Heavenly Homemakers

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What If Change Can Be a Good Thing?

June 3, 2016 by Laura 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

A few weeks ago I did a phone interview for an upcoming online Christian Homeschool Summit. I wasn’t very sure of myself going into it and questioned why I had actually said “yes” to the invitation. Sure I’ve been homeschooling for over 14 years. But all that’s really taught me is that I have a lot to learn. Share my knowledge with others? What knowledge??

Therefore, I decided I needed to pray before starting this interview (because I hear that works sometimes). I asked God to let the Spirit work and for my words to be from Him.

What happened is that one of the questions I answered ended up being exactly what I needed to hear – and I realized immediately that the Spirit was indeed at work. After all, I was sharing words of truth that I had not clearly recognized before. It was this:

Always be open to change. Just because it has worked well for your family in the past doesn’t mean it will continue to work well now. Seasons change. Family needs change. Kids get older. Commitments and ministries and obligations and activities evolve through the years. If something that has been working for you suddenly is not working – that doesn’t necessarily mean you are doing something wrong. It might simply mean that it’s time to switch things up to make them work differently. To make them work better.

I very much needed to hear those words. It’s crazy how that prayer thing works.

What if change can be a good thing?

I’ve needed to embrace this truth as our kids have gotten older. My current parenting and teaching teenagers while working from home full time stage is different from my parenting and teaching little boys stage. Sometimes it feels harder. But what if it isn’t? What if it means that I’m trying to work with a system that used to work but no longer works? What if it means I need to make some adjustments?

Change can be hard. But what if some of the adjustments are slight and not even as hard as I think they’ll be?

And what if change doesn’t have to be hard? What if change is good? What if change brings peace?

If we are truly listening to the Spirit and letting God guide us with His perfect wisdom, what do we even have to fear? Anxiety and peace cannot coexist. Do we trust God or are we relying on self?

I love God so much. I love how gentle He is about drawing me back every time I slip back into worry and anxiety mode. I get so frustrated with myself because “I’ve done it again.” But God. He’s not even shaking His head at me. He’s just gently loving me as I once again surrender to seek Him better and to find confidence in His guidance.

I’m taking time this summer to pray and seek God’s guidance toward any changes I need to make in how I manage my time and energy. After all, I hear that prayer thing works sometimes.

Something fun for you

Not that caterpillars aren’t adorable (and fuzzy and squishy) and a wonderful part of God’s creation, but my preference is to enjoy these creatures once they’ve made their transformation into a butterfly. What if?? What if change for you and me can be like that? What if we’re fine(ish) as we are, but God has more for us? What if He wants to transform us, leading us through changes that make our lives into something more beautiful?

Cheesy illustration? Sure. But I like butterflies and the transformation they represent. I like how butterflies prove that change can be good!

Free printable butterfly coloring pages

I recently discovered that I enjoy Grown-Up Coloring Pages. I created these butterfly-themed pages, complete with Scripture Truth about how we can completely trust God through any changes and transformations He walks us through.

Help yourself! Consider these scriptures and the truth they represent about how we can and should trust our loving Father.

Download the Butterfly Truth Coloring Pages here

Leave a comment to share about a time you experienced a good change.

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Healthy Marriage Tips from A to Z eBook – FREE for everyone!

January 3, 2012 by Laura 32 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Matt and I have thoroughly enjoyed writing the Healthy Marriage Tips from A to Z series together, and appreciate the ways you have all sharpened us through your emails and comments regarding the subject of healthy marriages. Now that we’ve worked our way through the alphabet, we have compiled all of the posts in this series and put them into a free, downloadable resource for you. We are excited to offer this to everyone, with no strings attached.

We would be honored if you would be willing to share this eBook with anyone you feel might benefit from reading it. There is no limit to the number of copies you can make of this eBook or the number of times you are allowed to download it. All we ask is that you don’t sell it, but we probably didn’t need to say that, right? :)

We would appreciate any suggestions you might have as to where Matt and I should head at this point as we write more marriage content for the site. Share your ideas in the comments or send us an email to offer your thoughts about what you feel would benefit you and your spouse the most. Thanks!

And now, we are thrilled to offer, free to everyone, Healthy Marriage Tips from A to Z eBook:

Healthy Marriage Tips from A to X ~ Free Download

Click the link below to download the book:
Healthy Marriage A to Z eBook

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: Free Groceries…Twice!

