SkyMoms wishes you all a Blessed and Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from Sky Ranch SkyMoms

God Bless The USA

by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I'd worked for all my life.

And I had to start again,

with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars,

to be livin here today.

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,

and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,

to the hills of Tennessee.

Across the plains of Texas,

From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,

and New York to L.A.

Well there's pride in every American heart,

and its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

And I'm proud to be and American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

~Tori Miller

Sky Ranch SkyMoms Ministry Director

Prayer Encouragement: "Appointed to His Service!" by SkyMom, Terrie Chevaillier

Appointed to His Service!

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service

 1Timothy 1:12

I had the sweet privilege of hosting the Sky One and Two boy’s counselors

at my home this past weekend as they gathered for 

rest, fun, and fellowship to celebrate their last week of working together for Session One at Sky!

If you have a son attending Sky One or Two…..be ready.

These guys are appointed, without a doubt!

They LOVE your campers.

I got to hear stories of how they loved these little men, 

played with them, prayed with them, and discipled them.

Their passion for service ignited a passion in me and my family 

by just being with these guys for an evening.

I think if I got to hang out with them for one full week….I would

be FOREVER changed!

Forever changed because of Christ in them.

Let’s pray God’s Word:

Lord Jesus, thank You that you give strength to young men to 

disciple and love on little men at Sky Ranch.

Thank You that you consider them trustworthy with these 

precious little souls and that you specifically 

appoint them to YOUR service.

Thank you for young men and women that are answering the call 

to serve Your precious children this summer at Sky Ranch.

Put a desire in the hearts of the campers to someday

come back to Sky Ranch and work in some capacity.

Thank You that You are always preparing hearts for Your service!

Amen

~Terrie Chevaillier

Teach Intentionally..."Family Time…God’s grace", with Stacy Davis ~ Bible Teacher and Sky Ranch Board Member

Family Time…God’s grace

This month the family devotional focus is on the topic of God saving you and it begins by discussing how God saves you.  Do you know how? It is not by anything that you have done, but He saves you because of His own mercy and grace that He gives to you. Each of person can ask themselves…why would God save me? Am I worth saving? In the end, each of person might question if they are worthy…but God has a different plan and He does not saved you because you deserve it, nor does He skip you because you do not deserve it. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Him! God chooses to extend His mercy and give you grace because He has chosen to give it to you. You can’t earn it from your own merit. God lets you understand Him and He opens your spiritual eyes to see Him and accept His grace. And since none of us know who God has chosen, you are to share His message with anyone. There is hope for anyone!

As a Mom, I think the best way to explain this concept of grace and mercy is to relate it to the last time your kids got into trouble at home. I found that if I reminded them of their most recent incident that did receive a punishment, then I could explain that is how God sees you and me. He sees each time that we break His rules in scripture (IE:. The 10 commandments). I asked my kids how would they have felt if I had chosen not to punish their bad behavior if they truly were remorseful and committed to not repeat the bad behavior again? They answered that they would have felt happy and relieved. Then, I explained that is like God’s mercy and grace.  I explained that when you choose to believe Jesus and accept Him as your personal Lord of your life, then God releases you of the punishment (that is the mercy) that you should have gotten from breaking His rules because you accepted His free gift of grace. In that moment of trusting Jesus, you are stating that you are remorseful for your sin and are committing to stop sinning and you are admitting that you need God’s help to do it. Then, God then commits to help you follow Him by sending the Holy Spirit to help you.

This week in your family time, I would encourage you to prepare by praying for your family and asking God if anyone does not understand God’s mercy and grace. These are challenging concepts. Pray and ask God to give you the words and help you explain God’s mercy and grace in a way that your family will best understand. Understanding God’s mercy and grace are some of the most comforting teachings that you can teach your kids. There is so much hope in understanding that you deserve a punishment and you are going to be spared! We all understand that concept! Encourage your kids to respond by thanking God for His amazing grace and mercy at the end of your family time!

