A Milestone Reached

Well, I have now been blogging for a year. I can hardly believe it! It’s been a good year. God has grown me in many ways, and because of the lessons He has taught me, Strength for Today has grown. I honestly believe this blog is what it is today because of what God has been doing in my life. As I pass the 1-year marker of blogging, I would like to take the time to say some “thank you”s.

First and foremost, all thanks and glory belongs to God. He is the One who placed it on my heart to encourage young women through a blog. He is the One who gave me the courage to take the plunge. He is the One who has shaped Strength for Today. All of my posts are a result of the many things He has been teaching me. Ultimately, He is the One writing this blog!

Next, I would like to say a huge thank you to my family, especially my parents. Both my parents have been an encouragement from the time I first mentioned my idea. They have watched me create Strength for Today with enthusiasm and support.

Last, but definitely not least, thank you to all my faithful readers! It’s a lot more fun to write a blog when you know there are people reading it! :) Those of you who leave comments, thank you! They are very much appreciated! To those of you who have never left a comment, please do! I would love to here from you and get to know my readers a little.

In honor of reaching the 1-year milestone, I thought I’d make a slight change to my Saturday Psalms. I will be working through the Psalms posting verses that tell us about who God is. I’ve already begun collecting the Psalms and thinking through them, and I have to say I’m very excited to share them with you!

Thank you for stopping by and reading! May God bless you as you strive to become more like Him! ~ Bright Hope

Building Sibling Relationships ~ Part 7

Where to Start

I’ve written quite a bit about building sibling relationships in the past few weeks, hopefully you’re not overwhelmed! It’s been a lot of information and a lot of ideas. You may be thinking “I want to build relationships with my siblings, but where do I start?” Start by being thankful for your siblings. God has designed your siblings to be your siblings. He placed you in the same family for a reason, and you need to be thankful for His wisdom in making your siblings just the way He did. Next, express thankfulness for and to your siblings! You need to thank God for your siblings, but you also need to show gratitude to your brothers and sisters. When was the last time you told your sister “Thank you for being my sister”? Or told your brother that you love him? Telling them these things will draw your heart to them, make you love them even more, and will draw the two of you together, building your relationship as siblings.

Building Sibling Relationships ~ Part 6

Activities for Siblings in General

I’ve written and being friends with sisters, brothers, and baby siblings. Now I would like to give you some ideas of things you can do with any of your siblings no matter how old they are or whether they are brothers or sisters.

• Read together ~ whether someone is reading aloud or each has their own book, sit together and read. One day last year, my mom came up to my bedroom to find me sitting on my bed reading my girly Jane Austen book and my brother sitting next to my with his World War 2 book.
  
• Cook together ~ get everybody together in the kitchen to make something together, or work on different dishes.
  
• Clean together ~ my siblings and I had fun cleaning the whole house together one weekend when our parents were out of town. It’s not too hard to find jobs for everyone to do; even a 2-year-old can wipe baseboards.
  
• Art and craft projects ~ gather everyone at the table to color, paint, make cards, etc.
  
• Talk! ~ Siblings need to talk to each other. Good communication is crucial in a family. My brother and I talk about everything from serious topics like life situations to not-so-serious ones like something funny that happened that day.
  
• Just spend time together ~ take the time to spend time with your siblings. Relationships take time and energy. So put some into your siblings.

Building Sibling Relationships ~ Part 5

Being Friends with Baby Siblings

Babies are so cute and fun! Their tiny hands and feet, and big eyes that take in everything around them. You may be thinking, “Why is she talking about babies in a series about building sibling relationships?” Well, I believe that good sibling relationships should start here. Don’t wait until your baby sibling is older to begin building a relationship with them, start now. Snuggle them. Play peek-a-boo and clapping games with them. It may seem weird some times, but talk to your baby sibling. Babies study peoples voices, that’s how they get to know people and learn to talk. So, talk to the baby, tell them how much you love them. We all have the need to know we are loved. We should begin telling our siblings we love them when they are babies. Something fun that builds a relationship with a baby sibling is a nickname. Nicknames create a special bond. I am blessed to have a sister 16 ½ years younger than me, and I have a nickname that I call her. Her face lights up when I call her by it, because she knows I am the only person who calls her that. Begin building a relationship with your siblings when they are babies, and you will find it easier to build on to it in the years to come.

Saturday Psalm ~ 2-6-2010

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
To Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
The sun to rule by day,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Psalm 136:1-9

Building Sibling Relationships ~ Part 4

Being Friends with Brothers

Brothers. I only have one brother, but I know that brothers are very different from sisters, and that’s because boys are different from girls. So, we relate to our brothers differently than we relate to our sisters. We build relationships with them in different ways from our sisters. While I was thinking about this, I asked my brother what a girl can do to build a relationship with her brother. He thought about it for a minute and then said, “Bake cookies!” That just proves that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and that includes brothers! So bake lots of cookies! :)

Another way to build relationships with our brothers is to show interest in their interests. People generally like to talk about the things they are interested in. Our brothers are no exception. We can show interest in their interests by listening when they talk about their interests. My brother has an interest in computer networking and programming and likes to share with me what he’s learning. I listen to him talk, but eventually he starts using terms I don’t understand and I have no idea what he’s talking about except that it has something to do with computers. When this happens, I politely stop him and tell him that I don’t understand some of the words he’s using. He then backtracks and explains the terms he used. This builds our relationship because my brother knows I really am listening to him. On this topic of showing interest, my brother did give a caution. We need to show interest, but not take the interest. My brother explained to me that if I had decided to show interest in his interests by learning about computers with him, he would have felt like it was a competition to see who could know the most about the topic, and lost interest in it. So be careful. You and your brother can have similar interests, but make sure it’s something you really are interested in.

A very important way we can build relationships with our brothers is by helping them be men. Boys were created to grow up to be men; to be leaders, protectors, and providers. We as sisters can help them become the men God created them to be by letting them lead. This can be hard to do (especially for older sisters!). We like to be in charge. However, we need to build up our brothers and encourage them to take the lead. When your brother makes a suggestion (maybe about what game to play, or how to play it), don’t just brush him off. Even if the idea sounds crazy, or like it won’t work, try it anyway. You might try asking your brother what he would like to do, or if he has a suggestion on how to do something differently. Of course, if you ask him, you have to be willing to do it!

The relationship between a brother and a sister can be cold, strained, and practically nonexistent, or it can be warm, strong, and pleasant. Build your relationship with your brother today by showing interest in him and letting him lead. And don’t forget the occasional batch of cookies! :)