June 13, 2011 by Laura 16 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I never win anything. Now, this could be because I hardly ever sign up for anything, but still. Anytime I’ve entered a raffle or signed up for giveaways on other blogs, my name is never chosen. 

Until recently. And then I won twice – in one week. Wowza.

Here’s how it all went down:  On a fluke, I entered a giveaway at Tammy’s Recipes for a $50 Kroger Grocery Gift Certificate. I really don’t enter giveaways much these days, but if you dangle free groceries in front of my face, it’s hard for me to resist the opportunity. So I entered.

And then I won. Wow. Now I understand how excited all of you are when I draw your name and email you. That was one of the most fun emails to receive, ever!

THEN, just two days later I received a phone call from one of our grocery stores here in town. Every time you make a purchase there and sign your receipt, it goes into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. I’ve signed my receipts for years and let the boys put them into the “drawing box” as we leave the store. Never figured I’d win, but it never hurts to try – and it was fun for the boys to put the receipts in the box.

Long story longer, you guessed it:  The grocery store was calling to tell me that I had won the drawing that week! $100 of free groceries from our local grocery store!

Do you know how much fun a person can have with $150 of free grocery store gift cards?!?! We don’t have a Kroger store in Nebraska, but they are all over Kansas – so we took our $50 certificate and used in on our way home from visiting family earlier in the month. Here in town, I just used bits and pieces of my $100 card anytime I needed bananas or watermelon or cantaloupe…

Yeah, we spent it mostly on fruits and veggies. FREE fruits and veggies.

It was so much fun. What a blessing to be gifted twice with free groceries!! (Come to think of it – three times – as we had some Whole Foods gift cards saved up to use last week when we went to Omaha, thanks to all of you!)

God does provide, doesn’t he? I pray that we’re always wise with the blessings He gives us and that we’re always willing to be generous and share with others as we’ve been blessed!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

What are Swagbucks?

May 5, 2011 by Laura 26 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Search & Win

I talk about Swagbucks here and there, mostly saying phrases like, “I used my Swagbuck earnings to buy Organic Groceries from Amazon.” This is all well and good if you’ve been reading my site for a few years and know about these Swagbuck thingies I’m talking about. But recently I’ve recognized that not all of you know what I’m talking about, as I’ve heard some questions like,  “Laura, what are Swagbucks?”

Well, it would be my pleasure to tell you. I love Swagbucks. Watch me jump up and down while I tell you that:  It’s basically free money and it has paid for some Organic Groceries from Amazon for my family and free books for school and free Christmas gifts and free other things we’ve needed. You’ve just got to join me in this Swagbuck thing!

“Okay great, but really Laura. What are Swagbucks?”

Swagbucks are “bucks” earned while doing normal internet searches.  Typically, many of us use something that starts with a “G” and rhymes with Schmoogle to do online searches, right? This is wonderful and fine and easy and I’ve learned some great things about gorillas and the continent of Asia while using that search engine. 

But by using the Swagbuck search engine, I learn great things about gorillas and the continent of Asia AND I get free money. Real money. The kind I can use to buy Organic Groceries from Amazon or books or gifts.

I have found it easiest to download the Swagbuck toolbar onto my computer…that way everytime I need to do an internet search (which is about eight hundred times a day) I do that search through my Swagbuck toolbar. Several different times each day, as I do those internet searches, I will see a little picture letting me know that Yay! I just won some Swagbucks!!

All of the Swagbucks I earn accumulate in my account. Once my account reaches a total of 450 Swagbucks, I can turn them in for a $5 Amazon Gift Card. I save my Amazon Gift Cards and use them for items we need, because I can find all kinds of great items through Amazon.

There are other ways to earn Swagbucks and you can read all about it once you set up a Swagbuck account. Beyond doing normal internet searches, the most success I’ve had for earning extra Swagbucks is telling other people about them, so that when they sign up and earn Swagbucks, I do too! Several of you have signed up through my links in the past, which has been a lovely and free way to support our work here at Heavenly Homemakers (so thank you oh so very much!). You can earn Swagbucks by referring others too. Once you sign up, be sure to tell everyone you know so that they can sign up under you and you can earn more Swagbucks! (However, you are not allowed to refer someone else in your own household…just people outside of your home!)

The beauty of Swagbucks is:  There’s no catch and it’s all free.  There’s nothing weird about Swagbucks or any need to feel nervous about joining me in the Swagbuck craze. It’s just a search engine, and you can earn free stuff or gift cards by using it. I’ve been using it for something like two or three years and have not had one bit of trouble or weirdness with it. 

