Stewarding Ourselves: Getting Active with Children

I love to write, but I am first and foremost a wife and mother, so this week I’ve been keeping up with school, laundry, and meals while we had revival meetings and haven't been able to blog much.  The music and preaching have been tremendous, and I’ve been truly blessed and encouraged by Dr. Doug Fisher’s messages!

My daughter Johanna has a cute little crown-tail Betta fish, which Sharon, Jason and Lydia gave her for Christmas.  He is, as all Betta fish are, a solitary little thing, swimming contentedly in his one gallon tank.  

Freddie lives a good life, but Betta care instructions tell us that Freddie could get very bored if he doesn’t get any excitement now and then.  To spice things up a bit, they recommend taking a mirror and holding it right outside the aquarium. 

Now, if you know anything about Bettas, you know that they are solitary for a reason.  Male Bettas, of which Freddie is one, are fierce fighters, and will attack each other just because they are there!  Putting a mirror in front of the tank presents an instant foe for Freddie, and he puffs himself up like a red balloon!  Every once in a while, he attacks his enemy, and then swims away in a triumphant puff of red swirly fins.

It’s good for him to be challenged, even if it is only with a mirror!

When it comes to Stewarding Ourselves, we need to understand the importance of being challenged.  I’ll leave most of that to your imagination, but I think you can see that being a parent is definitely a physical challenge.  If you’ve ever had a two-year old to chase, you can understand why it’s so easy to fall exhausted into your bed at the end of the day.  And many of you wonder about this thing of exercise.  How can I possibly find the energy to get up and go while I’m so busy taking care of my little ones? 

I completely understand your dilemma.  I’ve been there too.  So let me share with you what I have done to help me Steward Myself and my children over the years.  These are great for you to get exercise even if you can't jog or lift weights, etc!

Here are some ideas to get some exercise even with small children:

Babies: stroller is the way to go!  Walking is a great activity, and babies love to be out.  Lydia and Johanna were so close in age that we got a double stroller because we liked going on hikes.  It was important for us as a family to get out and enjoy God’s creation, so we often went on family day hikes in our area.  Because we had a jogging stroller (though we didn’t jog), we were able to tackle almost any terrain!

Children: games are great!  This way you AND the children can  be exercising!  I suspect children are about as excited about exercise as going to the dentist, so making exercise fun is important.   Here are some games we have played, plus a few others:

1. Capture the flag – This is an active game where each side has a “flag” (we’ve even used stuffed horses, of which we have plenty!  Then, of course, the game becomes “Capture the horse,” which becomes more deeply personal for those involved, hence more action!) that the other team tries to capture! 

2.            Tag – the standard game is where one person is “it,” and tries to tag another, and the only safety is the “base.”  Take away the “base” and the game becomes more interesting! 

3.            Freeze tag – The standard game is where one person is “it” and tries to tag others, and they are “frozen” in one spot.  Others can tag them to “unfreeze” them.   Since we rarely do anything the “standard” way, we often take teams, dividing into two (or more) teams.  More people, more action! 

4.            Soccer – Since I know very little about soccer, we rarely play, but it is great exercise.  When we do play, it’s quite challenging, and fun! 

5.            Family Football – two hand touch, of course!  These are some of our favorite memories! 

6.            Red Light, Green Light – My daughter insists that this game requires a lot of running, and I’m sure she’s right! 

7.            Basketball – A very active game, but one that requires a lot more skill than most of us have.  Still, it’s a lot of fun, especially if your team wins!
 

Remember, the goal is to Steward Ourselves, and bless the children in the process!

Happy Activity!

PLEASE NOTE:

Beginning on February 1st LisaRaub.com will be switched to LisaRaub.blogspot.com for a few months while we work out some necessary changes. If you visit LisaRaub.com after Feb. 1st, you will be directed from this site to the .blogspot domain until February 24th (when this URL will be temporarily unavailable).

photo sources: pic 1 & pic 2

Stewarding Ourselves: NEVER Give Up!

{inspiration and principles for applying the law of Steady Pressure}

Winston Churchill, the famous prime minister of England during perhaps the darkest time in modern history, had been called upon to make a speech.  

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Pondering what to say, he thought grimly of the awful war his country had been forced to fight just a few years before.  He knew there would be tremendously hard times.  He thought about the strong possibility of bombing raids on his English cities, the thousands of people who would lose their homes, their loved ones, and their sweethearts.  He knew his people needed a grim determination to persevere if they were to succeed.

He knew what he had to say.

To the boys at Harrow School, he uttered these historic words:  “Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.''   With one last look at the crowd, he released his hold on the podium and sat down.

