Guardians of the Home

Purity

2011-07-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today's topic is purity. What a tough topic in this day and age. We met in May and had a wonderful discussion on what purity means. Titus 2:5 says, "to be sensible, pure, workers at home..." When it comes to purity, we can't just stop at the outward appearance,we have to move toward the heart. It is also not just for the single ladies out there, but for us wives. We have an even greater challenge to pursue purity for the sake of our children and our husbands. I Peter 3: 1-5 says, "In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands."
I decided to look up what "pure" means in the dictionary to make sure we are all on the same page, this is what the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as: free from harshness or roughness and being in tune —used of a musical tone; a (1) : free from what vitiates, weakens, or pollutes (2) : containing nothing that does not properly belong b : free from moral fault or guilt c : marked by chastity. I especially liked the definition I marked in Bold: free from what pollutes! In I Peter 3 it calls us as wives to be pure for our husbands sake. Are our minds free from what pollutes? How is our behavior toward our husbands? Can we win him back to the Lord without a word? Now, that ladies is a difficult thing to do! How we act and what we say represents not only our husbands but our Lord! The ladies that met on Saturday with me all agreed that today so many young ladies have filthy mouths, they speak as bad as sailors. Case in point: I was at a coaches meeting one day, most of the coaches were male with about 4 females including myself. There was a young female coach there that looked nice and she seemed to know some of the other coaches. During the meeting, an issue was being discussed and coaches were putting in their input. She raised her hand and began speaking, what I heard come out of that young ladies' mouth shocked me and lowered my view of her. There was no reason for her to speak in such a manner, no one else had been cussing. I believe, she was trying to impress the other coaches but instead she made herself out to be immature and childish, not the professional she needed to be. Manners, politeness, vocabulary are all lost arts. Rise above this and speak with graciousness towards others and this includes our husbands and children! What a representative of Christ you will be if you speak with purity towards and about your husband!

The second part of being pure is to do with the outward appearance. This is tough for many people. Do we spend time on our looks? Do we look shabby and ill -kept? Do we look slutty and easy? 1) It is clear from I Peter that our outward appearance is not to be number 1 priority. However, it doesn't say that we completely ignore it either. Treat the body that God gave you with respect, use it for His glory. How many people are turned off to you if you came walking into the room with your body completely covered with a long skirt and shirt and no make-up, looking shabby? Does that mean we go all crazy? Of course not. Modesty is the answer. Simple dress that says you are a lady that doesn't make you look frumpy. Purity is a mindset. Set your mind on things above and your actions and words will follow.

After our wonderful discussion, Karina gave us some beauty tips and showed us some products from her company, Beauticontrol. These tips were helpful and I am really thankful to her for sharing her knowledge and products with us. If you would like to know what Beauticontrol has to offer look them up online or contact Karina.

Our next class will be July 30 at 9:30am at the Hewitt residence. We will be discussing what it means to be "good" wives and Jan will be sharing her knowledge of canning (Yay! I really have been looking forward to this!).

Sober/Discreet

2011-04-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

In the KJV Bible, Titus 2:4 splits up the word sensible into two words: sober and discreet; whereas, the NAS Bible, Titus 2:4-5 says,"...to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home...".
Sensible: adjective

"having, using, or showing good sense or sound judgment: a sensible young woman."

Sober: adjective

"quiet or sedate in demeanor, marked by seriousness, gravity, solemnity, etc., as of demeanor, speech, free from excess, extravagance, showing self-control: sober restraint"

Discreet: adjective

"judicious in one's conduct or especially with regard to respecting privacy or about something nature; prudent; circumspect."

