Nothing makes this mama more proud than to hear my kids say “let’s pray about it” when they’re sick, or when something else is wrong. This let’s me know what we’re teaching them is sinking in.

I don’t know about you, but it sickens me to see the lack of values and morals in our world today. As I think about the pressures our children will face in the future, I’m reminded that it’s our duty as parents to make sure they know what’s right and how to stand up for those things no matter what.

My husband and I want to do everything we can to make sure our kids grow up to be strong individuals who put God first in everything. It’s our responsibility to instill Biblical values in our children.

What are ways to instill Biblical values in your children?

• You have to know what’s right. You can’t count on the world, or even a church in some cases, to teach correct values. Read and study the Bible and pray so you’ll know for yourself what’s right. If you don’t know the truth, how can you expect to pass it along to your kids.
• Pray, pray, pray. As long as you and your children are breathing, never stop praying for them to have wisdom, courage and strength to stand up for the truth, no matter what. And don’t just pray for them, pray with them.
• Be an example. You’ve probably heard the expression, “more’s caught, than taught.” Live a life that reflects your beliefs and values, and that glorifies God.
  
• Spend time teaching them the Word. Don’t just sit down and read a little story. Talk about it and discuss how it applies to their lives right now.
• Show mercy when your children mess up. Does God not show us mercy every day when we make mistakes? Now, I’m certainly not saying you shouldn’t punish your child for misbehaving. What I mean is taking time to calmly discuss where they went wrong, explaining that we must ask for forgiveness, and then praying with them about the situation.
• Trust God. When you can’t be there for your children, God always is. Remember, He loves them even more than you do and wants to see them grow to be Godly men and women.

Now, my kids are young and obviously we have a long way to go before they are grown. Our knees will probably be calloused from time spent in prayer for them.

We’re also trusting in Proverbs 22:6.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

By all means, don’t think that we have it all figured out, or that we’re doing everything perfectly. No one does, but we want to give our kids the best chance at being who God wants them to be. We do believe though that by implementing the above six things, we’re going in the right direction.

In the end, it’s ultimately up to our kids to make their own decisions about life. In the meantime, we’re going to do what we can to make sure they know what’s right and what’s wrong, and trust God to take care of the rest.

What are you doing to make sure your kids are not easily swayed by worldly views?

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Did you think I had forgotten all about doing my menu plans? Well, I hadn’t. I’ve just had a very busy month, going out of town and all, and didn’t ever get my plans posted.

Last week, I tried something different, and I’m not talking about a recipe. I actually got up 15 minutes earlier each morning so I could fix breakfast. Hey, I value my sleep and since I usually stay up too late (on the computer), I’m not really keen on getting up even a few minutes early.

However, I have to say, it worked out well and was nice to have something other than breakfast bars, cereal, or toaster strudels every morning.

Since that worked out well, I’m going to try it again this week. Guess what that means? I’m posting my breakfast plan also. As far as lunches go, I usually always have enough leftovers from dinner each night for the next day.

~Here’s what’s cooking this week~

• Monday:

Breakfast - Crockpot Cheese Grits, Buttermilk Biscuits, Bacon
Dinner - Grilled Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Salad

• Tuesday:

Breakfast - Granola Bars, Cereal (I have an early dental appt.)
Dinner - Hamburger and Macaroni Dish

• Wednesday:

Breakfast - Fruity Baked Oatmeal (I’ll prepare this the night before to bake in the morning.)
Dinner - Grilled Chicken Salad w/Homemade Croutons

• Thursday:

Breakfast - Banana Nut Muffins
Dinner - Country Ham, Hashbrown Casserole, Fried Apples

• Friday:

Breakfast - Leftover Breakfast Buffet
Dinner - Ham, Tomato, and Lettuce Sandwiches, Strawberry Pretzel Salad

• Saturday:

Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles
Dinner - Easy Shepherd’s Pie, Dinner Rolls

• Sunday:

Breakfast - Cereal
Dinner - Eat out/Leftovers

I’m really looking forward to this week because we’re trying a lot of new recipes. For more menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

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Most people I know fit into one of two categories: the ones that plan everything and the ones that just wing it. Occasionally, I run into someone that seems to have the best of both worlds.

By nature, I’m very much a planner. I plan our vacations, our menus each week, our budget and my day. However, the problem I run into as an extreme planner is that I get really frustrated when things aren’t going exactly as planned.

This drives my husband nuts, because I usually end up in a tizzy. He likes to have a plan, but he’s really good at wingin’ it if things don’t go as expected.

Although planning is necessary for success in many areas of our lives, it’s just as important to be able to improvise and not freak out (like I do) when things aren’t going perfectly.

I’m learning this more and more each day. Kids kind of have a way of forcing you to learn the skill of working with what you’ve got, whenever or however.

Now I’ve let the cat out of the bag and told you one of my many imperfections, so here’s what I’d like to know about you.

Would you consider yourself to be a plan it or wing it kind of person?