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Never give up.

May his words ring true in our ears. 

When it comes to Stewarding Ourselves, this principle of STEADY PRESSURE can mean the difference between life and death.  It means that we keep going, day by day by day.  We must Steward Ourselves, because God has chosen to use us to take care of His creation, our husbands and our children.  He has no Plan B if we ruin our health by eating coconut bon-bons and sitting at the computer all day. We MUST take care of ourselves, and never give up, no matter how many things get in our way. 

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Maybe we have a bad day.  Is it time to quit?  Never!  Maybe we’ve twisted an ankle, and we can’t walk for two weeks, or even something worse – a long illness.  Should we give up?  Never!  Maybe we just don’t feel like going for a walk.  Do we stay in bed?  Nope!

Here are a few ways to keep STEADY PRESSURE even when we don’t feel like it:

• Make a commitment to yourself, and especially to God, that you will do everything in your power to keep going.  You may even want to take some time on your knees and ask God to help you make that commitment, and keep it.  Then write your commitment on a piece of paper, date it, and sign it.  Keep it in a place where you will run into it regularly.

• Set some goals.  Try to keep them realistic.  If you haven’t exercised for many years, you don’t want to have a goal of running a marathon!  Also, if you haven’t been eating right for the past ten years, don’t set an unrealistic goal of never eating one speck of sugar.  It’s better to say, “For the next week, I will eat no sweets,” then evaluate your commitment after your time is up.

• Decide to do something you enjoy.  Find out what you like and do it!  If you hate running, don’t decide that that is what you will do.  Use something you enjoy and you know you can stick to.

• Get a Partner!  See if your hubby will come along, or take the children!  It’s been my great joy to have my children come along with me on many of my runs.  When the younger ones go with me, I like to go on a circular track so they are always in sight, but sometimes, when it’s just Sharon and I, we go on long straight trails. 

• Look for Inspiration!  When the battery of your own inspiration runs low, ask God for some Scripture verses that will help you.  One of mine is, “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Also, plenty of inspirational quotes can be found by doing a little search (or visit our favorite inspiring quotes collection)   Here are a few of mine:

• “A year from now you may wish you had started today." 

•   "My life tomorrow will be the result of my attitudes and the choices I make today."

•    "Don't sacrifice your future for a momentary pleasure."

 and...

• “If you always do what you've always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always had.”

I remember reading a story about a guy who had a junk car in his garage.  He didn’t want to pay the money needed to have it towed off to the junkyard, so he decided to take a sawzaw to it, cut it up into trash-can-sized pieces, and bit by bit had it carted off to the dump in his regular garbage pickup!  All he did was go out to the garage every day and cut a few chunks off and throw them in the trash.  Working steadily, he was able to throw his car away!

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We may not want to throw a car away, but we CAN make a little bit of progress every day.  In the end, a lot will be accomplished!  STEADY PRESSURE is what we need to help us Steward Ourselves!  

Always remember, NEVER give up!  

Big Celebration!!

Did you hear me shout in celebration the other day?!!  Surely you heard it, a noise of rejoicing here in Arizona! 

The Lord enabled me to finally finish the manuscript for my new book!!!  And now it is at the first proofreader!  When she is done, then it goes on to the next one.  By the time it's done, I’m sure it will be in ship-shape!

For those of you who don't know, I am working on a book about Second Generation Christians.  I have been interviewing those that are living for God to discover what their parents did right, and let me tell you, the answers they give are absolutely fascinating!  I believe this information will be extremely valuable for Christian parents wanting to raise their children to serve the Lord.  So really, it isn't my book - it's their book.  It's the stories and advice from more than 50 young people who survived their growing up years without bailing and going out into the world, and are happily serving God today.

But before we can hold the book in our hands...

Now begins the arduous task of getting permissions, obtaining a cover design, doing the two appendixes, the preface, and finding the endorsements.  I still have a TON of work ahead of me, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel…hopefully it’s not a train!  ;)

I would SO appreciate your prayers for me and for the book as I finish this project.  Please pray that the Lord will bless it for His glory!

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The Wonder of Memories, or, Twenty-Eight Years!

I would never have dreamed she was 80 years old, but with a glowing face that made her look quite young, she spoke lovingly of her late husband after the evening service.

“Yes, he passed away in December of last year.  It was so hard to believe that he was 93 years old!  He was simply a beautiful man,” she smiled.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I replied.  “I would love to see a picture of him.  Do you have one?”

Surprised by my request, she dug into her purse and brought out her phone.  She showed it to me, beaming.  I looked into the kindly, quite handsome face of a white-haired gentleman.  Turning to her I remarked that it was unbelievable to think that he was actually 93!

