November 21, 2009
I Miss Him!
This past week has been extremely hard for me. I lost my Great Grandpa, who I was very very close to. I can honestly say that he was THE best grandpa I've ever had. I am so thankful for the last 5 years of being able to grow closer to him, of course, it wasn't as long as I wanted, but I am very glad I had them. It was wonderful! It was wonderful to grow as close to him as I did.
Over the past 5 years, he really opened up to me about his WWII experiences which he hadn't shared them at all before. When I presented him the Armed Service album I made for him at his 65th anniversary, he was moved to tears. I knew that all the efforts and the sleepless night I spent on it was so worth it! Getting to know him was truly a blessing to me. I pray it was to him also. Since I did that for him and grew closer to him through it, I have a very important place in my heart for the armed service men. When we took him to the cemetery, they gave him a beautiful military salute with Taps and a 21 Gun Salute. I bawled through the whole thing. Knowing that his service was important to him, and that was so very important to me because of him. It was very hard to sit through for me.
Sitting in his funeral service remembering all the times we had together, the tears just flowed. We would color when I was younger and as I grew up, we would sit on his front porch and play cards. He taught me to play rummy, war, slap jack, and more. One of the last times he played cards he was 87 and got down on the floor with the Littles to play go fish with them. It wasn't easy for him to crawl on the floor but he showed his love to his family by doing it. He truly was a family man. That was all he was worried about: his family. He made it known that his family was all that was important to him.
I truly miss him. I miss his hugs. I miss his smile. I miss his playing cards. I now found myself crying when I pray because he is no longer on my list and it reminds me he is gone. I just miss him! But he lived a full and meaningful life. A life devoted to his family. I praise God that Grandpa knew our Savior and that I have the hope to once again see him on Resurrection Day. It hurts and its hard to have to wait for that day, but I know that the day is drawing close. OH, what a glorious day that will be!
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. Adonai ELOHIM will wipe away the tears from every face, and he will remove from all the earth the disgrace his people suffer. For ADONAI has spoken.
Revelation 21Love you, Grandpa!
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away."
Please continue to pray for us and also my Great Grandma who is by herself now, and also for my Uncle Keith. It's been hard for them too.
©AmandaDixon2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Is There Pee in Your Tea?
I know it's a disgusting title, but bear with me. I've been watching Todd Friel's "Wretched" for a couple weeks now. Let's see if I can work my way through his "process" with you, my friend - whoever you may be reading this right now.
Let me ask you a question. Do you consider yourself to be a good person? (Typical answer is, "Yeah, I'm pretty good. I mean, I'm not perfect, no one is, but I think I'm mostly good. So, yeah, I'm a good person.")
Okay, then. Do good people go to heaven? (Typical answer is, "Yeah. Like, if their good outweighs the bad, then yeah.")
By your own admission, you are a good person, right? Okay. Are you familiar with the 10 Commandments? ("Yeah.") How many lies do you think you've told in your lifetime? (Typical answer is, "Too many.") Okay, I have too. So, people like you and me, who have told lies, we are what? ("Liars.") That's right. I'm a liar. You're a liar.
Okay, what about stealing? Have you ever taken something that wasn't yours? (Typical answer, "Yeah, like when I was a kid. And I took some of my roommate's cookies in college.") Okay, you've stolen. That makes you a... ("thief").
And what about lust? Because the 10 Commandments tells us not to commit adultery, and Jesus judges our heart, if we've lusted then that's adultery in our heart. Have you ever lusted before? ("Yeah.") Okay, then you're an adulterer, too.
So, by your own words, you're a liar, a thief, and an adulterer. That's three of the Ten Commandments right there! We didn't even check the other seven. If you died right now, and God laid out all your sins, because He knows them, everything you've ever done in private, in the dark, or when you thought no one was looking, and God judged you as a liar, a thief, and an adulterer, would God allow you into Heaven? Can God allow someone who's admittedly a liar, thief, and an adulterer into the gates of Heaven? (Typical answer is, "No. I guess He can't do that.")
At this point, if you realize that you, too, are a liar, a thief, and an adulterer, then you must understand... there is NO chance for you to get to heaven by yourself. Nothing you could possibly do can ever get you there.
