There’s a lot of talk in the Christian community about asking Jesus into your heart to become saved and go to heaven. Yes, your heart has a lot to do with this but let me offer up a more biblical truth.

Nowhere in the Bible can I find where it says to ask Jesus into my heart. If you know of some scripture on this please, please leave a comment pointing me to it.
What I am seeing is that in scripture Jesus is referred to as a King. He is to rule. It’s not a foo-foo idea. Jesus is LORD!

What does that mean, to be ruled by a King? What is accepting Christ as our King supposed to look like? My husband made the comment not long ago in a Bible study that the modern day Christian has absolutely no idea what it means to submit to anything. We live in a country where we can do what we want to do when we want to do it. We have no real grasp on what it is like to live under the rule of a king and this shows regularly in American Christianity where everybody just wants to feel good and be entertained.

Accepting that Jesus is our King gives an entirely new meaning to being a Christian. I have been a believer for about 12 years now; however, when I actually accepted Christ as my King, my Lord, my ruler, my entire view of my Christian walk. It isn’t a sweet ‘ask Jesus into my heart’ thing. It is giving up me to follow Him.

Now, if we call ourselves Christians can we honestly say that we have submitted ourselves to Christ? We may call Him King but do we really live each day as though we are under His rule?

There is a big difference.

It’s time for another giveaway! This week I’ve got some Probiotics designed especially for Kids! And, if you come back tomorrow I’ll have a special contest/giveaway for a Raspberry mother’s tea mix! Then, next week we have a set of children’s books to giveaway so make sure to bookmark our site to stay tuned! You might like to get our RSS feed, too.

Here’s that Florastor giveaway…

Florastor Kids is the only probiotic designed for children. It has come in handy in my family this past few weeks when the littles were throwing up everywhere. The stomach bug was pretty yucky but Florastor Kid’s probiotics help get their little systems back on track after all that tummy trouble.

Here is an excerpt from the Florastor website.

In every child there are billions of microorganisms that keep your gut
(intestines) working properly. Some medicines, certain diseases, travel and
stress can cause an upset of the balance of microorganisms in your body.
Florastor® Kids promotes and maintains intestinal health and is safe to take with other medicines.

What is a probiotic?
Probiotics help the good organisms in your body to grow and protect your intestines against “bad” organisms that can make you unwell. Florastor Kids helps maintain the normal balance of microorganisms in the gut†.

Effective:
Multiple clinical studies have shown that Saccharomyces boulardii lyo is an effective dietary supplement. Florastor Kids is suitable for all (infants 2 months of age to adults).
Florastor Kids is okay to take with antibiotics as it is natural yeast that works even when taken with antibiotics†. Making sure you have the right number of “good microorganisms” may help reduce bloating and gas often caused by an imbalance of microorganisms†.
Florastor Kids has been shown in over 50 years of extensive international use to be safe and effective.

Florastor Kids:
Maintains the balance of good microorganisms in the gut†. Keeps the gut functioning well†. Promotes intestinal health†. Protects good microorganisms in the gut†. Improves consistency of bowel movements†.

The company has been generous in donating a 10 pack of Florastor Kids for me to giveaway here on my blog! Yippee! That’s an $11 value!

Here is how to enter.

US residents are welcome to enter per the rules below. Pay special attention to the closing date! You can enter twice by following the directions here by 5/7/2009. If I ‘know’ you please don’t hesitate to enter! Winners are chosen at random via a number generator.

• Entry #1: If you run across this blog and you want to win the Florestor Kids 10-pack probiotics leave a comment telling me how you and your family keeps healthy during the cold and flu months.
• Entry #2: Link to this entry from your blog and write about this giveaway and then leave a second comment with the link where you passed on this giveaway info. This entry should be SEPARATE from your first entry.

1 winner will be chosen on or around 5/8/2009. We will announce it on the blog here as well as TRY to email the winner. I say ‘try’ because I often get email notices returned to me as undeliverable, I get no reply, or the winner doesn’t give a method of contact. Please make sure you check back to see if you are the winner! I won’t hang onto your winnings forever. After a week or so I will choose a new winner or relist the giveaway. WINNERS: Please allow about 3 weeks for your gift to arrive once you forward your shipping information to me.
If you don’t want to leave me a method of contact please remember to check back to see if you are a winner. We are easy to contact. Also, if you do leave a method of contact you need to check your spam folder. Many people have missed out on winnings because the winner’s email went to their spam folder to be spotted after an alternate winner was chosen.

Subscribe to our RSS Feed so you don’t miss any of our giveaways and winner announcements!!!
Contact me if you would like me to host your giveaway!
Visit this page to see our complete contest rules.
View our privacy policy.

Sunday my husband decided to help me get the kids some food during our weekly common meal after church, which includes a range of delicious foods to choose from. Ryan has watched me get food for 4 people at once many times and was more than willing to try it himself. So, before I could stop him he made his way through the line and got food for our 5, 4, and 23 month old boys.

The families that speak the loudest about their Christianity are actually the more quiet, peaceful types. They are different and I know that just by looking at them. They are making a statement about their lives without speaking a word.

If we believe that the Bible is the Word Of God then why are we so quick to denounce a scripture just because it doesn’t fit our ideas? Isn’t everything in God’s Word written for each of us?

Friday’s Flavor is a weekly blog post I write in hopes of encouraging myself by logging my creations as well as help out other moms who are looking for more creativity in meal time and other kitchen and food stuff endeavors. At the bottom of the post you’ll see a Mr. Linky. Feel free to link to your own Friday’s Flavor! I’m excited to see what you’ve cooked up!

