do we meet someone to whom we owe thanks without remembering that? – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. – W. T. Purkiser
“Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” -William Arthur Ward
Prayers
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God’s presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him, bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them.
Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures for ever.
He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.
He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy,
they are established for ever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for ever. Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures for ever!
We Give Thanks
Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
Of gathering together for this occasion.
We give thanks for this food
Prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life,
The freedom to enjoy it all
And all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength
To carry on and try to live as You would have us.
This we ask in the name of Christ,
Our Heavenly Father.
– Harry Jewell
And just for giggles…
What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? -Erma Bombeck, “No One Diets on Thanksgiving,” 26 November 1981
by kathilipp | May 2, 2014 | Home |
After two book deadlines and a death in our family, I’ve gotten behind on the 2014 Things Challenge (haven’t we all!?!) Well if you need a little inspiration, check out this post from Kori over at see-the-sunrise.com
It’s never too late! You can do this. Even if you just got rid of 10 items a day, you could start today and not be behind.
If you’re feeling behind, here are a couple of places to get some numbers quickly:
- Go through your magazine rack and pitch any issue that is over three months old
- Go through your gadget drawer in your kitchen
- Now that the weather is warm, (at least in most parts of the country. Sorry silly Colorado…) donate any clothes you didn’t wear all winter, as well as any summer clothes that you’re pulling out that just don’t work for you anymore.
- Do the same with your kid’s clothes
- Look at the paperwork on your desk. Every decision is a thing and it counts
You can do this friends. I promise.
by kathilipp | Apr 20, 2014 | frontpage, Home |
Rarely does good trump business, but in this case, good kicked business in the behind.
When my publisher, Revell, told me the release date of my new e-book, Surviving Summer Vacation: Plans and Prayers for a Mom’s Sanity (May 6th) I may have had a slight panic attack.
As much as I would love to tell you that I was able to have those Lazy Hazy days of summer laid back and unplanned for my kids, that’s just not how we could roll. Unplanned is not a good look on my family. Sure, we could have reading time every day, but to have the rest of our time be unstructured? While other kids may spend a whole afternoon looking at a roly-poly in the back yard, my kids took a more destructive route to life – cutting up curtains with a forgotten pair of scissors, devising ways to torture their sister, and so on.
You see, I’ve had (and still have) kids at home. I get the stress of summer vacation, and well, by May 6th, you’ve got to have at least a basic plan in place.
So I begged, and pleaded, and maybe groveled a little and beseech-ed (because it sounds biblical) my publisher to release the book a little early so that a mom could have a little time to prepare!
But Revell (did I mention I LOVE Revell) did me one better. They are letting me GIVE AWAY advance PDF copies of the book FOR FREE. Did I mention that they are FOR FREE?
Let’s be clear: Publishers don’t do things like this.
Did I mention that I love them?
Here’s what you’ll get:
Surviving Summer Vacation is a fun-packed book with hundreds of ideas to make your summer spectacular. Along with all these mom-friendly kid ideas that are contained in this PDF preview, you will receive access to a free Kindle or Nook version (being released on May 6th) along with 10 PDF downloads to make your summer as smooth as possible. Here are just a few of the fun areas that are covered:
- And Summer Begins
- Responsibility
- Mom Time
- Gardening
- Reading
- Music
- Creative Activities
- Food
- Adventure
PLUS! A Sneak Peek of my next book I Need Some Help Here! Hope for when Your Kids Don’t Go According to Plan
Now one caveat: Because it’s a preview copy, the links to all the free and wonderful downloads are not activated. But don’t fret. When you sign up to receive the free preview copy, I will follow up with an email on the eBook release date how to get your Kindle or Nook copy that includes all those downloads, again for FREE.
To get your copy, click on the button below, fill out the form (there are only two items of info we need) and you will get it in your email TODAY.
Happy Summer planning!
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by kathilipp | Feb 26, 2014 | Home |
Quadrant Clean –
Divide the car into four quadrants and do one quadrant fully before moving one the the next one. Otherwise, you will start at the front, follow along to the side, get distracted by the gum on the back of the car seat, start picking at that and the driver seat still has Wendy’s Frosty stickiness on it that need to be wiped off.
