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When the kids are home all Summer…..
During the Summer, I have a few close friends (more like family) that entrust me with the responsibility of watching their kids. My oldest is 12, so she’s basically staff at this point and the others range from 2-10. On a full day (with at least 3 adults present), I’ve had 8 smalls. I’ve gotta tell you, having a classroom of 20 for a few hours in Sunday School is a whole lot different then having that many kids for two meals, two snacks and an entire day.
For anyone who has multiple children during the Summer months, I have found that creating a daily schedule and weekly menu helps tremendously in organizing what could potentially be chaos. All school age children have some sort of Summer Reading or Summer Homework that needs to be done so that should have a designated time. I have also found that listing “snack time” in-between meals prevents you being asked for a snack fifty thousand times. Recess, free time, arts & crafts also help take up some time slots. For my smalls, I’ve had all of them in Sunday School previously, so in my schedule we have a bible lesson also worked in.
For the little ones who can’t read yet or don’t have Summer Homework, I found a bunch of free learning apps on the for my I-Pad which I use with the little ones during this time and I also give the bigger kids reading credit if they choose to read a book to a smaller child. This helps the little ones learn to sit still which may not seem that important but it will be important when they start pre-school. Kids also learn from each other so don’t underestimate the impact of a bigger kid reading to a little one, most of them love it. In the back firing sense, I now have a two-year old goddaughter who tells me “sit” so she can read to me, which is mainly her flipping through the pages at top speed and going to get another book. Could be worse.
I know a lot of people don’t like to allow children to help clean up because they have to re-clean what the kids have cleaned. Honestly, that’s how I felt until I realized how much the kids actually enjoy helping so I try to give them tasks at the end of the day so everyone’s helping. For bigger kids? Give them the steam mop, it’s hard to mess up steam mopping unless of course it’s an 8 year old who decides it’s a weapon, then of course you’ll have to ban them from future steam mopping.It happens. I have also learned Lysol Wipes can be used on electronics and Clorox Wipes can not. So if you’re giving a kid a wipe (make sure it’s a child old enough not to eat the wipe), make sure it’s Lysol if they’re cleaning in a room that contains electronic devices. Also as a side note, don’t let them plug in the vacuum in the same room that an Air Conditioner is on or you’ll be taking a trip to the fuse box.
Rewards are also helpful. Kids love having something to earn or look forward to. I build in recess time because they have it at school and I have found it helpful to follow their regular pattern. I do Popsicle at the end of the day after clean up and I try to do a fun lunch on Friday (i.e. Pizza) if we have good behavior all week. Pizza can be expensive so things I’ve found helpful in that department is the party size pizza which is normally $20 and feeds at least ten people, Little Caesar’s has a $5 large pizza special (I have two kids with a milk allergy, but Little Caesar’s will make a sauce only and you can pay the extra dollar for meat), or you can do pizza bagels yourself.
I certainly don’t have all the answers folks, but the little I’ve included above has really helped me manage a lot of kids at once without loosing my mind. Hope it helps, feel free to comment below!
Be Blessed-
QTP
Lighthouse
I don’t think I’m alone in this, but it doesn’t even matter if I am or not. I am saddened, repulsed, disgusted and disappointed on a daily basis. At least for a moment. That moment happens when I open any given social media and see human behavior at an all time grotesque state. Unfortunately now in a digital world, you are slammed on a daily basis witnessing tragedy after tragedy, your eyes cannot help but see ignorance and hatred everywhere.
I know for myself personally as a believer in Yeshua, Jesus Christ I’m supposed to know these things would happen and I’m supposed to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me in these times, I’m supposed to let the love of God shine in me like a light for those around me in darkness and to be honest with you? Sometimes I want to quit. I get so disgusted every time I open a social media platform, every time I hear about another school shooting, see someone getting killed unjustly by law enforcement, watching people post some of the most vicious and hateful words I’ve ever read, and the children… My God the children. I can’t stomach one more senseless death of a child.
I had a moment the other day quietly by myself with God and just broke down like “Lord… how? How am I supposed to do this? I’m trying to do what you told me to do and I can’t “. I sat there quiet and an image of a Lighthouse flashes across my mind and then that quiet still voice, that has the capability of drowning you in perfect peace that you can only relate to if you have a personal relationship with God said “a lighthouse is most effective in the darkness.” I sat there and cried. Legit cried. The darker it is, the brighter the lighthouse light becomes.