I looked these three definitions up in the World English Dictionary online.
When we look at these definitions we can see that the word sensible is encompasses being sober and discreet. Splitting it up into two words-sober and discreet-helps to better understand what being sensible really means. In our little meetings, we discussed these two separate. Yes, it has been a while since I have posted on here. We met two times, once in September and once in March that I have yet to post about. I apologize! I will now attempt to play catch up and do both meetings justice in this post!
September
Sober
Being sober is not just about drinking, but it is about being self-controlled and making wise decisions and judgments. (Why do you think this term is used to describe a person that is not drunk?!) Today, women have a hard time with this word even in our Christian circles. Due to the influence of the feminist movement and the increasingly feminist TV programs and movies, this word has become, in a way, taboo. What do you mean? Why is it hard? Well, in order to fully understand what it means, let's look at what it is not or the antonyms: loud, flighty, frivolous, always right, lording it over their husbands, demanding, etc. Now can you begin to see why it is hard! In this media driven culture, we are inundated with garbage, too many TV shows and movies depict the woman ruling the home while the man sits stupified in front of a TV or sporting event. The women are always saying such things as: "you need to stand up to him" "don't let him talk to you like that" "what an insensitive jerk, girl, you don't deserve that" "it's your right". These "helpful" phrases can start the mind rolling toward thoughts of dissension and divorce. Christian marriages are falling apart and no wonder when media is ruling our souls! This is why the Bible calls us to renew our minds every day so that our minds are filled with Biblical views. Sorry that was a side note! When a woman soberly considers the needs, time-schedule, and resources of her home, then she will be a more efficient help meet. What is our number one job? What is our career? When we look at being a wife/mother/daughter as our career then we begin to see things in a different way. We spend so much time preparing for jobs or careers by going through tons of school and practicals and extracurricular activities that we don't have time to prepare for our most important career: being a wife/mother/daughter. I always told myself while I was growing up that I didn't need to know that now but it will come after I get married. Now I am not only trying to learn some good homemaking skills but I am also having to learn what being sensible, pure, workers at home, etc actually means. What I have learned is that you don't have to be married to put this stuff into practice! It begins with your relationship with your dad and your Heavenly Father! Can you imagine the high school girls today treating their dads with respect and being sober in their homes? A girl like that would be a diamond in the rough for sure. Let's look at our homes as the business, we are the managers and our husbands are the CEOs. Would you talk the way you talk to your husband to a CEO of a business? Probably not. We women have the gift of gab and want to make sure everyone knows we are right. It can be so easy to get in a habit of nagging and complaining especially when kids are being kids and you've been at home all day with them but we've got to learn to "take the high road" (from a Beth Moore study). It is very hard to shut our mouth and not say a word. IPet 5:8 says "...be of sober spirit, be on the alert, your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour". What better place to "devour" us than in our own home? Is your home a haven of rest or contention? What can you do to make it a haven of rest? Well, first off start the day with a good prayer and review of the fruit of the spirit. Next, plan ahead, simplify, know your schedule. Make a list of priorities and do the first one. When a home runs smoothly, the people in it are happy and less likely to bite each other's heads off! You would be surprised to find that when you treat your husband with honor by creating a home environment that is peaceable and pleasing to him then he will treat you with honor and do things without you nagging and complaining at him. Make a new habit, determine to honor your husbands and if you are not married, your dads, if you don't have a dad then your Heavenly Father. Your goal: try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit. I do want to make it clear that being sober does not mean that you are walked all over and taken advantage of. Meekness does not mean being timid, it means "strength under control". You are showing your husband love because you are creating this haven for him and relinquishing your desires. One of the definitions of love from I Corinthians is that love does not seek its own. When we remember that throughout our day, we can put it into action by looking to please our husbands rather than trying to prove something to them.

Practical Organizational Tips
After we finished talking about what it means to be sober, we were blessed with Jan's advice on organization in the home. This was helpful advice in our quest to make our homes havens of rest. One tip was when cleaning, take a basket with you and pick up everything that does not belong in the room you are on and when you are moving from room to room put the things back where they belong. Another tip was to take all your clothes hanging up and hang them facing one way and if you wear it at all during the year then when you hang it back up turn it the other way. This allows you to see what clothes you actually wear and what clothes you can get rid of. When getting little ones to clean, make it a game, and make it simple. Give them one task at a time and make sure to tell them what a great job they did instead of criticizing everything they did. You would be amazed at the jobs little ones can perform. My 6 year old cleans the bathrooms; my 2 year old vacuums the floors; my 4 year old cleans the mirrors. If you have any tips please share what you have learned about planning and organizing! Some people organize their weeks into Baking Day, Cleaning Day, Laundry Day, etc. Some people split up their cleaning- clean the bathroom day, clean the living room day, clean the bedrooms day, etc. Find what works for you but have something, it helps!

