I had no idea what to write when I sat down to do this.  Then I went to Jacque's blog and read what she had to say.  Just click on the link and read her's, I am not going to try to re-invent the wheel this week, since what I needed was right there.

My praise today is that we made it home to our own little world and I managed to keep my mouth shut when my maternal Grandmother yet again informed me I needed to put my kids in real school so they can get an education.  I get a knot in my stomach each time I think about visiting my family, it is still there, but as I relish being back in my sheltered little world, it will ease.  So, head on over to Jacque's and read her post.

Valerie

Blessings to you, all our friends.

Because this is Thanksgiving week, we don’t want to take you away from your family and preparations. Instead, we offer you, like the Lord offered us, a blessing.

Luke 24:50-52
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

Numbers 6:23-27, ESV
Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
“The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

Most of the sites I visit have Ideas, freebies, and for sale items.  We used to use a curriculum that came in a complete set.  It was a great curriculum, not having to look for anything and having the lessons planned out was great.  Finances changed this year however, and we had to get creative.  So we are using what we have; books, text books, internet, and a set of encyclopedias that I bought 12 years ago.  We notebook and have started lapbooking and folder learning.  I plan to incorperate all 3 into our learning.  A few of my favorites are,

www.notebookingpages.com
www.holdthatthought.com
www.liveandlearnpress.com
www.historyscribe.com
http://oldfashionededucation.com/
http://www.mainlesson.com/main/displayarticle.php?article=mission
www.spellingcity.com

Each of these have freebies, links, and for sale items (or links to for sale items).

A productive learning area.

Share your favorite scripture in your post.

FOR TODAY November 24, 2008...

Outside my window... The sound of wood being chopped, the dogs playing.

Ps 1
1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
KJV

Short and simple this week.  Want to be blessed?  Want to be under the wing of His protection?

It is like the old children's hymn says, "Oh be careful little feet where you go".  When we start to walk with sinners, sooner or later we will sit down and then eventualy get comfortable.  Stay away from the counsel of the ungodly. 

Meditate on His word day and night, delight in it.  What constant refreshing?  You must freshen the water by reading the word.  If there is no new word coming in you will become stale, just as a pool of water will get stagnant and stale with no new inflow.  Just as important is outflow, you must have the new flowing in, so you can have some outflow.  If there is nothing going out, it will just keep filling up.  Of course, with the word if you have constant infow, you cannot help but have outflow.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am gonna 'fess up, I am a little stale right now.  I have been focusing on important things true, but not on the most important thing, spending time with my Lord and Savior.  So that is why this one is short, I am headed to spend some time with Him.

If you want to join in with Saturday Psalm & Praise hop on over to Jacque's.

Valerie

What is Friday Show & Tell?  Hop on over to Mary's and see.

I wanted to share with you a project that I have been working on for some time.  In fact all summer and it is still needing attention.  My gardens.  My big vegie garden and my little kitchen garden, that I just expanded.  So instead of re posting, I am just sending you to my little garden blog.  It is my "just for fun" blog, no pressure, no meme's  no carnivals, just my garden.  I mean that is what it is supposed to be, right, just you, the dirt and God and His wonderful creation subduing His creation.  So grab a cup of tea and listen for the birdies and wind chimes, and smell the last little bit of honey suckle mingling with the smoke from our chimney. 

http://rocksinmygarden.blogspot.com/

God bless,
Valerie

Actually it is funny that I stumbled upon this carnival today.  I was elbow deep in a project I had been putting off for about a month.  My son's room.  Is it just me, or is this the typical 12yo boy's idea of what a 12yo boys room should look like?

I mean come on, is this clean?  He said it was.  Am I brain dead?

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So what did I do?  Well, look and see.

'Nuff said.  Thanks Rebeca for doing this, it was fun!!!  Maybe we could do this once a month or so?

Valerie

Memory Verse: Philippians 4:8

In conclusion, brothers, focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy.

I have missed a TWT or 2, but the garden needed to be put to bed for the winter, and the kitchen garden needed some expanding and cleaning, so getting out there and pulling up the dead plants, tilling, expanding, stacking rocks for my water fall in my kitchen garden and transplanting broccoli has drained my energy.  Saturday after the Making memories TAL I went to bed, I had hit a wall.

