Free Illustrated Bible Verses (KJV)

Teach your child a new verse every month with these free illustrated Bible Verses!

Each verse directly applies to things children will face in their daily lives, such as:

• Salvation
• Obedience
• Being kind
• Being generous
• Being cheerful
• Being diligent
• And more!

You can use these along with the Bible time suggestions for toddlers and preschoolers to help your little ones get to know God and his word better.

Each verse is full sized with colorful illustrations that are appropriate for each month of the year.  All scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

These cards are free for subscribers.

Download these today and help teach your little ones God's Word!

Bible Time Suggestions for Toddlers and Preschoolers

The Lord has impressed upon me the need to be pouring Scripture into my children while they are young.  One tool that I have used to accomplish this is a daily Bible Time.  I struggled at first to know what to do with my young children since they don’t understand a lot of Bible terms, and they get the “wiggles” pretty quickly.  Through suggestions of godly older ladies, and some trial & error, I have put together three elements to make Bible Time fun and successful.

I have four children ages four and under, so our Bible Time isn’t always daily, though that is the goal.  And it usually isn’t at the same time every day, because we have to flex our schedule around the ever changing needs & schedules of twin babies.  To accommodate this, I put my Bible Time items together in a basket near the couch so that it is always easily accessible whenever we have a few minutes to sit down together to read, sing, and pray.

Just as in a corporate worship service, I believe that the key ingredients of devotions or Bible Time with our children are reading God’s Word, praising God through song, and bringing our requests to God through prayer.

Reading God’s Word

Be careful in selecting a children’s Bible.  Many have quite diluted the Word of God.  Others have introduced many inaccuracies or changed God’s Word in order to make it “child friendly.”  The Egermeier's Bible Story Book was suggested to me, and we love it!  It goes through the Bible in order, but divides the stories/chapters into kid-friendly portions.  Though written in story form, it follows the Scripture carefully and closely.  And the pictures are very beautiful!

Right now we are reading through it in order from Genesis, but we have also picked stories to correlate with a “letter of the week”.  (Lazarus, Lot, and Salt & Light for the letter L are some examples).  I read one section to the children.  Often they are riveted and ask me to continue reading, but sometimes they are squirmy and so we end with just one story.

Singing

My children love to sing!  And though they have favorite songs, they are eager to learn new ones also.  I have been trying to introduce them to a couple of new songs per month.  I often visualize the songs by printing the lyrics and adding clipart in Microsoft Word.  Sometimes I print out the words and we color the pictures together for a craft project.  (I like to laminate them to make them more durable). Even though my kids can’t read yet, the pictures help them follow along as they learn the song.  We also sprinkle in some songs that have hand motions, which is very helpful if they kids are squirmy.

My kids get a good dose of children’s Bible songs at church.  We sing their favorites and teach them new ones too.  I also want them to learn the good old hymns, which are so rich in doctrine and Scripture.  We take it slow when learning these new songs to be sure they understand.  After we sing the song, I discuss the words and the meaning with them.  Through this repetition they come to understand what the song means.

For example, Nolan loves to sing “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.”  Our visual folds out into the shape of a cross.  After we sing I ask them questions like, “What shape is this?”  “Why is it a cross?”  “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?”  “What is the only way we can be clean from our sins?”  “What is sin?”

Prayer

We have three different approaches to praying with our kids.  We mix them up based on the time and their attention span that day.  Sometimes I ask them to share one blessing and one prayer request, and then we pray for those things.

Another way to guide prayer time is to pray for missionaries.  We have a basket of prayer cards, and my kids love to pick out a card and pray for that missionary.  This teaches them to be concerned with the needs of people around the world.  It also helps them put a face to people we are praying for regularly.  When a missionary was badly burned in an accident, we showed the kids his picture to help them make associations as we prayed for his recovery.  And they each have a favorite card they dig through the basket to find!

The last tool we use is a jar of “prayer sticks.”  We wrote blessings and special people on popsicle sticks.  We let the kids pick a couple of sticks out at prayer time, and that is the blessing/request for which they are to pray.  Some examples are people with chronic illness, family members (we have all of our grandparents on sticks), and people in need of salvation.  Some examples of blessing are friends, books & toys, health, etc.

