The Blessing Box

I got this idea from here. What a great way to teach your kids about being thankful, and giving.

Show your children what they have to be thankful for, not what they have to have.

Day 1
One out of 5 children live in poverty lacking adequate clothing.Give 2 cents for each pair of socks, tights, or pantyhose each child has.
Day 2
Are you thankful for the gift of electricity?Give 2 cents for each light bulb in your house.
Day 3
Would you rather live in the dim light of candles?Give 2 cents for each candle in your house.
Day 4
Most of the world's population lives beyond the reach of medical care.Give 10 cents for each box of band-aids in your house. An extra dime if they are not flesh-colored.
Day 5
Are you thankful you have a roof and doors to keep out the wind and rain?Give 10 cents for each exterior door your house has.
Day 6
Are you thankful for all your clothes?Give 5 cents for each closet in your house.
Day 7
Are you glad you have indoor plumbing?Give 5 cents for every roll of TP in your house, counting all the stored away rolls.
Day 8
To people in refugee camps, even a thin sliver of soap is precious.Give 5 cents for each bar your family has--a dime for each liquid dispenser.
Day 9
Think of something nice you can do for a poor family in your community and do it today. Maybe give them some homemade bread or make something special to brighten their day.If you can't, put a dollar in the box and be exceedingly grateful for all your own blessings.
Day 10
Do you walk to town to get a bucket of water for washing, drinking, bathing or cooking? Or are you blessed with faucets that bring precious water to you?Give 10 cents for each faucet you have and don't forget the outside ones.
Day 11
Still thinking of water, how did you get clean today?Give 10 cents if you take baths, 25 cents if you take showers.
Day 12
Most of the people in this world are starving while Americans' biggest concern is being overweight.
Put in a penny for each pound your mother and father think they are overweight.

Day 13
What a blessing to be able to see and have eye doctors to help us.
Give 10 cents for each pair of glasses your family members wear--and a quarter for each pair of sunglasses.

Day 14
Many people are blind physically (as well as spiritually) and have no eye doctors to help them.
Give a quarter for each person in your house that wears contact lenses.

Day 15
Jesus loves the little children.Give thanks and a dollar for every child in your family--do a secret good deed for each of them today.
Day 16
How would you like to live in your car as some families do?Give a dime for every vehicle your family owns.
Day 17
What if you lived on the streets like so many in South America do?Give thanks for your home and give 5 cents for every pillow in your home. Don't forget the decorative ones, also.
Day 18
Epidemics often follow natural disasters.Give thanks if no one in your home has been too sick this month to work or go to school and then donate 50 cents.
Day 19
The comfort of a clean bed is an undreamed-of luxury for millions of the world's poor people.Give 5 cents for each bed in your house.
Day 20
Did a cozy blanket cover you last night?Give a penny for every blanket in your house.
Day 21
Was it cold enough to wear a coat today? Were you thankful for your coat?Give a penny for every coat, jacket, hoodie or raincoat in your house.
Day 22
In some countries of the world, most people can't read. Are you thankful you can read?Put in a penny for every book in your home.
Day 23
By now, you've started to receive Christmas cards from many loving friends and family members.Give a penny for each card and be thankful for God's love. If you haven't received any cards yet, put in a penny for each person who will be getting a card from you.
Day 24
All around the world there are people who have never seen a supermarket. Instead, they scratch out their sustenance with primitive tools.Give 5 cents for every garden tool in your garage.
Day 25
Many people in the world cook over an open fire. Aren't you glad your parents didn't send you out to chop wood this morning?Give 5 cents for every burner on your stove and a dime for every oven.
Day 26
Put in 10 cents for each gift under the tree that is for you. Or, give 10 cents for each item on your Christmas list.
Day 27
Jesus was born and died for you!Put in a dollar for every person in your home that believes in Christ!
Day 28
Unfortunately, this is the time of year in which people suffer loss in house fires.Give 10 cents for every phone in your house with which you can dial 911 in case of emergency.
Day 29
Many people in the world suffer excruciating pain from lack of dental care. Have you ever been grateful for toothbrushes?Give 5 cents for every toothbrush in your house.
Day 30
Do you own a pet?Give a quarter for each pet and say a prayer for all the children in the world who can't afford to feed themselves, let alone a pet.
Day 31
Many children in the world barely get one meal a day. How many meals did you have in the past 24 hours?Give thanks and 5 cents for each meal--10 cents for each snack.
Day 32
Would you like to have to walk to school, to church, or to the store? Most people in the world walk everywhere they go.Give 10 cents for each bike, pair of skates, skateboard or anything else that has wheels.
Day 33
"Give us this day our daily bread."Thank God for feeding you today and give a penny for every slice of bread in your house.
Day 34
Count all the cans/jars in your cupboard or pantry.Give a penny for each one of them as you thank God for the technology to can foods.
Day 35
Count all the packages of frozen foods and meat in your freezer.Thank God for refrigeration and give a penny for each you counted.
Day 36
Make a list of all the fruits and vegetables God created that you can name.Put in a penny for each one on that list.
Day 37
Many children in the world do not have a school to attend and barely learn to read or write.Give a penny for every pencil in your house.
Day 38
Most people in the world have never touched a computer.Put in 50 cents for each computer in your home, and an extra 50 cents for a scanner, 50 cents for the printer, and if you spend more than an hour each day online, give an extra dollar.
Day 39
Hold a family meeting.
Donate/give away your money!