Do you have questions or need prayer for your family? Email me at SkyMoms@skyranch.org.

I will be praying for you! 

Stacy

Stacy A. Davis

Teach Intentionally

This week we are in the 11^th  Month Topic and  1^st Family Time (or page 93 ) of the Sky Ranch Devotional “Open Your Eyes”…

Family Time 1:

Month 11 Topic: God saves us…Receiving grace

Talk with God: Read…Isaiah 45:22, Ephesians 2:8-9

~ Isaiah 45:22  Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

• In Isaiah 45:22, what does God claim to do for us?

~ Ephesians 2:8-9  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

• In Ephesians 2:8-9, we are saved by grace through what?  Can we save ourselves according to this verse?  Can we work for salvation?

Walk with God: Discuss… When we talk about being saved, what are we being saved from?  Discuss the acrostic for grace – G – God’s; R – Riches; A – At; C – Christ’s; E – Expense.  What does it mean to you to receive grace?  Remind each other that even our very best day is still dotted with sin and disappointment.  

Prayer suggestion… Thank God for grace and salvation.  Without the sacrifice of Christ on the cross there is no salvation for man.  Thank you, Jesus!

Family Time 1: 

Month 11 Topic: God saves us

Leader Answers:

• Save us
• Faith; no; no

• Discussion ideas:  Grace is getting what we don’t deserve and not getting what we deserve.  

© 2011 Lisa Clark and Stacy A. Davis, Inc. All rights reserved.

Teach Intentionally..."Family Time…God knows your needs and limits temptations", with Stacy Davis ~ Bible Teacher and Sky Ranch Board Member

Family Time…God knows your needs and limits temptations

Are you “a take matters into your own hands” kind of person? If you are, is it a struggle to trust God as your Provider? For the “take charge” person, which is often men, but it can be women too…trusting God is one of the biggest challenges. God provide us with intelligence and skill so that you can take care of yourself and others. But sometimes God places you in a situation to show you how much you actually trust Him or don’t trust Him. He uses the situation to teach you about yourself and your own heart. Can you see yourself wandering in the wilderness and trusting God for your next drink or meal as the people of Israel did in Nehemiah? Do you recognize God as He provides drink, food or clothing now? God is providing for you now…you just have to open your eyes, see it, and give Him the credit. It helps to recognize Him in the obvious provisions when life is easier. Then, in the challenging times, you will learn to see Him there too.

As a Mom when I was raising toddlers, one of my biggest challenges was to fight the urge to race in a save my child as they began to walk. God provided my child with legs, very wobbly at first, but they worked. I understood that He had provided for my child, but I still had difficulty trusting that my child was ready to use them. I was tempted to always jump in and catch my child on their wobbly legs, but each time that I did, I prevented my child from learning to stabilize him or herself. There is a balance. I wanted to prevent a serious fall, but I did not want to hinder learning to walk independently. Both of the family time topics for this week focus on trusting God to provide for your needs and not giving into temptation. God used my time as a toddler Mom to help me learn to trust Him and not give into the temptation to always fix things for my kids. This verse has helped me…”fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverb 29:25). Today, I still have to trust that God has provided for my kids and resist the temptation to fix things for them. I personally think trusting God to parent instead of me… is one of my biggest challenges as a parent. Sometimes, I just need to keep my opinion to myself and let my kids struggle through experiences in their lives and figure it out themselves. Easier said than done! It can be hard to hold my tongue! But, just like with the walking stage, if I keep intervening, I will actually hinder their learning.

This week in your family time, I would encourage you to prepare by praying for your family and asking God to show you if you truly trust God to provide for your needs and your family’s needs. Ask Him to show you if you or your husband have difficultly resisting the temptation to “fix” things for your kids. Every parent has difficulty letting their kids “fail”…but do you prevent their failures so much that life lessons are missed too? There is a balance. Pray and ask God to show you the balance and ask Him to give you the wisdom to guide each family member so that you prevent serious blunders, but do not hinder them from learning valuable life lessons.