“How long were you married?” I wondered.

“Twenty-eight years,” she replied.  She then told me that her first husband had also passed away, but the Lord had blessed her with her second husband, who was simply a wonderful man.

Then it hit me: I have been married twenty-eight years, just on Saturday!!  My Beloved and I got married on January 7, 1984, and have been married for over a quarter of a century!

“You know,” she said, bringing me back to the present.  “Falling in love is such an enchanting feeling.  It’s a good thing it goes away, or we wouldn’t be able to stand it!  But he was such a delightful man, and I’m thankful for the time I had with him.”

I nodded, saying, “Ah, but you have the memories.  And wonderful memories they are, I’m sure.”

She smiled like a schoolgirl.

“That’s one thing I really like about good memories,” I continued.  “You get to enjoy them twice!  Once, when you make them, and then later, when you think about them again!”

When she left the church, I thought for sure I saw her floating out the door.

So, for your information, My Beloved and I are going out to create more lovely memories for the next day or so.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MY LOVE!  It’s been a wonderful twenty-eight years, and I look forward to twenty-eight (at least!) more!!

My Fitness Story

Since we’re talking about Stewarding Ourselves this month, I thought it would be good to tell you a little bit about myself and my story.

You can read all about me in the About Lisa page, but in brief: the Lord has blessed me with 7 children, 3 grandchildren, a wonderful husband, and a traveling ministry.  Because the Lord has given me so much to do, I try to take care of myself as much as I can.  I run 3 miles 3 to 4 times a week, do my best to eat right to keep my weight in check, and do bodyweight strength training exercises 3 to 4 times a week.  Right now, coming out of the Christmas season, I weigh more than I should, around 135 pounds, but I know what to do to get that lower, and I’m working on it.

But I haven't always been fit. 

First, let me tell you the things that are against me:

• I’m 47 years old, and I got quite a late start at getting in shape.

• I've had eight pregnancies, and spent the majority of them on bedrest.

• We live in an extremely small place, 320 square feet to be exact.  It’s pretty hard to exercise here.

• I find myself very busy, homeschooling four children, writing a book, being involved in ministry and traveling.

• My schedule is quite unpredictable, changing time zones regularly and varying daily according to the folks we stay with.

• My husband is a night-owl, which makes it tough to get up early sometimes.  Need I say more?

•  Add to these things, I am hypoglycemic, which is similar in some respects to diabetes.  I need to be very careful what I eat, and always have a supply of food on hand to keep my blood sugar stable.

My health habits were not very good while my children were growing up.  For a while, when my husband worked warehousing M&M/Mars, my afternoon snack consisted of a Twix bar and a Mountain Dew! (What's that about blood sugar??  Yikes!)

When I was pregnant with my youngest child, I was soooo tired.  Really, tired is not the word.  Extremely exhausted was more like it.  I knew that I had done some exercise in the past, but I was sure I would never exercise again.  The only thing I felt like doing was sitting and zoning…for the rest of my life!

After I had Jason, I felt some better, but I was still about 30 pounds overweight.  That’s the equivalent of 3 ten pound bags of potatoes!  That may not be much for some, but for my small frame, it was quite the load to carry around. 

So after a few years of that, I finally drew the line.  I said, “This is enough!  I will not get any heavier!”  So, with a lot of prayer and a lot of determination, I set about eliminating all starches and sugars, and slowly but surely, exercising. 

I was amazed at how little I could do!  I decided to start by walking for 15 minutes.  Surely I could spare 15 minutes!  So I started out each morning, walked seven and a half minutes, turned around and walked back.  For the first week, I was exhausted!!  And believe it or not, I was very sore!  --just walking for 15 minutes a day.  There were some days I was simply too tired, too sore, or the schedule was too crazy and I didn’t walk, but most days I did.

After about a month I added a minute every week or two, and within about a year I was walking for about 30 minutes.  It was around this time that I read Aerobics, by Dr. Kenneth Cooper, and learned that it was possible to feel even better.  I decided it was time to kick it up a notch, so I began to run for one minute while walking 29.  Every few weeks I would add another minute, until I was walking 5 minutes, running 20, and then walking another 5.  I felt great!

I discovered that it takes a very long time to get better, but I knew I had nothing to lose but the feeling of exhaustion.  Many times I was tempted to give up in frustration, wondering why my body was not cooperating like I thought it would.  Needless to say, I learned that getting fit takes longer than I could possibly imagine, but it has been worth every step.

Anyway, I could go on about my slow recovery from serious exhaustion, but let’s just say I’ve been on the other side of these tracks, and I know how hard and frustrating it can be.  But I know that if I can do it, you can too!  

