April 5, 2012

What is Biblical Beauty? {Giveaway of Beauty By the Book by Laurie Cole}

My daughter picked up a magazine the other day and after reading only a few pages, said,

“Why is everyone so concerned about looking younger?”

Of course, to a child, looking younger is not exactly something to be desired, but she knows full well that most adult women are on a quest for forever-youth…forever-beauty by the world’s standards.

As a mother of 7, it is rather frustrating to combat our society’s ideals of what women should look like. I look like a mom, and for some reason, that is a bad thing.

But, wait a second…what does God say?

That’s what I love about Beauty by the Book by Laurie Cole! She takes women through a study of true beauty…

Biblical beauty.

In our society, it is so important we teach young ladies what it really means to be beautiful by God’s standards. Those standards are eternal and real.

In Beauty By the Book, Laurie guides you in a study of 5 different kinds of women mentioned in the book of Proverbs. Some of these are women you should want to emulate and some…not so much. (So much can be learned by what kind of woman you ought not to be!)

This study digs deep into what biblical beauty is and aims to tear down the false standards of the world in favor of God’s standard. This is where efforts like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty fall short – - Right problem. Wrong solution.

And moms, it begins with you! Your daughters formulate their own definition of beauty long before they hit their teen years. Their definition of beauty is often based on what they learn from you.

Perpetual diets?
Self-loathing?
Wishing you were someone else?

Yep, they are catching all that. You need to learn NOW what it means to be beautiful in God’s eyes! Then, pass it on to your daughters!

Laurie has also written a mother-daughter Bible study to help you guide your daughter toward true beauty (however, be aware this study is for older girls, so wait to use it until your daughters are mature enough to handle the content).

All the video supplements for the series are available for FREE on the website at: https://www.priorityministries.com/videoroom/

Today, I am giving away
3 “Beauty” Packages
for you to begin this journey in your own home!

Included in these sets are:

Beauty by the Book and Beauty by the Book for Teens

2 Beauty by the Book charms - one for mom and one for daughter

Note: Beauty by the Book is on sale for a limited time for only $5.99!

May God richly bless you with a heart for true Biblical beauty!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{If reading via email or feed reader, please click over to the post to enter the giveaway!}

March 30, 2012

The One Thing You CAN Take With You

All of us have heard the saying,

“You can’t take it with you.”

You can’t take your nice car, beautiful home, vacation in Hawaii, 6 figure paycheck, nicely manicured lawn, expensive furniture, or your yacht with you when you die.

In fact, you can’t take your beat-up rusted-out station wagon, money-pit home, vacation in a tent in the front yard, barely-above poverty level paycheck, weed-infested lawn, ought-to-be firewood furniture, or your leaky bass boat either.

Those are earthly “treasures.” All the “stuff” we fret and fuss and ooh and ahh over here on earth won’t be worth a thing in Heaven. But the one thing we can take with us, we often squander.

What is that thing?

Our children.

Maybe we’re too busy with our own stuff to pay real attention to them. Or maybe we’re using earthly treasures to pacify them, only to find out they’re never satisfied by those things. Or maybe we really are doing the very best we can, but still feel like we’re missing something.

With our paycheck we can immediately go out and buy something tangible. We see the fruit of our labor and we feel satisfied — for a while. With our children it is much harder to see the fruit of our labor. We don’t get immediate results. We seem to be forever dealing with one crisis or another, one bad attitude or another, one stressful situation or another. Sometimes it just plain wears us out!

But God tells us children are a reward from Him. If we begin to see these little people as treasures, we are likely to treat them with more care. And while we may not see results immediately, we still have a responsibility to lead these little people to God. And if it is His will, we will get to take our children with us…and that will be an ETERNAL result!

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Don’t miss the LAST DAY for several of the EXCLUSIVE coupon codes from many of my sponsors here at Raising Arrows! Check the list of coupon codes here:

March Coupons

February 27, 2012

Proverbs 31 Isn’t a List of Rules

When Amy Bayliss emailed me about her new book, Pursuit of Proverbs 31, I knew right away I was going to love it!

I remember when I finally learned the lesson that Proverbs 31 wasn’t a list of rules, but rather an attitude. I was relieved to know I wasn’t breaking God’s law if I didn’t sew all our clothing and sell things at the farmer’s market.

But, I also realized what God expected of me was much, much deeper than temporal rules could provide.

I needed a heart and mind for God. I needed the essence behind Proverbs 31.

And finally, someone has written a book that leads Christian women to the Truth behind Proverbs 31!

If you would like to join the journey away from a list of rules and into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Creator, this ebook is for you. You can purchase your copy for $4.99 here:

Pursuit of Proverbs 31 ebook

January 25, 2012

That Mom in the Headlights Look

headlights Dear Moms,

Do you feel like you have been spending a fair share of your time staring into oncoming traffic? Do you feel a little blindsided? A little befuddled?