Three Box Reminder –
Do not forget your three boxes of PUT AWAY, OTHER ROOMS, and GIVE AWAY. You will also need your two bags GARBAGE and RECYCLE. You might have to use two mini boxes of PUT AWAY. One for the items like the good silverware spoon that has peanut butter with carpet pieces now stuck to it from a left over snack and another for the school report you just found three days late. The main thing is to get it out of the car!
Do I really Need it in Here? –
You need to be realistic but simplistic for this one. An extra a pair of safety scissors could be really helpful sometime in your car. And husbands often need that quick nail clipper time so a pair of those is fine, but four coffee mugs? Probably not.
By getting rid of extra clutter in your car, you will also be saving money since it will make the car more fuel efficient. {click to tweet} Sure, a few extra homework folders will not make much of a difference, but hauling those bags of used sports gear that you are supposed to drop off at the gym will make a difference.
And once you have cleaned it out, use containers to keep what you want in there neat and easy to find. My friend uses a cosmetics bag for all the restaurant gift cards and she keeps it in the glove compartment so anytime the family is out, they can go to the restaurant and have the coupon handy!
What are some organizing tricks that you use in the car to keep it swept out and clutter free?
by kathilipp | Feb 19, 2014 | Home |
So you’re knee deep in your piles of things to get rid of for the 2014 Things Challenge.
The Problem – some of this stuff is worth some real money!
While it’s great to be generous (and let’s face it, it’s a lot less hassle to give stuff away than to sell it) sometimes it’s worth the time and effort to sell those things off and do wild and crazy things with your money, like feed your family…
I also believe in selling off a variety of “things” in order to get the “one thing” your family needs. Last year I sold dozens of books on Amazon in order to put the money toward a juicer that we wanted for our health plan. I haven’t missed one of those books, but the juicer is now a beloved part of our family.
So here are just a few ways to get rid of the stuff you need, and get some cash along the way:
The first way to make money from your unwanted goods is Craigslist. This is like the greatest garage sale you could ever hold and the buyers are at your fingertips on the computer. Although you do the selling and shopping online, the buyer meets you at an arranged location. There are some very specific tips to help you out like taking good photos and writing an accurate description of the item. These tips from the Money Saving Mom site will help you to save time and make money without hassle.
When setting up a meeting place, make sure it’s always a populated area or if it’s an item you have to have picked up at your home, make sure your husband or a beefy male friend is on hand. I sat on a jury where a fake Craigslist ad was posted for the sale of a car. The meeting took place at the end of a court and the men “selling” the car were waiting for the buyer (who brought cash” with guns. My son purchased a car through Craigslist the same week I was on the jury (and I was forbidden from talking about the case,) but he took his dad to the meeting – in front of a local Target store.
Selling things on Ebay is another easy way to get rid of your extra things and make money. Ebay is a website that allows you to download photos and descriptions and you are responsible for shipping the item to the buyer. The most important thing to remember is to do your research. Every detail you put into the description will help the buyer know exactly what they are buying and will be more likely to pay more money for your item. It is also important to time it right. Selling that Mickey Mouse costume in the middle of the winter will not be quite as lucrative as selling it in the beginning of October in order to get the money saving mamas buying for Halloween. Ebay selling tips like setting reasonable prices or having your shipping supplies ready ahead of time will help you get more money for your clutter.
The last way to make money from getting rid of your stuff is a feel good way – donating. The IRS rewards generosity with money-saving tax perks for certain charitable contributions. As in the other ways, research is very important in knowing the cost of the items you are giving away. It is also crucial to decide on a place where the organization wants you items and will be able to use them.
Next week we’ll be talking about how to get the whole family in on a garage sale and make even more money from all of your stuff!
Whichever way you choose, do your research so you know that your time invested is worth the money you will get. The good news is that you really can make money selling your stuff. What is a another way that you make money getting rid of your stuff? Tell me in the comments below and you will be entered to win Wisdom Meets Passion by Dan Miller!!! Just one of the 52 books from my library I’m giving away in 2014!
by kathilipp | Feb 18, 2014 | Home |
We are spreading the 2014 Things Challenge LOVE all over the web. If you are stuck trying to figure out what should stay and what should go, head over to my post today on Upgrade with Dawn. This little checklist of how to make decisions with your stuff will get your from Stuck to Stuff-Free in no time!