Do you have questions or need prayer for your family? Email me at SkyMoms@skyranch.org.

I will be praying for you! 

Stacy

Stacy A. Davis

Teach Intentionally

This week we are in the 10^th  Month Topic and 4^th & 5^th Family Time (or page  88 & 89) of the Sky Ranch Devotional “Open Your Eyes”…

Family Time 4: 

Month 10 Topic:  God is my Provider…Needs

Talk with God: Read…Nehemiah 9:15, Nehemiah 9:21

~ Nehemiah 9:15  You provided bread from Heaven for them for their hunger, You brought forth water from a rock for their thirst.

• In verse 15, what did God provide?  Where did the water come from?

~ Nehemiah 9:21  Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want; their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.

• In verse 21, how long did God provide for them in the wilderness?  Were they in want?  Did their clothes wear out?  Did their feet swell?

Walk with God: Discuss… These verses remind us of how great God is and that He truly does supply all of our needs.  Who among you has clothes you have worn for 40 years?  Probably no one in your family still wears clothes that are 40 years old.  When God provides, He really provides! Why is it important to thank God for our food prior to eating a meal?  Recommit to doing this as a family before each meal.  It will make mealtime much more enjoyable!

Prayer suggestion… “God, thank you for new clothes! And every meal we eat on a daily basis.  Thank you for meeting our most basic needs like food, water and clothing.”

Family Time 4: 

Leader Answers:

• Bread and water; from a rock
• 40 years; no; no; no
• Discussion ideas:  Mealtime prayers are a great way to bring community to your family.   Encourage your little ones to bow their heads to pray, even when they are not with you or at home.  Prayers can be silent, but giving thanks is important.

Family Time 5: 

Month 10 Topic:  God is my Provider…Freedom from temptation

Talk with God: Read…1 Corinthians 10:13

~ 1 Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

• According to this Scripture, will God allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to endure?  
• Will He always provide a way of escape?

Walk with God: Discuss…Temptation is a scary thing sometimes.  We don’t know when it will rear its ugly head next.  Jesus was tempted.  He knows how we feel when we are tempted.  He escaped the temptation and so can we, according to this verse.  Why is it hard to escape?  Is it sometimes easier to give in to the temptation?  What have you been tempted with this week, today, in the last hour?

Prayer suggestion… Thank God for providing everything in your life.  Thank Him for providing a way out of temptation and for making your family stronger through temptation.  

Family Time 5: 

Leader Answers:

• No
• Yes
• Discussion ideas: Matthew 4 tells the story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan.  This might be a good chapter to read to discuss temptation.  Notice that Jesus counters Satan with Scripture…that works for us, too!

© 2011 Lisa Clark and Stacy A. Davis, Inc. All rights reserved.

SkyMom Holly Shiver's experiences "Unplugged" while at Sky Ranch Family Camp in Ute Trail, Colorado!

Unplugged

I just returned with my family from a week long vacation trip to Colorado(Of course, you call it a “trip” when the munchkins are with you!) We spent the week at a Christian family camp there and had such an amazing experience. While the scenery was breathtaking, weather absolutely perfect, activities so fun and adventurous, and the people very delightful, those were not the things that had such an impact on us as a family.  Rather, it was what we like to call, “unplugging.” It is as if someone reached down, picked up our family and transported us to some far away land where there is no such thing as email, cell phones, TV, itouches, video games…you get the picture. It was just us. Just us. Certainly, every family in ministry rarely finds the time or opportunity to truly disconnect from everyone and everything in order to focus on family and feel spiritually refreshed. What if we were more deliberate in making that happen?

As we began our drive back to Texas and got closer and closer to an actual town, we began our re-entry into the all too familiar world of technology. In those moments, I felt a sadness come over me. That strong, powerful force that is too much to resist was headed right toward us, and ready to steal away what we had come to know so intimately throughout the week – really being together.  