March
Discreet
From our definition above, we can see that being discreet means to be prudent, courteous, polite, honest dealings. From our talk about sober, we learned that we should take the high road and make it our goal to create a haven of rest for our husbands/fathers. One of the things I stated was to honor our husbands/fathers. A way to honor them is to be discreet. Women have the gift of gab and want to make sure everyone knows they are right. But that is not discretion. So this might be harder to do than I thought! A couple of pointers: consider the other person before you speak (the hearer and the person you are talking about), be honest, be gracious. Proverbs 14:1 says, "Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands". I do not want to tear down my house, no one does intentionally. But when we are without discretion this is exactly what we are doing. We are representatives of our home when we are away from it. What we talk about and how we act around others says a lot about our homes. Women like to get together with their friends. However, I find that many women come together and start talking about their husbands in a dishonoring way because they want to vent their frustrations or they want a pity party. This is not being discreet. It tears down the home. The listener will think about what you said to her when she sees your husband again and will have an ill view of him. Find a wise experienced woman, talk to her about what is frustrating you with your husband and listen to her advice. Most of the time if you try to get "advice" from your peers, it ends up sounding like this "Well, he didn't! If I were you I would not take that...". Listen to wise counsel; listen to the Holy Spirits counsel. When you are talking with your husband/father, remember to be discreet here also. Practice reverence towards your husband/father. Allow him to do something special for you. Be gracious in accepting who he is and how he does things. Relax, Life is too short! "A wise woman always gives more than she takes. A wise woman knows that how her words can color her husband's perspective. She can subtly move him to the negative or the positive."

Practical Gardening
In line with our discussion of being sensible, we looked at some tips for gardening in the desert. A good resource is the website www.nativeseeds.org. You can also check out some gardening in the desert books at the library. The most effective way to learn though is through experience and what works for you and your land. Here are some tips:

Organic matter should be added to most soils.

Add Sand to heavy clay soils.

Mulching at least 3" around plants, basins, or garden beds will keep the soil cooler and reduce evaporation. Any plant material can be used (mesquite beans, straw, plam fronds, leaves) as can manures and compost.
When sowing seeds, small seeds are only covered by 1/4" of soil and larger seeds by 2-4 ". Just make sure the soil remains moist but not waterlogged.
Once seedlings emerge, deep watering will be necessary. This is accomplished by slowly flooding an area and allowing it to soak deeply into the soil. Watch for water stress. Wilting can be common during the day but if the plant does not recover overnight then there is water stress.
Plants need nutrients. Compost best added before planting.
Container plants often need more water.
Try to get seeds that are heirloom seeds and save your own for the next planting season.

Feel free to share your thoughts or tips on being sober, organization, being discreet, or gardening. I look forward to our next meeting which will be at the Wick residence May 21 at 9:30am. We will be discussing the topic of purity and looking at skin care.

Upcoming Meetings

2010-08-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hello, Everybody!

I just wanted to let you know that you can find the schedule of meetings by clicking on the word "Schedule" located at the top of the page under the banner reading, "Guardians of the Home." A list of all past and current meetings will be listed. You can also find information (date, time, etc) for the next upcoming meeting at the bottom of the column on the right side of the page. If you become a follower of the page (scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the "Follow" button), you can also RSVP to the upcoming meetings.

If you have any questions, comments or thoughts, please leave a comment below!

Thanks!

