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Read MoreAre your parenting batteries depleted?
Could you use some encouragement and inspiration to help you on the parenting journey? Would you like some tips and ideas for ways to have fun and to make memories with your child? Then you’re at the right place and we’re glad you’ve joined us! Eighteen years sounds like a long time—but you really have just 18 summers . . . and we want to help you make the most of them.
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Read MoreSo how did the Just 18 Summers® brand come about?
My pastor, Rev. Ralph Sexton, dedicated a baby at church one Sunday. As the parents walked off the platform, he said, “Don’t forget, you have just 18 summers. Take time to make some memories.” Whew, the poignancy of that slammed into me and I knew at that moment that God wanted me to do something with that thought.
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Read MoreWe want Just 18 Summers® to be about YOU.
We’d love to hear from you with your thoughts, ideas, and ways we can help you on the parenting journey.
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Read MorePlease help us spread the word about Just 18 Summers®!
Post about us on Facebook and Twitter. Tell your friends and family. Tell your pastors, family ministry leaders, and organizations about Just 18 Summers. Let’s encourage and strengthen families across our nation and the world!
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Recent From A Happy Home
Recent From A Lasting Faith
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Most Recent Articles
Make Memories Marking the Middle of the Year
With the setting of the sun on July 1, half of the year 2018 has passed. Have you made six month’s worth of family memories? Begin the second half of the year with intentional plans to make the most of every minute with those you love. Fill July with water adventures, fresh vegetable samplings, picnics in the park, walking adventures, or barefoot treks through the green grass. Try some of the wacky, but real, celebrations below or create unique family ones to make every day a holiday in the month of July. Don’t Step on a Bee Day – Ouch! Don’t step on a bee today, but do ‘bee’ on the lookout for them as they work hard to buzz and fly and pollinate their way through the summer. Read the book by Patricia Polacco, The Bee Tree. Then make this fun bee craft to decorate the family room. Trace around a salad plate on yellow construction paper to make the bee’s body. Cut carefully along the line. Trace around the plate again on black construction paper and cut out for the bee’s wings. Fold the black circle in half and then cut along the fold for two wings. Glue one black wing to each side of the yellow bee-body circle, with only a...
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Does God Hear Me?
“Mama, I was afraid I was going to have bad dreams last night so I prayed to God.” My then five-year-old had my attention. I stopped folding laundry and turned to face her. “Before I asked Him to give me good dreams, I said, ‘God could you please help us sell our house? And could you please help Mary Ann to get better?’ And then I told Him, ‘And God, would You please let me have good dreams because sometimes I don’t feel like You even hear me.’” Grace went on to tell God she wanted to dream about living in Candyland or living in a unicorn land where you could ride a unicorn every day. I listened with tears in my eyes. I was touched she thought to pray for the sale of our home; she knew it was constantly on her mommy and daddy’s minds. And she prayed for my best friend with cancer. But Grace touched on a topic that all of us feel from time to time – like God doesn’t hear us. As a parent I offer a lot of prayers. Would you please surround my children with good friends? Please be with her as she tries out for cheerleading. Lord, please let this fever pass. Guard his mind,...
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Berry Good Fun
Summer is time for various berries to ripen. Have fun picking if you have a farm that allows picking or or if you have wild berries near your home. Otherwise visit a farmer’s market and look for fresh grown berries. They’ll be juicy and colorful. Use the berries for many treats: Wash and eat them raw. You can dip raw fruits in whipped cream, caramel, or chocolate Make a berry shortcake Slice up some berries and use them to...
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Superpowers, Heroes and Wrinkles
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” Hebrews 12:1; ESV. My grandson screeches around the room, his dark blue cape flies like a flag behind him. “Quick,” he says in a flutter of little feet and hands, “on the couch.” Because of course everyone knows that it takes a couch to make...
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Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July to all of you from all of us at Just 18 Summers. Make some memories today with your family, enjoy some watermelon, and don’t forget to tell your children the story of why we celebrate on the 4th of...
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Lessons from Houdini
“Houdini’s out again!” Addi pointed out the window. All the other children ran to see. “Yep,” said Jeff. “There she is!” Houdini is our escape-artist, our chicken escape artist. She flies to the top of the small coop, jumps over to the fence rail, then flies to the ground. She never ventures far and the odd thing is that she never seems to mind going back into the chicken yard. Houdini loves Bud, however, and the minute he comes...
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Summertime Prayer
So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun. Ecclesiastes 8:15 (HCSB) The weather tells me that summer is in full swing. As I spend time outdoors, I can’t help but remember my own childhood. It felt like I burst out of school and ran full-blast, downhill...
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