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It's the end of a busy day of managing a home office, running errands and trying to make sure things are okay on the home front. As a wife and mother of both a 12 and a 16 year old, this can be quite challenging at times. Whether your work is inside or outside the home, as parents, we have to find family activities that keep us connected with one another. Not all of the strategies I've tried worked. The entire family may not all enjoy the same activites. However, here is one that all of our family members enjoy from time to time. I learned about this one from a public television station. Try it! BUILD A TIME CAPSULE Start collecting things you feel your family will get a kick out of seeing at a later time. For instance, my 12 and 16 year old still enjoy seeing pictures that they drew when they were 3, 4 or even 10 years old. We get a really good laugh out of them. We've collected and saved hospital bracelets, fingerpaintings, hand made items - you get the picture. All of these items need to have the name and age of the child on the back. We're just a little bit disappointed if we look at a drawing and that infomation was omitted. We dont know which child drew it. Next, save them in a decorated box, clear zip up bag or you might even want to include some of the items in a scrapbook. So, parents start now. The more drawings and crafts, the better. Here are a few of our family favorites. (Label the family members your child draws)   
| Faith Replenish and Rejuvenate Your Mind Taking care of our physical health is important and helps us to live longer and more disease free lives. However, what’s to be said of our mental and spiritual health? How do we combat the stress and anxiety that has at times infiltrated our minds to the extent that we lose adequate rest, experience unexplainable illnesses or just become too uptight or snappy? How do we tell our anxieties to, “Sit down and shut up because I need a break!”?
Instead of merely suppressing worries and anxieties – only for them to resurface when triggered by another period of stress – delete or overwrite them altogether. My favorite way of doing this is to relax and listen to Bible CDs. I personally like to hear the Psalms or the book of Ephesians. They’re kind of like motivational tapes but better. It feels really good to replace worry with trust in the faithful Creator. Overwhelming peace comes when I “Cast all of my cares on Him (God) for he cares for me”. I am refreshed when I exchange the cancerous unforgiveness with forgiveness and prayer for my enemies. We must not let our negative emotions run wild and out of control. I am thankful that when the Word of God, Holy Bible, is read, accepted and understood in its rightful context we find a shield from the barrage of harmful thoughts that would enslave us. Our souls are nourished and feel replenished and refreshed by the deluge of love, words of affirmation, hope and faithfulness that transcend the pages of a Bible and become inscribed upon the meditating heart.
It’s, therefore, quite comforting to know that in a world filled with daily struggles, responsibilities and disappointments that we can find a place of tranquility and peace in our Creator. - Lola Turner
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