Abbi PasterskiAbigail strives to be a joyful wife to Scott and mother to their five blessings – Lily, Joseph, Grace, Emma, and Samuel. She enjoys homemaking, organizing, homeschooling, and bargain …
Punctuality
Are you a punctual girl? What does it mean to be punctual, anyway? Punctuality is showing high esteem for other people and their time. Probably you have heard this character quality mentioned in relation to being on time for something, right? Punctuality is so important for girls to learn, but it is often missing from their lives.
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Speak Life
Our house is full of talking! Chatting, serious discussions, school lessons, reciting, laughter, playing, and questions, questions, questions! As moms, we interact verbally with our children from morning until night. And how sweet it is, sometimes, as we close the door at night on sleeping little ones and enjoy a few moments (hopefully) of blessed quietness, right? Since I interact so much with my children, I think it’s good to take some time to evaluate how I use my words with our children
Gentleness
Do you like babies? If you are like most girls, your answer is an enthusiastic, “Yes!” Of course you love babies! They are little and cute and so very soft! Think back to the last time you were able to hold a tiny newborn. How did you cradle that baby in your arms and speak to him? Very carefully? Probably you held the little one delicately and spoke tenderly. This is what I think of when I hear the word gentle. Gentleness is not only something we need when caring for a tiny baby, but it is an important character trait for girls, just like you, to learn.
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Board Book Lessons
We have a particular little board book that has been read over and over again to each of our babies and they have all enjoyed it. It’s about a duckling who leaves the pond looking for someone to play with and asking himself the question, “What did God make me to do?” Invariably, he becomes more and more disappointed as he encounters several little creatures (like a lamb, mole, squirrel, and bunny) and they are each eager to play with him, only Little Duckling isn’t able to scamper or dig or climb or hop with the new friend. Almost at the point of desperation, up waddle three other ducklings and remind Little Duckling that he is very good at swimming. Of course Little Duckling joins the other ducklings back on the pond, swimming his little heart out and happy to have found, or rather been reminded again, of “what God made little ducklings to do.”
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Love
Valentine’s Day…it’s the season of love! If you are like my little girls, you like anything that has to do with hearts, flowers, red, pink and celebrating a special, lovey-dovey day like Valentine’s Day! It’s fun to decorate with hearts and Valentines and craft special messages, gifts and treats for the ones we love! But what is real love?
Contemplative Cleaning
Recently while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor (it really needed it!) I made some observations about sin and dirt. Maybe it was the Pine-sol that put me in a pensive mood, or perhaps it is just that dealing with sin and dealing with dirt are so obviously alike, and I don’t naturally like addressing either of them! Why should we deal promptly with sin in our hearts (and dirty bathroom floors)?
Resourcefulness
A few months ago, while my daughter was cleaning the bathrooms, she noticed that there were several hand soap dispensers that were just about empty and needed to be replaced. Rather than throw all of them away, and waste that last little bit of soap in the bottom of each of them, she used creativity and resourcefulness to combine them all into one of the dispensers, so that soap wouldn’t be wasted and could be used to clean hands! This is a great example of a young lady using resourcefulness!
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Lessons from Newborn Days
A few months ago, the Lord blessed our family with a healthy baby girl! Our little Emma has been a delightful addition to our home. Her newness hasn’t worn off yet, the big kids just love her to pieces! And as with each new addition, the Lord has taught me a few lessons, and reminded me of some old ones, too.
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Finishing With Joy
As you already know, the final push to the deadline of anything is often the most daunting time period, too. Not only are we in the last days of this pregnancy, but we are in the last few weeks of our school year, trying to patiently wait out these lingering weeks of cold, winter-like weather, and striving to keep the kids focused on finishing the school year well and not going stir-crazy in the process!
Loyalty
Have you ever been in a conversation with another girl when she began talking about how much she didn’t like some decision her parents had made? Or how unhappy she was with something that her teacher did? Or maybe you have been tempted to discuss these ideas with friends or brothers and sisters? Those are great opportunities for you to demonstrate the character trait of loyalty.
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A Simple Reminder
And once again the Lord used one of my children to remind me of a lesson that I need to remember often: Pray. Pray often. Pray much. Pray about everything.
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Determination
Have you ever found yourself staring at your messy bedroom and thinking, “I am NEVER going to get this place cleaned up!” Or have you faced a math problem that frustrated you so badly that you began to think, “This is IMPOSSIBLE to figure out!” Well then here is a character quality that you might need to learn. It’s called Determination and it’s very important to Christians!
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The Anti-Gimme Edition
Awhile back, someone asked me to write about how to avoid greediness and cultivate a giving spirit in our children at Christmas time. While I by no means think we have mastered this topic in our household, I thought I would share a few tips we have learned from others along the way and hope they are a blessing to you.
Alertness
Do you find yourself daydreaming as you skip down the road? Sometimes, do you think it’s hard to concentrate on your schoolwork, chores, or what someone else is talking to you about? Then this might be a character trait that you need to sit up and pay attention to!
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Thoughts on Thankfulness
I know it’s only October 1st, but believe it or not, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. In less than eight weeks from now, we’ll be gathering with family and friends around a carved turkey, and partaking of a yummy meal, and if you’re anything like me, scrambling at the last minute to use this wonderful holiday as a teaching opportunity! Why not take the whole autumn season to highlight thankfulness, rather than just reserve it for the last week of November?
Hospitality
When I was a little girl I always looked forward to times of “hospitality.” That usually meant that we were having “company” over to our house for dinner! Maybe some family or friends were coming, or perhaps we invited a new family from church or a visiting missionary family. Regardless of who would show up on our doorstep, I enjoyed those special times because it meant people in our house, a yummy dinner AND dessert, and often some other children to play with! My sister and I eagerly helped my mother cook and clean in preparation for our guests. This is a good example of learning the character quality of hospitality.
Mommy Obedience
I was reading through the 112th Psalm recently and came across these words in verses 1 and 2…
“Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.”
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Good Gifts
Our daughter, Gracie, “inherited” this little purse from a friend, and she loves it. Dearly. In fact, I think she might have taken it to bed with her on the night that she received it. Gracie and the purse are inseparable.
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