So I decided to share this because believers have different positions, jobs, titles, but ALL have the same assignment. Your job may be inside a church, out in the street, at the grocery store, in your blog, at your office, in the mall, on instagram … it doesn’t matter. Don’t compare yourself to other believers, don’t get distracted from your job because you’re busy debating someone else’s job. We all get weary and yes, sometimes it “appears” that the wickedness is winning and there’s a lot of people who call themselves believers and their social media feeds make it impossible to tell them apart from people who don’t know Christ at all…. BUT we were told these things would happen (2nd Timothy 3:1-9). This is not the time to get weary (Revelation 12:11) it’s not the time to argue denomination or name translations (1 Corinthians 12:12). One day soon, people will be so tired of the state of the world that they will welcome with open arms one world order and a one world religion. If you turned off people’s phones and debit cards tonight, they’d line up by the thousands in the morning to take a microchip if it meant getting access to their money and the internet. (Revelation 13:16)
So my strength is renewed in this and I hope this will encourage those of you who have also become weary, they don’t have to like you. They don’t have to agree with you, they don’t have to listen, and they don’t have to believe. If you saw them crossing the street and a car was coming, you would yell , WATCH OUT! At that point they can make a decision to watch out or keep going. With something so precious as a soul and where you’ll spend eternity, I would never want to see anyone I knew or ever had any interaction with, standing before God being denied access to Heaven and seeing me there and asking why didn’t I tell them the truth. What would be a good enough excuse? Because I was afraid they wouldn’t like me anymore? What excuse or apology could I give? I can live with someone not liking me, I can live with people calling me names, I can live with someone disagreeing with me, but I don’t want to bear the burden of not telling them the truth.
So in whatever country, state, region, city, industry, or platform God has given to you personally? Be wise, win souls, and do not give up. It’s always darkest before dawn and someone, somewhere is looking for the light you carry.
#WednesdayWisdom
You either trust God or you don’t. It’s not hard, it’s not confusing it’s yes or no. I am a living witness that every time all Hell has broken loose in my life He shows up and shows off and I find myself in positions that don’t make natural logical sense. When we rely on our own strength and abilities it only gets us so far. But He is the Alpha & Omega so His boundaries are limitless, He opens doors no man can close, and when His favor rests upon your life? Nothing is impossible.
Happy New Year 2018
There are two things that everyone has. #Purpose and #Potential. It’s those same two things far too many people leave this earth without ever tapping in to or maximizing. Laziness, pity parties, lack of motivation, sense of entitlement, and distorted views of work ethic play a major part in that but at the end of the day? YOU and YOU alone are the only person responsible for what you do with your purpose and potential. Many people wait on the big things they know #God is capable of blessing them with but how can He entrust you with a business if you can’t manage a budget? Why do you deserve millions and you can’t manage a tax return? How do you deserve to be a “boss” and you don’t even show up on time? So instead of “New Year, New Me” how about this year, you maximize what you’ve been sitting on this entire time?
#QTPQuote #QueenTheProphet #TuesdayMotivation #HappyNewYear #SoulFood
#WednesdayWisdom
You can’t use “God not stopping me” as an excuse for something you knew you shouldn’t do but did anyway. There’s ALWAYS a way of escape. Using it is entirely up to you. Every single time I ignored that? I was sorry. I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford any avoidable setbacks at this point in my life. 🤷🏻♀️
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
I Corinthians 10:13
The real world VS. The internet
I realize that I frequently make references to this subject matter in my posts, but with each post it doesn’t become less relevant. Here’s the way I see it, even if just one person reads it and it helps them focus on the things that truly matter in real life like their family, relationships, hopes, dreams, and goals? It was well worth it.
The internet is a tool and too many people have allowed it to become the dictator of their reality. Too many people are starved for real human to human interaction and many don’t even know how to communicate socially face to face without discussing the internet. When was the last time you had a personal conversation and absolutely no references were made to some sort of online activity? Have you been to a store lately? Most cashiers have their phone in their hand. Most people can’t even enjoy a social gathering without checking their phone.
What’s more disturbing is that there is crisis everywhere in the world and people forget about disaster as soon as a new post flies through their feed. People (human beings) are lost, sick, struggling, and hurting all over the planet and most people are too busy posting their comments about it instead of actually getting involved or at least trying to be an agent of change. If you found yourself in the middle of a crisis or you have loved ones that are, I’m sure you appreciate the people who have decided to put down their phones long enough to get involved.
