Hal Young's Blog, page 24

Coming of Age: 5. Celebration is Part of the Ceremony, Too!

At our sons’ coming-of-age ceremonies, we aim to gather the wisdom of significant men in the young man’s life and offer encouragement, welcome, and exhortation in a public, family-oriented setting.

 

But it’s not all teaching and ritual. Another thing we do is invite our guests to rejoice in this time of growth. Our family’s birthday celebrations are small affairs (as small as you can get with a family of ten plus some grandparents!), but this party is a big one we plan for months and years in advance!

The form of the entertainment, just like the form of the ceremony, is entirely up to you. We let the young man do most of the planning (with advice and consent of the parents) for location, activities, and food. It has been interesting to see how the event reflects the young man:

= One son hosted a hymn sing

= Another asked for a simple time of unstructured fellowship with friends and their families

= Another son who enjoyed the games of Ultimate Frisbee he played with the young adults after church, asked to organize the biggest game of Ultimate he could imagine (over sixty players took part, in the area of three soccer fields)

= Yet another worked with friends in the country to hold a turkey shoot on their rural property. (If you’re not familiar with the custom, it’s an old target shooting competition common in the South. The Cary Grant movie Sergeant York included the old-fashioned event using a live turkey; we followed the modern custom using paper targets and a Walmart gift card!)

For location, we’ve used the church fellowship hall, a friend’s back yard, our own home, or a city park.

For food, you could do anything from simple punch and cake, to a catered sit-down dinner. We’ve had buffet style (even pot luck) dinners, but find that a cook-out format works well with families; the expense is manageable, it’s easy to ask guests to bring side dishes, desserts, or beverages, and the usual outdoor venue makes cleanup easy and spills no problem.

We have also found it works well to have the activities first, then the meal time, and then the ceremony.  The meal or refreshment preparation can take place in the background while the younger guests, especially, have more interesting things to do (and therefore, there’s less crowding while the helpers are setting up the food). As the food wraps up, we move to the ceremonial part with the presentations, then close with prayer. The early busyness followed by food helps the little ones work off some energy and then settle down in time for the quieter part of the program.

Next: A Few Final Thoughts

Celebrating Independence Day When You Don’t Feel Much Like It

Our podcast on Making Family Life Practical this week is our answer to our friends posting on social media that they are so worried about our country that they don’t really feel like celebrating the Fourth of July.  Click this link or graphic (after 10pm Monday!) to listen to the show.

Keep scrolling for our Independence Day gift for you!

 

We would love to share our Independence Day Celebration Guide, with the documents, songs, verses, and recipes you need to celebrate with your family in a way that you can feel good about! Just sign up for our encouraging newsletter below and we’ll take you right there!

Coming of Age: 4. Who Should Speak To The Next Young Man?

We have a tradition of a formal coming-of-age ceremony we call a “Bar Chanon.”  This can take all kinds of forms but centers on a serious call to embrace the next stage of life for the young man.

We think it’s only natural for the young man to be welcomed into the community by the voices of the older men he will be joining. When it’s time for our daughters to step into the ranks of young women, we’ll have a similar focus on older women teaching the younger (Titus 2:3-5)

The men we invite to take part are men who have some connection and significance in the young man’s life already. Obviously, we include Hal, the father, as the closest man and role model in their life. From there, you can include grandfathers, uncles, men and leaders in the church, and others like parents of friends, coaches, or teachers outside the immediate family.

Some parents we’ve talked to expressed concern over family members who didn’t share their convictions. It may be hard on family relationships if certain people were excluded, but they were worried that inviting them might make a mockery of the occasion.

If you’re in that situation, we’d encourage you to consider including them anyway. We’ve seen on many occasions that people often respond to the tone of a ceremony, even if it’s unexpected in their daily life (one that stands out in our memory is a militant atheist who came to our very Christ-centered wedding; we caught him on the video singing the hymns with gusto, and in fact, he volunteered in a key position the whole weekend).

One thing which will make them comfortable in the unfamiliar situation is to schedule their presentation late in the ceremony. They’ll be able to adjust the tone of their remarks to be in keeping with the flow of the ceremony, and they’ll have a feel for how long to speak and how to pace themselves.

