2009 October — Moms of Faith

Faith and Business 101: Check-Up

October 30, 2009 By MariLee Parrish 10 Comments

For those of you who have faithfully been reading my column, I’m honored to be a part of your life each week! My prayer is that you will find something in this column every Friday to help you grow– as a child of God, a mother, and a business woman. My personal prayer each day is that God would give me wisdom to go about my life and my business in such a way that honors Him.

Consider the following verses from Proverbs:

“For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.

For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.

These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.” – Proverbs 2:5-15 NLT

Let’s have a little check-up! Are you seeking the Lord for wisdom in your life and business decisions? Have you found an accountability partner yet? What is holding you back from being all that God wants for you to be…in life and in business?

Here’s your Faith and Business 101 assignment for this week: Leave me a comment letting me know how you are doing. How are things going for you as you juggle motherhood and business? Do you have any questions that I might answer? Are there any particular subjects you would like to see addressed in an upcoming column?

Until Next Time…

MariLee

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Filed Under: Blog, Faith and Business 101, WAHMS Tagged With: Columns, Faith and Business 101, WAHM Central

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – Movie Review

October 28, 2009 By Faith_Mom Leave a Comment

Movie Title: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Rating: PG-13
Director: Mark Waters
Staring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Emma Stone and Noureen DeWulf
Category: Comedy, Romance

Moms of Faith Rating: 0 out of 10

Intro: A disappointing romance based off of an old classic.

Review: Well, this is not the first time I have been disappointed in a Matthew McConaughey film. Lately, the only reason I even give his films a look is because I have a teenage daughter who thinks he is “hot.” LOL! Ah, youth. I am happy to say, that even though she thinks the star is easy on the eyes, she was very disappointed in the film as well. It was just nasty. Very sexual and did not have a positive view of marriage. Sure, monogamy had it’s pluses. However, “marriage” was not a goal.

On the negative side: Sadly, most of this review will be right here on the negative side. Let me start with the sexual stuff. Oh, and I am only tapping the surface. There are TONS of sexual content in this film. I mean the film itself is one big sexuality piece. Sex is VERY casual in this film.

Conner (Matthew McConaughey) leaves Jenny (Jennifer Garner) after he does the bedroom tango with her. She is left alone and sad. Oh, and of course the sex was out of wedlock as was all the sex shown on this film.

Half naked women were seen in a photo shoot.

Tons of sexual language and innuendos throughout the film. Some quite shocking and definitely NOT for children to hear. It was hard enough having to go through all the unfortunate discussions after watching the film with my 16 year old.

Conner grabs the breast of a woman who just happens to be his brother’s future Mother in Law. Speaking of the wedding; all of the bridesmaids clamor to have sex with Conner. Two of them already had him and just want him again.

Really, I do not need to go any further as far as the sexual content. Like I said, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The whole film is over run with sexuality.

Language was pottyish and God’s name is misused about 15 times. Once combined with da*n. There were also several bit**, as* and hells as well.

Conner’s Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) takes him to a bar at 14 and allows him to drink. During the bar scene he also teaches him to look at women as objects to be conquered for sexual gratification. Very sad scene in my opinion. Of course, later in the film, his uncle does admit that living in the fast lane was not all it was cracked up to be…sad he had to be dead to realize it…

In the end, Conner gets the girl…however, he does not marry her. Hmmm.

Conclusion: Unfortunately, I cannot endorse this film on any level. It is a terrible film and will leave you feeling icky. For me, the only positive thing I got out of it was seeing my 16 year old daughters reaction and realization of what this world is and why it is in desperate need of a Savior. Seriously, don’t waste your time on this one. You will regret it and wind up praying after the film of you see it. LOL.

Note: I believe this is my only my second zero rating. That’s how bad it was.

Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Parenting, Reviews, Teenagers

Tuesdays Mommy Tip: Get Ready for the Holidays

October 27, 2009 By Faith_Mom Leave a Comment

Do you have a great tip for Moms? They can be about anything (family friendly, of course) that pertains to a Mom’s life, including; beauty, kitchen, health, parenting, and so much more! Click Here to find out how YOU can join Moms of Faith’s Tuesday’s Mommy Tips!

NOTE: PLEASE read the rules. We have a few who are not posting to the ACTUAL TIP post on their blog. I need you to post your link to the actual TIP POST…NOT the main page of your site. THANK YOU!!