Life

2010-08-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Birth of a Child: What a blessing to be able to give birth to a baby! God has given us women a wonderful job that nothing surpasses. The birth of a new baby is always a wonderful event. I love holding my babies for the first time and seeing their eyes open to the newness of the world around them. The phrase that was going through my head as I was in labor was, "there may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning", which was so appropriate since my newest addition was born in the morning. All throughout the Bible, children are said to be a blessing from the Lord. Today, many people do not look at them as such but instead see them as a hindrance or an obstacle getting in their way. Many people look at me and my 4 little boys and ask me how many more we are planning on having. I look at them and shrug my shoulders because I do not "plan" on anything but I trust in the Lord's plan. I believe that God is bigger than any little pill or "defense" that we might have. So many children have been born to people that did not plan on that child. So many miracles have been born to people who have been told they could have no children. I just look to the truth of what I read in the Bible and what I have witnessed in life. He knows what my husband and I can handle.
Precious Treasures: Life is too precious to waste on "that really good job" or "that really good opportunity". Life is about love and family, those things will never fade for all eternity. No one ever said on his/her deathbed, "Man, I wish for just one more day at the office". Take care of your little ones, treasure the moments you have with them. It makes me sad when a mom says in front of her little ones, "I can't wait till they go to school so I don't have to deal with them all day". Wow, that makes them feel special! I was watching a video of fatal car crashes some involving children the other day and "life is too short" became very clear to me. Too many take family for granted. My family is and always has been the most important part of my life. When I was dating my husband, I told him at the beginning that if he didn't get along with my family then I couldn't have a relationship with him. I knew he was my right man because my family loved him and he loved my family. Let somebody else teach and raise my kids? No Thank You, I would never allow that to happen to my treasures!
I love this poem that I read in the Arizona Families for Home Education Magazine. It is called "I Corinthians 13 for Homeschool Moms" by Misty Krasawski. It helps me keep my perspective if I have a day where nothing is going right and the kids just aren't doing their schoolwork.

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and teach my children Latin conjugations, Chinese, and Portuguese, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and no matter what I say, they will not hear me.
If I have the gift of prophecy, and know my children's bents and God's plan for their lives, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and am the keeper of the teacher's editions and solutions manuals, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, and even keep up with my giant piles of laundry and dishes, but do not have love, I am nothing, even if all the people at church think I'm Supermom.
And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and my formal dining room gets turned into a schoolroom and our family vacations look more like educational field trips, and if I surrender my body to be burned, never having time to get my nails done, put makeup on, or even take a bath, but do not have love, it profits me nothing, because all my family cares about is the expression on my face, anyway.
Love is patient with the child who still can't get double-digit subtraction with borrowing, and kind to the one who hasn't turned in his research paper. It is not jealous of moms with more, fewer, neater, more self-directed, better-behaved , or smarter children.
Love does not brag about homemade bread, book lists, or scholarships, and is not arrogant about her lifestyle or curriculum choices. It does not act unbecomingly or correct the children in front of their friends. It does not seek its own, trying to squeeze in alone time when someone still needs help; it is not provoked when interrupted for the nineteenth time by a child, the phone, the doorbell, or the dog; does not take into account a wrong suffered, even when no one compliments the dinner that took hours to make or the house that took so long to clean.
Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or pointing out everyone else's flaws, but rejoices with the truth and with every small step her children take in becoming more like Jesus, knowing it's only by the grace of God when that occurs.
Love bears all things even while running on no sleep; believes all things, especially God's promise to indwell and empower her; hopes all things, such as that she'll actually complete the English curriculum this year and the kids will eventually graduate; endures all things, even questioning from strangers, worried relatives, and most of all, herself.
Love never fails. And neither will she. As long as she never, never, never gives up.

Serving Together as a Family

2010-07-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

The last time we met we talked about what a home is, what it should look like so we can be adequate guardians of it. One of the points that was made and found throughout the Bible is that we are supposed to show hospitality to strangers. I had suggested that opening our home up to fellow Christian workers who are strangers to us would be enough. But as always God shows me what was wrong with that thinking.

Jesus was always with the downtrodden, the sick, the sinners not just His disciples and the "good" people. He at with these people; fed them; healed them; and witnessed to them. I then read an article called "Hospitality to Strangers" from the magazine Above Rubies which brought home this point more thoroughly. Then, of course, as always happens when God is trying to teach me something, I start hearing it everywhere. My pastor talked about; I heard something on the radio about it; I read another book or article about it. So I couldn't just ignore this topic, I had to listen. I asked myself, "what is hindering you from doing this?"