Now, I am not saying that I think “Talking Tom” is the anti-Christ, or that there is not a time and place for being “plugged in” to technology in this day and age. But I can say, however, that you leave a lot more room for the Holy Spirit to move and speak when you are less distracted by it all. Not to mention the irrefutable rewards of undivided attention on your kids and spouse.

As a child, I remember my Dad preaching a sermon entitled “Being comes before doing.” This is the familiar idea that we need to focus on being who God wants us to be, before we turn all of our efforts toward doing the things that we think make us look good.  In the same way, I believe there are times when a family just needs to be. And it’s very hard to be when you are reading emails, returning texts, playing Angry Birds or tuned into your favorite show.  My struggle is often doing all of the things that need to get done as a wife and mom, but neglecting to take the time to just be with my family.  {Confession coming…} I often hear myself repeating phrases like “In a minute” or “Not right now” when asked to play a game, go outside, or read a book. This past week reminded me of the need to take more opportunities to be, and cease, for awhile anyway, to do. 

The question becomes, will your children look back one day and remember all the clean clothes they had, how the house was in order, all the dishes you washed and how good you were at staying on top of those emails…or will they remember you looking into their eyes, playing on the floor with them and just being together?  

So, you ask, “How?” How, in today’s society, do I say “No” to all of these things that pull me away from true quality time with my family? Especially when so much of it is necessary? And even more so, how do I encourage my kids to do the same? I for one like small goals. One way my husband and I have decided to implement this idea is from now on, when we enter a restaurant as a family, we do not even allow ourselves to take our phones inside. This is an easy way to have an automatic built in time of unplugging. Maybe you choose one hour every day when as a family, you unplug. I have a friend who has made a commitment to only check her email two times every day. This was challenging at first, but guess what? It turned out that the world did not stop spinning when she did not send immediate responses to her emails! Who knew?!

In what ways do you unplug in order to focus on what’s in front of you? Leave us a comment and let us know…then take some time to just “be” today.

~Holly Shivers

Prayer Encouragement: "Good Friends in the Faith!" by SkyMom, Terrie Chevaillier

Good Friends in the Faith!

That is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other's faith, both yours and mine. 

Romans 1:12

As I came across this verse on Monday, I realized that is exactly the scripture behind the interactions I witnessed with two of my boys as we dropped them off at Sky Ranch this past Sunday.

For one son, his face just lit up when he saw the counselors he had already spent  a week with this summer during session two. There were hugs, laughing at what only they understood between themselves with hand gestures, hand shakes, and word phrases. Sweetness and brotherly Christ like love. A little taste of heaven on earth is how I would describe it.

For the other son, as soon as we got on the wagon, he started seeing campers and previous years counselors that he had shared life and faith with for one amazing week in past summers. What I witnessed....shouts of joy and greeting and hanging out the wagon just to touch the hands of friends that he had a deep connection with. A faith connection. It was sheer joy to see my sometimes "under the radar " child let loose in abandon with his expressed joy at seeing other brothers in Christ.  Pleasure.  Sweetness.  Love. 

My response...tears of joy and thanksgiving! 

I had to share those things with you to encourage us to continue making it priority to do whatever it takes to re arrange schedules, put aside money, and guard time to allow our children the pleasure and joy of spending time with friends in the faith

Let's pray God's Word:

Father, thank You for places like Sky Ranch, church, small groups, youth groups, mission groups and other circles of brotherly love.  They are good and perfect gifts from You. 

I pray that our children would be strengthened by the mutual love experience of being with other believers.

It brings encouragement and comfort to withstand the pressures and stress of daily living in a fallen word. Bring them more of these experiences in their day in and day out world throughout the year to be strengthened, encouraged, and comforted.

Amen

~Terrie Chevaillier

Ronda from ~ The Family Table, brings us "Scrumptious Cinnamon Rolls"!

