Ever since I got pregnant, I have been stressing over my home and schedule.  I tried so hard to get everything in order before my ds came home...decluttered our room, sorted out old toys and rearranged the girls' room, reorganized the kitchen, and such.  However, when I came home from the hospital, I found that my home was still just as cluttered and hard to care for.  So, now that I have very little time...how will I get it under control?

My main desire is to have a little simplicity...a little less "stuff" and a lot more family happiness.  I want to feel like we aren't trying to keep up with the neighbors, that we aren't looking like the "world"(and that we can get through the livingroom without tripping :-p).  How do you do this when you don't know where to start? 

The funny thing is, the more time I take to snuggle my little baby and try to reconnect with my girls, the more I realize it is a heart thing.  I need to get God back in the center of my life and days.  I am so very aware that I am not taking time to sit with the Lord and pray over my family/day everyday...and yet that is more important than whether I have my livingroom pristine and my kids room clean.  Those things are good too, but if God is absent from our home, then it is all in vain! 

Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord  keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.  It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

From Psalm 127

As I write this, the light bulb goes on and I realize that even if I need to wake up a little earlier, I need to make time for the Lord.  I can not ignore Him, just because my baby woke up too many times last night or because the dishes need to be done.  That can wait...He can't.  He must be first and last in my day...I need to bring my husband, children and day(and all that we will do in it) to him daily! 

Have you all settled back into your routine?  We haven't but we are in a state of calm and stillness.  We are taking off this week for lessons(except Bible and Memory Work) and just taking it easy.  The girls are exploring all their new things...as am I :-)

It is funny how quickly we move on after Christmas comes to a close.  How many of us find ourselves beginning the rush of life and forgetting the Gift God sent us...a babe that became our Saviour?  I am trying to keep this formost in my mind and to remind my girls of this.  Christ should be center in our life everyday and yet often we find Him floating around in the back of our life.  This shouldn't be!  I endeavor to place Him always at the head of my life and to teach my children this too.  We have been doing more bible time lately, both in the morning with me and in the evening with my hubby. I pray that this time in God's Word will bring my children closer to Him.  So, in this stillness after the rush of the holiday I encourage each of us to find Christ and put Him always first in our life and rest in His peace.

May you all have a Happy New Year, blessed by God and full of peace!

I was thinking the other day about what makes a quality good or bad.  Have you ever noticed how, depending on your values or how it is handled, a quality is deemed good or bad?  Now of course there are some qualities that just can't be looked at this way...decietfullness is one and aggression is another.  Bullying is another quality that just isn't going to be looked at as "okay".  Of course the same can be said about good qualities...such as kindness, trust and honesty.  All of these are good qualities.  Some people can be hurt when they are trusting or kind to others, but that is not necessarily their fault.  Often the hurt comes from someone taking advantage of these qualities.  But these qualities tend to be black or white.

However, I find that some qualities walk a fine line between good and bad.  When I look at my children I see some of these qualities.  For example, dd6 can be outgoing and strong-willed(sometimes we call it stubborn)to name a few.  At face value we may say these are all good qualities, but once in awhile they can go to the other side.  Dd6's outgoing personality allows her to make friends easily...unlike her sister that is quite shy.  Dd6 can go to a park and in about five minutes she's made friends with someone and will have a playmate for the rest of our time there.  But she has also been known to go up to complete strangers in the adult version and make me quite stressed out.  This can be quite dangerous and so I have had to give her limits to what is exceptable.   Another problem sometimes with being outgoing is that she can overwhelm others that are more shy(like her sister).  She doesn't always know when to ease off. 

Let's look at being strong-willed.  This can be good when you are standing by your convictions or are determined to do something.  It takes a strong will at times to get these things done.  However, when she uses this strong-will(or what I deem as stubborness at times) to resist a direction of mine...it is no longer appealing.  Often her strong will keeps her from being obedient and this makes all unhappy.

