Winner

#3 was the winning number
Larry (Cakeblast) was the winner of the Dinosaur Train Make A Match Game. He was emailed.
I am going to post many more giveaways soon.

Keeping My Family Happy

I was asked to write about how I keep my family happy. Well, that took some thought. I suppose I had never really thought about it in those terms before, but it really is important.

An Attitude of Gratitude
I try to focus on the blessings we have. I would say with all the bad things in the news, my natural tendency is to focus on negative things. But I make a conscious effort to focus on the positive especially with my children. I encourage them to comment about things they like such as going swimming. My children say their prayers before bed and before meals, and they thank God.

Connect with Shared Interests
It is a good idea to connect with shared interests. Usually I ask my kids about school, and I express and interest in their lives. It is important for children, and everyone else for that matter, to feel that you really care about what is going on in their lives. Since I have teens I have to ask more questions to get more than "nothing" for an answer. My kids love music, so I talk to them about songs they like. My son really likes movies, so we talk about them. My daughter is really concerned about her friends, so we talk about that a lot. The point is to talk about things they like.

Do Activities Together
My kids like to go to the park, and they like to feed the ducks. They really love to swim and skate, and it is fun to do those things together. Just by spending time together, that will make everyone feel happier.

Eating Supper Together
It is important to eat supper together. I had heard about a campaign to encourage parents to eat meals with their children because it decreases the chances that they will become involved with alcohol or drugs. It is during meals that we can really "connect" with our children. They want our attention, and during meals they can get that attention. It is important to turn the television off during that time otherwise people will be focusing on that instead of focusing on each other. It is a good idea to not answer the phone during that time or at least tell any callers that you will call them back after supper. That makes everyone in the family feel important.

Those are just some ideas about how I keep my family happy. I am sure there are many other things that I did not think about. What types of things do you do? I would love to hear your ideas.

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I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Farm Rich blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

My Favorite Thing About Easter

I was asked to post about my favorite thing about Easter. Sure, I like coloring eggs, egg hunts, and all the candy, but my favorite thing about Easter is the Christian meaning behind the day. It is vital to the Christian religion to understand about Jesus voluntarily giving His life for us and returning from the dead.

I wanted to post about the history of the pagan holiday becoming a Christian holiday. In the pagan celebration "Ishtar" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz". I won't go too deeply into that now, but it had to do with Nimrod, who was the grandson of Noah's son named Ham. (Remember the Tower of Babel?) Also it was a celebration of fertility - hence the eggs.

We know that Jesus went Jerusalem to celebrate passover, and He rode a donkey on what is called "Palm Sunday". He was crucified on "Good Friday" and rose from the dead on Easter. The tomb was empty! Because of His voluntary sacrifice, we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

I was studying about how the official date was chosen. It was kind of long, so I will just quote it here: (On All About God) "The history of Christian Easter is told about in the book, A History of The Christian Church. The first definite record of the celebration of Christian Easter is in connection with the visit of Polycarp (the bishop of Smyrna) to Anicetus (the bishop of Rome) in 154 or 155 in order to come to an agreement about the time of the observance of Easter. Polycarp represented the more ancient custom of observing Easter with a vigil, ending with the Lord’s Supper, through the night of the fourteenth of the month Nisan (month of the Jewish calendar), like the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week this day might fall. Anicetus represented the Roman custom that was also followed by some parts of the East to have the Easter feast always on Sunday. They did not come to an agreement, but continued on each with their own practice. After further disputes over dates within the Asia Minor church, the problem became so serious that meetings were held around 190 that decided in favor of having Easter celebrated on Sunday. At a council in 314, the Roman date of Easter was approved. In the third century in the Christian church, “the great event of the year was the Easter season. The period immediately before was one of fasting in commemoration of Christ’s sufferings. Customs differed in various parts of the empire. In Rome a forty hours’ fast and vigil was held in remembrance of Christ’s rest in the grave. This was extended, by the time of the Council of Nicaea to a forty days’ Lent. All fasting ended with the dawn of Easter morning, and the Pentecostal period of rejoicing then began. In that time there was no fasting or kneeling in prayer in public worship. Easter eve was the favorite season for baptism, that the newly initiate might participate in the Easter joy.”2 At the Council of Nicaea a uniform date for the observance of Easter was ordered."

I know this post might be a little different than your average post, but I wanted to highlight how a pagan holiday was changed to the most important holiday to Christians. It shows how God can use even pagan things to glorify Him. This year as you are coloring eggs with your children, remember to tell them the main reason Christians celebrate Easter.

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More info: http://www.blogger.com/www.iwantcandy.com
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I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hop blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
Image by Luigi Diamanti.

I Was Away

I wanted to let everyone know what happened. My sister was diagnosed with a serious illness, and I had to fly across the country to be with her. Please, pray for her. I don't want to reveal too many details until I ask her for permission.

I am sorry I did not post for a while. I was staying at the hospital, and I couldn't work on my blog. My sister is some better, and is at her home. Another person is staying with her for now, so I was able to fly home.

I have several blog reviews and giveaways to do, so I will get them posted.