It also helps to remember that the experience of growing up and assuming the role of manhood is not exclusive to any faith, culture, or philosophy. Someone whose personal code is quite at odds with your own may still share his experience with the value of integrity, diligence, work-life balance, health, or financial management. Even one who has a broken relationship in his past may have some hard-won lessons to share. If you have reason for concern, you might phrase your invitation as a request to share on a particular subject: “Uncle Bob, I’ve always admired the hard work you put in to pay your way through college. Would you be willing to share a few thoughts on the benefits of going the extra length to stay out of debt?”

What if a generation is missing? Both our fathers passed away before we were married, so there were no grandfathers to invite for our sons’ Bar Chanons. Instead, we asked our mothers to speak as representatives of the older generation in our family. We have been blessed with their contribution to the ceremony!

One surprise blessing was including older brothers in the mix. Our sons are close both in age and in affection, and the older ones have been delighted to share even a few years’ perspective with their younger brother. As parents, you can help an uneasy speaker with his preparation, too.

Next: Celebration Is Part of The Ceremony, Too

In His service,

Hal Young

Coming of Age Ceremonies 3. What Would You Say To A Young New Adult?

In our family, we believe it’s helpful to set a particular time in a young man’s life to begin transitioning him to adult roles. We talked about our reasons here, and explained who we involve in that formal time of recognition, here. 

 

We want to impress on the young man that these new expectations and opportunities he will be experiencing are common to all men, not just the notions of his parents. It’s powerful to hear wisdom from many people, not just Mom and Dad, and it’s especially powerful when you hear the truth your parents have spoken being repeated in different words from a whole community.

The ceremony can take whatever form suits your sense of propriety and style. Some families have adopted symbolic rituals much like conferring knighthood on a squire, with the traditional accolade with a long sword which is them presented to the young man. (Historically, knighthood was sometimes conferred by the monarch approaching the candidate and sounding boxing his ears. We don’t recommend this practice!) Others have long periods of preparation and study with their sons memorizing passages of Scripture or catechisms, preparing a speech or message to deliver at the ceremony.

We use a less elaborate form, focusing on words of welcome, exhortation, and encouragement to the young man. In our ceremony, we invite several men of significance to the boy’s life to prepare short presentations about what it means to be a man. These will each focus on a character trait, some wisdom which the speaker has learned; we encourage the men we invite to think, “What do you wish you had known when you were 13?”

We also encourage the men to bring an inexpensive item as an object lesson to illustrate their point. This can be a lot of fun for all concerned. Some examples we’ve seen:

= A man should be visionary, looking to the road ahead, and seeking insight where he doesn’t see it himself. The gift was a small pair of binoculars, a way for a hunter to see his quarry far off; in the same way, a man should seek ways and counselors to help him understand what lies ahead.

= A man’s gifts and skills can be used constructively, to build and to beautify useful objects. The same skills can be abused, though, and turned into destructive ends. The gift was an antique carpenter’s plane from a relative’s collection of handmade tools.

= A man should be prepared for all kinds of situations. The gift was a folding multi-tool, as an example of an easily-carried solution for many unexpected needs.

In our family, the culminating presentation is always given by Hal, encouraging our son to be a faithful student of God’s word, looking to the Bible for God’s wisdom and direction in every part of life. The gift here is a leather-bound study Bible of the sort both parents have used for years. This actually is a follow up to an earlier gift – when each of our children has learned to read, we celebrated that achievement with a large-print presentation Bible of their own. The inexpensive Bible we give then recognizes that young children can be pretty careless with their belongings; by the time they’re 13, usually the old Bible is pretty worn, and a high-quality replacement has double meaning to them!

Next: Who Should Speak To The Next Young Man?

Your friends,

Hal & Melanie

Coming of Age Ceremonies 2. Who We Invite

We described the idea of a formal coming-of-age ceremony here. We’ve done this with all six of our sons, and in a few years we’ll consider how to celebrate our eldest daughter!