So the question is, how do we make sure that the good areas of these qualities are applied rather than the bad?  This is a big part in raising up Godly children and keeping your home and homeschool from being a war zone.  I struggle with how to let my children be themselves witout allowing them to get away with horrible behavior.  I don't want to crush them, yet I do want to direct them in a proper way.  Of course, this is where we must remember to go to the Word and look at the direction God gives us.  He tells us what is the right behavior, but we must remember to teach this to our children.  My children are continually in my prayers...I ask for guidance on how to raise them to be Godly children, for their obedience and respect and I especially ask that the Lord gives me and hubby wisdom and patience.  This is an area that will need work for some time.

As we remember to train up our children in education, let us not forget to train them up in their attitudes and give them proper values so that they will choose wisely as they grow.

These are just some thoughts I've had lately...I hope they bless you.

Okay, so that isn't exactly true...but, I am waking earlier than is usual for me these days.  A couple of months ago I read on a blog(GirlTalk) the encouragement to rise early and spend time in the Word and to pray.  Well, I just began doing so...I have avoided it and I know that my laziness was beating out my desire to spend time in the Word.  That is very embarrassing to admit, and I know I need this to change.  So for the last two days, I have risen earlier than normal and brewed some coffee.

  Then I sit down and read from the Bible and pray.  It is hard to do this...but the Lord is filling me with the desire to do it and I keep praying for increased desire.

I have been bringing not only my own concerns to the Lord at this time, but I also lift my hubby and kids up in prayer, as well as people I know have requested prayer.  I ask for guidance during the day and changes of heart not only for myself, but my daughters that are both going through some tough behaviors.  My Lord is faithful...and I pray that I too will be faithful.

I'm looking forward to seeing a change in my attitude during the day..it is something I have prayed about.  My patience usually dwindles very quickly and I become quite irritable.  That does none of us any good...especially when the kids are finding ways to get into trouble or are bickering(that is a whole other blog).  I know the Lord will help me with this.

Now that my day is begun...May you all have a blessed day!

I hope all of you had a lovely Easter.  Ours was nice.  The song we sang at church(ladies choir) came out very nice.  I think that our director was pleased.  We had a wonderful brunch and spent time speaking with friends.  After services we spent time at my hubby's Grandfather's home and that was pleasant.  The girls enjoyed egg hunting, even though it rained on them briefly...I think maybe that was the high point.

But I think, how will we keep Jesus center in our lives beyond Easter?  We as christians have our hope in Him.  He is sitting at His Father's side...and we will eventually be raised up in glory along with Him.  Isn't that an ecouraging thought? 

Our pastor gave a verse during his sermon on Sunday that really meant alot to me.  "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Cor. 15:58 esv

What does this have to do with anything but Easter you may ask?  Well, our pastor applied this verse to our everyday work and endeavors.  But the one that stood out best to me, was when he used the raising of our children as an example.  He basically said, when you find yourself questioning all the hardwork you put into raising your children(or your service as Sunday School teacher, etc.) look to this verse and find ecouragement.  For if we are doing these things for the Lord, then our labor will not be in vain.  Isn't this great!  Think about those days when you are working with one of your children on a passage for memory work or maybe a math problem and they are struggling with you.  Perhaps you are frustrated and wondering is this really worth it?  Well, we are raising these children up for service to the Lord...this labor will not be in vain.  Keep His promises in mind, keep our eternal home in mind, keep the resurrection in mind...this is what we are working for...to give glory to God.

So let us look beyond Easter day and labor for God...It will not be in vain.

I wanted to stop in and wish everyone a Happy Easter!  I pray that it will be safe and blessed.

In the morning we will attend our church services and I will sing with our women's choir.  I am looking forward to this.

After church we will go to my hubby's Grandfather's home.  We do this every year and the children really enjoy spending time with him.  We will have lunch and the children will have an Easter egg hunt.

Have an enjoyable weekend!

