I’m sorry I am a day late in posting this week’s schedule.

Yesterday’s appointment with the surgeon, and then the flooding in Houston, took more of the day than I anticipated.

Here is the schedule for this week’s reading:

Monday (yesterday): Acts 7

Tuesday: Acts 8

Wednesday: Acts 9

Thursday: Acts 10

Friday: Acts 11

Saturday: Acts 12

Sunday: Acts 13

I hope your reading is going well and that you are hearing the Lord speak to you.

You might have an advent calendar ready to go for your kids, but what about you?

Do you have something set for you to get a refreshing treat each day of Advent?

I have an early Christmas present for you again this year.

In 2008, I created an advent calendar for myself and some local friends and stuffed it with refreshing ideas for activities to be done each day, December 1-25.  I have tweaked and shared that list online each year since then.

This year, I’m happy to share the Advent Activities for Moms and Families with you in advance in PDF form so you can print out the list, cut the activities into strips and slide them into your own calendar to be opened and enjoyed each day of December up through Christmas Day. Consider using these activities in an already-made advent calendar or make your own… or you can just use it as a list. The point is to pause, reflect and enjoy Advent.

You can click over to read how I made my own Advent calendar to house the activity slips, and also see a photo of an advent calendar a friend of mine made from socks if you like.

It is my prayer that these activities will refresh both you and me and that we will triumph over the stress this season brings and revel in the joy.

I’ll be tweeting and posting each day’s activities on Twitter and Facebook. Follow me there to join in the fun and get a reminder each day.

Merry Christmas, my dear friends!

And please, let me know in the comments if you have any activity ideas I should consider adding for next year.  My only rule: please keep them simple.

Time management is tough enough, but when you throw in all the extra celebrations, meals, activities and everything else that comes with the joy of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, things can reach overwhelming right away.

I’ll admit it, just writing that sentence was a bit overwhelming… Only two weeks till Thanksgiving vacation.. really?!

Jessica over at Life as Mom has some great FREE resources to keep us all in line and focused on what is most important this holiday season. First of all, you can download her free e-book, A Simpler Season, which is tailor made for a simpler, better Christmas season for moms and families.

Plus she offers new free downloads to each week on Life as Mom to continue helping us all. Her latest download is all about time management for the holidays.

Ready for the holidays? I’m not yet. But after the download, I’ll be a step closer…

This morning was a rough one with one of our sons. We butted heads and it was hard to stay cool. Eventually I lost my temper, but, fortunately I was able to get it back. And I think that, ultimately, our conversation this morning will yield more good results and growth than would have happened without our confrontation. And after my Bible reading this morning, I now know my next step and can’t wait to share it with my son after school.

Today’s Bible in 90 Days reading begins with Habakkuk.

“Alright, God,” I said as I opened my Bible. “What do you have for me in Habakkuk? I’m just going to read that and then take a break.”

And then I read of Habakkuk’s complaining and frustration.

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” Habakkuk cries out in Chapter 1 verse 2.

“Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?” He continues in verse 3.

These words could be from my son.

I know he asks God to help him and probably feels like God isn’t listening and responding most of the time.  Also, my son sees so much injustice in the world. Sure, some of it is typical parent-child ‘injustice.’ But he also sees the state of the world and wonders why God allows evil to defeat good so often.

“He needs to read this,” I thought to myself.

He  needs to know that it is okay to cry out to Him in frustration and wonder why God isn’t listening, provided he sits back and listens to what God shares back with him.

God responds to Habakkuk’s cries in Habakkuk 2:3:

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it;

it will certainly come and will not delay.

God will prevail. He is in charge.

He knows us and loves us and knows that things do not make sense to us. We just have to trust.

Habakkuk continues in Chapter 3, verses 18-19:

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of deer,

he enables me to go on the heights.

It’s okay to cry out and be frustrated and confused. Many before us have. The key is to cry out in love and in faith and remember that He is in charge. He will prevail. And He is our strength if we trust in him.

Thank you, God, for sharing this with me today… and at just the right time, too. Guide me in sharing this with my son. Open his heart to receive your Word in the way you want Him to receive and understand it. Help him as he cries out to you. Calm his heart. Help him grow.And help me, please as I help him.

Thank you for the gift of your Word and for giving me just what I needed right when I needed it again today. You amaze me. I am so thankful to be yours.

I am one of those who loved high school, and this cheerful, upbeat video almost makes me cry, thinking about how amazing the kids and teachers at Magnolia must be to put this together. I love the spirit of collaboration which had to have gone into this project.

If you have a few minutes, take a look:

Now I just hope that Shari, our exchange student, doesn’t want to move so she can go to school there!

Rather than post my SOAP observations during that  time, I will record them in my very own spiral notebook, just like the ‘olden’ days.

In case you are reading along, either to get ready for the Bible in 90 Days read beginning January 3 or not, the schedule this week is:

Saturday: Matthew 5-7

Sunday:  Matthew 8-10

Monday:  Matthew 11-13

Tuesday: Matthew14-16

Wednesday: Matthew 17-19

Thursday: Matthew 20-22

Friday: Matthew 23-25

Saturday: Psalm 125, Matthew 26-27

Sunday:  Matthew 28, 1 Thessalonians 1-3

I’ll be back Monday, November 29, when I will post a link to the official sign up for the next session of Bible in 90 Days/Blogging Through the Bible in 90 Days.