OK, on to this week’s Mommy tip…

Get Ready for the Holidays

Well, ladies, it is that time of year again. Soon we will be celebrating Thanksgiving…then Christmas…and of course a whole new year. NOW is the time to prepare. Below are a few simple tips to help you get ready for the holiday season!

Thanksgiving.

Clean out fridge and pantry. Make a note of that you have and do not have. Get rid of what you will not use and make space.

Menu. Decide what your menu will be.

Sales. Start looking for sales and buy the items you will need for Thanksgiving as soon as possible and as sales come.

Dollar Store. Find plates, table covers and other decorations at the dollar store. Be a good steward. It’s only one meal. I found some great stuff in the Target dollar section a month ago.

Christmas.

Buy now. Again, start looking for sales now. The dollar section in Target is great place to buy stocking stuffers. Take a few minutes each trip to see any potential gifts. It is also the perfect place for whiter elephant parties.

Clean the House. Get ready for your holiday decorations. Clean and be ready so you will not stress about messes when time comes.

Black Friday. Make arrangements to participate this year. AWESOME sales are to be found at this yearly event. Make a plan and then on Thanksgiving evening, look through the paper and decide where you will hit and what you will buy.

New Years.

See above ideas to help with this as well.

Go through your junk and get rid of what you do not need.

Pick your location. What party will you attend. Will you stay home? Decide now.

Waiting til the last minute will not only stress you out, you will not enjoy yourself as much! Be prepared! Planning ahead will make for less stress and better enjoyment of actual events and activities.

Filed Under: Blog, Holiday Helpers, Mom Tips Tagged With: Christmas, Holidays, New Years, Thanksgiving, Tuesday's Mommy Tip

The 15 Minute Cleanup

October 26, 2009 By Chere Williams 1 Comment

A clean house gives me a clear mind. When my home is clean I am more focused, relaxed, and I have more time to spend with my daughter and doing the things I love. Moms are busy whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom. I am a single mom, so the household responsibilities fall squarely on my shoulders. Since becoming a single mom, I am always on the search for quick ways to accomplish household chores. I do a thorough cleaning probably once a month.

However, cleaning is part of my every day routine. I have discovered that breaking your chores into quick 15-20 minute segments, makes cleaning less stressful and overwhelming. Another way to break up the segments is to have designated days for each room. Washing dishes and taking out the trash are usually an everyday chore, so they would not be included, but there are many cleaning chores that are.

Fifteen minute Clean Up: Rook by Room

Kitchen

Beside washing dishes and wiping down counters, take 15 minutes to sweep the floor, rid the refrigerator of any expired food, and wipe the inside, outside and top of the refrigerator. On another day take that time and arrange the inside of your cabinets.

Living Room/Family Room

The living room and family room gets a lot of use and it shows. In 15 minutes you can dust and polish your coffee tables and furniture, pick up magazines or books, and vacuum under the pillows of your couch.

Bathroom

I love using the organic all natural purpose cleaner from Seventh Generation. It smells great and it isn’t filled with toxic chemicals. I squirt this on my sink, toilet, and handles in the bathroom and in 15 minutes my bathroom not only smells good but looks great.

Bedrooms

This may seem like a no brainer but fixing your bed automatically makes your bedroom seem cleaner. Sweep the floor and don’t neglect dusting headboards, you would be surprised how much dust they gather. With the cold weather ushering in take 15 minutes to clear your drawers from any summer clothes you won’t be using until next year. If you need to switch out the clothes for your children, assign a day for each bedroom and give yourself a time limit to clean them out.

General Chores

There are certain general chores that you can fit in your 15 minute schedule.

15 minute General Cleaning Tips:

Sweeping
Emptying all the trash in the house
Choose two rooms a day and clean the baseboards in your house
Throw a load of laundry in the washer and fold another
Wipe down the windowsills in each room
Arrange and clean the cabinets in the bottom of the sink
Dust above the archways in your home, which are commonly overlooked
Plan meals for the week
Create a grocery list
Clean the books shelves
Sort through magazine and either donate old issues to doctor offices or recycle them
Separate your bills and mail and file them appropriately

Fifteen minutes may not seem like much time, but there numerous chores we can get done that really help us throughout the week. Even spending 15 minutes in each room can make your house look great. Stick to the time limit, you may even want to set an alarm so that you don’t get carried away. Breaking down these tasks gives you more time to spend with God, your family, and yourself.

