Moms' Time Notes - April 12, 2013

Announcements:

·       Dads’ fellowship night is Monday, April 15, from 7-9p.m. at the home of David C.

·       Advancement night—Lisa A. will be making all of the food for advancement night. In the past, everyone has had to bring food. Instead, everyone will be paying Lisa $12 to cover the cost of the food. Please place your money and check off your name on the appropriate sign up sheet.

·       It is mandatory for everyone to be available to help on Tuesday, May 28, for advancement night rehearsal and set up. Plan on having that day free.

·       Put registration forms in Christine R’s mailbox.

o   Make the checks payable to “Faith Christian School.”

o   There are two more Friday’s to sign up with the $50 enrollment fee. After that, the price will increase.

·       The registration number for HSLDA that is on the new enrollment form is incorrect. If you need to renew your HSLDA membership, wait for the new number.

·       Any moms who will have high school students in PSP next year must attend a mandatory high school meeting next week, April 19, at 8:30 a.m. in G135. If you are normally with students at this time, be sure to find coverage so that you can attend the meeting.

·       Please remember that the hospitality table is for the moms (and dads) only. Please do not allow your children to eat off the table.

·       Everyone should have received the SAT schedule in her mailbox.

o   Proctors should arrive by 8:30 a.m.

o   Proctors and room helpers will be on campus both Monday and Tuesday. All other moms will be helping on either Monday or Tuesday (see schedule in your mailbox).

o   If you are not assigned on a day, please check-in in the morning before leaving campus in case additional help is needed.

o   Before leaving campus, please sign out.  You will need to sign-out and leave a cell phone number where you can be reached.

o   The students will be dropped off and picked up at the gym and lunch by the room helpers.

o   If you are watching the students at gym or lunch, you will take your break and lunch when no one is scheduled to be there.

o   There will be one nursery.

§  Each day has two nursery schedules. One is from 8:30-11, and the other is from 11 to the end of the day.

§  If you have a child in the nursery, you will need to get your child out for lunch and feed him or her.

§  Please pack a snack for your nursery child.  Make sure the snack for the nursery is peanut free.

§  Rachael and Marina will be the contact people for the nursery.

o   Everyone should be parked no later than 8:45; all students should be lined up by 8:50.

o   On the Sunday evening before testing, the dads need to help with the set up of the classrooms.

o   Students must wear their uniforms. All regular PSP rules apply.

o   There will be no Grace Grill on the Monday of SAT testing, so everyone should pack a lunch for that day.

o   There will be Grace Grill that Tuesday for those who wish to purchase a lunch.

o   On Tuesday, no one may be in the gym after 1 p.m. Do not be late picking up your children. Arrive 15 minutes before your earliest child is scheduled to be done.

o   Please have your students bring the following:

§  healthy snacks and lunch,

§  2 sharpened # 2 pencils with soft erasers

§  scratch paper for math

§  a ruler with centimeters and inches

§  a book to read while others are finishing (no coloring)

§  calculators for 7^th grade and up

Speaker Emarie Britten “Practicing Hospitality”

Emarie was one of the founding members of Grace Community Church. She and her husband were present on the second Sunday 57 years ago. She has been married for 58 years, and she has two daughters and four grandchildren. She also has one great grandson.

Her husband founded the Center of Achievement at CSUN, which is a sports program for people with disabilities.  Her husband also founded and currently works with a non-profit serving people with disabilities and the elderly. One area of service she has been involved with is teaching a class for unequally yoked women. Emarie has also been a part of the Sojourners’ Women’s Fellowship and Every Woman’s Grace.  For about 30 years, EWG had elective classes for women.  Some of those classes were skills classes like hospitality and cooking. . Emarie directed the class on hospitality.

Hospitality became an annual EWG event and took place in the gym. There were seven large tables set up, and women brought everything from appetizers to desserts. Out of this came the Grace Church cookbook which featured the 450 best of the best recipes. Emarie was able to dedicate this cookbook to her mother. Past cookbooks had always been dedicated to a woman in the church. This was right before her mother developed dementia.  She had to stop organizing the hospitality events to care for her mother, so she was blessed to be able to dedicate the cookbook to her mother at this time.