One of the earliest questions to answer is the form the ceremony should take … and therefore, who to invite? Since we’re totally at liberty about this, we have both the freedom and the responsibility to consider this question for ourselves.

Many cultures around the world have initiation rituals. Frequently they are designed for the men of the family and tribe to take the young man (or groups of young men) away from the home community and conduct their ceremonies in a male-only environment. After all, the focus is on the transition from boyhood to manhood, and what is more natural than surrounding the young candidate with the men whose world he’s about to enter?

Some families we know make it more intimate, where Dad will take his son away for a one-on-one retreat. This can take widely different forms. One father we know works in upper levels of corporate management; for his sons, the event is a trip to an upscale, out-of-town hotel, much like the world he experiences in his work life. On this business trip, the only business is that of father and son. Another friend goes the opposite direction. This father takes his sons to a wilderness area where they camp, canoe, hike, and explore the natural world, between times of discussion and prayer. In their family, it’s like Jesus bringing His disciples out to a remote area for the same kind of intense fellowship between the Teacher, the disciple, and their God.

We take a different approach. Although we also invite the men of our family and church to bring a message and welcome to the young man at the center, we make the event a family occasion, with all ages and generations eagerly welcomed. For us, it’s important to make a public profession of the new expectations being assumed by this young man, and the change in status we are now conferring. Though he’ll always be one of our “boys,” we won’t be referring to him along with the “little ones” and “kids.” We want others to hold him to account–and keep us accountable as well—and encourage him to embrace his new role, and everyone to recognize the change in status.

NEXT: What Do You Say To A Young New Adult?

Your friends,

Hal & Melanie

When You Find That on Your Husband’s Phone

It’s the conference season, so we’re all over the place speaking and talking to people. It’s an honor to hear their stories and to be invited into their lives. It’s also heartbreaking, sometimes. We think the hardest part is talking to those whose marriages are in trouble. The grief is palpable. They look broken, injured, hurt.

Many of these stories start the same: A crying wife tells us she found out her husband was using porn. What comes next varies, but it usually ends with a marriage broken or in trouble. That’s no surprise, since porn use is adultery. Yes, it is. The Lord said in Matthew 5:27-28,  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” That’s not debateable, it’s not opinion, it’s the Word of God. Looking with lust is a sin against God, breaking one of the Ten Commandments, and it is a sin that attacks the very heart of your marriage.

So, what do you do? How do you respond if you find out your husband’s been watching porn?

First, stop and pray. Take the time to remember that we are ALL sinners, every one. “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It hurts. You feel betrayed. But, at the root, this is a sin against God like all others.

Read this. It’s called Porn and Your Husband and it’s from our friends at Covenant Eyes, the internet accountability people. They deal with this every day. This resource will help you to understand that your husband’s sin is not your fault, but that he’s going to need your help to get out of it and to restore your marriage. It’s a great road map to figuring out how to respond now and in the weeks to come.

Think through your goal. You’re probably furious. It’s understandable, that’s for sure, but James 1 tells us, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” If our anger doesn’t work righteousness, we’ve got to find another way to respond, something else to do, other than just lash out at our mate. It’s tempting to just walk (or run!) away, but, especially if you have children, you’ve got to think through the consequences. Here’s an Open Letter to Parents Considering Divorce we wrote that you might want to read. Ultimately, the goal should be repentance and restoration, but you can’t do that alone!

Speak the truth in love. You need to confront your husband with his sin. You may be tempted to scream and holler and throw things. Honestly, we would be, too. Back to that verse in James, though. Can’t do it. The Word of God tells us our anger won’t work. Instead, we suggest you approach him in sorrow and humility, “Honey, I really, really love you. That’s why this upsets me so much. I’ve found out that you are watching porn on the internet. The Lord says, “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” I am hurt and I feel betrayed. I’m worried about you, too. Adultery is one of the Ten Commandments. I don’t want you to be in sin against God. How can I help you stop this? I want to save our marriage!”