Filed Under: Blog, Cleaning 101, Columns, Organization, Single Moms, Working Moms Tagged With: All Moms, Cleaning, Columns, Home Life, Mom's Kitchen, Moms, Organize

Faith and Business 101: Distractions and Boundaries

October 23, 2009 By MariLee Parrish Leave a Comment

This week, let’s talk about distractions. As mothers, we are faced with countless distractions throughout the day: phone calls, e-mails, unexpected interruptions, emergencies…you name it! It’s difficult to focus on your work when little things come up and distract you. Maybe you’re working in an office and you have a huge deadline. What should you do when the nurse calls from school to alert you that your child is sick? Maybe you’re a work-from-home mom and you’re in the middle of an important assignment and a friend (who knows very well that you’re home everyday) shows up on your doorstep with her latest crisis. What then? Whether at home or at an office, we all have to make judgment calls everyday when it comes to distractions.

What’s the first step?

Develop some boundaries! If you have good, healthy boundaries set up at the office, your boss will understand that your family comes first. And when that call comes from the school nurse, neither of you will think twice about you jumping in your car and picking up your child. Work can wait until you can sort out another plan. If you have healthy boundaries, you will feel confident in your decision to quickly pray with your friend who shows up on your porch in a mild-crisis and let her know that you will have more time to chat with her on another day (now of-course, I’m not suggesting you be short with a friend who is in REAL need! By all means, invite THAT person in and love on them as much as you can! But I believe you know the kind of person I was referring to…the kind that likes to take advantage of you just because they know you are at home with “nothing better to do” than listen to their latest drama).

Here’s your Faith and Business 101 assignment for this week: Check out the book “Boundaries” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. This is the best book on the market about this subject in my opinion. It will most definitely speak into your situation and help you think clearly about yourself and your boundaries, or lack thereof. Feel like you have way too many distractions in your life and you are always just spinning your wheels? You need boundaries! Healthy ones. Ask the Lord to show you where you need to develop better boundaries in your life, your business and your relationships! You will feel like a brand new person who can actually get some work done. Healthy boundaries put distractions in their place!

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14-15

Until next time…

MariLee

Filed Under: Blog, Faith and Business 101, WAHMS Tagged With: Boundaries, Columns, Faith and Business 101, WAHM Central

Tuesday’s Mommy Tip – Go For a Nature Walk

October 20, 2009 By Faith_Mom 2 Comments

OK, on to this week’s Mommy tip…

Go For a Nature Walk

The weather is really cooling off with the onset of fall. This is a GREAT time to get out of the house with your kids. Even if you work, it can be done on the weekend. Pick a day and go for a nice long nature walk. Before you leave for your walk, set up a table in your house with some newspapers or an art table cloth. Get some glue, paper plates, crayons, construction paper, paper plates, white paper…maybe computer paper and any other items that make for fun pictures.

On to the walk…Bring one brown lunch bag for each child…even teenagers (make them do it. LOL), and YOU…Dad too if he goes. (Mom, you may even want to bring a camera and scrapbook this day if you are a scrapbooker! ) Everyone must collect different NATURE items. A few ideas; leaves, bark, acorns, moss and any other item that can withstand time.

While on your walk, talk about the beauty of God’s creation. Talk about the sounds you hear and the birds you see and the smells you smell. Time is so fragile…Breath it all in and enjoy the experience with your children.

When you get home, you will make a collage of your walk with the items collected in the brown bags. Even the acorns. Just use more glue. You may even want to do this craft on old used brown grocery bags cut into large squares. The paper plates are another option for placing the collages on. Use your imagination.

Tell the kids to use the crayons to draw things they saw on their walk. Another great idea, if leaves were collected is to have them do some nature/leaf rubbings. How to: place a leaf (or other flat(ish) item found) on newspaper. Place paper over top of nature item. Use a crayon to rub or color over the item. When done, you will see outline or shape of item you “rubbed.”

Let them make as many pictures as they want. Make an afternoon of it.

You could even make a healthy “nature” snack like ants on a log. How to: Cut celery into pieces a little longer than an adult index finger. Fill with peanut butter. Add raisins for the ants. The kids can even make them. Not the cutting part of course.

Anyway, I hope this tip helps you think outside the box and encourages you to spend some FUN quality time with your children while you still have them!

