Serving Others as a Family

"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'."

Acts 20:35

Reading the verse above you can see that it is evident that as Christians we should always serve others and help those in need. Jesus tells us that it is far better to give than to receive. There are quite a few verses in the Bible instructing us to serve others rather than keeping our talents to ourselves. 

With today's generation, the act of serving others is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Selfishness has set in with the world and the only person most people want to help is themselves, if that. This has been weighing on my heart heavily lately. I do not want our kids to grow up selfish like so many are today. I want them to give to others and help where needed. I want them to put the feelings of others before their own. I want them to teach their children and their children's children.

As I was thinking about this the stark realization hit me that I have not been teaching them this. It is up to the parents to teach their children this fast-fading act of kindness. So often opportunities have risen for us to serve others and {I} was the one that brushed it off! How sad is that? It breaks my heart that I have not been serving others or teaching my kids to! 

So...I've decided that now is as good a time as any to start serving others and teaching my family about it as well. I've been thinking of things we can do as a family and brainstorming with the kids ideas they have of ways we can serve others. We've come up with a few things and will be adding to the list as we think of more.

Without any more rambling here is our list of ideas of ways to serve others:

1. Meals to New Moms/Bereavements

          - I know first-hand how great a feeling it is when someone brings you a meal when you have a new baby. The feelings of exhaustion are ever present and meal time quickly becomes your least favorite part of the day. The loss of a family member is also an overwhelming time for a family so a meal would be a nice thing to receive. 

2. Reading to the Elderly

          - Three of our children are at the age of really learning how to read and we are always looking for ways to get them to read more. Many elderly people in the nursing homes have no family that regularly visit them so we thought this would be a great way to combine two things--the children reading and visiting with people that don't usually have many visitors.

3. Writing to Missionary Kids

          - This is one I'm still looking into trying to find how to go about getting names and addresses for the kids to do this. 

4. Random Acts of Kindness

         - Opening the door for someone else, buying someone lunch, helping put groceries in the car...etc.

5. Volunteer in Community

         - We have a children's homeless shelter in a nearby town and I've wanted to take our kids over there to play with them and hopefully that would teach our kids to be thankful for what they have because so many other kids have nothing at all. 

6. Serve God by Serving YOUR Family

          - More often than I'd like to admit, I get selfish feelings wondering why I don't get the recognition and appreciation for what I do in our home. I've been praying hard about this too. I should not have to get anything in return for me to joyfully serve my family. I should wash clothes like I'm cleaning them for the Lord. I should cook dinner like I'd be serving it to our King. I should work harder at keeping a tidy home like Jesus was about to walk in to it. I should do it all with a smile on my face and happiness in my heart!!

7. Share Your Talents

          - Can you sew? Crochet? Build things? Cook/Bake? Whatever your talent may be it could be of use to someone around you. I've been wanting to learn to crochet to make hats for newborn babies in the NICU at a local Children's Hospital. I've also thought about blankets too. 

8. Volunteer at Local Animal Shelters

          - Take the kids and go play with cute, cuddly animals for a few hours. Maybe help give them baths. I'm sure the kids would enjoy it and we know the animals would too!!

9. Babysitting Swap

          - Very rarely do Drew and I have a few hours of time for just us so I know there are many other couple's out there with that issue too. I'm sure some of your friends could use some time without kids. Volunteer to keep the kids so the parents can enjoy some time alone. 

10. Donate 

          -Donate gently used clothing/household goods, food items, toiletries--whatever you can-- to homeless shelters to help those that are less fortunate to you. 

This is but a short list of ways to serve others around you. We will be implementing these ideas into our routines and hopefully coming with more to add to our list so that it would be possible to serve others every day!! 

What are some ways your family serves others? 

Ashley

Family Rules

To begin with, I didn't post a menu plan for this week because we decided to do an "eat from the pantry" week. We are getting creative to rid the house of all allergen-filled foods that our youngest son can't eat. It's getting increasingly difficult to make sure he doesn't get a hold of something he can't have so we've decided that for now the best thing for us to do is the whole family switch to a diet that is allowed for him! No more milk, eggs, or wheat!! AGH!

(Photo via Pinterest)

We have rules everywhere we look--school, work, community laws, etc. Rules define what is acceptable and  unacceptable wherever you may be.  So it makes sense that we should also have rules at home that set the tone for our families.

Not too long ago I envisioned our family "rules" as not much more than ways to end unacceptable behaviors. We've always tried to discipline and correct our children with love but we never included love as part of our rules. We were quick to put out the "don't run in the house" rule but didn't include the "always smile, never frown" rule. 

The way that we were thinking and going about things really set a negative mood in our house. We could all feel it. Every one was quick to point out the wrong things each other was doing but slow to notice the good things we were doing. Occasionally we have turned into the "yelling" parents to get our points across but as most know that doesn't get you anywhere. It makes the person go into a defensive mode and causes them to put up an emotional wall and completely block you out. That's really a depressing way to live. 

Growing up I related rules with respect. You set boundaries to gain respect. But now...I believe you have to give respect and more importantly love, to gain respect. I've learned that you have to lovingly correct children, speak in soft tones, and relate to children to get them to listen to you.

I've gotten a little off track...my mind goes all over the places...sorry! 