Emarie spoke about the true, biblical definition of hospitality and why God’s Word commands it. True biblical hospitality involves reaching out to those you do not know. The purpose of biblical hospitality is serving others. Hospitality is not entertaining people. It is not trying to impress others. It is a service. Do not let pride stand in the way of being hospitable. Do not use the condition of your home, your social standing or your lack of material possessions as an excuse.  It is about showing people love, and you should not let your pride interfere with letting people into your home. We are serving people not things. Hospitality is a skill that you can learn and develop as you serve others.  Do not use the excuse that hospitality is not your “gift.”

Hospitality is not limited to the home. It could be making someone a meal. It could also be as simple as bringing someone cupcakes. If you know someone needs help, avoid saying, “Let me know if you need anything,” and then waiting for that person to ask.  A person in need will not ask for help.  Just show up.

Emarie provided us with a handout with some recipes and helpful hints.  Here are some of the practical hints.

·       Always have something quick and easy and ready to go in case someone drops in unexpectedly.

·       You will never have the time, so just schedule hospitality.

·       Have a “front porch test.” Does the front of my home look clean and inviting?

·       Watch how others perform hospitality. Cut out pictures, and save ideas.

·       Organize what you can do in advance.

·       Invite guests early.

·       Build hostess supplies.

·       Remember, “hospitality before pride.”

·       See if there are ways to make your home more comfortable and inviting.

·       Allow your guests to help.

·       Be flexible. Be prepared for the unexpected.

·       Hospitality plans begin and end with prayer.

Recommended book, Open Heart, Open Home by K. Mains

Bible verses: Gen. 18:4-8, Matt. 25:35, I Peter 4:9, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 13:2, Gal. 5:13, I John 1:7, II Tim. 3:16, II Cor. 9:7, Prov. 15:13

Moms' Time Notes - March 15, 2013

Announcements

·       Grace Grill will be closed next week (3/22), so pack a lunch.

·       Grace Grill will also be closed the two weeks after that (3/29 and 4/5) for Good Friday and Spring break.

·       Registration for Pudewa/IEW seminars will be opening soon. When Christine sends out the e-mail letting you know that registration is open, you will need to act quickly! Many people are anticipating this event.

·       There is a clipboard in the moms’ room with SAT info for each student. Students are listed by grade. Please add your children’s birthdays and middle initials to this list.

·       SAT information meeting will be next Friday at 9:45. Any new parents should plan on being in the room at that time. If you are scheduled to be out of the room, you may try to find coverage.

·       Do not forget the moms’ Monday night planning meeting and fellowship for moms with students in K-4^th grade next year. That will be this Monday, March 18^th at 6:30 p.m. at Kristen’s Home

·       Jen T. is putting together yearbooks. Order your copy soon.

o   Jen will be putting the orders in April.

o   The cost is $29.

o   This year there will not be any extra year books because they are ordering them from an outside company. Be sure to order your copies soon.

·       Matt T. will not be teaching PE next year. If there are any moms who might like to teach PE, please let Christine know!

·       There is a sign-up sheet for advancement night. The committee needs to have a general idea of who is coming including guests like grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. Please give them your best guess.

·       Next week, we will have a craft time with Lisa A.  Plan on being at moms’ time.

·       The Children’s Hunger Fund field trip deadline is next Friday.

·       Progress reports are coming out. If you have any questions about grades, please speak to Christine R.

Speaker Anna

Anna and George S came to Grace Community 20 years ago.  Her husband is an elder at Grace as well as a physician. Anna has a background as a nutritionist/dietician and has raised their two children (now grown). Both of her children are hearing impaired. Anna reminded that we are wives first! After our children are grown, we will have our husbands. The idea of an “empty nest” is a lie. Husband love their wives to be their encourager and best friend and to show them affection. We need to be kind to them and friendly to them. Our husbands also love good food.

Anna encouraged us to put a little energy into something we are already doing. We can excel still more and see it as a joyous adventure.

For anyone interested in the details of nutrition, a good resource is The Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. For a general overview, Anna gave a handout called “A Guide to Good Eating.”  There are two basic principles to remember. 1) Eat foods from all five food groups. Avoid diets that eliminate an entire food group. Exercise prudence, balance, and moderation.  For long term health, be moderate and eat small portions.  No one food is off limits; simply exercise portion control.  2) Try to eat different foods from each food group every day.

