We are home after our 10 day trip to Washington DC, Williamburg, VA, Yorktown, Charlottesville and New York City. It was a wonderful and fast paced trip. I wish I could remember everything we saw and did but at this moment, I think my body is just trying to recover and get back to the normal time zone and routine. I posted a slide show with some of the things we visited on the right of this blog. I hope to share more memories with you later.
I wanted to write down just a few things to help me remember what I felt on the trip.
I found it interesting that our children were more interested in simple things such as a squirrel eating at the grounds of the capitol or a huge worm at Arlington National Cemetery. These things facinated the children who seem to automatically recognize that even these small creatures are unique and amazing works of God. We adults wanted to see the "big stuff". But I kept thinking that these monuments, these buildings, as amazing as they are, were created by man. To be sure, God gave men the talent and knowledge to be able to create these wonderful things but do they glorify God or man? Many things we saw were awesome indeed in the story of America. We saw the actual document the Declaration of Independence for which so many sacrificed their entire lives and lives of their families. We saw the Library of Congress where so much research is done which affects the lives of so many in our nation. We visited and learned about the Supreme Court Building. VERY COOL! It was sobering to sit in the very seats in a building where so many important decisions have been made.
It sounds odd perhaps but it seems that the main thing I came away with from being away from home was that we are responsible to do the job that God gives us to do. I mean that God has a job specifically for me that no one else can do. It may be that I am not working in the Capitol Building or anything that "big" but each one of us plays an important role- one that God determines for us. I pray that I am doing a good job in my role.
~More later~
We have been so busy and overwhelmed here in the past couple of weeks. Yesterday, I was privileged to attend Holy Homes
with Clay and Renee Crosse. You can read more about the Crosse Family's ministry HERE. The program was wonderful and encouraged my heart.
I need to keep remembering who God is and what
He has provided for me and my family.
We read Ex. 15 1-21
and talked about what happened after the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on DRY land. They witnessed a great miracle of God and saw once again God's judgement on the nation of Egypt. What did they do? Well, this time instead of complaining they PRAISED GOD with song!
What a wonder. How much better would it be if I would PRAISE instead of complain when faced with life's ups and downs? I need to remember to PRAY and look at a problem as an opportunity to learn.
The kids painted pictures of what the story meant to them.
Yesterday we read in Exodus how God gave the Israelites the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire for protection. As the Egyptian army was very near the Israelite camp, God MOVED the pillar of cloud from in front of the Israelites to behind them. The Egyptian army was confused and could not see the Israelites because of this cloud. The Israelites however, still had the pillar of fire to give them light for their journey to the sea. What a miracle! God provided protection in many ways and on many days.
We have been talking about the difference between DENOTATION and CONNOTATION.
Denotation is the exact literal meanings of words.
Connotations are additional meanings suggested by words.
The protection God provides was literal for the Israelites who fled Egypt.
The protection God provides is literal for us today. God's word promises us that.
We wrote poems of praise for the protection of God.
These are in the form of quatrains.
H wrote~
God
Marvelous, Wonderful
Watching over us
Loving, warm, happy, splendid
Fortress
Jesus
Savior King
Died for us
righteously treasuring his people
Christ
JR wrote~
Savior
All powerful
mercifully forgives us
Tender hearted, forever loving
Awesome
Yesterday we talked about the protection that God has provided us in our families.
We had a brainstorming session, did some clustering and the kids wrote their thoughts on when a child might be ready to be out living on his own.
Good timing!
H wrote~
Ready to live on your own
A child who wishes to live on his own must have several knowledgable skills. They must be be able to cook meals and wash the dishes afterwards. They must also have a washer and dryer to do laundry. They should have a monthly budget planned for bills, clothing, food, gas and other necessary items. They should be able to drive themselves and have a car. They need to be able to work when needed. Proverbs 22:13 tells us, "The lazy man says "There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!""
Children who want to live on their own should be at least 18 years old and have good self discipline. They should be responsible with their money and should have a good steady job to keep their bills paid. They need to have a bank account to keep their money safe. In addition, they should be able to maintain at least $1,000 in their bank account for emergencies. It is important that someone who wants to live on his own be able to handle emergencies and keep themselves safe from harm. They should not act like a child, especially in a public place. Good manners and good etiquette are needed as well.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:15, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.".
We are now into Chapter 8 of WEAVER, VOL. 2
about the protection and peace of God.
Our memory work for this unit is all of Psalm 91. This scripture has been meaningful in my life for a long time now. I'm praying that it will be cemented into my children's minds now and forever.
So far we've learned~
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, my Refuge and my Fortress, My God in whom I trust!
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions and under His wings you make seek refuge.
His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark"
Praise GOD! He is our refuge!