I explain it to my kids this way: At dinner tonight, we're having iced tea with our meal. It's sweet tea, a whole pitcher! Yum! But, I just want you to know, I peed in the pitcher. Just a little. I mean, it's mostly sweet tea, with just a little pee. Can I pour you some? Invariably, they wrinkle up their noses at me, disgustedly, and say no way. That's how it is with God. He wants NO sin in His perfect heaven! Just like we want NO pee in our tea. Now, we can get clean tea, no problem: just dump the pitcher and start new. But we can't do that with our lives, we don't get to start over, and we're not perfect, because we have ALL sinned. Not a single one of us has ever lived a perfect life.
Except Jesus.
Now, because God is good, he loves all things holy and righteous. Justice is good. God loves justice. If he didn't punish sin, there would be no justice. He demands a blood sacrifice for the punishment of sin. Sin is paid for with death. That's where Jesus comes in. Jesus is God's Son, He is wholly God and wholly man, He was born into a sinful world, but He lived a perfect life. Jesus never stole, lied, or lusted like you and I have. He always honored His parents, He worshipped only His heavenly Father, He kept the Sabbath, never used God's name in vain, never murdered anyone even in His heart, never was jealous for Himself what someone else has... He was absolutely perfect! And He, as a perfect man, allowed Himself to be put on a cross and unjustly killed so that all your sins, past, present, and future, could be cast upon Him, and He paid the price for YOUR sins. He died, so you could live.
But He did so much more than just die for you. He conquered that grave, and rose to life again. Because of His sacrifice for you, you get to go to heaven. The bible says, "No man cometh unto the Father but by Me." And that "Me" is Jesus Christ, our Savior. There is no amount of good you can do that can qualify you for heaven, because all your good is tainted with whatever sins you've committed. Plain and simple. To "get to heaven" you must repent and put your trust in Jesus, believe that His death sacrifice was sufficient to pay your way to heaven.
Do you know what "repent" means? It means to "turn from." Acknowledge that you are a sinner, repent from your sins, and accept that Jesus paid your bill, your debt is covered by His blood, and you, my friend, can "get to heaven." That's all there is to it. Christianity is the ONLY "religion" in the entire world whose God paid for you to get to heaven. ALL other "religions" require the believer to earn their own way through works, but the Bible tells us no one can earn it, that Jesus paid it. Jesus - fully God and fully perfect man. He did it for you! Rely on Him, and Him alone!
Now, do you know how much more God loves you? He not only sent His Son to die for you, but He wrote you 66 loveletters so you can get to know Him. Imagine if you have a love-interest, and you wrote him 66 loveletters, and he never read them. Would you feel loved by him? No, you wouldn't. God's loveletters to you are His Holy Bible. There are 66 books in there. If you are grateful to Him for saving you (if you've repented and put your trust in Jesus), then read His loveletters to you! You can find out so much about God! And you can talk to Him, too! He wants you to pick up the phone and call Him every minute of every day! That's called prayer!
Friend, if you have questions about all this, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail right here on HSB, or leave me a comment and I'll do my best to answer.
Jesus loves you. He loves you enough to have paid your debt. Amen!
Blessings! ♥♥Christi
Nov. 22, 2009
Unexpected Company
Have you ever been in your jammies, donning a big fluffy purple robe with a shower cap on your Listerine dowsed hair, only to have your husband walk in the room to say there are 2 people at your house to see you? By the way, it's a school day and 1 pm in this questioned scenario.
No? Me neither, but I can imagine it going something like this...
Wife: "Who is it?!".
Husband laughing: "I don't know."
Wife, horrified at her smell and sight: "Well, get rid of them!"
Husband in hysterics as wife drops to the floor to hide behind the kitchen island, exclaiming, "Tell them I'm in the SHOWER!!!!"
Husband barely able to control himself, "They are IN THE HOUSE!"
Wife, unable to sneak to the shower since the kitchen is separate from all the areas where this is possible, finally emerges, laughing hard with her husband. Meanwhile, way too much time is passing and the company can likely hear all the commotion in the adjoining room. The wife comes around the corner to see a friend and her daughter, thankfully NOT STRANGERS, and not someone whom she minds seeing her in such a ridulous costume in the middle of the day. Thankfully, the kids were dressed and so was the husband.
Can you imagine this happening in real life?! 