Hindrance #1:
I have always enjoyed serving people and being a part of a ministry but now that I have little ones I feel like I can't do it right now and I have to wait until the kids get older. It is too hard lugging them all around and parenting them while trying to minister to others. But then I realized through all these articles and whatnot that there is no better time than right now! This hindrance really stems from laziness! Would I be doing The Hard Thing if I listened to what the Word of God was telling me? YES! But the blessings that come from this obedience would be well worth it. My kids would learn to serve and learn more about selflessness when put in a situation to see it first hand. Plus, as a family, we are a stronger witness of the character and life of Jesus and we would grow stronger together.
Hindrance #2:
Another hindrance, though, that came up in my family was the question of safety. My husband would never let certain people enter our house because he would be concerned for our safety. So how do I show this hospitality while obeying my husband's guidelines? Well, I looked back at what a home is and realized it is not just the structure it is the people inside. So if I cannot bring people to my home than I will bring my home to the people! When we walk out of our home, we are still representatives of it; we are witnesses of our definition of our home based on our attitudes and actions towards each other. Just like we are representatives and witnesses of Christ outside our eternal home! How much of a witness is it for people in today's culture to see godly relationships between family members, it is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted and broken culture!
Hindrance #3:
What about keeping priorities straight? Wouldn't this take time and effort which will take us away from something else? I think this is more of a priority especially since the whole family would be involved, than any other extracurricular activity. The kids will learn more from doing this as a family than any sport that they would be involved in. This is coming from someone that was a coach and a devout soccer player, I do not say it lightly. Sports can teach a lot of things but serving with your family has greater value in the long run than those things.
Hindrance #4:
I have my own ministries and the kids have their own ministries, why would we have to do one together? A family is like a team except stronger because we have both physical and spiritual bonds. Why do you think the family is the number 1 thing Satan targets to destroy? We have grown up in a very selfish culture. Our kids are bombarded with it and it has permeated our homes. What better "cure" for this disease than serving selflessly together? We are not just out doing our own ministry but we have something that we share. We show our children what loving others really means and help them to apply it in the ministry we share. Within the nucleus of the family, even a 2 year old can have an impact on someone's life. Is it wrong to have ministries on your own? No but ministering together as a family should be a priority instead of an afterthought.
Options:
Ok, so that is great and all but what types of things could we as a family do? I asked that of the group this past Monday and received some great info. We had a guest with us who worked with Hospice of the Valley. She suggested some things that could be done to help the sick and their families. During Thanksgiving or Christmas, your family can cook up some food and take it to a family. As a family, you can go into an in-house care facility (which is like a nursing home) and just sit and talk to patients. You can write encouraging cards to the nurses or the families of patients. If this is something you think your family would be interested in first call the volunteer coordinator at a Hospice of the Valley near you. Another option was to look up a child crisis center and see if your family can go down and deliver necessary items to the children that are there. Find a nursing home and adopt a grandparent, someone that you bring things your family has made and someone that would welcome kids to talk to. If you have older kids, a missions trip is really a life changing event especially in the context of the family. The Salvation Army has many opportunities for you to help in different parts of their organization.
Challenge:
Find out what is hindering your family from serving together; pray about it; talk with your spouse; and come up with a ministry that everyone in your family can take part in. I would love to hear your ideas and what you have decided to do! I will be finding something for my family and hopefully share it with you all. Have a great week! I hope to hear from you. We will probably be meeting again in a month.

Meeting One: June 7, 2010

2010-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Read Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands to love their children, to be sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands that the word of God may not be dishonored.”

1) Why are the older women to teach the younger women?

They have experience; not appropriate for a man to talk about it; helps keep older women’s priorities straight as they might find for time on their hands with no children to raise; they would be leading by example and serving the younger women.

2) Why would the younger women need to be taught to be sober, love their own husbands, love their children, discreet, chaste, keepers of the home, good, obedient to own husbands?

Different reasons in different time periods but all these things transcend time periods; hard to understand until you go through it; distractions come up and we need encouragement to stay the course.

3) Why can’t it be from your mom?

Some moms are not good examples of these things; maybe your mom didn’t go through some things that another woman went through and can help you with.