Filed Under: Blog, Mom Tips Tagged With: children, Crafts, Fall, Family, Fun, Mom's Kitchen, Moms, Parenting, Recipes, Seasonal Topics, Teenagers, Toddlers, Tuesday's Mommy Tip

Enjoy a Rainy Day Inside With Your Kids

October 19, 2009 By Chere Williams Leave a Comment

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. However, fall ushers in the cooler weather and rain. When there is a chill in the air and it is raining, playing outside doesn’t hold a whole lot of appeal. But that doesn’t mean you and the kids can’t have just as much fun indoors. I have found that kids can be easily entertained, most of the time. The cool days of fall and the quickly approaching winter days is a perfect time to bond with your children and share some quality family time.

Ideas for those days that were made to stay inside

Release Your Inner Betty Crocker
I was never much of a baker, but that changed when I had my daughter and the Christmas holidays rolled around. Suddenly, I had this urgent need to bake and fill the house with the aroma of homemade cookies. My daughter loved it and surprisingly I did too. On those days that you would rather stay in, whip up a batch of homemade cookies, bake a cake, or make cupcakes. Even if you don’t have a recipe passed down through generations, the Internet has a ton of sites with recipes. If you have small kids like me baking can actually be educational. They learn about measurements, ingredients, and they will have fun dumping them all together. Most of all they will enjoy eating them!

Movie Marathon Day
What better way to enjoy a cold and rainy day then cuddling up on the couch and watching movies. Ask each family member to pick a movie of their choice and make it a movie day inside. Pop some popcorn, order a pizza and enjoy a movie marathon. If you have old home movies or a wedding tape dig those out, kids love to see themselves on film.

Create a Family Scrapbook
A family scrapbook is a great activity for your family to work on together. Have your family gather photos, mementos, and anything else that holds special meaning to them and take an afternoon to work on creating a scrapbook. A large photo album works great to hold all of your memories. Decorate it, add stories, and make it a project that everyone contributes to. You can also have each child make mini scrapbooks for themselves. Scrapbooking is a great way to document your family’s journey.

Indoor Camp Out
Summer may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create some camp out fun. My daughter and I recently did this and she had a blast. She has a café tent that I normally keep in our basement that is huge. I brought it upstairs, filled it with pillows and blankets, put our fall decorations around it, grabbed a flashlight, put a movie in the portable dvd player, made popcorn and hot dogs, hot chocolate, and we had an indoor camp out. If you have a tent put it in the living room and capture a little bit of summer.

Help Others
Cleaning the closets may not sound like a fun day inside. A rainy day is a perfect day for the family to rummage through their closets and collect what they don’t use anymore and give it to charity. It is important that we try to foster a servant’s heart in our children to do the work of Christ. Gather clothes, toys, canned goods, and even household goods that are in good condition and pack them up. Spend the other half of the day making a big pot of soup, bake a pie or make an extra dinner to give to a neighbor. Sometimes the best memories you can create with your family are spent helping others.

There are a number of ways to enjoy the day inside when the weather isn’t cooperating. Spend time reading to your children, create your own little party, make crafts for the upcoming holidays, get creative with the day! The gift that is most meaningful to your children is the gift of time. In our busy lives we sometimes forget that those long lasting memories are created in the little moments we share with them each day.

Filed Under: Blog, Columns, Family Activities, Mommy and Me Time, Teenagers, Toddlers, Tweens Tagged With: children, Columns, Crafts, Entertainment, Fall, Family, Fun, Mommy and Me Time, Moms, Parenting, Teenagers, Toddlers

Faith and Business 101: Down in the Slumps

October 16, 2009 By MariLee Parrish Leave a Comment

What do you do when you are “down in the slumps?” You know…when you seem to be doing everything right…but the phone still doesn’t ring? When you have worked yourself to the bone…but nothing seems to be going right in your life or business? This happens to all of us in the course of a healthy business. It happens in our spiritual life, too. In my own life, I believe God has allowed these dry times in business and life to grow me as a person…and grow my faith and trust in Christ. It has also been a time to affirm my calling. During the driest time of all…I sought the Lord. Let me tell you, it was a long, dry spell! I had a slump for about 3 years in my life where I wasn’t sure what God wanted me to do.

We’ve all heard these verses many times, but during my slump, these words gave me hope:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

I truly sought the Lord with all of my heart. My desire was to use my gifts and talents to please the Lord and I was begging Him to give me a new dream. One that would fulfill me as a person and allow me to stay home with my family. And you know what? He did! It didn’t happen right away. And in fact, it took a lot of people along the way helping me to see what I could do with God’s help.