Please consider joining us and reading along or, if you are a Bible in 90 Days graduate, please consider joining our support team as a group leader, prayer team member, or any other number of roles where we could use your support.

I pray that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, regardless of whether you live in a place where it is celebrated or not. I know I have a lot to be thankful for.

I want to do way more than I can ever make the time to do.

So I am asking you, dear readers, for help.

Do you know of any excellent time management resources?

If so, would you please tell me about them in the comments?

I would really appreciate it!

Thank you so much for your help!

*** Missy’s comment below reminded me that perhaps I need to give this request a bit of context…

I am already very much a planner/ organizer girl. I have carried a datebook of some kind since middle school. Yes, really.

Now I am trying to juggle more than is possible and am trying to figure out how to fit it in or what to cut out.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!!

Scripture: Proverbs 31:27

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness

Observation:

This section of Proverbs 31 is subtitled Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character. This type of wife takes control of her household and manages it, recognizing and getting done what needs to get done without sitting still and wasting time.

Application:

I am still learning how to manage my household.

And, as much as I hate to admit it, I am still realizing that it is my responsibility to manage.

Often, I do not WANT to be in charge. I don’t want keep tabs on everything and be in charge of the order. Or I just want to be in charge of what I like. But, you know what? I AM in charge. This is my responsibility. And I need to step up ALWAYS. (Yes, always… but that also means stepping up enough to recognize the teammate I have in my husband and talking with him about when and how I need his help, when I need it.)

I want to feel more comfortable in this role. That is only going to happen as I assume it completely and stop putting off the things that need to get done. I need to stop eating that bread of idleness and just get to it.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for blessing me with a wonderful teammate of a husband and fantastic children.

Please guide me as a I continue learning, accepting and assuming the role you intend for me as the manager of our home.

Please guide me in that role. Keep me from procrastination and idleness and instead show me how to manage and serve. And guide me in embracing all of that role more.

Thank you, Lord, for knowing the plan you have for me. Thank you for ultimately being in charge. And thank you for your loving guidance and this reminder today.

Hi there! Today Robin at Pensieve is hosting BlogHop 2010 to help bloggers (and blog readers) meet and greet.

If you have come by why of the BlogHop today, welcome to MomsToolbox!

And if you are a regular around here, I hope you don’t mind the quick tour.

Back when I  launched MomsToolbox I had no idea it would grow into what it is today, a site offering tools for moms growing in Christ. And, to be honest, I was quite nervous sharing my faith at all. It amazes me how much I have grown! (This SOAP devotional about sharing my faith changed my outlook.)

One of my passions is helping people to read the Bible, cover to cover, through my Blogging through the Bible in 90 Days program twice a year. For this current session, which started July 5, more than 560 signed up to read with us… and more than 90% of those readers are still going strong. If you’d like to join us January, consider subscribing using the buttons above so you don’t forget and I’ll post a sign up once this session closes in October.

I also write about other things on MomsToolbox.

Thursdays I host Real (Experienced) Moms to help spark cross-generational conversation. Moms of grown children speak in their own words to share their triumphs, failures, family traditions, memories and even favorite recipes. I love the wisdom these ladies have shared through this feature.

Next Friday I plan to launch Favorite Memories Friday where readers and bloggers will share their favorite memories through the years via a blog post linky or stories in the comments section. I love looking back and smiling. Not only is it a great way to see God’s provision, it’s a great way to just get all warm and fuzzy inside, too. If you’d like to participate, start working on your first post about any favorite memory and then get ready to post and link up next Friday, August 13.

I post my daily SOAP devotion observations nearly every day and write about other things, too… cycling, fun things to do with your children or family, my triumphs and failures, my adventures with Weight Watchers, and our families experiences in rearing our own three young children as well as a couple foreign exchange students, too. Check out my categories listing and click around to see what I have to offer.

Feel free to join in the conversation here on MomsToolbox or on my  MomsToolbox Facebook Fan Page. I love chatting on Twitter, too, so you might consider following me there, too.

If you’re looking for travel tips or just fun travel stories, swing over to my travel blog, MomsTravelTales. (Mom’s Travel Tales has it’s own Facebook Fan Page and Twitter conversation, too.)

Thanks for hopping by. I hope you enjoy your visit! And if you ave anything you’d like to share, please comment away!

On Friday I asked readers to share their advice for rearing teens. (And I’m still up for more advice if you’d like to click over and share.)

Now, I’m gathering your opinions on what is American.

I know what I think is American, but what about you?

If you were living in our country for the very first time and didn’t have long to stay, what would you want to be sure to experience, see or taste?

I’d love your input on what is American and what we should be sure to share with our new daughter for a year. Feel free to share links to family-friendly places, recipes and anything typically American that you think she shouldn’t miss.

So… What says “America!” to you?