Out Of Control

I am completely out of control. The last few days in this house have been bad. I have been running around trying to keep everything from falling apart. I have been following my boys, trying to make sure they are behaving at all times. I have been trying to keep up with laundry and dishes and routine cleaning.

I have lost it. I haven't done much of anything. I am living off of only a few hours of sleep. Simon doesn't seem to want to sleep at night. He is sleeping all day, and then up all night. I know the solution. I am supposed to keep waking him up during the day. Yea, that doesn't work. Either he doesn't wake up, or he does and screams unless I am holding him. I am really at a loss for what I need to do. I find myself taking naps with the boys just to get more than the normal 2-3 hours of sleep I get at night. There are times when I can't nap, so instead I try to catch up on housework.

I don't even want to talk about homeschooling. That is not going as planned either.

I have found myself crying because I can't handle it.

I wonder if I will ever get a break. We are driving to Tampa for Thanksgiving, to see family that is coming from Minnesota, and also family in Tampa. I am so excited, because I know I will have a break from the kids.

I feel guilty for feeling this way. I am supposed to have fun with the kids. I am supposed to enjoy all the time I spend with them. I am supposed to be in control. That power has been taken from me.

Guess who took away my power?  GOD!!!

He and I both know that I can't do it on my own. For some reason, I have been neglecting asking Him for help. I have been turning to everyone, but Him. Why? I know He is the only one that can truly help me. He is the only one that matters.

I am starting over. I know that the last few days, or weeks, may have damaged my kids precious minds and hearts. I am changing the schedule of events in this house. We are going to start the day the way the day should be started. We will all sit down and read the Bible and pray. This is the most important thing we need to do, and I have been slacking. We are going to pick a passage in the Bible to memorize. The kids love doing this, and are so good at it too. They already have quite a few verses memorized. Mostly the ones that have to do with obeying, like  Philippians 2:14 and Ephesians 6:1.

As for Simon, the only thing I can think of that will help with that situation is prayer. If I am able to be up with him all night, then I should be spending that time with Him all night. What a great opportunity for growing my relationship with Jesus. I have all this time that I am spending in a bad mood because I could be sleeping, and I am so tired, and I can't stop complaining. Instead, I am going to spend the time praying. There is so much that I could be praying for instead of complaining.

I am going to start spending time with the boys instead of letting them play on their own. They are going to have a lot less free play time, and possibly no TV time. I have been using the TV as a babysitter, and I don't want to do that anymore. If I just spend time teaching them the basics of how to be Godly men, then I won't have as many behavioral problems. Their misbehavior comes with being unsupervised.

I want my kids to have a better life than me. I want them to follow God. I want them to experience the relationship with Jesus Christ that their daddy and I have. I want them to experience it from childhood, and not go through the mess that we did. The only way for this to happen, is for God to choose them, and for them to choose God. For them to choose God, they must first know who He is. That is my part.

I am the one who is going to teach them who He is. I am so excited for this. I have so many fun ideas for teaching them all they need to know. We are going to have so much fun.

I will post more later on how everything is working with all this. In the meantime, please pray for me.