The awesome thing about having a dream and knowing your calling is that when you are “down in the slumps” and things aren’t going well, your dream keeps you going! Now, whenever the phone doesn’t ring or the e-mail I’m waiting for never comes back…I keep on pressing on! Why? Because I’m passionate about what I do and I won’t stop until the Lord says it’s time. What is your dream? What are you called to do? What is standing in the way of becoming all that God has planned for you?

Here’s your Faith and Business 101 assignment for this week: Get alone with God. Seek Him and you will find Him! God promises us that! Are you in a slump? What is God trying to tell you? Spend some time writing out your dreams and passions and laying them before the Lord. Remember, it might take some time, but God has plans to give you hope and a future! “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Until next time…

MariLee

Filed Under: Blog, Faith and Business 101 Tagged With: Columns, Faith and Business 101, WAHM Central

Up – Movie Review

October 14, 2009 By Faith_Mom 2 Comments

Movie Title: Up
Rating: PG
Director: Pete Docter
Staring: Voices of Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson and Christopher Plummer
Category: Animation, Comedy, Family

Moms of Faith Rating: 9 out of 10

Intro: Up is a heart warming animated film about remembering that your dreams matter, forgiving yourself, the power of love and much more…

Review: I will admit, I prejudged this movie before I saw it. LOL. I thought for sure it would bore me to tears and basically stink. No real reason for my feelings…maybe just what I saw on posters and trailers. Who knows why….

Regardless of WHY, I now have to admit that I was WRONG! I actually liked this movie. It was simply adorable. There was a lot more depth that I would have expected as well. The film was actually quite inspiring. After watching Up, I now want to achieve some of my long lost dreams.

Carl, the main character, marries his childhood love who is a huge dreamer and adventurer at heart. Promises are made to fulfill a dream and life happens so the dream is forgotten. I do not want to give more details for fear of spoiling the film for you. So on with the “review” part.

NO sex.

No funky spiritual stuff.

Virtually no bad language other than; golly, gosh and darn.

On the negative side: Not too much really.

There is some “fighting” type violence and a bad guy who is not nice, however, nothing that would set off any alarm bells in my opinion.

Carl is a grump and acts grumpy. Who hasn’t LOL.

Um… he also lies to escape having to be put in a retirement home.

And, there is a scene with wine in it.

Conclusion: Up is a film that inspires you to do great things and still do the responsible thing. It has great lessons for young and old alike. I liked this film a whole lot and would recommend it to families. While there are some adventurous scenes and some action(ish) type violence, I still think it can be for the whole family. However, if you do have younger ones that are easily scared, maybe you will want to watch it first and see. For my youngest, who is five, it was fine. She loved it. Our whole family did from young to teen to me and hubbie!

Filed Under: Family Activities, Movies Tagged With: children, Entertainment, Family, Fun, Movie Reviews, Reviews, Teenagers, Toddlers

Tuesday’s Mommy Tip – Cutting Unhealthy Calories

October 13, 2009 By Faith_Mom Leave a Comment

OK, on to this week’s Mommy tip…

Quick Tip for Cutting Unhealthy Calories

I have battled weight since the birth of my first child. However, after number two it became a much more prominent problem in my life. I have been on and off diets for years until finally I decided no more diets. Now, I simply make better choices. Diets are great for some people…just not me. I feel so confined. LOL. (you can read more about my battle with weight and my current goals here.)

I thought I would share one of the tips that help me still eat what I like, however, calories are cut and it is a healthier option. It’s simple. Replace ground beef or pork with ground chicken or turkey breast. Trust me, cutting out even one or two meals a week of beef and pork is not only a healthy choice…replacing it with poultry makes it lower in fat and calories as well. It’s a win win situation!

You see, I am not a fan of “low fat.” LOL! It just does not taste good. So, when I want to make tacos, instead of going for icky tasting “low fat” cheeses. I choose to use ground chicken breast and soft tacos instead of the fried hard version. Simple changes can make a WORLD of difference in your weightloss strategy!

What’s your tip?

Filed Under: Blog, Mom Tips, Weightloss Tagged With: Diet, Tuesday's Mommy Tip, Weightloss

Moms of Faith

Faith and Business 101: Check-Up

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – Movie Review