So anyways, a few weeks ago I was going to write this post about our family rules but it just didn't feel right to me. Something was just wrong. I took a step back and started looking at our rules and the attitudes in our home. I quickly found the problem. It wasn't our kids just not wanting to listen although they are a tad defiant...it was us...the parents. It was how we were correcting them, the rules we had set, no follow through...I mean really it was everything. I took a break from everything--the blog, reading, writing, cleaning (deep cleaning that is...the house atleast looked clean). I had to try to fix what was going on in our home. 

This is no overnight fix. Drew and I have talked about it. We've talked about it with the kids a little bit. We have to come up with a better solution for our family rules. It's not black and white like we thought...there's a lot of colors in between when you are talking about family with kids. We are on a mission to redefine our home--our rules, our means of correction/discipline, our attitudes towards each other...everything. 

We want our children to grow up in a loving, happy home. We should be their escape from the world. We want them to know it's okay to make mistakes because we can learn from them. We want them to know that know matter what happens we love them with every bit of our hearts. We also want them to be sweet, polite, and well-behaved kids. 

Since everyone is in bed now tomorrow will be our new start. Tomorrow we will begin the change for our family. With GOD directing us we can not go wrong and HE will always send us down the right path. We are blessed that the LORD has so graciously given this beautiful family to us. We love every minute with each of our 6 kids and would change nothing about it! 

Does your family struggle with establishing/following through with family rules? If you have a good plan in place share what works with your family!

Ashley

Tips to Prevent Spreading Germs / Germiest Places in Our Homes

As the stomach bug has presented itself into our home this week I’ve found it even more important to stop the spreading of illnesses between other family members. With six kids it is very easy to spread germs between them. They play the video game, sneeze, and pass the controller. It goes round and round and round again.

We’ve tried to instill the importance of proper hand washing and other ways to stop the spreading of germs but kids will be kids and ours are definitely not germaphobes! They can sneeze a thousand times and maybe 10 out of those will be covered no matter how many time we tell them to!

It’s equally important that we as parents help to stop spreading germs and illnesses by maintaining good health habits at home or on the go and by making sure our kids are doing these to the best of our abilities!

1. Avoid close contact with anyone that is sick and avoid others when you are sick. As a mom, I know that this is pretty hard to do. When either you or your child is sick it’s next to impossible to stay away from each other. We all know that moms have that “special” touch when it comes to a child not feeling well!! The best thing to do is stay at home when anyone is sick. Try to stay in one area as much as possible to keep from spreading germs all around your house.

2. Always cover your mouth or nose when you sneeze or cough. This is especially hard in our house! At home and school our kids are taught to sneeze/cough into their shirt sleeve or elbow if they can’t get to a tissue fast enough. Of course, throw the tissue away and make your way to Step #3!

3. Wash your hands! Clean hands are the best defense against spreading germs. We tough everything from our house to our vehicles to stuff at stores. We can not only infect those in our house but also others that aren’t.
    - The CDC has some tips on proper Hand Washing which include frequent hand washing with soap and water where available or an alcohol-based  rub otherwise and  when to wash your hands.
    - The CDC also has listed the proper way to wash your hands.
        -Wet your hands with running water and apply soap.
        -Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub well; be sure to clean the backs of your hands, in between fingers and under your nails.
        -Continue rubbing them for 20 seconds. Hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice.
        - Rinse your hands well under the running water.
        -Dry hands with a clean paper towel and turn the faucet off with the paper towel before throwing it away.

4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth when you are sick.

5. Properly disinfect areas that are frequently touched in your home. Countertops, light switches, door handles, faucet handles…etc. Use a 1:10 solution of bleach to water; that’s 1 part bleach for every 9 parts water. A good starting place is ¼ cup of bleach to 2 ¼ cups of water. In a spray bottle, first add the bleach followed by the water. Mixing the solution in the bottle will help it to not get on you!

6. Thoroughly wash bedding/towels in hot water.

7. Clean toys thoroughly and frequently.

8. Do not share drinking cups or eating utensils.

9. Away from home you can use hand sanitizer wipes/spray to clean shopping carts, chairs and tables. Clean your hands after touching those surfaces as well!

By following those tips you greatly cut down the risk of spreading germs and exposing you and your family to them!


Now, here are the germiest places in our houses according to the FoxNews.com

1. Your kitchen faucet - about 52% are contaminated with E. coli.
2. Your bathroom faucet - contains more harmful bacteria than the toilet seat!!
3. Your Kitchen Sink - 100,000 more germs than the bathroom.
4. Refrigerator Door Handle - 40% of the time cold germs are present
5. Remote Control - 1 of the TOP places to transmit infections in your home.
6. Home Phone/Cell Phone - harbors more than 250,000 microbes per square inch.
7.Light Switch - one of the most frequently touched spots in your home.
I spent the better part of yesterday disinfecting our house and I’m certainly praying that no one else gets sick from what the baby has. Hopefully the boys will listen to what we are trying to teach them about germ control so they too can help from spreading infections!

Source: The Center for Disease Control, Fox News, About.com (Bleach Solution)

Ashley 

This post is linked up at Time-Warp Wife, Growing Home and Far Above Rubies.