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So much time at home. Honestly I am loving it! I am a Visionary by nature and so I love coming up with ideas. Wanted to share with you some of the ideas I have come up with to do during our quarantine that don’t involve a screen.

1. Hot cocoa time. Sounds simple right? Hot cocoa time is powerful! It’s a great reset and I like to use it especially with someone who is having a bad attitude. Who doesn’t have their frown turn upside down with a cup of hot chocolate? 🙂 I like to have all the good stuff in it too! I buy whipped cream when it’s buy one get one free at Safeway and all sorts of sprinkles at Dollar Tree. Then we make the hot cocoa with whipped cream and sprinkle it on top and sit down and talk about our favorite things!

2. Get outside! It doesn’t have to be extravagant. We have a sled that we fill with water and the kids play in that for hours and we also have been doing egg hunts quite regularly. The big kids love hiding them and the littles love finding them 🙂

3. Read! Read out loud to the kids. Have a big kid read to the little kids. Have each child go to their own space with two books and read. I love taking advantage of meal time and reading. This is the book that I am currently reading to the kids from at breakfast, lunch and dinner and we are all learning so much on how we can serve the Lord better!

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4. Get artistic! Amazon has not run out of craft supplies 🙂 we love to paint in this house and do any sort of craft with the understanding that we will have a big clean-up party after 🙂

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5. Music! Sing! We are working as a family on memorizing two hymns and two contemporary worship songs. All this time at home should be filled with lots of praises!

6. Legos! Fun toys. We have a rule in our house: no toys with batteries. Batteries basically take the place of your child’s brain in allowing them to be imaginative and creative! Be sure to pick out one toy at a time. This helps with mess. So you can say “Legos and duplos for now.” And then have them play with toy cars or blocks later.

7. Work on the house! Most importantly involve your kids! There is so much to do around the house isn’t there? Involve them and help them to take ownership of the home with you.

8. Play games! Dust off all those board games and get busy 🙂 we have been playing many, many many games and it’s such a great way to build character and learn and fellowship with each other.

9. Look for things you can do for others! So many lonely people out there. Draw some pictures, paint some cards, pick some pretty flowers from your yard and put them in a mason jar. Drop them off at the neighbors or a friend’s house. Make someone smile with things made by your children’s hands!

10. Learn together! There is so much fun stuff out there to learn isn’t there? Johnny and I have been learning a lot about George Washington Carver. A neat Christian man that was also a slave and that God used tremendously!

11. Cook/bake! Let your kids in the kitchen! Ricky made us all Belgian waffles this morning. I know there is a shortage of flours so we have been having to be better at planning but you can also substitute oats for half your flour in your recipes… usually. We also buy cake mixes and make cake cookies. All you do is get a box of cake mix and blend in 1/4 cup oil and two eggs.

12. Spend more time in the word of God together! Write it out together. Read it out loud together. Act it out together. Listen to it together.

13. Cuddle! Children naturally love affection and their dopamine goes up in their brain when we hug them and touch them 🙂 stick close together on the couch, hold hands when you go for a walk and give random hugs and kisses.

14. Don’t forget to smile. Find a good joke site and share jokes at the dinner table. Dance around the house to Seeds Family Worship. Run around outside with your kids. Look for things that make them smile and you will smile too!

15. Relax together. In a busy, busy world this time away is a blessing. But we can even get overly busy even at home. Sit in a swing with them in your backyard. Lay on a blanket outside and look up at the clouds or stars. Sit in the living room and enjoy each other’s company. Learn to be still together.

More pics below from our family quarantined time.

Enjoy this time friends!

Love, Katie

What in the world??? “Too Gospel-centered”??? How could there be such a thing???

The gospel. The good news. The power of God to salvation. Can we have too much of that?

Well…yes and no.

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” 1 Cor. 15:1-2

How could I get too much gospel?? Ok, so that’s not really what I mean. Let me explain.

There seems to be a trend…a movement…and if you aren’t riding on it’s train you are legalistic. If you aren’t gospel-centered everything: parenting, marriage, relationships, work etc. then you are getting it all wrong.

This train in some circles requires you get on board and never talk about works or repentance. Every message, every sermon, every conversation must revolve around the gospel. Here’s the problem, the bible doesn’t do that. Jesus didn’t do that.

Take the sermon on the mount for example. The best sermon ever preached, given by the best Preacher of all time and there is no talk of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

In chapters 5-7 of Matthew we read the sermon on the mount. Christ opens with the beatitudes. Blessed are these people, blessed are those people etc. Then he talks about how we are the salt and light of the world and ending that section explaining that it’s our good works that will bring glory to our Father in heaven. Christ then explains that He came to fulfill the law for us and that our righteousness must actually exceed that of the law in that we must obey from the heart, not just outwardly. He proceeds with a bunch more practical application and exhortation on things like anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, loving our enemies, giving to the poor, how to pray, laying up treasures in heaven and not on earth, fasting, not being anxious, judging others, asking God for things, the golden rule, our salvation compared to fruit on trees, explaining the importance of knowing Him and building on the rock.

That’s it. No mention of the word gospel or his death, burial or resurrection. No mention of Him dying for our sins. Does that make him a bad preacher? Some “gospel-centered” folks nowadays would say so. They may even say He sounded legalistic and talked WAY too much about what we are supposed to do as His followers rather than what He has done for us. Way too many rules. He was too focused on works and people who don’t have them going to hell.

Another thing Christ said that is important for us to consider in the midst of this trend we are seeing in the church comes from the great commission.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'” Matthew 28:18-20

Hmmmmm, um, was Jesus confused? Teaching them to OBEY everything He commanded?? Aren’t we supposed to teach them how to preach the gospel to themselves everyday? Wouldn’t that be more profitable?

No it wouldn’t. Christ was very intentional in His parting words. He did not lose sight of the gospel. He did choose to tell us: go make disciples and teach them to obey.

Of course in our disciple making process we will share the gospel but we must also be teaching them to obey and that’s what Christ chose to emphasis.

I am seeing a sort of pride come out of this movement. A sort of judgement toward pastors who just aren’t “getting this gospel-centered” thing right.

I want to be very clear. I love the gospel. I wouldn’t be saved without it. I just don’t want to be more gospel-centered than Christ. I want to focus on what He focuses on. If you need to preach the gospel to yourself daily that’s fine but don’t judge those who don’t. There is no such instruction in the bible to do so.

We are saved by grace through faith not by works. But faith without works is dead. There are lots and lots of commands and instruction for living in the bible and we cannot neglect those. We must read those in light of the gospel and read the gospel in light of all the teaching on works. Works don’t produce faith but saving faith produces works. That’s not non-gospel of me to say. That’s truth. Don’t lose sight of the sanctifying work that God wants to do in you. Don’t quit working out your salvation with fear and trembling. Don’t forget the gospel. Meditate on and live out of the entire counsel of God.

Love, Katie

P.S. here are some videos I recommend (by some of the most gospel centered authors out there).