So, I’ve finished my tea bag. Actually, I made two. They were super easy and only took a couple of minutes to complete. While I heated my water I sewed one up and it was so easy I decided to make a second one.

Here is what you’ll need for this project.

• Muslin cloth – there are different weaves. A looser weave will help you get a stronger tea in a shorter period of time.
• Cotton string
• Large eye needle (optional)
• Sewing machine or hand stitching supplies

Directions

1. Cut a piece of muslin about 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches and a 12 inch piece of cotton string.
2. Take your large needle and thread your string through it. You’ll want to create two holes with your needle in each corner of your muslin (long end of fabric on top), about 1/4 inch in and 1/4 inch down, and thread your string through each hole. See my illustration and photo below. If you don’t have a needle you can just use a sharp object to poke two holes and thread your string through with your fingers.



3. Fold the top over so that the string holes are on top. See my photo below for a visual. Muslin is easy to work with so just press it down firmly with your finger and it should stay shut just fine.

   
   4. Stitch the top closed creating a drawstring type of pocket for your string – this is pictured below. Be careful not to sew on your string. You’ll want your string to move freely.

5.Fold your sachet in half to create a square, right sides together (so the sachet will be inside out). The stitch around the two open sides being careful to not stitch over your string. I use a slim zigzag stitch but a straight stitch will work well, too. Trim your excess.

6. Finally, turn your tea back outside out and tie your string so it won’t slide out of its pocket. I have a ton of beads and tied one to the end of my string to keep the string from sliding into my water while my tea is steeping.

Fill with loose tea, steep, turn inside out to clean, fill with loose tea, steep, etc…

Later I’ll be mixing up my own teas with some loose tea I purchased in bulk. I’ll keep ya posted on how that project turns out!

Today I have a homemade tea project. I purchased a number of herbs in bulk so that I could create my own teas for pregnant & nursing mamas. However, I have been having a rough time coming up with a way to bag them without using up all my muslin cloth. Also, I want to be able to give a bunch away without worrying about making tons of little tea bags.

I got my idea yesterday to create reusable tea bags with little cinch strings on the top. That way, I can make a large sachet for the tea mix and then a small reusable tea bag for each gift set. Very cool!

I’ll be taking pictures as I go along today and adding a post with my finished product so stay tuned…

Life Lessons From Spongebob

1. Don’t judge a person by the way they look. Just because someone is square doesn’t mean they’re square.
2. Befriend those who are unfriendly and/or friendless and never give up on them.
3. Always look on the bright side – have a positive attitude. The cup is always half full.
4. It’s more fun to be silly.
5. Don’t worry so much about what other people think of you.
6. Wake up ready.
7. Find a job you love and do it to the best of your ability.
8. Have excellent work ethic.
9. Holding a grudge is harder than letting it go.
10. Laugh easy.
11. Foul language is not becoming.
12. Try new things.
13. Lying never works out well.
14. Help out when you’re needed and do it with a smile.
15. Superheros aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be.
16. Be loyal.
17. Don’t take yourself so seriously
18. Moss always points towards civilization.

In the last few weeks we have been studying Easter. I’ve learned a lot, found what I’d learned to be untrue, learned more, found that to be untrue, etc…

The Energizer Keep Going® Hall of Fame recognizes those who’ve overcome life’s trials with the enthusiasm of the Energizer Bunny. Stories of those remarkable people live at the Hall of Fame as reminders to us that we can persevered in even the toughest of situations.

Do you know somebody who deserves recognition for a life well lived? Energizer would love to hear about them! That person could be your sister, your best friend, your son or daughter, or even you!

Not only is Energizer recognizing those passionate, hardworking people, they have also given me the opportunity to offer one reader a prize package including:

• 2 packages Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries
• 1 package Energizer Advanced Lithium AA batteries
• 1 package Energizer Advanced Lithium AAA batteries
• 1 pink Energizer Bunny stuffed animal

These batteries are specially made to last longer in digital cameras and have shown great long lasting power in remote controls, too. If your family is anything like ours you know that batteries are a hot commodity. Being on a budget often means that when the batteries die the toy is off for a while. Longer lasting batteries are definitely a plus in my book!

Now, for the rules…
US residents are welcome to enter per the rules below. Pay special attention to the closing date! You can enter twice by following the directions here by 4/8/2009. If I ‘know’ you please don’t hesitate to enter! Winners are chosen at random via a number generator.

• Entry #1: If you run across this blog and you want to win this battery and stuffed animal gift package just leave a comment telling me about your favorite childhood toy.
• Entry #2: Link to this entry from your blog where you wrote about this giveaway and then leave a second comment with the link where you passed on this giveaway info. This entry should be SEPARATE from your first entry.

1 winner will be chosen on or around 4/9/2009. We will announce it on the blog here as well as TRY to email the winner. I say ‘try’ because I often get email notices returned to me as undeliverable, I get no reply, or the winner doesn’t give a method of contact. Please make sure you check back to see if you are the winner! I won’t hang onto your winnings forever. After a week or so I will choose a new winner or relist the giveaway. WINNERS: Please allow about 3 weeks for your gift to arrive once you forward your shipping information to me.
Seriously, people, if you don’t want to leave me a method of contact please remember to check back to see if you are a winner. We are easy to contact. Also, if you do leave a method of contact you need to check your spam folder. Many people have missed out on winnings because the winner’s email went to their spam folder to be spotted after an alternate winner was chosen.

Subscribe to our RSS Feed so you don’t miss any of our giveaways and winner announcements!!!
Contact me if you would like me to host your giveaway!
Visit this page to see our complete contest rules.
View our privacy policy.