Author Archives: Lauren Mirecki

About Lauren Mirecki

I am a saved-by-grace, failing-forward, wife and graduated homeschool student turned homeschooling mom of 4 residing in Ontario, Canada. I am passionate about teaching my children the truth of God's word through how He is teaching me, our school lessons and experiences as a family. My days are best spent together with my family, at home, or in the outdoors, learning how to be more creative, serving and encouraging others, and striving to see and give all glory to God.

How to Be Christ to Others at Christmas

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“It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28, ESV)

Christmas time. A time of celebration of Christ the newborn King. A joyous time of year for many, but also a very difficult time of year for many. Whether emotional, physical or spiritual, we will always know someone who struggles to keep going. And it’s our responsibility and great privilege to meet their needs.

While we should always be on the lookout for those who are in need, being ready and willing to help and ease the burden, Christmas is a fantastic time of year to really get into it. And it’s the perfect opportunity to involve your family, as you take time off for the holidays.

Over the last couple of years, we have relaxed our school schedule during the month of December. Each year before that Christmas approached, I felt stressed out as there were so many projects and things we wanted to be involved in, but just weren’t able to for lack of time. When we planned for a release of our expectations for school during the month of Advent, we were able to accomplish so much in the way of blessing and serving others.

If you homeschool, I would encourage you to examine your schedule throughout the year, and work in a way to have a few weeks off during December (including BEFORE Christmas) to serve. That is part of the beauty of homeschooling now, isn’t it? To have the flexibility to set our own schedules, and most importantly, to be involved in the lives of others, as a family.

If you are not homeschooling, I would encourage you to find ways as a family that you can serve just over the time your kids may have off school. But this isn’t just about being all rosy and glowy servants during Christmas. This is about desiring and exhibiting a heart for serving ALL year round. Christmas is a fantastic time to start though!

As a family, we have come up with a list of ways we can be serving and caring for others on a regular basis, but also specific projects to tackle during Christmas. This list is certainly far from finished, but I hope it sparks some ideas for your own family and enables you to find a starting point of serving.

Visit a nursing home or hospital ward.

This has to be one of my FAVOURITE ideas of all time. We did it growing up as a homeschool group, and now my kids are doing it with our co-op group. They work hard to put on a program for the seniors, and everyone loves every minute of it! After we socialize with some homemade goodies and put together gingerbread houses. Contact a seniors/nursing or retirement home in your area and ask about coming in, as individuals or a group, to bring a light.

The same could be done at a hospital ward, though you may be limited to coming and singing songs throughout, delivering goodies to rooms, and visiting for a few moments. Though it may be uncomfortable and it will definitely be stretching, all these people are probably not thrilled to be in a hospital for Christmas, so think of how much of a blessing it would be to them.

RACK’ed.

Last year we started doing Random Acts of Christmas Kindness – or RACK. I originally got the idea from Tracie Stier in her post here. We’ve come up with a list of ideas we will keep adding to, but for each one we leave behind a candy cane with this message on it:

Our ideas so far include:

shovel driveways
pay for the person behind in the drive thru
make cookies for firemen and library workers
bring hot coffee / chocolate to construction workers
make someone a meal
make ornaments and hand them out to people
give goody bags to grocery store cashiers
visit neighbours with goodies

Meet a family’s needs.

We often have no idea what other people are going through. That’s why I love small groups so much, because it helps you to stay connected with people you may not normally “hang out” with, while building each other up in your walk with Christ. But most importantly, it makes a way for you to meet the needs of others. Though you may not know what everyone’s needs are, someone knows! And the question begs to be asked, especially at Christmas when the money gets tighter.

Ask your small group leaders or elders if there are any families that have needs to be met. Whether it be financial or physical, do your utmost to fulfill them. Make some meals, offer transportation, buy gifts or Christmas dinner, be there to comfort them or invite them to your home if they have gone through the loss of a loved one. Often a few months after, they fall to the wayside, but now especially need to be surrounded by love and encouragement. Offer babysitting to parents (especially single parents!), so they can get shopping done or just have some time to breathe and relax.

Another way that you can meet a family’s needs is through organizations like Gospel for Asia. I’m talking about buying cows, bicycles, sewing machines and wells. Each year we choose gifts from the Gospel for Asia Christmas catalogue to help a family in need. This is something the kids look forward to so much, and we have been so blessed to see the sacrificial way they give. What an amazing opportunity to change the entire livelihood of a whole family in need!

Contribute to your local food bank.

Our church organizes a food drive donation each year, and the kids REALLY get behind this. Though surprisingly, this year they said “There aren’t any poor people in our town.” And they’re sort of right, to the naked eye, you can’t SEE those who are suffering in our town. But when you go to the food bank and hear about the people who use it, you realize things aren’t always as they seem. So go, bring some goodies, ask some questions, go for a tour, and help your children to see that things aren’t always as they seem, and we often need to look past appearances to see the hurt.

Give of your time.

There are SO many opportunity and areas to volunteer in, it makes me giddy! Unfortunately in our area, a lot of them you have to be over 18 for. So I’m waiting excitedly until that day! (Only 9 years to go :D) Food banks, soup kitchens, shelters, crisis centers, homes for women and children, churches, Operation Christmas Child packaging facilities – if you Google it, you will find it.

Host a shoe-cutting party.

This is a new idea we’ve had this year, and are so excited to be involved in! Many kids in Africa have sores and infection on their feet because of sand fleas that burrow in and lay eggs. All because they have no shoes! Sole Hope came up with a way to help, and it involves taking your old jeans and cutting them into shoes. It’s a really easy way to give back ANY time of the year, not just at Christmas. The kids are making cards and handing out letters to their friends asking for their old jeans to make new shoes.