Do you have a daily Bible Time with your children?  So often they are a thirsty sponge, absorbing everything they encounter.  It’s important, and a great opportunity,  to “fill them up” with the things of God!  What have you found to be the best way to have a devotional time with young children?

Overcoming Roadblocks to Organization (Part 2)

Last week I challenged you to identify your bad habits, determine the good habits with which you can replace them, and choose one good habit you will begin implementing immediately.

Here are some more tips to help you get past those Roadblocks to Organization.

1. Purge Often — One sure way to get more organized is to get rid of things.  You need a whole lot less than you think you do.  (How many clothes can you wear at one time?  How many toys can your children play with at one time?  How many dishes can you eat off at one time?)
2. KISS — Keep it Simple, Sweetie! If you make things too complicated, you're not going to do them. That's why you want to look at what your current organization style is, and work with what you already have.  There's no need to create some new, complicated system of organization.  You just need to discipline yourself to have a place for everything (purge those things for which you can't find a place!), and to put things away immediately.

3. Clean Up Every Day — Use baskets to help you transport things to their “home”, but don't keep the things in the basket for weeks at a time. Take the basket with you whenever you leave a room.
5. Keep a Calendar — Writing things down is the best way to ensure that you get things done. You can use old-fashioned pen and paper or you can use a program like Evernote, Cozi, or  Google Calendar. However you choose to keep your calendar, this is the one thing that will help you the most.  (You can't just write things on it, though!  You have to look at it every day!)
6. Forgive Yourself — No one is perfect, mistakes will happen, backsliding will happen, and your organization might get off track. Just stay aware.

Which of these do you most need to work on?

Free eBook – One Month of Devotional Meditations

My mom is working on a full year's worth of devotional meditations.  She has finished volume 1 and would like to offer it to you free of charge.

Each day of the month, she shares a passage of Scripture as well as a few thoughts as to how it spoke to her heart.

If you are not sure where to begin in your time alone with the Lord, this eBook is a perfect place to start!  All Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible.

[wp_eStore_free_download_squeeze_form id=8]

*Please note: the download will be sent to your email.  Check your spam folder if you don't see it in your inbox.*

Don't forget to leave a comment letting my mom know that you appreciate her putting this together for you!

Freezer Cooking Guide: Which Foods Can You Freeze?

Last Friday I posted 4 Reasons You Should Be Freezer Cooking. 

Today I want to talk a little bit about what you can and cannot freeze.  If you know these things, you can easily turn many of your favorite recipes into freezer recipes.  No need to try to find a bunch of recipes that are specifically labeled “Freezer Recipes”.

Do Not Freeze These Items: (or freeze with caution)

Apples
Basil
Celery
Cheese
Chives
Cottage Cheese
Cream Cheese
Crumb Toppings
Cucumbers
Custard
Dairy (milk, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt)
Fried Food
Frosting
Grapefruit
Grapes
Lemons
Lettuce and leafy greens
Limes
Mayonnaise
Onions
Oranges
Parsley
Pasta
Peppers
Potatoes
Radishes
Rice
Salad Dressing
Salad Greens
Sauces
Sour Cream
Sprouts
Watermelon

Some of the above items can be frozen if you know what you're doing and understand what changes freezing will make to them.

Cheese — You can actually freeze cheese as long as you understand the texture will change. It will be crumbly, (shred it first) and you can't eat it as is, but you can use it in a casserole as a topping. So, if you put cheese on top of a casserole that you're going to pop into the oven to reheat anyway it's fine. But if you plan to slice it for a sandwich, you probably don’t want to freeze your cheese.

Dairy — Freezing dairy will change its consistency; however, you can add it to soups and casseroles without any noticeable difference – especially if you reheat them slowly.

Fried Food — You can freeze fried food as long as you wrap it right, and then reheat it correctly. For something like fried chicken be sure to cool it down while draining off the extra fat, then wrap with freezer paper and then put it inside an air tight container. To reheat, put in the oven frozen after unwrapping on a greased pan.