It has taken years, but now I’m a decent weight, can run 3 miles (though it is somewhat slow!), and have more energy than I’ve had in many years.  God has helped me to take care of my body, and I know He can help each of us.  I want to encourage others to embark on their own fitness journey!

How about you?  Do you have a fitness story?  Take a minute and share it with us! 

Announcing: Stephen & Jessica's Engagement!

How does that saying go, When it rains, it pours?? 

 

                         

We are so happy to announce the engagement of our son, Stephen, to the young lady he has been in love with for quite some time - Jessica!

They met at a Jubilee meeting in southern Indiana several years ago, but it wasn't until 2010 that their relationship really began.  And now they're getting married!  

Stephen proposed on Christmas Day, but I've been waiting until I got some pictures to announce the good news.  They're planning the wedding for the last week in July later on this year.  (Two daughters-in-law in one year's time...our family is rapidly expanding!!)

Congratulations, Stephen and Jessica!  We are thrilled to have Jessica as part of the family, and excited about what the future holds for both of you!

Stewarding Our Lives: 3 Principles of Growth

I am really excited about this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing some real growth in our lives.  My goal is to be a blessing to folks, specifically by bringing the wisdom of the older women into the world of the younger women, and putting help where people can reach it.  I have some topics and interviews planned that I think will be a real encouragement to those of you seeking to live for God this year.

Our theme this year is Stewarding Life.  God has given us this life, and now it is our duty to live it for Him.  We can show our appreciation for His gift of life by taking care of it, and that starts at home, with us.  So in January, we’re going to focus on Stewarding Ourselves: Our Bodies, Our Hearts, Our Time.  Along with the regular posts, I plan on giving various tips I’ve picked up along the way from the real “experts” – those who have successfully raised godly children.  It will be quite a treat.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Sandy was given a big responsibility: the teen girls’ Sunday school class.  She was really pumped about it, desiring to be a help to the young ladies, but she made a terrible error.  Since the only other class she had ever taught were 2 & 3 year olds, she simply read Bible stories to the girls and used her flannelgraphs!  Before she knew it, girls were whispering during class, texting, or even worse, sleeping!  One Sunday afternoon found Sandy in her room in tears, wondering what had happened. 

What did Sandy do wrong?  Wasn’t she earnest enough?  Did she have enough Bible knowledge?  Was something wrong with the Word of God?  Was she a bad teacher?

No, Sandy was not a bad teacher, and she definitely had a passion for the Word of God.  Certainly, nothing is wrong with the Scriptures.  Sandy’s problem was that she didn’t take natural laws into account.  By ignoring the Natural Laws of Learning, Sandy’s efforts became useless.

What I’m going to do is take some natural laws, and apply them to our lives.  We will find that we will no longer stagnate, but grow!

NATURAL LAW #1 – STEADY PRESSURE! Slow and steady, steady and slow, that’s the way we always grow!

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The first principle of growth: do a little bit every day.  I’m amazed at folks who exercise once every two weeks!  Though it’s better than nothing, it would be better to do a little every day than exercise sporadically.  Reading our Bibles every day  is a must for growth, and in marriage, there needs to be some communication on a daily basis, or the marriage will wither and die.

NATURAL LAW #2 – INTENSITY!  Slow and steady gets me ready, but working harder gets me farther!

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While a lot of growth occurs slowly and steadily, employ short, intense sessions to expand your horizons quite a bit!  In the physical realm, it is imperative to “stress your body” (exercise) in a controlled manner, so that if (or when!) there is an emergency situation, you are able to handle the stress.  Spiritually, our hearts need regular “exercise” of memorizing Scripture, witnessing, and the sharpening action of godly fellowship.  In marriage, the embers burn steadily all the time, but flare up in intense expressions of passion.  Intensity is an integral principle for growth!

NATURAL LAW #3 – VARIETY!  To kick it up, change it up! 

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While it’s imperative to have a steady stream of input, and that there be times of greater intensity, it is also imperative that we vary things up a bit sometimes.  Physically, our bodies become quickly accustomed to whatever level of activity we have, and so become unchallenged.  Boredom sets in, and variety is necessary.  Spiritually, it becomes quite easy to get in a rut of reading the same amount every day; variation helps prevent monotony.  And in marriage, if we’re always doing the same ol’ thing at the same ol’ time in the same ol’ place, it gets very droll indeed.  A little variety can spice things up a lot!

So now we’re set to Steward our Lives!  By God’s grace and with his help, we can make some serious strides in becoming “Fit For the Master’s Use!”