You are not “woke”, a revolutionary or any other sort of agent of change if all you do is fall into the peanut gallery comment section of the internet. Stop allowing yourself to be so self absorbed and distracted. Get involved, do something that matters, & enjoy your real life.
Are you too distracted?
Asking yourself if you’re distracted seems like a silly question because I think most people would agree that in this day, we are all distracted to a certain degree. It’s still a question worth asking because sometimes you have absolutely no idea just how distracted you are until your assessment of it can be objective.
Today marks the end of my 3-month reprioritizing of social media. For the last 90-days, I have stayed off social media from 7am-7pm daily. At first? I couldn’t wait until 7pm rolled around and honestly after the 3rd week of being off for 12-hrs a day? I started to go days then weeks without checking it at all.
Social media is a useful tool. For those of us that use it for business purposes, sometimes it’s necessary. However, a tool is all that it is. Most people have no clue how much real life they are missing being sucked into the internet on a daily basis. They have no idea what’s going on in the world, the only information they know or can recall for basic conversation is something they saw in a post and that is sickening. People have full blown family discussions about what someone’s posting and “posts” have manifested into the core of real life drama for most people.
Most people have completely lost the ability to think for themselves and most of what they do is dictated by what they’re feeding themselves with on a daily basis from the internet. What you spend most of your time doing? Is exactly what you’ll become. If you don’t believe me, challenge yourself to stay off social media for at least 30-days during the hours you’d normally be on. You’ll see. Refocus. Reproritize. Your future self will thank you.
Many are called, few chosen
#WednesdayWisdom
Lots of people can do things and lots do them well. Being able to do something, even exceptionally well still doesn’t mean God called you to do it. So that ends with you spinning your wheels so to speak and running around the same mountains over and over again. However when you get yourself aligned with His purpose and plans for your life? No weapon formed against you shall prosper and no devil in hell can stop you. MANY are called, FEW are chosen. We are chosen by the way we respond to the call. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14 NKJV
The flood is coming
Soon God will separate the Wheat from the Weeds and you will no longer wonder who was truly righteous and who was out here sayin a bunch of nothin. Sad that so many people who “know God” out here loosin their minds on social media over an election like the King of Kings & Lord of Lords somehow is no longer in control. Personally, I’m excited. There has never been a time that God hasn’t used what appeared to be a “set back” as a set-up for something awesome. The flood is coming alright… some will be washed away but a whoooolllleeee lot of folks are about to dance in the rain on the deck of the Ark.
Don’t gain the world and lose your soul
Now more then ever folks are abandoning what they know, sellin out, switching sides in hot purist fueled by the love of money (which btw the LOVE of money is the root of all evil ) Some are even giving up all together. But in the midst? The people of God are rising up because they realize that time is running out. We are living in a time where everyone has access to the truth and belief in that truth is a personal choice as it has been since the beginning. You are either going to whole heartedly serve the truth and all it’s components (your walk, your talk, your speech, your actions) or continue to find yourself in a deeper state of confusion swaying whichever way the wind blows you or whatever emotion some social media post exposed you to. Except this time, the confusion is so deep, you don’t even realize you’re confused. Confusion has permission to enter through every door that isn’t aligned. When you entertain things that go directly against what you know to be true of God you allow your human reasoning to start justifying your speech, thoughts, actions and behavior instead of the Holy Spirit and incase you haven’t really met Him, He normally veto’s most of the things you’re comfortable doing. The word of God says “My people perish for a lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6) and the truth is? Most people have no idea the bible refers to being controlling as witchcraft, reading your horoscope is considered practicing witchcraft, practicing any of the new age beliefs (guided meditation, tarot cards, ) not only is sinning against God but you unknowingly have handed over legal access to the devil himself. Most people don’t even know that there is a system, an order in all kingdoms. If you have never spent any time learning the in’s and out’s of the system then you my friend are sitting in the middle of a war with no weaponry. My job is not to argue with anyone who knows Christ already or who has already made their decision. My job is to extend the invitation to those who’ve never met Him, remind those of you who have been given a platform (regardless of it’s size) have the responsibility of whatever you say or don’t say, and how you live on and off that platform you will be held accountable for it, and to issue a warning that the King of Kings is coming soon, get it together. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
