Precious Gems

Compiled by Lois Breneman - Heart to Heart - 2015

Thanks to all the moms who allow me to include their kids' quotes for all of us to enjoy!

Looked out my window and saw Eva (8) sitting on the top of the grapevines reading a book in the warm afternoon sunshine!! I love that she can't get her nose out of a book! ~ Elizabeth in Virginia

Things your kids say in SAMs: "Mommy can we buy a canoe today?" ~ Sarah in Virginia
 
Conversation while getting ready for bed:
 Me: Jeremiah are you cold?
Jeremiah (2) (shivering): No, I'm Jeremiah!
Me: Well then, we have a little Chuck Norris.
Jeremiah: I'm not Chicken Norris. I'm Jeremiah. Michael. Fields. ~ Heather in Virginia
 
Papa and grandma are here to visit. Erin (6) kept wiping her eyes saying, "I can't stop the water from coming out of my eyes!" Happy tears to be with Papa and Grandma... Such a sweet girl! We are blessed with wonderful grandparents. ~ Aisling in Indiana
 
So we're in Walmart,
Zach (9)... Mom, I need a calendar.
Me... Why do you need one buddy?
Zach.... A man's got to know what he's doing each day. He can't wake up and be puzzled. ~ Jessica in Virginia
 
"Mommy are you 74?" Innocently asked my youngest daughter (6). "No" I replied. "Well are you past 74?" ~ Elizabeth in Virginia
 
Chloe (5): "Mommy!!! What's going to happen to you when Garrett and Caylie and me grow up and get married and get our own dogs? What will happen to you then???" ~ Amy in Virginia
 
My children are playing "dentist."  Eva (8) kept saying, "We have to pull the T-nines out, we have to pull the T-nines out."  Mia (6) looked at her and said, "They are called canines, Eva, not T-nines." ~ Elizabeth in Virginia

So tonight Maddie (6) and I were the last two eating dinner when the boys had gotten up and played basketball. We were eating healthy food, and they were kind of eating junky hamburgers LOL! So it spurred on this little lady's thoughts....."You know mom, we should make a healthy snack and a junky snack and somehow connect electricity to the junky snack so that as soon as Zach (9) grabs the wrong one, boom!! He will get zapped!!!!" And then she looks at me and says, "Now how exactly can we do that?!!" ~ Jessica in Virginia
 
Oh boy! In the last five minutes I have explained why we don't kiss on the lips, been asked why boys smell worse than girls, and what does it mean to commit adultery? ~ Elizabeth in Virginia
 
Ben (5) is trying his hardest to convince me that he needs a new Lego set. I told him that we don't need to use our money to buy that right now. "Well mom, I'm pretty sure one of them is priceless." After further conversation I found out that his definition of "priceless" doesn't match up with mine. ~ Liz in Washington
 
Camden (5): "Mommy I just need a few sips of your coffee because it's going to be a hard day at preschool"~ Bethany in Virginia
 
There are days when parenthood is really, really hard. And then there are days where there are blessings that blow you away.
Last Friday night, I was tucking Samara (5) into bed, and we were having a heart-to-heart talk, just like many other bedtime snuggles and conversations. It started with talking about her Papaw (my Dad).
She was there when Papaw held our hands as he took his last breath here (on earth) and breathed his first in Jesus' presence. Even then, she seemed to understand that God called him home, and that he would be happy and waiting for us there in Heaven.
But she wanted to know more. To be sure. On Friday night, she wanted me to tell her again what we need to do to make sure we would be with Jesus one day, when we die. I tried to keep it simple. You know, she is only 5, after all. I went through the message of the Gospel with her. She surmised that, if Jesus had never died on the cross, there would be no way we could go to heaven because even if all we did our whole life was to lie once, we would not be able to be in Heaven. I agreed.
We talked for quite a while. She wasn't ready to talk to Jesus about that yet though, she said, because she wanted to think.
She told me and Brian (her daddy) that, after I tucked her in and prayed with her that night, she talked with Jesus, and told Him that she was sorry for her sins, and that she believed that He died on the cross to make her sins go away, and that he was living in Heaven. She said that she told Him she wants Him to be her Savior.
Clear, decisive. She made the decision to follow Christ!
My heart is dancing! Thank you, Lord! ~ Diane in Montana

How to Dye Eggs Using Old Silk Ties

Use old 100% silk ties or other silk clothing from Goodwill to make beautifully stunning one-of-a-kind dyed eggs!  I wish I had seen this when my children were small, but I will definitely have to try this with my grandchildren!

You start with uncooked eggs, wrap them with silk squares, then white cotton fabric, tie, and boil! When you unwrap the egg, you will be amazed at the beautiful creative eggs you've made!

Follow Kendra's clear instructions on this video:

http://faithtap.com/2767/how-to-dye-eggs-using-silk/

Attributes of the Proverbs 31 Woman

She is loyal to her husband (vs. 10-12).

She is faithful in her home (vs. 13-16).

She is tireless in her responsibilities (vs. 17-19).