Be prepared for lies, deception, and accusations. Sex is private anyway. Add in: “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil,” and you have a recipe for deceit. Suggest that if it’s not true, that you put some accountability on all the internet devices in the family so you can find out what is happening (It may actually be your child, even a young one. People are writing us about 7-9 year olds found on porn!) We use Covenant Eyes. You can try it for a month free if you use our link. And really, whether or not you have a problem in the house, you need some accountability on the internet.

Let go of undeserved guilt and shrug off accusations. Hear us: This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. There is no excuse for sin. Even if you have sinned against your husband, that does not excuse his sin in any way. And you probably didn’t. Porn use causes a dopamine cycle addiction similar to that of a heroin addict or alcoholic. If you offer an alcoholic a glass of milk, it’s not going to keep him from going for the liquor, no matter how satisfying and nutritious the milk is. He needs to repent so he can begin to enjoy what God has created for him to enjoy again.

Be as understanding as you can manage. Porn users can experience impotence and sexual dysfunction that can trash a guy’s self-esteem. He’s going to need a lot of encouragement to break this sin and addiction. That’s a LOT to ask for someone whose self-esteem has been trashed by the whole thing, too, but God can give us amazing grace. Ask Him for help. And know you have our utmost respect for fighting for your marriage!

Get help. Go to the pastors/elders of your church or ask an older, godly couple for help. Your husband needs accountability beyond you. If you don’t get help from the first people you approach, keep looking. Some people are dealing with their own sin and can’t help you. Find someone who can.

Have hope. We know couples that have beat this, even when it’s gone to physical adultery. With true repentence and a lot of love and forgiveness, it’s possible not just to get your marriage back, but to build a better one. Remember, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9) Jesus’ blood covers this, too. And He can “restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”

Please, Lord, bring the sinner to repentance and give grace for forgiveness to their mate. Please restore this marriage.

Related Resources: For more on this difficult subject, plus lots of help on how to handle conflict and how to restore your marriage, get our book, My Beloved and My Friend: How To Be Married To Your Best Friend Without Changing Spouses. It’s available in a His & Hers Special with an audiobook for the guy to listen to on the commute and a book for his wife to read in the bathroom.

Your friends, 

Hal & Melanie

Note: There are affiliate links in the post, but we recommended Covenant Eyes for years before they offered to bless us in this way.

 

Hope When You Feel Like a Homemaking Failure

Maybe I’m just a fail-sore (as my kids say), but there are days I don’t want to think about homemaking. Days I don’t want to even be at home in my house.

I remember reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (Francis Schaeffer’s wife – and if you don’t know who he is, you ought to find out!) when I was a young married. It gave me a vision of homemaking as a ministry to my family. I wanted my home to be lovely, nurturing, inspiring – a homey home! 

Enter reality. We’ve had a few challenges. Cancer. Sick Children. Surgeries. Job issues. Business start-ups. Moves. Chronic illness. You name it, we’ve pretty much had it. Result? The house has suffered. A lot.

Then we started traveling to speak. Once we traveled a huge circle route around the U.S. Temperatures ranged from the thirties to the hundred and tens! We spoke at conferences and churches and camped. You can see where this is going. We got home with all our clothes dirty – winter and summer, dressy and grungy! For all of us! Can you imagine??

That’s been pretty hard for me to cope with. A messy house annoys me. It stresses me. It makes me feel like a failure. I’m beginning to learn a few important things, though.

Beating myself up until I’m grumpy and ill-tempered is counterproductive. No one is motivated by snide remarks and especially not children!

The children will remember the love and joy in our house far more than they will how neat – or not – it was. Really, holding the baby or reading to my young children or heart to hearts with the teens will do more to make our house homey than all the housework in the world.

That said, how do I get it done?

When I feel overwhelmed, I need to just start somewhere and get something clean. When even a small area is orderly, it gives me hope and makes it easier to do more!

When the children are overwhelmed, it helps to break it down into doable chunks. They’re a lot like me. It’s a lot easier to pick up 10 books, then 9 books, then 8 books, etc, then it is to face a big jumbled up room.

Many hands make light work. When you’re facing a tough situation, it helps sometimes to work together. It passes the time and keeps everyone’s spirits up.