When I look at my daughters, I wonder how they will stay pure and Godly in such an un-Godly world.  All around us are visions of impurity and vanity, cruelty and selfishness...on the TV, radio, within some of our families, even at some of our churches.  You walk in a mall and there are pictures of half naked women and men on store advertisements.  You barely can avoid these things.  How do we raise daughters(and even sons) that can look at these things and know they are wrong?  How do we keep them pure?

This is something that I have prayed alot about.  I have two little girls and I want them to be humble and modest, and to become biblical women of God.  I've been trying to teach my girls to behave in loving ways and to have compassion.  They often amaze me with the compassion they show others and then some times they show such selfishness, that I feel dismayed.  I think the most important things we can show them is the Word of God.  He puts clearly what it is He expects of both men and women.  We must teach these attitudes to our daughters.  How?  I must remember to be a good example...to be submissive to my husband(which is not always easy), to show them how to run a household and to show them by what I do and wear and say.  Our husbands too, should lead by example.  To be good heads of their household and to show love to their daughters...so that then they have a proper example to base their choice of a spouse on.  As a couple, we must go to God and ask His guidance.  Because with out God, our efforts will be in vain...they will only be polite, Godless women.  I want, foremost, for my daughters to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.  This only comes from teaching His Word.

I have found some lovely books that can be quite encouraging.  On Vision Forum, I found a book called Daughters of Destiny by Noelle Goforth.  It is a beautiful example of strong, biblical women.  I also have read Raising Maidens of Virtue, and although there are some things I don't agree with, there are some wonderful principles to consider.  I must say that the most convicting things I've read have come from the bible, Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 especially.  I would recommend to anyone interested in raising biblical women to read these portions of scripture for encouragement.

Finally, I wonder how we may include this in our homeschooling.  Do any of you take time in your day to sit down with your daughters to teach them some important lessons for growing into Godly women?  Obviously, by including them in the keeping of the home, we will teach them the role of a wife and mother, but are there other ways in which we can do this?  I found a book on www.homeschoolhighlights.com called Beautiful Girlhood, which was revised slightly by Karen Andreola, that teaches some of these things.  I have not yet purchased it, but I am considering it.  It is said to have some very important points to raising these Godly women up. 

I encourage us as Christian mothers to work actively at raising daughters for the Kingdom of God.  Let us not sit idley by and watch are daughters become a part of this world(And be not conformed to this world...Romans 12:2/Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. 1 John 2:15a).  But let us work to raise these children up for God, so that they may stand apart from this world and shine their lights boldly for Him.

Okay, so third time is a charm....

My Mom once told me that I would likely learn as much or more from my children as they would from me.  I find that in some ways she was right.  Of course, I've recieved more education so far and I've experienced alot more than my children in life, as well as I know the Bible a bit more....But when you think about it, haven't you learned some things from your kids?

How about the day they kept spilling things and asking you questions every five minutes, and you lost your temper...Well, I have had those kind of days more often than I'd like to admit.  Those are the days I'm taught patience.  It isn't an easy lesson.  Usually along with patience, I learn about humility and that perhaps I should remember God's command for fathers(and probably moms too)not to provoke their children to anger.  Or how about the time one of  your children commented on how beautiful the flowers on the grass were?  Those are the times I remember to thank God for His creation.

Isn't it amazing how God uses our children and how we interact with them to correct and admonish us, or make us stop and be in awe of Him?  I have really been doing some thinking on this and I realise this is an area that I still have such growing to do.  Now, of course my daughters have no idea that they are a teaching tool for me, but if I would take the time to open my eyes...I would see it.  I thank God that He shows me where I need to change and I pray that I will learn from these experiences.

You know homeschooling will be another opportunity for me to learn and grow, both in my mind and in my walk with God.  There will be many things that I will learn that I never had the opportunity to in public school.  And God will use my daily times with my children to cause me to grow spiritually.  I'm looking forward to it!  Aren't you?