For children, do not make issues out of food/dieting.  If you want them to eat a particular food, start with a very small portion so they can feel successful. Relax. Try not to push food on them.

With our children, remember the “law of kindness.”  Proverbs 31: 26, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.”

Ephesians 6:4, “⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Endear yourself to your children. A book related to this is Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman.

Menu planning ought not to be a burden but a way to be generous with our love. Don’t leave the special meals and pretty table settings for guests only.

When thinking about menu planning, think about what days you are out. Think about what days, you have more time to cook and what days you need to keep things simple. Plan accordingly. Try planning for two weeks at a time. Try to have beef twice a week, and chicken a few times a week. It is also good to plan seafood weekly.

For questions, recipes, tips, Anna kindly gave out her cell number and e-mail address. If you would like it please ask someone who was there (Julie S has it :).

Note: Cindy C. said her goodbyes today, as this was her last PSP. The Choo family is leaving on March 18^th. Let’s remember to be praying for them.

Moms' Time Notes - February 8, 2013

Christine R.

·       For the speech meet next week

                  Everyone is in regular uniforms.  There is no nursery care.

o   Plan on being in the chapel and seated by 8:30. It will be a busy day.

o   The presidential candidates in the government class will be giving their speeches.  The business students will be giving their “commercials” to promote their products.

o   Bring money to purchase students’ products.

o   After all the students are done with the speech meet, everyone will be able to tour the home school fair.

o   After touring the home school fair, everyone can go to the business students’ trade show next door.

o   After the home school fair and business displays are finished, clean up your projects. Everything needs to be cleaned up and removed by 12:30.

o   Pack a lunch if you are going to Scooter’s Jungle. There will be no Grace Grill.

·       Remember if you volunteer to teach or run a class for next year that you should check with your husband before your name is put on a survey.

Kristen H.

·       Set up for the home school fair will be on Thursday from 4-6.

·       If you need to bring your project on Wednesday evening, please email Kristen.

·       If you want to help out with the home school fair judging, plan on staying after 6 on Thursday evening for judging and a pizza dinner.

Brenda S.

·       Brenda will be sending out an e-mail with your group assignment for the speech meet.

·       Let Brenda know if you plan on bringing extra people (i.e. dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles) so she can have enough chairs set up.

Susan O.

·       The Sacramento field trip is coming up!

·       Research where you will be eating your meals and spending your free time.

·       Susan prepared a final itinerary and put them in your mailboxes. There were a few changes.

·       For the train, you can check in your luggage if you would like or carry it on the train. If you want to check your bags, you need to be there one hour early.

·       Bring a lunch to take with you on the train.

·       Char M. has planned scavenger hunt of Old Sacramento for after the capitol tour. It is optional but should be a lot of fun.

·       Susan needs the cell phone numbers for all the adults going on the trip.

·       Please review the Amtrak baggage policy.

Speaker Jocelyn Devaney

Jocelyn shared that she was at PSP for 11 years.  When she started in 1996, there were 35 children, and she saw it grow to 140 children.

Perseverance involves prevailing through changes and struggles. James 1:2-3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

February can be a difficult month as you home school. We need to press on when our children are difficult.

 Sometimes we need to experience difficulty/struggle to develop perseverance. To develop means to become more advanced and to mature. Perseverance is steadfastness in doing something despite the difficulty or the delay in achieving success.  It is continuance in a state of grace to a state of glory.

Sometimes as women, we resist change.  We need to persevere through change. Changes will come, and it is difficult to let go of our children. Our children will not be with us forever. Women have a much harder time with this than men. We often do not allow our children to “fly” early enough.  We can start in little things like allowing them to fail more and not giving so many helps.

Sometimes as home school moms, we put all of the focus on our children. Put your husband first. We need to invest in our husbands now, not later. Plan a date night. Enjoy each other’s company. Your relationship with your husband is your primary relationship.

We will all get to the point that we have to let go of our children. Letting go requires change. As much as we invest now, we must not be result driven.

A book dealing with women’s life changes (particularly in mid-life) is The Afternoon of Life by Elyse Fitzpatrick