Music or an audiobook can make the work more fun. Videos, though, just don’t work in my house. Our guys are too easily captivated even to fold clothes while watching something.

Sometimes I need new ideas. I’m looking forward to reading the books and listening to the courses in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle (only available until midnight tonight Eastern! And we’re offering some great resources with it… registration to one of our webinars free!). I just need a change of perspective every once in a while!

Ultimately, I’ve just got to lean into the crazy, as my friend, Rachael Carman says. Our lives don’t look like they’re going to get calmer any time soon, so I’ve just got to learn how to have a homey home in the midst of the chaos of life. That means letting go of my unrealistic Pinterest perfect expectations and figuring out what matters to us.

We’ll pick up and get caught up, but I don’t want to forget the things that matter the most of all to us: a Christ-centered home and lots of laughter and love. Chores and housework, cooking and cleaning, decorating and organizing are all important. But, they’re only one part of making a house a home. It’s the heart that matters. That’s why we’ve got to let go of the guilt, stress, and anger. Our families need an orderly home, but they need a happy mama even more!

So with you in this,



Melanie

 Find out more about the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle at our links here and here! Or, head on over to their site first and once you’ve bought, come back to sign up for either Boyhood Boot Camp or Marriage Retreat Online free!

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, but we don’t recommend anything we don’t use and enjoy ourselves. Using those links blesses us! Thanks!

Not Just Tacos – Wow!

 

A few months ago, our friend Shirley Solis gave us a copy of her new book, Not Just Tacos: A Journey into the World of Authentic Latin American Cuisine. I have pretty high standards for cookbooks. We have many of them, but just a few that we go to again and again: The Joy of Cooking, Mennonite Country-Style Recipes, our own Christ-Centered Christmas and We Gather Together. Not Just Tacos definitely measures up!

This is more than just a fantastic cookbook, full of delicious, authentic recipes from the Spanish-speaking countries of our hemisphere–it’s a travelogue, unit study, and guidebook to this fascinating part of the world!

Just as you might expect from a homeschool mom and the owner of Lifetime Books, this book is chock full of geography and culture, as well as recipes from 22 different countries! The photography is amazing, the instructions are clear and understandable. You could make a year’s worth of lessons out of this book, studying a new country every week or two and cooking an authentic meal for each one. Honestly, you are going to love this one!

AND YOU CAN GET IT FREE!! That’s right, free!

It’s just one of the wonderful resources available in this year’s Ultimate Homemaking Bundle, available just today and tomorrow!

Included in the Bundle, you’ll find our new book on marriage, My Beloved and My Friend: How To Be Married To Your Best Friend Without Changing Spouses — winner of the 2015 Christian Small Publisher’s Book of the Year!

AND if you buy through our link, we’ll give you your choice of our popular Boyhood Boot Camp, a four-session webinar series for parents of boys up to nine or so,

or Marriage Retreat Online, the only marriage retreat you don’t need a baby sitter for — it’s a webinar series, too!

 

All you have to do is click through to purchase the incredible Ultimate Homemaking Bundle through our site, here, and then come back and click here to let us know which webinar series you want! 

So, let’s see … You get Not Just Tacos, worth $9.99 in eBook, My Beloved and My Friend, worth $9.99 in eBook, one of our webinars worth at least $32 … and there you have over $50 of value, and the whole bundle costs only $29.97!

It’s only the beginning of what you get, too…. over $1000 worth of resources…

Hand Made Walls looks really interesting!



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Hope: Thriving While Unemployed looked great!



Here’s Not Just Tacos!

 

I wish I’d had the Gluten Free Gifts book last year — I wanted to bless a friend but didn’t know how!



You’ll love the book Large Family Homeschooling!



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Love planners!

I was just about to buy How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul! I hear it’s great!

 

Good grief! I’m exhausted from just copying all that over here. Run over and grab it quickly, that’s what we’d do!

 

And that doesn’t even touch the real life bonuses, like a FREE SCARF from our friends at Deborah and Company!! I can’t wait to dig into the bonuses!

We love bringing you the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle — we use it ourselves! And when you buy it through us, you help keep this ministry going!