Do you wish you could get off the road, but you can’t find the exit?

I wish I could tell you the way to get off this road you are on, but sometimes it’s not your turn to exit. Sometimes you have to stare down the headlights, face the oncoming traffic, and yes, even get run over.

Not because God doesn’t love you, but because often crisis draws you closer to the only One Who can pick you back up, dust you off, and send you on your way.

So, stop looking for exits and start looking up. Stop focusing on the headlights and start focusing on His light. You may get run over, but He will not leave you there to suffer endlessly.

Trust. Believe. Stand.

Love,
a mom who knows this road

January 11, 2012

Fruit of the Spirit Devotional and Printables For Young Children

I am so very excited to be teaming up with Lauren from Mama’s Learning Corner today to bring you a FREE Fruit of the Spirit devotional and printables for your little ones!

Little children love memorizing Scripture and the Fruit of the Spirit is a great place to start!

Lauren has created some wonderful printables to go along with each lesson as well as a Fruit Chart where you can track each time your child displays a Fruit of the Spirit!

I also recommend you purchase this CD as a supplement to the devotional:

I have owned this CD for many years and we love it! The songs are beautiful, simple and catchy without adding to or taking away from Scripture. A perfect fit with this devotional! {Click here for more information on the CD.}

I hope you enjoy teaching your children the Fruit of the Spirit!

Click here to download your devotional!

Click here to download your printables!

Feel free to share this post with others! We’d love to share this with as many families as we can!

November 7, 2011

Start with Your Heart: 10 Days to a Peaceful Home

Let’s start with the heart of your home…your heart.

Yes mama, it is true. You ARE the heart of your home. Your spirit, your countenance, your heart sets the tone because you are the keeper of the home. Your home is YOUR domain, no matter how many dead animals line your walls or how many school papers hang on the refrigerator. You make the house a home because that is what you were designed to do.

But, that home can either be a place of calm and beauty or a place of strife and dreariness, for the overflow of your heart will spill over into every corner of your home no matter how hard you try to pretend you are someone else.

I once visited a home where Bible verses and Christian art hung beautifully in the living room and other “public” areas of the home, but as you made your way back to the bedrooms, the tone became darker and darker. You saw the true heart of the home and not just what the occupants WANTED you to see.

Your home needs to be a consistent place. There needs to be consistency between your heart and the heart of your home. But, what if you feel broken and bitter and worn down? What if you want to change the heart of your home, but changing your own heart feels impossible. You have spent many years creating a home that is anything but peaceful.

My dear friend, there is HOPE. You CAN take a hurting turbulent heart and make it sing…or rather, GOD can take your heart and fill it with a new song!

So, ASK! Ask Him to fill your days with peace. Ask Him to calm your spirit, quiet your tongue, and focus your heart on your family.

Fill your home with peaceful Scripture. Immerse yourself in God’s Word and let Him set your heart back on track.

Breathe deeper. Speak slower. Listen better. React less. Hug longer. Be purposeful.

Purposefully Peaceful.

I’ve found that when our home begins to groan under the weight of strife, all it takes is a moment of stepping back from it all and refocusing hearts. Sometimes that means going outside to seek the beauty of God’s creation, sometimes that means putting away school work and ignoring messes, sometimes that means cleaning up messes that are creating distractions.

Whatever it takes to calm you heart, so the overflow is beautiful, radiant peace!

10 Days to a Peaceful Home HOMEwork:

Do a search for “peaceful verses.” Write or type them out and display them in the areas of your home where you often find yourself feeling uptight.
Write out a list of peaceful activities that will help you “change gears” when you feel strife boiling to the surface.
Use a fresh perspective to truly look at your home and the message it sends. Does peace reign there?

Purchase the entire series along with new content and worksheets for $1.99!

Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th! I love these ladies and we know you will too.

10 days of Character Studies | Confessions of a Homeschooler
10 days of Christmas Countdown Ideas | Milk & Cookies
10 days of Creative Writing | Chocolate on My Cranium
10 days of Crockpot Meals | The Happy Housewife
10 Days to a Godly Marriage | Women Living Well
10 Days of Growing Leaders | Mom’s Mustard Seeds
10 Days of Homeschooling High School | Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
10 days of I Wish I Had Known | Fruit in Season
10 days of Keeping Your Marbles | The Tie That Binds Us
10 days of Kid-friendly Food | Planner Perfect
10 Days of Language Arts Lesson Planning | Jimmie’s Collage
10 Days of Learning Apps | Daze of Adventure
10 Days of a Mason Jar Christmas | Cajun Joie de Vivre
10 Days of More JESUS in Christmas | Preschoolers and Peace
10 Days to a Peaceful Home | Raising Arrows
10 Days of Raising a Life-Long-Learner | Bright Ideas Press
10 days of Science with Math | Blog, She Wrote
10 days of Teaching Values | Our Journey Westward
10 days of Winning your Child’s Heart | I Take Joy