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So, for my TWT post I want to share elbow grease in motion with you.  Earlier this year a friend called and said a tree (huge tree) had fallen in their yard and wanted to know if my hubby would help out.  They had insurance and between the tree and some very minor repairs we were paid well over $500 to haul off a tree.  We have a wood burning stove.......  We stoped having the gas man come and fill that huge tank 2 years ago and have not regreted it since.  We use our gas grill year 'round for cooking, and we just were given one that has a side burner too, so I use that often.

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So to burn off excess steam for my 12yo son and heat the house we are burning that tree. 

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Here is a picture of my 12yo son burning off excess steam.

FOR TODAY November 11, 2008

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Outside my window...My 12yo son is chopping firewood., the leaves are dancing in time to Vivaldi's Autumn, ain't God good.

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I am thinking...how cozy our wood burning stove is.

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I am thankful for...Firewood we were paid to haul off.

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From the learning rooms...Spending the week finishing up Rome B.C. and then a couple weeks of Thankfulness, Pilgrims & Crafts

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From the kitchen...My 10yo daughter is doing dishes and I am planning some stews and some rib sticking meals to make in bulk.

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I am wearing...Jeans, long sleeve T, and no make-up yet.

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I am creating...a new blog, Rocks in my Garden, my adventures and mis adventures in gardening, just for fun, no pressure on this one.

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I am going... to go to bed early tonight.

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I am reading...Still reading Mansfield Park with Miss Amanda.

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I am hoping...to put some comments on the above book on my book blog.

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I am hearing...Songs of the Seasons from iTunes, now playing My Favorite Things.

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Around the house... Morning schoolwork done and put away, chores half done, laundry almost done.

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One of my favorite things...The smells of fresh bread, stews, and biscuits on a cold day.

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A few plans for the rest of the week:Search high and low for my old file folders to make our first Lapbook for November studies.

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Here is picture thought I am sharing...

I have a hard time picking a favorite season, each is so special to me.  Spring is for new growth and new birth.  Summer for gardening and fun.  Autumn is for harvesting and bringing families and projects inside. Winter is for sleep, more for us too, not just for the land.  As we strive to be good stewards of God's wonderful creations let's also strive to remember that winter's rest is not just for God's earth, it is for us too.  I have put in 2 pictures this time, just could not decide whether to show you my son chopping wood or our garden put to bed for late fall and winter, with only some broccoli left.

The Voice of the Martyrs has set today November 9th, as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. They are asking us to join together in prayer for the persecuted and suffering church across the world.

For more information go to Growing in Grace Magazine and read Part of Miss Amanda's interview with Mr. Nettleton.

Here are the words to one of my favortite songs by a group called The Seeds.  Please click on the link and listen to a preview of the song Remember the Chains, remember to pause my player.

REMEMBER THE CHAINS
(words and music: Mike Troxel)

A lone man is thrown into the darkness
His hands and feet shackled to a wall
It's the penalty of voicing his confession
And the weight of it begins to fall
As he remembers the beauty of his family
Left behind with pain now to endure
Within his darkened isolation

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To his Lord he does cry
Oh Lord, ease this pain
Take any peace that I might have
Take it and give it to them, please, Lord
A woman rejected and forsaken
By the ones she has always known
The family she has belonged to
Now call her dead, leaving her alone
But the truth that she now firmly holds to
Brings her life she just can't deny
Yet from her lonely isolation

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To her Lord she does cry
Oh Lord, ease this pain
Soften through their fearful hearts
That my family might be saved, please, Lord
These are the prayers of our brothers and sisters
Enduring persecution for the call
Their cries must not be in silence
It must be shattered by our prayers

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A gathering of secret adoration
In the shadows they've come to pray
Fearing they have been reported
Yet determined they must stay
And intercede on behalf of the Body
To endure and make it to the end
Together in their common isolation

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To their Lord they do cry
Oh Lord, ease this pain
Give to us Your holy strength to stand up
And confess Your name, please, Lord
These are the prayers of our brothers and sisters
Enduring persecution for the call
Their cries must not be in silence
It must be shattered by our prayers

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I know it is Sunday when posting this, but yesterday I hit the floor running and by evening I had a slight fever and was exhausted.  Although I listened to the Make a Memory Seminar, I also did some cleaning and organizing, and just ran out of steam.  I awoke feeling better, still exhausted but no more chills and no fever.  So I spent some time in Psalms, I had intended to share one of my favorites, Ps 40, but instead typed in Ps 49, and upon reading that one decided it had some meat I needed.  So, forgive my tardiness and the length of my post, but please bear with me as I share what God so graceously shared with me.  I do have a praise report, my husband was able to fix the CD drive in my laptop so that I could install my PC Bible, YEAH!!!