In reality, any of these ideas are things you can do year-round. But especially at Christmas, when the message of Christ coming to serve and to save is so prevalent – what better way can you be like Christ than to serve others in His Name?

What fun ways of serving do you take on during the month of Christmas to serve and bless others?

5 Things to Make with Leftover Turkey

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You know it’s coming. The Turkey Coma is just around the corner! Crispy deliciousness, whether roasted or deep fried, it’s enough to make one giddy with glee at the thought of eating it for days after.

But once the dishes are cleaned and the last bit of pumpkin pie eaten, the question arises: what DO we do with all the turkey leftovers? And while a turkey sandwich or some soup is certainly a good way to use up the remaining bird, there are some more creative, yet simple ideas.

Pesto Sauteed Veggies and Turkey Sandwiches

This is a bit of a switch up on the “traditional” turkey sandwich.

In a frying pan, saute chopped veggies until soft. Add turkey to warm it up.

Mix pesto with mayo and spread on crusty bread (we love to use ciabatta buns from Costco). Top with veggies, turkey and some chopped feta. Broil until the cheese bubbles (but watch closely!).

Turkey Stock

Just like you would make chicken stock, turkey stock is a super healthy way to use up some of your turkey leftovers – including the bones! Just follow these instructions from Kitchen Stewardship and substitute your turkey bones and meat.

Turkey Pot Pie

After making stock, use some of the remaining meat to make a turkey pot pie. Simply convert your favourite recipe and, you guessed it, substitute turkey for the chicken.

Curried Cranberry Walnut Turkey Salad

For a refreshing change, turn your leftover turkey into a light salad. Chop up 4 cups of turkey into pieces, add 1 chopped celery rib, 1 cup of cranberries, 1 cup of toasted and chopped walnuts, 1/2 – 3/4 cup mayo, salt, pepper and curry (to taste). Mix together and serve.

Turkey Pizza or Pizza Pockets

Using your favourite pizza dough recipe, spread with a light barbecue sauce, sliced turkey, onions and green pepper. Top with a blend of cheeses (mozzarella and cheddar) and bake.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Weather Outside is Frightful! Finding Motivation to Exercise When the Cold Weather Hits

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Keeping up the motivation to exercise when temperatures are dropping and the mornings and afternoons are dark can be difficult. The blood slows and our toes are froze, it’s no wonder we want to forsake all thought of exercise and curl up under a warm blanket and sleep. Who wants to go for a run anyway?!

Awake, o sleeper, awake! This is the time to get your rear in gear! Don’t lose motivation or your focus over the cold weather months. These can be some of the best exercise days of your lives.

Just exactly what are the benefits to exercising during the wintertime, you ask?

For one thing, there’s no hot weather to make you sweat profusely (though if you’re working out hard you may anyway). And though your blood is cooling off, exercising in the cold actually makes your body work harder, so you’ll burn more calories than during the summertime.

Plus, if you’re moving it you’re going to lose it – pounds that is. It’s hard to put on extra Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner weight while briskly walking.

And you know how people tend to get more run down and sick in the wintertime? Exercise will actually boost your immune system, because you’re improving your cardiovascular and lymphatic circulation!

Not convinced yet? How about avoiding Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as The Winter Blues. Exercise can help, fresh air is even better!

While that all may sound really, REALLY good, just exactly what is the HOW of staying motivated to exercise? These are a few tips I’ve had to learn the hard way (by not doing them):

Buddy up, don’t go it alone

Get an exercise buddy! A friend, co-worker, spouse or even just an online friend who wants to exercise. Accountability is the fire behind staying on top and not slipping off.

Over the summer I ran with a friend who helped me to reach my goal of a 5k in November. Now our running group of two has grown and we’re continuing to run over the winter days (when it’s not too icy). It’s hard to put people off when they’re standing outside in the cold waiting for you!

There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to keep you going, too. You’re a lot less likely to take as many breaks or slow down when the person working out next to you (or even via FaceTime!) isn’t stopping either.

Find that person or those people who you can connect with on a regular basis, encourage and yes, sometimes force, to get moving. Make it someone you have a common goal with, such as maintaining good health, or a certain distance achieved, or an amount of weight to lose/maintain, someone who also has young children, whatever it may be. Just get an exercise buddy!

Don’t give in to the holiday laziness

My husband and I just started doing a workout program challenge with a group of people on Facebook that takes us through the holidays. It’s 5 days a week, 25 minutes a day of really hard work. And while I want to moan and groan about not being able to “rest” over the up-coming holidays, I know the benefits of staying focused and exercising daily help will combat the temptation to give in to all those Christmas cookies.

Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to quit exercising (or not exercise at all). Commit to staying moving and you won’t regret it!

Find what works for you

The same exercise program doesn’t work for everyone. Some people love running, others prefer cycling. Some people love cardio, others prefer weight lifting and circuits. The beauty of winter exercise is that there are a wide range of options to choose from!

You can go outdoors and enjoy everything from walking to skating to skiing, or stay indoors on an elliptical and use workout videos and weights. It’s better if you can take a well-rounded approach to exercise and incorporate a little bit of everything, but at least you have options!

Change how you view exercise

Exercise is not optional. Our bodies need to be moving and grooving, not stationary. Especially not for long periods of time, as some winters may last a really looooong time. The cold weather isn’t going anywhere, but it’s time you did!

Don’t think of exercise as boring, and if it is, maybe you need to change the way you’re doing it! Switch it up and try a new sport or workout program, or buy something pretty to workout in (because if we’re feeling good in it, then we’re more likely to wear it and use it, am I right?).

Don’t think of exercise as just hard work, but as conditioning your body to work faster, stronger, higher, and greatly improve your health. Your family will thank you.

How do you stay motivated to workout during the cold months? What are some of your favourite ways to exercise in winter?