Hey Skymoms,

 How are you all doing? I hope relishing in the warmth of a fantastic summer :). If your house is anything like mine, it is filled with camps, swimming, play dates and food...lots and lots of food. I think I may go broke this summer with all the mouths I’m feeding, but especially with my own three who are eating me out of house and home! I feel like I make one meal and before the last plate is in the sink someone is asking for a snack which really equates to a mini meal in our neck of the woods.  The good news is that our kids are all healthy eaters and lovers of good things but the flip side of that is a bag of gold fish just won’t suffice hahahaha. Somedays I sure wish it would. 

I have been cookin a blue streak in the house but today I am going to write up something that I usually think about during the holidays...Cinnamon Rolls. And the reason for that is because I have a little story to go with it :)....

The secretary from our school had a running joke with our middle son, Collin. Everyday when he would walk into school she would say,” Collin, where is my cinnamon roll?” And then they’d both laugh until the next day when it would happen all over again. Stacey is the type of school secretary that is friends with everyone. She always has a big smile on her face and she treats the kids with so much love and attention it is as if they are her own. With me being a full time student myself, she has helped me out of many pickles, and I don’t mean the baseball type (that’s a baseball joke for those of you with only girls)! 

My intent was to make her a big pan of homemade rolls before the end of school. Well, that didn’t happen for several reasons. First, I don’t have that one perfect roll recipe. I have been searching high and low, but I am a picky baker and hadn’t found the one I was looking for. They either made too many (who wants 9 trays of rolls), or they had too many steps (who has 4 hours to devote to cinnamon roll making) or the taste fell short of what I wanted if I was going to blow it and have a real treat. 

All that changed when I came across a recipe on Pinterest! OH my goodness!!! Whenever I make food for someone, I always have to do a test run to make sure it turns out ok. And if it is a baked good of some sort, well I might have to make it three or a dozen times (wink wink) to make sure it is just how I want. 

This little recipe claims to be the fastest cinnamon roll, but I was skeptical that it would taste ok. I wasn’t about to trade taste for time. Let me assure you, the taste was perfecto in every way. Also, I didn’t want a whole lot of rolls sitting around tempting me after I walk in from my yoga class. When it comes to will power, I am certainly lacking in the food department. Finally, the dough had to be easy to work with and this one certainly is easy.

Bright and early, like 5 am bright and early, when I couldn’t sleep, I decided to treat the kids to warm, fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls to go along with their scrambled egg breakfast. Let me just say, all the kids were happy campers that day.  

And my friend Stacey, well, she will get her batch delivered next week when my daughter heads to basketball camp at the school. 

Scrumptious Cinnamon Rolls 

adapted from FineCooking.com

Dough:

3/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese 

1/3 cup low fat buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

 Glaze:

4 tablespoon cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar, or to taste

1 tablespoon skim milk, or as needed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a small baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine the ricotta cheese, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda just until the dough clumps together. The dough will be soft and moist. Now knead together a few times to make a ball.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12×15-inch rectangle. I roll the dough out on silpat and cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap to make my rolling out an easier process.

Brush the dough with the melted butter.  In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and spices. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. 

Cut the roll in half and then cut those in half until you have eight pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan. 

Bake until golden brown 20 to 30 minutes. 

In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla to make a smooth glaze. Add milk as needed to achieve thin consistency. Drizzle onto warm rolls. Let stand 10 minutes (or as long as you can stand) and serve.

***Because the recipe only makes eight rolls, I put them into my bread loaf pan, but I wouldn’t do that again. Because the insides were all bunched together, I had to bake the rolls longer.  To make sure I didn’t burn the tops, I covered the rolls with a piece of foil. My advise for pan size would be to put the rolls in a round tin and put them close together, but not crammed.

Serve fresh from the oven with scrambled eggs and hot coffee. Delicious!

I hope all of your little ones are looking forward to their Sky Ranch experience. I know our kids are counting down the days until session 7 arrives!! 

Happy Summer and many blessings to you all :)

Ronda from The Family Table