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Ps 49:1-5  Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? KJV

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In this passage we are instructed to listen 3 times, so listening to what he has to say must be pretty important.

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vs. 3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom;

I love the line from the movie “Bambi” where Thumper is quoting his father’s saying, “if you can’t say nuffin’ nice, don’t say nuffin’ at all.”. Several times in the Word we are told to build up and edify the body of Christ, for example Eph 4:29 & 1 Tim 1:4. When you take what is said in Ps 49:3 and the verses from Eph & 1Tim, it changes what Thumpers father taught him somewhat. We should speak of wisdom, to build up the body of Christ. Simply saying something nice just does not cut it, in fact that could be flattery. Now I am not saying not to compliment someone’s hair or dress, we all need a boost from time to time, just consider what you are saying and why.

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and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

Next the author speaks of “the meditation of my heart”. I looked that one up, it is also used as, to ponder, imagine, speak & study. I love the comparison of the word meditate to the way a cow chews her cud. A cow will eat the grass, chew, swallow, and bring it back up and chew a couple of times. When you get a hold of word from God, chew on it, put it away, pull it back out and chew on it some more. This way you are getting meat, not milk, and more importantly you are feeding yourself.

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So what should be the meditation of our heart? Understanding. Pr 4:7 tells us, and with all thy getting get understanding. Knowledge without understanding is dangerous. You could really do some damage to a person with knowledge but no understanding. How do you get understanding? The same way you get wisdom, seek it, desire it, ask for it.

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I will incline mine ear to a parable:

What is the author listening to? A parable; or a simile, a poem, a proverb. I never thought of a parable comparable to a proverb, but then parable is in the word comparable.

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I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

The author poured out his problems, his troubles to music. His heart was singing through the tough times. He was letting go, venting.

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5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

I struggled with this verse, I could not figure out why the author was not afraid (fear of the Lord) of the iniquity of his heels. At first reading it sounds like his feet have gone somewhere they should not have. But, I went through the concordance and several translations, one translation said “the iniquity at my heels”. Now when you us the word at with the definition of the concordance, it make sense, at least to me. The concordance offered up the phrases; to seize by the heel; supplant; to circumvent (as if tripping up the heels); lier in wait; to take by the heel. Now when we remember the bible story of how Esau was born with Jacob holding on to his heel for dear life, and look at the phrases; as if tripping up the heels; a lier in wait, it puts it in a different light. How many times does satan try to trip us up, or grab us by the heel to make us stay in whatever sin we are in? I believe the author was surrounded by those who were lying in wait for him to trip up or trying to trip him up themselves, tempting him. David is believed to be the author of this Psalm and we all know he tripped up more than once, but yet he was able to say “Why should I be afraid?”. FDR said we have nothing to fear but fear itself, yet God’s word assures us we have nothing to fear. I think I will take the advice of Ps 118:8 and put my trust in the Lord, not man.

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Assignment: My family and I rarely do anything apart from each other. We don’t really have quality time together because all our time is together. We feel like the more special moments are when we have dinner together or when we worship God together. For this assignment, tell how you and your family spend QUALITY time together

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My husband’s schedule is so crazy that time as a family is rare. We gather together for a movie, work in the garden, or our favorite is camping. We are simple, and would not spend a lot of money if we had it to spend.

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I am including a picture of a fountain I want to put in my garden. Right now it is just a pile of rocks, but when my son returns from Iraq we are going to work on it together.

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Let's Make a Memory...Over Tea!
by Cindy Rushton

http://tinyurl.com/makeanewmemory

What is Saturday Psalm & Praise?  Hop on over to Jacque Dixon's page and take a look.

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Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: 'Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Ephesians 5:6-14 NIV

There is absolutely no way I can top Mary's Show and Tell, I know it is not about topping each other, but honestly I think that if you have not made it by Mary's this week to see her memories of her wedding and her 18 years with her handsome Canadian, as she calls him, you should.  Leave her a comment and send up a prayer for them, 18 years and still going strong is a testimony to what God can do when you let Him.  Sending prayers and blessings from way down Texas way!!!!

Valerie & Family