Thanks!

Hal & Melanie

 

Get One of Our Webinars Free — and Other Great Homemaking Resources for Only 30 Cents Each!

I remember several years ago when we were brainstorming what to ask in the annual survey North Carolinians for Home Education asked at our annual conference.

Hal said, “Let’s ask what causes the most stress for homeschool moms. Is it teaching math? Or struggling learners? Or worries about high school? Or what?”

Melanie stared at him until he said, “What is wrong with you?”

“What stresses homeschool moms? It’s the house, Hal! No survey needed!”

Homemaking isn’t easy. It’s really not easy when you are trying to run a school and nurture a family at the same time. Now add in a home business, like many of us, and that dream of a beautiful, welcoming, restful home threatens to turn into a nightmare.

And that’s why our friends Erin and Stephanie created the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle… because as rewarding as it is, homemaking is hard work and it doesn’t always come easily.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it! We like it so much, we’re going to give you a HUGE bonus just to help you tip the scales in favor of getting it…

To help you nurture the beauty and productivity in your home and family relationships with proven, simple, and effective tools that really give you a boost as a homemaker – help, inspiration, tips, encouragement, resources at your fingertips…

… the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle is just for you.

It is a complete library of carefully selected eBooks, eCourses, audios, online conferences, and printable packs designed to help you turn your house into a home… without all the overwhelm.

What’s in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle?

The first step in putting together this collection was to find the critical homemaking skills that you need to transform your house into a home.

Here they are:

Cleaning… create a healthy, toxin-free home
DIY/Homemade… fun and frugal ways to express your personal style
Devotionals and Faith… take a break from the daily grind to renew yourself
Finances… build a budget that works
Cooking & Meal Planning… serve easier, tastier meals in less time
Holidays & Special Events… brighten up old family traditions and create new
Homeschooling… homeschool with grace and ease
Marriage… heat up your marriage
Motherhood… find peace, balance & joy in mothering
Organizing… conquer the clutter and simplify your life
Pregnancy & Babies… enjoy a healthy pregnancy and prepare to nurture your baby
Health & Wellness… soothe aches & pains with natural remedies
Working from Home… hone your talents, live your passions and earn money to help your family

… a complete library of 99 eBooks and eCourses to help you nurture the beauty and productivity in your home and family relationships.

Are there too many books in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle?

Let me ask you a question.

Have you ever taken your family out for a buffet dinner… and then been disappointed when you couldn’t eat every single morsel on display?

Of course not!

Sure. There’s that first, breath-taking moment when you see and hear and smell the amazing meal spread before you… and you think, “Where will I even start?”

But that’s the thing… because you do start… with something.

Maybe it’s a tender flaky biscuit, or a piece of delicious roast beef, or maybe you’re like me and start with a piece of pie (mmm, blueberry or apple with whipped cream)?

So relax, enjoy, and start anywhere you like. Come back to the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle “buffet” as many times as you like. It’s all here for you.

Is the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle worth it?

In a word… yes! For one thing, just the bonus we’re going to give you — plus our book that is included in the Bundle comes to a value of $42, more than you are spending on the Bundle!

To be absolutely certain, Erin and Stephanie asked questions, tried techniques and just about drove themselves crazy making sure that the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle was the very best homemaking resource anywhere.

They dug through hundreds of websites and connected with dozens of authors and teachers.

And then we all worked together to make these resources the most affordable possible.

And They Were Delighted to Help…

The result? This collection is a fraction of the price of what someone would pay for each resource individually!

For a short time, you can get the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle… a complete library of:

76 eBooks
6 eCourses
1 audio download
2 online conferences, and
14 printable packs

…99 carefully selected resources designed to help you nurture the beauty and productivity in your home and family relationships… is only $29.97. (A total value of $984.74.)

That breaks down to 30 cents per book.

Your 30-Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee

If for any reason, you decide that the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle is not for you, then please send an email to customerservice@Ultimate-Bundles.com and we will refund 100% of your investment. No questions asked.