We have been looking and learning about the different ways that God protected the children of Israel as He led them out of Egypt and provided for them in the wilderness. He provided for them physically, spiritually and emotionally. We've been talking about the ways that God gives us protection. He cared about and provided for the Israelites emotional health and He cares about our emotional health as well. The new praise song "He Knows My Name" has been going through my head since yesterday. I am so comforted by the fact that God really does know my name. He knows my every thought. He knows each tear that falls and hears me when I call.
We learned that our immune system was made by God to protect our physical bodies. We had fun watching the MOODY video- the Germinators! Very fun! Unfortunately, JR was sick with an ear infection during this time. I guess I could not ask for a better hands on illustration of the immune system.
The circulatory system is something else that God made for us. Vitamin K in the blood helps us in many ways not the least of which is, of course, helping the blood to clot. H wrote a speech about vitamin K.
Interestingly, we are also involved in a Lap Book about the Middle Ages. We are learning all about VIKING weaponry. The Vikings used swords to protect themsleves. We need to use our SWORD of the spirit to protect ourselves. I've been learning many other things.
I hope the kids are learning even more that I am!
Since C announced her upcoming marriage, my mind has been unsettled. I am praying that I too will have a greater sense of God's perfect peace in our lives.
Chapter 7 of Vol.2 WEAVER is all about Celebration and JOY!
I can't think of a better topic to study in our homeschooling than this one!
I have already been so blessed by looking at different holidays. We learned that our word holiday actually comes from the two words HOLY DAYS meaning a religious celebration. I wonder if we are truly conscious of the true meanings of our holidays.
The kids and I have been looking at the Jewish Passover this week.
Our memory verse is from 1 Cor. 5:6-8 which says "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor the leaven of malice or wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
Thanks be to GOD!
We keep going back to the fact that the leaven is a symbol for us of sin. Just a little sin soon spreads into every part of us and will affect our lives. The only way to be unleavened is to have Christ Jesus within us.
Today the kids wrote TANKA poems of praise to God about a holiday.
H picked Easter and wrote~
Hallelujah Praise!
Hallelujah Praise!
Amazing God gave His Son
Hallelujah Praise!
Jesus died and rose again
All my sins are washed away
JR picked 4th of July and wrote~
Americans WE
Americans we
A Godly nation set free
People came from ships
From our neighbors to the sea
In our great God alone we trust
Dear God I pray that you make us keenly aware of the reasons we celebrate.
It seems like we have all been extremely busy lately with different things and activities in our lives. Most everything we are involved in is good- in its own way. I have to admit though that for the past few weeks, I have felt myself getting more and more tense. I've tried to determine why the tension seems to be building. I know one reason is that I have not been submitting myself to God. As much as I know it is right to let the Holy Spirit take control of my thoughts and actions, I have not been allowing that at least not MOST of the time. I think I have let doubts and fears race around my mind. I have tried to FIX and plan and control...... During the holidays, I always want things to go smoothly and for everyone to be happy but of COURSE everyone can not ALWAYS be happy! Someone might be happy sometime- but NEVER EVERYONE at any time!
Something happened to our family almost 5 years ago which was very difficult and traumatic. We had been under great spiritual attack and oppression by the enemy. I'm still not sure what parts of our experience were direct attacks from the enemy and which were part of God's testing of our faith. Our faith in God WAS tested to say the least. Before this experience, I can truly say that yes, we were believers; yes, we tried to do and say the "right" things. We went to church, were involved and helped our neighbors. We truly did have good motives. However, our faith needed a trial by FIRE to be truly cemented. This trial included many things that were totally unexpected by us. Our church family began to splinter. Factions formed. Some were openly speaking against us. Some did their malicious work behind closed doors. I, personally, was betrayed by someone that I thought was my friend. This was not something merely imagined by me but was clearly seen by all in the end. I was deeply hurt. There was so much pain, cold, depression. God was there. He gave us a peculiar sign which we still speak of to this day and remember that God loves us and cares for us. There was the awful flood. There was the physically ravaging pneumonia which affected both John and me. Days alone in the hospital were spent reading the book of John. Jesus was there. He had words for me. With weakened body and weakened mind, I came to learn that God is the ONE I trust. Trust God. That is the whole lesson learned during our trial by FIRE. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" NO ONE. I learned that yes, we need to forgive but it takes time. I am to take the step of obedience and let God work with me to do the rest. Everything with emotions does not happen instantaneously. God has mercifully removed many of the harsh memories from my mind. I do not think about or dwell on the past hurts. Thankfully!
Admittedly, in this life we will have trials. Jesus told us that. Jesus will still be there- before, during and after the trials. Yes, in the past year and a half, things have seemed a little dicey around here. We were finally able to feel settled in a new town, our first home, a new church. What blessings God poured on us. Only TRUST Him! Our children are growing up and are becoming much more independent. I pray they learned the lesson as we did. Trust God and Him alone. I know there are those around us who do not understand us or why we do the things we do. It is OK. They do not walk the road we walk just as we do not walk the road they walk.