Grapes — You can freeze grapes if you plan to eat them frozen. If you try to thaw them they will turn to mush.

Leafy Greens — You can chop and freeze leafy greens if you plan to use them in soups or stews.

Onions & Peppers — You can chop these and freeze them to use in recipes. Chop and let them dry on a paper towel first to drain off extra moisture. Spread them on a cookie sheet and freeze for about an hour before putting them into airtight freezer bags.

Tomatoes — You can chop them and freeze into serving sizes or recipe sizes in airtight containers. You can only use them for sauces after freezing or in a soup or stew where texture isn't as important.

Oranges & Citrus — You cannot freeze the fruit but you can freeze the zest. Zest onto a paper towel, and let dry out a bit, then freeze in one layer on a pan for about an hour. Pour into a airtight container to use in recipes.

Rice &Potatoes — They freeze fine in casseroles and dishes, but it does change their texture a bit. You cannot freeze them raw; you must precook and then freeze.

Pasta – While many places have pasta on the ‘no freeze’ list, you can freeze cooked or frozen pasta. It is recommended that you freeze pasta for some dishes uncooked because it will cook during the reheating and you don't want to overcook it. But, you need to use prepared dried pasta and not freshly made pasta that isn't dried.

Below is a list of foods that generally freeze without any problems:

Baked Goods (freeze already baked or freeze the dough)
Baking supplies (nuts, chocolate, coconut, flour, etc.)
Broth
Fruits (any besides citrus)
Fresh Herbs (freeze in ice cube trays with a small amount of water)
Meat
Sauces
Soups
Vegetables

Now that you know what does and doesn't freeze well, you can easily determine which of your favorite meals you can prepare for the freezer.  Next time you make your favorite recipe, double it and put the extra in the freezer for a busy night!  You won't even be tempted to pick up a pizza knowing that you've got healthy food already prepared!

What is the first meal you'll prepare for the freezer?

Overcoming Roadblocks to Organization

Once you have determined the reasons you procrastinate and have identified your organizing style, it's time to overcome your personal roadblocks and stop the excuses.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. If you don't plan for success based on your own personality and way of doing things, you will continue to be frustrated and disorganized.

 Sometimes disorganization or procrastination is the result of your circumstances (lack of time, lack of money, etc.)  Sometimes it's simply your personality.  Either way, you must determine what your personal roadblocks are and make a plan to overcome them.

The best way to fix a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit.

Your task for today is to do the following:

Take out a sheet of paper and divide it into two columns.  On one side make a list of the bad habits you need to change. On the other side write down the good habit with which you should be replacing each bad habit.  However, make sure the good habits are still in keeping with your own personality.  Don't try to make someone else's organizational methods work for you.

For instance, if you are a “Piles Polly”, always piling things around the house so you won't forget to deal with them, make a designated place to pile those things.  Use a basket or inbox to hold bills that need to be paid or other mail that needs to be sent.  Instead of  piling things on the counter or coffee table that need to be put away in another room, use a large basket to hold those items and carry it with you when you leave the room.

The “Basket Betty” can continue to use her basket methods with just a couple minor tweaks.  Instead of just keeping things in baskets to keep them out of sight, label each basket to hold one category (bills to be paid, items to be put away in another room, items to be donated, etc.)  Then you won't have to rummage through several baskets to find what you need.

“Neat Nelly”, who keeps everything hidden out of sight in closets, can continue to do so as well.  However, she should do a thorough de-cluttering, keeping only a few items.   To keep things neat and organized, you should keep much less in a space than what actually fits in there.  When you stack things one on top of another or have to reach behind things to get to something else, you end up toppling things over and creating a disorganized mess.  Once you've determined how much can fit into your closets or cupboards without stacking or layering items, do not allow yourself to add anything else to your collection unless you get rid of something else.

Once you've made your list, choose one (just one!) habit that you're going to implement this week.  Don't try to change everything all at once or you will get overwhelmed and give up!

Leave me a comment and tell me what habit you're working on this week!