Susan Merrill's Blog, page 28

How to Keep Your Kids Safe on an iPhone, iPad and iPod

Electronics are the gift of choice for so many of our kids. It can be conflicting as a mom. We know that electronics can be dangerous. The good news is that Apple has come along way in providing built in safety featured on the iPhone, iPad and iPod. And the features work the same on all 3 products (so much easier for me)!Our tech guy at iMOM walks you through how easy it is to take of advantage of these features and find peace of mind in giving your child the gift of their dreams.

Flowers of the Holy Night (Christmas Countdown Day 7)

Many poinsettias will adorn the insides and outsides of homes during this Christmas season. But besides their festive color, have you ever heard the meaning behind the use of this flower as a Christmas decoration?

There is a Mexican legend about a poor little girl who had nothing to give to the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve service. She was encouraged by her cousin that even the smallest gift would make Jesus happy, so she picked a handful of weeds and formed them into a small bouquet. As sh...

While Shepherds Kept Watch…(Christmas Countdown Day 8)

Nighttime… when most of the world sleeps and only a handful of us have jobs that require staying awake and keeping watch over something. In Bible times, this was the job of the shepherds, a lower class group of people whose job required little skill, whose clothes probably stunk of sheep’s wool, and who were often frowned on because of their inability to keep religious rules and customs of their time due to the lifestyle they lived.

And yet, when it was time to spread the news of the baby Jesu...

Why Stockings? (Christmas Countdown Day 9)

The stockings were hung but why? Have you ever heard how this began?

Legend has it that a poor widower and his three children left their washed stockings out one night on the fireplace for them to dry. Nicholas, a kind man with a big heart focused on giving to others, passed by the house after they had gone to bed, and threw sacks of gold down the chimney, landing them in the stockings.

Nicholas was later deemed a saint, and this tradition has continued through many centuries and across many co...

Mary Pondered…(Christmas Countdown Day 10)

I desperately want to celebrate Christ in this season that tends to pull me in any and every direction except toward the very One whose birth we are celebrating. So to help me focus, today begins a 10 day countdown to Christmas devotion, of sorts. We will start with Mary because she is the mom and I love that! We don’t know much about her thoughts but we do know this–Mary pondered.

According to Dictionary.com, the word ponder means “to consider something deeply and thoroughly; meditate.”

I had...

An Awesome Way to Share Christmas Love

Christmas is my favorite time of year. The essence of good will is wrapped in vibrant color, peppermint and pine. I love it. I want my kids to love it. I want them to taste how precious giving good will can be.

I want them to give in visible ways and to see the joy that giving produces in the faces of others.

I want them to Light Em Up!

My friend Courtney wanted the same thing for her children and so she challenged herself and her community be purposeful in spreading good with Light ‘Em Up.

I enc...

Share Christmas Love

Share Christmas Love: 10 Ways for You and Your Kids to Give

There is joy in getting, but there is greater joy in giving. As much as I want my children to enjoy the thrill of opening their gifts on Christmas day, I also want them to experience the joy of sharing with others. I want to them to understand that the greatest gift on Christmas was born out of love, and that they can share Christmas love too.

So when your children get out of school for winter break have a day to focus on giving. Here’...

How You Can Guard the Gate to Electronics

Phones, iPads, laptops, and video games may be a big part of your child’s Christmas joy. But after a week of policing your child’s use of their new technology, you may feel slightly less joyful. Electronics are here to stay and as a mom protecting your child while using electronis is your job. I call this guarding the gate to electronics.

An excerpt from The Passionate Mom.

Gate 5: The Electronics Gate

This gate leads to today’s most popular entertainments:television, computers, music, movies,...

How to Give Your Children Wings

Good parents give their children roots and wings.

Roots to know where home is,

wings to fly away and exercise what’s been taught them.

~Jonas Salk~

Give your child wings to fly. It is a gift that only you can give.

Many moms think this is a sad sight–a baby bird flying away. It is not. It’s beautiful because a bird with strong wings is full of hope, promise, and life.

The moms who fear the sorrow of their child leaving home have a tendency to clip their children’s wings. They inadvertently hold t...

How a Mom Mafia Can Help You Protect Your Kids

This is an excerpt from The Passionate Mom {Chapter 1}

Sharing information with friends about their children can be a rather tough thing for a mom. Many moms do not want to hear that their children are in trouble. With five teenagers, I have been on both sides of bad news, the giving and the receiving. I say the following with great urgency and concern: moms, swallow your pride and listen. If you don’t listen, you may close a door to future information that you need to know—information that co...