Tonight I wanted to focus on just one of these: Keepers of the home because I believe it is one of the tougher ones in today’s world. It is also the name of this class so I thought it appropriate to start here. “Keepers” is also translated “guardians”. What is a guard? They protect/watch what is coming in and out of the place they are protecting. They have to discern what should be coming in and what should be coming out. They protect the people inside from what is outside. What is a home? It is a place of rest and learning; where thankfulness dwells; a place to welcome strangers, refugees, and the hungry; to minister to the church; a place that should reflect our eternal home. You should decide what your home should be so you can guard against things that come in that do not coincide with that definition. Why does it matter what goes in and out of your home? If we are not on our guard than our home becomes a place that we do not want it to become. What are some things we guard against? Worldly influences. Do we guard against what comes out of our home? We should train up our children in wisdom that they may return home with honor and when out reflect the home in a good way. What should we let into our home? We should distinguish what is good for our home and our authority on this subject is the Bible because it ultimately tells us what is right and what is wrong. If we don’t understand what the home is supposed to be how can we be guardians of it? When our home ceases to be the things we would aspire it to be than we as the guardians need to look at what we have let in that has caused this disruption or distraction from our ministry. Can you be a guardian and still work? Can you overly guard your home? Are there things out of your control? Gene Cunningham spoke at a conference about some things that apply to us as keepers of the home: 1) Do hard things 2) Stete – stand firm in your calling, the command post God has given you even if the need at another post seems greater. Outside service is good but if things on the homefront are not good because you are not there to guard it than it is not the best for you. Always make sure that you spend time with the Lord first, your husband second, and your children third. Guard what has been entrusted to you! Do not be idle; do not be overbooked; check your priorities. We are to look after our families’ health, safety, mental well-being, and spiritual well-being. If you see a struggle in a certain area in your home, pray about it, ask for wisdom, and seek counsel from a godly woman who has been there. We all should be continually learning and growing especially as the demographics in our home change. Ask yourself if you are doing the hard thing and standing firm in your command post. This class is looking at how we can make our home into these things through practical application and knowledge and wisdom from those that have been there.

One of the things I guard against in my home is bad food. Why? Will it make me live longer? No, we all know God controls that. Will it make my quality of life better? Yes. How can you do all the stuff that needs to be done if you are plagued by fatigue, headaches, allergies, etc? Sometimes food becomes an idol in a household. Everything begins to revolve around food so much so that we become addicted to it. We should train our children to eat to live not live to eat. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If you are eating because food tastes good then it is for the wrong reason. God gave us good food to eat that sustains our bodies and gives us the energy and health to do what needs to be done. We have changed that in our society into a social factor and because things taste good. Our children trust us to make good food that is not going to hurt us. If we allow them to control their eating, they will be unhealthy. Just like everything else we need to protect them from themselves and help them understand what is good for them and what is bad until they are able to have the self-control needed to do that for them. Many parents are allowing their children to dictate what they eat. I hear many times a parent saying, “Oh I can’t feed my kid that, he only eats Mac-n-cheese”. Is the child in control here or the parent? Food affects us in more ways than we know. It is not just about weight it is about emotions, attitudes, energy, and many other health issues caused by bad food. I am not saying that you have to become a farm because you might not be able to do that. But I am saying do the best that you can with what you are given and don’t always go the easy way out. Talk to your children, you would be surprised at what they understand. Explain to them why they can’t eat candy and junk food; why it is bad for them; what it does to their bodies; and what good food does for their bodies. I have explained this to my children so they can evaluate for themselves what is the best food for them to eat. I will not always be around them to tell them that they shouldn’t eat something. Can we still enjoy food? Yes, there are many ways to make food that is good for you and fun to eat but it is not the main factor in eating. Start with some simple rules for your family to follow to start good eating habits: 1) Don’t put so much stock in the food you will eat 2) Don’t use food as a reward 3) they don’t need to clear their plate, they need to eat until they are full 4) If they don’t eat the food given to them, then they don’t eat 5) stay away from white flour and any enriched, bleached flour 6) stay away from white sugar/processed sugar/high fructose corn syrup 7) stay away from partially hydrogenated oils 8) stay away from processed foods 9) stay away from msg/autolized yeast extract and soy 10) enjoy the food God has given us! Your children will be healthier and have less bad attitudes; your husband will be healthier and have more energy; you will be healthier and less stressed with more energy! Don’t wait until the children are older, by that time their habits will be hard to break. Start now!