She is generous toward the needy ( vs. 20).

She is fearless about circumstances (vs. 21-23).

She is honest in business matters (vs. 24).

She is secured for the future (vs. 25).

She is wise in her utterances (vs.26).

She is dependable in daily duties (vs. 27).

She is praised by her children (vs. 28-29).

She is beautiful in her conduct (vs. 30).

She is appreciated by her neighbors (vs. 31).

5 Habits That Will Save Your Marriage

 by Daniel Colston - Used by permission

 http://www.danielcolston.com/?p=329

 

 

1. Communicate Well.

Your partner doesn’t know what you don’t tell them. 

Please just do yourself a huge favor and be honest 

with them about what’s going on in your life. You 

have to open up to your partner or they won’t be 

able to get to know you. Share with them what you 

think about, what your dreams are, and 

constructive feedback about them. Be known 

by your spouse! Overcommunicate, dialogue, 

engage, and laugh, but don’t stop there.

A lot of people have no problem articulating their 

feelings, but they’re still horrible communicators because 

that’s only half the process of communication. And 

the other half is just as important! It’s listening. And 

it’s implied in listening that you’re also understanding. 

AT LEAST 20% of quarrels could be totally avoided by

simply listening to and understanding your partner. 

Please do your spouse and everyone else around you 

a huge favor by actually listening when they are talking.
Don’t interrupt, jump to conclusions, or think about 

what you’re going to say while they’re talking. Just 

listen. You’ll save yourself a lot of heartache, and 

grow your professional skills as well.

2. Love Your Spouse More Than You Love Yourself.

As humans we’re all egotistical self-loving manipulators. 

It doesn’t work too well when you put two of those things

together in the same cage, for life. But that’s what we call

marriage. And the only way it works is when both
egotistical self-loving manipulators consciously battle 

the selfishness within them. Over time this creates 

two well-adjusted  human beings who have learned 

the art of compromise and humility. Loving your 

spouse more than you do yourself is excellent 

because it allows your spouse to love you more 

than they love themselves! What could possibly 

 be better than someone who cares about you 

more than you do yourself?

3. Stop Expecting So Much.

You need to remember that your spouse is just as human 

as you are. No matter how sexy she was when you were

dating, she is not a goddess and she will not look that 

way forever. No matter how good he was at wooing 

you, he will sometimes smell, burp, a wear clothes 

that don’t match. If you expect too much from your 

spouse then you end up placing a burden on them 

that they cannot carry. You end up unsatisfied and 

they end up crushed with feelings of failure.

4. Forgive.

You are more intimate with your spouse than anyone

else which means you are also more vulnerable to 

them than anyone else. When they hurt you it can 

feel more damaging than hurt from others because 

they are so close to you. The tendency is to hold it 

against them, get bitter about it, and use it for 

leverage in the next argument. You try  to mete 

out just punishment on them by quietly distancing
yourself, making cutting remarks, and withholding
affection. This is so damaging to your relationship.

Your love given and reciprocated tanks will be empty.

You go from “in love” to “indifferent” to “spiteful.”
The only way to free yourself from this is to forgive
and then do your best to forget.

5. Value Them More Than Anyone Else.

If you consider anyone a better “best friend” than your
spouse then you’re in dangerous territory. No one, not 

even your kids, should take relational precedence 

over your spouse. Your wife is more important 

than your golf buds. Your husband should be more
important to you than your parents. This means that 

the opinions, values, and plans of your spouse are 

more important to you than anyone else’s.

Ginger for Good Health

by Lois Breneman - Heart to Heart - 2015

The following benefits can be yours by drinking ginger tea, juicing with ginger, consuming it in your foods, as well as by using ginger essential oil (a more concentrated form). 

I use a therapeutic grade of essential oils because of their purity and safety in being able to use most of them internally, something that most companies cannot claim.  In a health food store I asked about a brand that stated on the front label, "100% pure" whether or not it could be ingested.  The answer was, "Oh, no! Never!"  However, that same oil in the therapeutic brand that I use could be safely ingested.

In doing research I read that for beverages it is suggested that one drop of ginger oil be used for each 4 ounces of beverage. In making a syrup, they suggest one drop to one teaspoon of honey.

Research says children under age six should not be given ginger essential oil internally.

It can be applied neat (straight from the bottle) for adults, but because of repeated use, that can result in contact sensitization for this oil.  

So for adults I would dilute 1:1 with fractionated coconut oil.
For children dilute even more.  In a 10 ml. bottle use only 3-10 drops, then fill the bottle with fractionated coconut oil.

A drop or two of ginger essential oil, added to a daily cup of tea, would go a long way in boosting your health!

Certainly incorporating ginger into your daily regimen would help cover a lot of bases.  The easiest way to do that is to use a roller bottle of ginger, and possibly other essential oils, diluted with fractionated coconut oil, and rub it on the bottom of your feet every morning or night.  Since ginger is a beneficial food, if a little more ginger is ingested by way of juice, food, or tea, during the day, that's a good thing.