Pass It On!

The holidays can be stressful enough with all the things we are expected and needed to prepare.  Now, with Thanksgiving only a few short weeks away, many of us are already beginning to think about Christmas and making our list of holiday shopping.

If you haven’t started your list, have vowed that this year you’re not going to spend as much money, or let things get out of control, then I’ve got a solution for you.

a FREE printable HOLIDAY PLANNER by MRsCHADT.  (yep, that’s me).

 Every year I tell myself I’m not going to spend as much money or let the holidays whisk me away into the preparations as much so I can spend more time with my family, yet when each year comes, that is excately what happens.  Over the years I’ve learned to keep track of things by writing them down.

Santa isn’t the only one making list this holiday season and checking them twice, so am I, and so can you.  

Click on the following link to download and print this FREE HOLIDAY PLANNER. 

www.mrschadt.com/freebies.aspx

Let me know what you think, and how your holidays turn out this year. 

Pass it on to freinds, family, and co-works as they too might appreciate a little less stress and a bit of organization this holiday season.

Print it out now, it starts with planning your Thanksgiving and takes you through the New Year.

Happy Holidays,

Millions of People Suffer each year from mood disorders.  This organizer is designed to be an efficient way for mood suffers, such as depression, mania, and bipolar disorder, to summarize a great deal of information about themselves, their lifestyle, and their habits.  From daily notes, to keeping track of appointments, it is all here in this one book waiting for you.

* Complete planning with monthly and weekly grids

* Weekly Medication Charts and Activity List

* Daily I.A.M Score (TM)

* Monthly Tips and Notes of Encouragment

* Address Book

This daily mood organizer will be available on Amazon.com very soon, but in the mean time you can check it out at www.mrschadt.com.

With the holiday’s soon approaching this is the perfect gift for someone who suffers from bipolar disorder, depression, or other mental health challenges.  14 month calendar, meaning you can start using it December 1, 2009. 

Pass It On!

The Waner Foundation & The Hannah Storm Foundation
Are Helping Raise Awareness In Washington D.C.

Hotel accommodations are at the Four Seasons Hotel, 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007  phone 202-342-0444

Participants need to reference the Hannah Storm Foundation and/or the Waner Children’s Vascular Anomaly Foundation

 Join us on October 23, 2009 as we begin at at the Brookings Institue, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036 from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m, where we will discuss issues relating to health care and awarness.

 Then we’ll be at the Hogan Law Firm, 555 13^th Street NW Auditorium, Washington, DC 20004 from 12 to 5 p.m., with guest speakers like Dr. Milton Waner, Nicholas Sparks – famous author, and others.

 And last – a cocktail hour at the ESPN Zone, 555 12^th Stret NW, #7, Washington, DC 20004 were we’ll finish off the day.

The goal is to help inform, raise awareness, and educate people on how to advocate for those with vascular anomalies.

Also visit www.wanervascularbithmarkkids.wordpress.com for more information.  Registration is free.

Pass It On!

Recently, my seven year old joined Girl Scouts.  As I stood in the church hall way, waiting for her to finish up her meeting, I heard their leader tell the girls to “give each other a little squeeze and pass it on to the other.”

How many times has taken you by the hand, touch you on the shoulder, or the arm and gave you that little squeeze of reassurance?

It’s hard to believe that something so simple as a squeeze can make someone feel so much better. 

As the girls stood in their circle, arms crossed, hand in hand, they repeated the girl scout signet and each gave the other a squeeze until it had gone full circle.

Today, pass on a small squeeze, a hand, a shoulder, (nothing volgur or out of place) and soon you’ll see it come back full circle and know that you are loved.

An excerpt from Dennis Rainey’s book “Moments

The Leaky Balloon

But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
Romans 16:19 NASB

Early one evening, I drove Rebecca–then 14–to meet some girlfriends for a bunking party. But her friends were running late, and as we sat there waiting in a parking lot, God orchestrated a great teaching moment.

We were talking about how she was going to relate to the opposite sex as she got older–about how far she would go sexually with a young man. A water balloon was lying in the console between us; it was stashed ammo from a balloon fight at our home a few days before. Picking it up, I got an idea.

“Let’s say this water balloon is filled with your sexual purity and innocence. This is all you have. How much of it would you want to give away before you’re married?”

“None of it,” she answered. “I want to give it all to my husband!”

Then I put it in teenage terms. “Let’s say a young man comes to you and just wants a little kiss–your first kiss–just a little bit of your innocence.” I held up the balloon and pretended to pierce it with an imaginary needle. Then another boy comes along, and he just wants a little more. Then later on, you fall in love and decide it’s okay to give away even more.”

I paused and looked deeply into her wide eyes. “How much innocence and purity will you have left to give the man you marry?”

“It would be all gone,” she said, “little by little.”

Now I have a question for parents: As you look at how this culture is seducing our teenagers, how do you need to teach and instruct your teens? If you don’t hold the standard high for your children, then who will?

Discuss
As parents, what is your game plan to help your children “be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil”? Talk about one or two convictions that you want to pass on to your children.