Don’t Forget the Bonuses…

Of course, no Ultimate Homemaking Bundle would be complete without the generous, inspiring gifts donated by companies that understand homemakers like you. Every gift is yours to keep and enjoy.

Choose 1 FREE Online Class from Craftsy (Select from 24 of Their Most Popular Classes – Up to $60 Value)
1 FREE Kids Discovery Box from Green Kid Crafts ($19.95 Value)
FREE $15 Credit to Hope Ink PLUS 2 FREE 8×10 Art Prints ($71 Value)
FREE 90-Day “Good Deal” Subscription to She Plans Dinner ($15 Value)
Choose 1 FREE Stylish Spring Scarf from Deborah & Co. ($20 Value)
FREE $80 Healthy Moving Class Credit ($80 Value)
FREE 90-Day Pro Membership to ListPlanIt ($30 Value)
FREE 65 Tyndale Rewards Points to Be Used for a FREE Book or Towards Any Book of Your Choice ($15 Value)

PLUS When You Use Our Link, You Get Something More!

If you buy the Bundle through us, we’ll give you one Free Registration to either our Boyhood Boot Camp, a webinar series for parents of boys,

or Marriage Retreat Online, the only Marriage Retreat you don’t need a babysitter for!

 

That’s a value of $32! With our book, My Beloved and My Friend, which is included in the Bundle, you get $47 worth of resources JUST FROM US! That’s more than you pay for the Bundle!

 

Once you’ve purchased the Bundle, come back and click here so we can register you for your free webinar series!

Now It’s Your Turn

I think Laura Ingalls Wilder said it best…

“Just as a little thread of gold, running through a fabric, brightens the whole garment, so women’s work at home, while only the doing of little things, is just like the golden gleam of sunlight that runs through and brightens the whole fabric of civilization.”

The proven, simple, and effective skills you need to transform your house into a home are all waiting for you in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle.

This is your chance to get all the love, support, guidance and inspiration you need to nurture the beauty and productivity in your home and family relationships with proven, simple, and effective tools that really give you a boost as a homemaker.

But time is running out! The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle will only be available from 8:00 a.m. EST on Monday, April 20 until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, April 27.

After that, the shopping cart closes and the deeply discounted price is gone.

Act now!

Click here for more info or to buy now.

Best wishes and happy homemaking!

Read the fine print about this bundle and read the answers to frequently asked questions about the bundle.

When you buy the Bundle through our link, we earn a commission that helps us keep going. Thank you for supporting our ministry! 

Hal & Melanie

 Don’t forget to come back and register for Boyhood Boot Camp or Marriage Retreat Online! Just click here.

Here You Go, Louisiana Friends!

 

 

 

 

 

We hope you’ll enjoy the free resources below — and then join us in Baker on April 17th and 18th for the CHEF of Louisiana annual conference. We can’t wait to meet you!

Hal & Melanie

 

When Hal was diagnosed with stage IV cancer a few years ago, it was a comfort to us to realize that whatever happened, we had our first book, Raising Real Men and our boys would know what their Daddy thought it meant to be a man. That made us ask, “Well, what else would we want to leave behind for our children?”  We wanted our children to know how to have a wonderful, Christ-centered, best friend kind of marriage – so we began to write My Beloved and My Friend…

 

Our first gift today is an ebook about the physical side of marriage excerpted from our new book! (Right click and choose “Save File As” or “Save Target As” to save.)

Click here to download Always Enraptured

If you enjoy it, you’ll enjoy our session on marriage at the CHEF of Louisiana Conference, “How to be Happily Married While Homeschooling.”

 

 

 

One of our hottest new sessions is Parenting Preteens…

The turmoil of the preteen years usually catches parents by surprise. Diligent students become addled and distracted. Sweet children seem to climb on an emotional rollercoaster – and then invite you to join them! Resist the temptation to lose it yourself and learn how to shepherd our children through this challenging age — and lay a foundation to make the teen years great!

(Right click and choose “Save File As” or “Save Target As” to save.)

Click here to download Parenting Preteens!

Have you registered yet for the CHEF of Louisiana Conference? If not, click here and plan to join us! See you there!