You can sign up for Swagbucks here.  It will take you about two minutes. Or one minute if you’re a fast typist.

Swagbucks is a lovely thing indeed. It’s a wonderful way for everyone to earn some free money to use for things they need! (And P.S. There are other goodies and gift cards you can turn in your Swagbucks for. I just almost always turn them in for Amazon Gift Cards because that is the most helpful for our family.

If you’re a Swagbuck user, what do you turn in your Swagbucks for?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

New (FREE!) Fall Menu Planners – Downloadable

September 22, 2010 by Laura 25 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Yes, it’s that time of year. The time when apples are ready to be made into delicious apple pies and leaves are beginning to turn colors…school has started and there is a cool crispness in the air. Unless of course you are living in a place that is still 100° with no chance of a break in the heat. Hang in there, my melting friends.

Whether it’s fall weather at your house or you are just pretending that it is…I asked my fabulous designer friend Char to make us some pretty fall menu planners for all of us to enjoy. She did not disappoint! I LOVE these planners (and matching grocery lists)!! They are free to all of you – You are welcome to download, print, share and menu plan to your heart’s content.

Falling Leaves Menu Planner

Falling leaves Grocery List

Fall Apples Menu Planner

Fall Apples Grocery List

Cornucopia Menu Planner

Cornucopia Grocery List

I just can’t get over how much nicer these menu planners look on my refrigerator compared to a piece of paper I rip out of my son’s 2006 assignment notebooks…

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

The Great (Big, Huge) Curriculum Swap

September 12, 2010 by Laura 52 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

curriculum_swap_2

CURRICULUM SWAP CLOSED. PLEASE COME TO HEAVENLYHOMEMAKERS.COM MAIN PAGE!

Today’s the day!! This is SO exciting!

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of so many of you, there are loads of  books to look through! Here are the rules for our “swap”, which is really  more like a huge giveaway:

  • You do not have to give a book to receive a book. This is open to anyone and everyone who needs books, even if you don’t have books to give.
  • These books are FREE! The only cost involved is shipping, which is the responsibility of the person who receives the free books.
  • If you are interested in receiving one of the books on the list, email the “giver” using the green email address within that list section to let the person know that you are interested in the book(s). Please do not email me requesting the books – they aren’t mine to give!
  • Those giving books away will wait until sometime on Tuesday (the 14th), then they will draw a random “winner”  for each book from the emails they have received.
  • If you are the one chosen to receive a book, please follow through with reimbursing the giver for shipping costs!!!! The fact that you only have to pay for shipping on high dollar curriculum is a huge blessing!
  • There is no limit to how many books you can request before Tuesday, but please only request the books you need and will use!
  • If you’re just now hearing about this swap and you want to give books away, it’s too late for this swap. BUT, stay tuned for an exciting announcement about an ongoing curriculum share project!
  • If you still have questions, read more details here…then start “shopping”!!

Okay…here we go!!!

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CURRICULUM SWAP CLOSED. PLEASE COME TO HEAVENLYHOMEMAKERS.COM MAIN PAGE!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

New Free Downloadable Menu Planners for Summertime!

June 16, 2010 by Laura 31 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Pretty menu planners make me happy. They are much nicer to look at than a piece of faded paper ripped out of a notebook and thrown onto my fridge. Any menu planner is better than having no plan at all, but still…isn’t it more fun to be pretty and organized?

I’ve been wanting to work on some new summertime planners to share with you, but since I was having a hard time getting a round tuit, I asked Char of Delight-Design to make some for me. And for you. :)

Ah, she did way better than I could have ever done. Take a look at these! Not only did Char create pretty menu planners…she made pretty grocery lists to go with them! Just click the link below each image to download, print and share as many as you would like!!

menuplanner1web

Summer Menu Planner 1

grocerylist1web

Summer Grocery List 1

menuplanner2web

 
Summer Menu Planner 2

grocerylist2web

Summer Grocery List 2

menuplanner3web

Summer Menu Planner 3

grocerylist3web

Summer Grocery List 3

menuplanner4web

Summer Menu Planner 4

grocerylist4web

Summer Grocery List 4

Do feel free to share these, blog about them, tell your friends on facebook, print them and give them as gifts…whatever you would like to do! They’re free!

Enjoy your menu planning!! (Your PRETTY menu planning, that is!)

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