PASS IT ON

“What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”
George Eliot

A great Pastor I know says quite often to his congregation, “We are better together than apart.”  which goes with the old saying of, “Many hands make light work.”

More often than not we run into people trying to handle the difficulties of life on their own, some of which don’t have much of a choice in a situation, and those that do.  Mothers with screaming babies in carts, with toddlers hanging onto the side of the cart, and a grocery list in hand just trying to get enough food for supper that night.  Staring faces, disgruntled seniors telling the woman to take those kids and go, they don’t know why screaming kids have to come to stores or restraraunts.

We have men and women out of work struggling with day to day basics like food, clothing, and shelter.  The cold winds of winter are coming and just a shirt on their back is precious. 

Today, while many of you begin to digg through your winter clothes and prepare for the onset of cold weather, set aside a sweater or two from someone who needs it.  As you walk through a store or sit down at lunch at the local diner, offer a hand to someone who could use one.  Is there that particular person where you work, where you go to school, that always seems to be alone?  Offer your friendship.

All these things go hand and hand.  Life doesn’t have to be as difficult as we make it, we just need to learn to accept the difficulties and the hands that reach out to pull us through them.

PASS IT ON

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.  ~Edmund Burke

There are times when we come upon situations and think, “what kind I do? If anything at all.” so we do nothing and forget we even had the thought of helping.

As a mother of three children my hands are always full.  I’ve learned to adapt and adjust to get by on my own, and sometimes I forget that there are people who are willing to help, if I just ask.  And there are people who offer to help, but I’ve gotton so used to doing things on my own, most of the time I decline their offers and struggle to get by as I always do.

Last week, my day was rough.  No husband to help me, three kids running in different directions, and I’d forgotton my stroller.  (My youngest has been testing her boundrys and running off at the slightest chance.)  Then a friend had happened to bring an extra stroller along with her and offered to share.  She too, was without her husband for the day, and had three children, younger than my own.

Her small offer became a big blessing to me as I put my youngest in the stroller and was able to participate in a picnic lunch that I would have forgone without a stroller to keep my youngest from running away through crowds of poeple. 

What little thing can you do today to help another?  Even with her hands full, my friend was able to do one small thing that helped me alot.   When I was finished with the stroller I returned it, grateful for her help.

That same day, I taught a group of 2 and 3 year old children a similar lesson about a poor woman who gave every last penny she had even the small amount that it may seem to others, ment more than the abundanace given by a rich man.  So do not think what little you can do is worthless and better off ignored.  Think what little you do is significant and bring blessings with small tidings.

Pass It On.

A few days ago a friend passed on this link for not only being helpful to plan meals, but also for helping to save money.  Meal plans are done up weekly, can be based on different diets, and where you shop. 

Due to the difficulties of the economy, I say give it a try, if it really does save me money and time then it’s worth the $5 a month expense for the convience.  I’m sure there are a lot of busy mom’s out there who might agree.

How do you plan your meals?

Pass It On

I was eager to read Fearless as I am a big fan of Max Lucado.  I enjoy his children’s books and DVDs (especially Hermie) and was eager to get and read this book.  Unfortunately, it was not what I had imagined.

Looking at the world today, there is a lot of fear.  With the recession, there are fears about losing jobs and fears about retirement.  There are fears regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  There are fears about government spending and our country in general.  So rather than write from the heart, it seems like Max wrote what he thought would sell well.  As such, the book was not as enjoyable as I had hoped.

In all fairness to Max, my spouse often gets upset with me because I am fearless.  As such, this book could have been a situation of preaching to the choir.

There were a total of 15 chapters in the book.  Chapter 2 felt like an advertisement for one of his children’s books (and in the last pages, there was an advertisement for the same book).  The first eight chapters were slow reading.  He still had his witty style and included personal anecdotes from himself and others (so as to relate to us and not talk at us), but the substance was missing.  Starting at Chapter 9, things were a bit more interesting.  Chapters 10, 11, 12, and 13 (Death, Seasons of Life, Doubt, and Global Calamity are the topics), in my opinion, are the only parts worth reading.  Actually, throw in Chapter 15 as well, which is more of a half of a chapter and mostly written by a seven-year-old boy named William.

A feature that the book has is study questions in the back so that the book could be used for a class or a small group.  I have not read the questions (mostly out of disgust with the rest of the book), so cannot comment on their effectiveness.  However, if you are looking for a book for your small group written by a well known author, this book may be what you are looking for.

It’s not what I was looking for.

Pass It On, this book hits book shelves today!

Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9

“But he hit me first!”  We hear it all the time and respond, “Play nice, children.”

When we are children we imitate what we see.  When a sister hits a brother or a brother takes a toy that their other brother had first, we step in make an example of the wrong, yet what happens when as adults we never learn to speak kind words to one another, to give back what isn’t ours, and to refrian from mimicking the wrong doings of someone else?

Today, greet every insult with a smile and unspoken words.  Refrain your hand from tongue from striking out, even if, “he did it first.”  Take the lead and be the example.  Your smile maybe the smiling someone else needed, your unspoken words may be a prayer for the person who knows no better, and your day may be blessed by doing right in the eyes of the Lord.

Pass It On