Discipling the Generations: Part 5

This is the fifth and final part in a series talking about discipling the generations, especially young people. I took a couple weeks' break over the holidays to post on other topics, but I wanted to finish off this series. We are looking at aspects of Jesus' life and example of how He worked with His disciples. 

The final point I want to make is Jesus had a deep, significant relationship with each of His disciples. Jesus knew His disciples and their needs. He lived with these men and did life together with them for three years. Keeping close track of twelve people in this way is exhausting! And that doesn’t touch all the ministry that Jesus did outside of His inner group. 

While we probably can’t keep up the schedule Jesus did, each of us can pray for one or two young people that we can take under our wing to mentor and disciple in the ways of the Lord. No matter the culture or generation one comes from, having a significant relationship with a person that helps point us to Jesus is life-changing. Let’s you and I be the ones to reach out to someone for Jesus!

Homemade Christmas Gifts

This post is perhaps a little late, but as I promised I would show you pictures of all the handmade Christmas gifts I made for my family this year, I thought I would go ahead and post them. Perhaps they'll give you ideas for birthday or Christmas gifts for this coming year! Let's just say, everyone loved the gifts I made them. The kids wear their new pajamas every night!

The pajamas pictured above were for my eldest. I bought a pajama pattern to make his and it turned out pretty well, though I must say, having never made pajamas before and not having much experience working with knits, I did have a lot of learning to do with these projects. His pajamas were a bit big, though I used the smallest size it came with. But he'll have it to wear for a couple years at least now.

The pajamas pictured below were for my third child. You probably noticed instantly that the pattern on the top is going the opposite direction of the pants. I unfortunately didn't notice it until both pieces had been sewn and finished. Another lesson learned. Oh well. My little boy hasn't noticed it at all and he loves his new pajamas. I panicked a little when I realized that the pattern I originally bought to use for both boys ended up being way too big. I used the smallest size for my eldest and it still came out too big for him. So I ended up searching online for some free patterns and tutorials to make this pajama set. In the end, despite the pattern mix-up, I think it was my favorite. I love the raglan sleeves on the top. Here is the tutorial/free pattern for the top, and here is the tutorial for the pants.

Here is the ornament I made for my baby. You can find the free pattern for it here.

And here is the ornament I made for my daughter. You can find the free pattern for this here.

The day before Christmas, I decided to make an ornament for my husband. He had never had his own named ornament as a child, so I thought it would be fun to include him in on the fun (plus I needed another last minute gift for him). I just found a cross picture I liked and used it as my pattern.

Here is the ornament I made for my third-born. I copied something I saw off Pinterest for this one.

And finally, last but not least, I refashioned an old t-shirt and pair of pajama pants belonging to my husband into a very sentimental pillow that now resides on our bed. Our first child was born in the middle of December of 2011, and my husband's dad found this t-shirt on a clearance rack at Walmart and snatched it up for my husband. I have some very cherished pictures of my husband wearing this shirt as he held our newborn son. He wore it proudly for several years until it became too dilapidated to wear in public. I saved it just for this purpose. And the well-loved old pajama pants made a perfect complimentary backing to the pillow, I think. (Remember the raglan sleeve pajama shirt from above? I used bits and pieces from this old t-shirt to make it up as well. So I got a lot of mileage out of just one t-shirt!)

The handmade Christmas gifts were a big hit and will be far more meaningful for years to come than any toy or trinket I could have bought. Planning ahead of time and starting a couple months early helped to make the projects manageable and not stressful. I honestly had a lot of fun planning and making these gifts! I encourage you to try to come up with a few things to make your loved ones when Christmas rolls around once again.

New Year's Goals

Happy New Year, everybody! Normally I post on Tuesday evening, but since this is the beginning of a new year, I thought I would write tonight about some of the personal goals I'm making for this coming year. I am excited about this new year and what the Lord has in store for me and us as a family.

One of the goals I have is to read the Bible in a year. I've tried various reading plans over the years, but I'm excited about the new one I'm going to use. It has reading plans for 5 days each week, with the other two days to use as catch-up. Also, it's in chronological order and has a reading in the OT and NT each day for variety. You can find the reading plan here. Interested in a different reading plan? You can find many excellent types at this website. Check them out and pick one for the new year!

Another goal I have just for this month is to do the Scripture writing plan that this sweet gal posts on her blog each month. The theme for the month of January is Wisdom, and I feel I'm in need of that more than ever! You can find her plan here.

Another goal I have is to get in better shape and make priority in my schedule to exercise. I'm specifically wanting to target my core to help correct some issues I've been having with my pelvic organs. In order to accomplish my goals, I paid for a year's membership to a website called Fit2B. I really like Bethany Learn's gentle approach to exercise and the fact that she has workouts for all fitness levels. All her exercises are "tummy safe," meaning they will help (and not further damage) those who have diastasis recti. I am confidant that if I am faithful, I will see significant healing and improvement in my core strength.

Those are some of my major goals, but I've also written a few minor ones including handicraft projects I'd like to accomplish this year. We'll see how much I get done by the Lord's grace!

Have you made any personal goals?