Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Entries from December 1, 2009 - January 1, 2010

Entries from December 1, 2009 - January 1, 2010

Thursday
Dec312009

Cheap Fun: Homemade Games for the Kids

Here is how the Cheap Fun game is played: A night in or out, for 2 people, $10 or less not including gas or babysitters. If you leave a comment I will post your idea and website in a future post.

Grandma Wren has a post with directions for making games with things you probably already have around the house. Cardboard boxes, buttons, clothes pins (maybe not this item) and markers. If you don’t have an item you can get it at the the dollar store or WalMart, keeping you well under the $10 game limit.

These games might be fun to make with the kids or grandkids, after they get bored with their Christmas loot...I mean gifts.

Tuesday
Dec292009

The Babe in the Manger Grew Up

As many of us are starting to think about putting our Christmas decorations away and packing up the manger scene for another year, it is time for the rest of the story.

The baby Jesus grew up.

Not in itself very remarkable, many Jewish boys in the first century grew up. Jesus was different in that He claimed to be God; He performed miracles as testimony to that claim. Even more remarkable, He forgave sins, spoke with authority about the Sabbath (claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath) and stated publicly “Before Abraham was, I Am". His audience understood He was claiming deity and picked up stones to kill Him.

He claimed to come to die as a perfect sacrifice for sin - yours and mine, all those before us, and all those to come. To those who would accept this sacrifice for their sins, He offered eternal life.

So much easier to pack the babe away, than consider the claims of the adult Jesus. Before you pack, please consider His claims of deity, your need for a Savior from your sin and His offer of forgiveness and eternal life.

Before you pack away Christmas, please consider the greatest gift ever given:

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter

Sunday
Dec272009

Parenting In The Real World: Lending Kids Money

As families get together over the holidays, some parents are going to face the question of how to respond to their adult child’s request to “borrow” money. Borrow in quotes, because while the word implies the commitment of repaying the lender as one would if borrowing from a bank or a loan shark, children sometimes see repayment as optional when the loan is from their parents.

Some things to think about before lending money to adult children:

Do not lend amounts that will compromise your financial future. Children have time to recoup a financial loss. Compound interest is on their side. It is not on yours.

Do not lend more than you can emotionally afford to lose. If your child doesn’t repay the “loan” (always assume no repayment before lending money) will the amount due cause trouble in your relationship. Will you resent seeing your child use her money to buy or do other things rather than repay you?

Know that if your child borrows money, doesn’t repay it, he will likely hit you up for money again. Then what? It is a good idea to have a legal contract drawn and signed for any amount significant to you. Do not compromise your financial future even with a contract. You are not likely to enforce it if the child doesn’t repay you. This way even if the child doesn’t repay you, they will be less likely to want to borrow more and you will feel emotionally protected.

Emotional protection is important because we wouldn’t loan this amount to a stranger. That would be unwise. If it is unwise to lend this money to a stranger or as a business transaction, it is unwise with our kids. It is our emotional attachment that causes us to make the loan. A legal contract that can be enforced, if need be, gives some emotional distance to any future requests. You can always point to the contract and say, “This has to be fulfilled first, that is just fair/legal after all.”

If your child makes threats to get this loan (keeping the grandkids from you for example) and you still loan him or her money, know they will be back in the future with the same threat and will most likely up the ante. Make a conscience decision if you want to be embroiled in that kind of emotional blackmail to your child and if it is worth it to you to continue the relationship at that cost.

You are no longer the Bank of MOM for your adult children. Yet we will always be mommy and daddy to our kids. Think with your head about the nature and character and the ability of your child to repay the loan, as well as your heart, before lending an amount - significant to you - to your adult child.

Friday
Dec252009

Christmas Is A Prelude To Glory

Thursday
Dec242009

Santa Tracker Is UP!!!!

Track Santa throughout the day at NORAD Santa Tracker!!!

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