I admit to feeling angry with situations and myself and yes, other people at times. I am working to let God deal with me and handle the situation in the right way. I get very frustrated when I can't seem to do anything to change the situations BUT I'm still living and learning and growing.
One of the things that I have longed for in the past few years is a good and close friend. I'm still praying about this but believe that God is helping me to be patient and wait on His perfect will. I have made some amazing friends even in the last year and renewed some friendships (only by the grace of God) that were damaged as well. satan tries but he CAN NOT have the victory.
God is bigger than all gods.
He is ALL POWERFUL!
He is ALL KNOWING!
So- with God's help, I'll keep on living and learning.
(Tune of "THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS")
The 14 Days of
Homeschooling
On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
"Can you homeschool legally?"
On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to
me,
"Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
"Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you
homeschool legally?"
On the fourth day of home school my neighbor said to
me,
"What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they
socialized, can you
homeschool legally?"
On the fifth day of home school my neighbor said to
me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give
them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool
legally?"
On the Sixth day of home school my neighbor said to
me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU 'RE SO STRANGE,
what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they
socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the seventh day of home school my neighbor said to
me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you
homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do
you give them tests, are they socialized, do you
homeschool legally?"
On the eighth day of home school my neighbor said to
me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing,
how long will you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, hat
about P.E. do you give them tests, are they
socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the ninth day of home school my neighbor said to
me,
"They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at
what they're missing, how long will you home school,
YOU 'RE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them
tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool
legally?"
On the tenth day of home school my neighbor said to
me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why
do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long
will you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!,
what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they
socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the eleventh day of home school my neighbor said to
me, "I could never do that, what about graduation,
they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at
what they're missing, how long will you homeschool,
YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them
tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool
legally?"
On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to
me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that,
what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do
you do this, look at what they're missing, how long
will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about
P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can
you homeschool legally?"
On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully
replied:
"They can go to college, yes you can do this, and they
can graduate, we don't need the prom, we do it cuz we
like it, they aren't missing anything, we'll
homeschool forever, WE'RE NOT STRANGE!, We give them
P.E., life it self's a test, they are socialized, AND
WE HOMESCHOOL
LEGALLY!
On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said
to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me,
where do I buy curriculum, when is the next
conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE?
I think
we
can do this, if you will help us, can we join P.E. and
we'll homeschool legally.
Pharaoh could not stand the frogs and agreed to let the Israelites go. As we know from history, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh and Pharaoh did not do as he said he would. This made it possible for even more of God's power to be shown. Interestingly, the Egyptians worshiped frogs to an extent. They believed in Heqt, a goddess of fertility. She had the boy of a woman and the head of a frog. Heqt could do nothing about this "over population" of frogs in the land of Egypt. God is greater than all gods!
Today we learned that frogs too are beneficial to mankind.
They eat lots of harmful insects and are a part of our food chain.
Frog legs anyone????
Here are the paragraphs the kids wrote about the life cycle of a frog.
Heidi wrote~
There are six stages in the life cycle of the frog. First, the female adult frog lays the eggs. In the aftermath, tadpoles hatch out of their eggs and breathe with gills. Suddenly, the tadpoles lose their gills and grow lungs which enable them to breathe. Lickety-split, the tadpoles grow their back legs. One day soon, the tadpoles will lose their tails and grow front legs. Finally, the tadpoles change into adult frogs which spend most of their time on land. These are the six amazing and wonderful stages in the life cycle of the frog.
John Ross wrote~
Before becoming an adult frog that we are all very familiar with, a frog must pass through the tadpole stage. Frogs, being oviparous, lay their eggs and oftentimes desert them. The eggs will then hatch in the water and the beings that come out of them are called tadpoles. First, the tadpoles exist without lungs and roam freely around the water with gills. In certain period of time, the tadpoles will lose their gills and develop lungs forcing them to rise to the surface for air. Next, the tadpoles begin to grow hind legs and start looking more like frogs. Penultimately, they grow front legs and familiarize themselves with leaping in the water. Lastly, the frogs lose their tails and will soon rise to the surface of the water. After this, the cycle will have come full circle. This cycle of the frog is only the tiniest fraction of God's incredible creation.
The life and times of the McCullochs WEAVING in NM.
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life, you will have been all of these." George Washington
I guess I could not ask for a better hands on illustration of the immune system.
. During the holidays, I always want things to go smoothly and for everyone to be happy but of COURSE everyone can not ALWAYS be happy! Someone might be happy sometime- but NEVER EVERYONE at any time! 