Nov. 20, 2009
When the Husband is Away
I would have liked to have sat in bed reading peacefully after snuggling with the kids watching Bambi, but there was a higher calling to my time tonight. You see, I've fulfilled a profound dream of shampooing everything upholstered in my home, and when a man is in the house, he isn't into that for hours on end...especially at midnight. During breaks I'm cleaning out my house. Four pair of shoes are now in the 'to go' pile and if you are a size 9, these have your name on them! I'm a 9.5 now, I know, Sasqwatch is coming to mind even if I can't spell his name. The babies...the weight, things stretch, like feet. I digress...so the water is getting hot for the shampooer whilst I write so I'm under the gun here, but have to say I'm also getting rid of all the plastic plates and cups in my cabinet? Know why? I have too many plates and instead of getting rid of what were my sweet mom's and my Bubbie's, I'm putting some of those down low for the kids and if they break, they break, but I'm going on the "no plastic from China" thing here so am willing to risk it. I also am determined to let my home breathe....breathe I say!!!!! No more cluttered cabinets. It's like working on your spirit before your hair--I'm going from the inside, out here. Maybe one day I'll get the kitchen island done, but in the meantime, drawers and closets and cabinets are the focal point.
Time to finish the steps! Good night!
Nov. 19, 2009
Just Me and Clothes
It's not overstating for me to say there is a joy unspeakable in my bedroom tonight. It involves the fact that all the laundry is clean, and......I CAN OPEN MY DRAWERS AND PUT THINGS IN THEM NICELY. Nothing is groaning to me from inside the drawer, "Stop, you're hurting me!"
I knoooowww. Can this be possible?
There is much work to do, but at this moment, my kids dressers and mine are all in good shape. George's always is pretty good but I'll be removing sweaters soon. He's got NICE ones if anyone's hubby is a sweater guy and wears a large. Most have never been worn.
Anyhow, simplicity is one key to peacefulness. I can hardly wait to parse down my spring/summer clothes. It might happen before the season comes, but well, probably not :).
Closing thought: Are we STRIVING toward the goal or just sauntering around hoping to maybe, somehow, hit it? I'm with Donna's comment below-God bless those willing to give it to us straight when it comes to being better for Christ. God help us not harden our hearts so we refuse to submit to His, or his, will.
November 19, 2009
Shameless Plug
Yes, this is a shameless plug on behalf of my familia...I'm sure y'all have heard that the Home School Blog Awards are going on... if not... they are. :) Well I would like to present to you where my votes are going...
My familia:
In the Best Homeschool Mom Blog, I'm voting for Walking Therein
In the Best Teen Girl Blog, I'm voting for A Pondering Heart
In the Best Teen Group Blog, I'm voting for Feelin' Feminine
In the Best Teen Guy Blog, I'm voting for On The Road To Manhood
In the Best Homemaking or Recipes Blog, I'm voting for A City on a Hill
In the Best Family or Group Blog, I'm voting for Gleaning the Harvest
In the Best Blog Design, I'm voting for Gleaning the Harvest
In the Best “Live-What-You-Believe” Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for A Dusty Frame
In the Best Variety, I'm voting for Penny Raine
In the Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for Heart of Wisdom
In the Best Crafts, Plans & Projects Blog, I'm voting for Seven Sisters
In the Best Eclectic Homeschooling, I'm voting for Delightful Learning
In the Best Thrifty Homeschooler, I'm voting for Money Saving Mom
In the Best NEW Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for Delightful Learning
In the Best Geographical Blog, I'm voting for For the Time Has Come (Costa Rica)
In the Funniest Homeschool Blog, I'm voting for
I would sooo appreciate if you would take 5min or so of your time to go vote for these choices. The voting ends at midnight on November 21st which is Saturday, so hurry over!
And that is my shameless plug. :D Thanks y'all!
©AmandaDixon2009
Nov. 19, 2009
More From Florence Feldman
"There many things that are hard with homeschooling, but this (organization), isn't one of them."
She told us how even as a professional organizer she can't make sense of many organization books. One she DID mention was, "Taming the Paper Tiger", a book I seriously need to look into if I can't get my kitchen island under control soon!
I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly when we were reminded how we are all so burdened with our stuff. Even if you personally aren't, you don't have to think far to know someone seriously burdened by the stuff they CHOOSE to keep around.
What I also found myself agreeing with was the connection between our 'stuff' and marriage. "Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it." Proverbs 15:16
How many of us sitting there could see the truth in this sad reality. That was another point Florence made, often chaos in the home is a symptom of another problem. If children act out with their messes, why can't grown-ups? She actually knew a woman who told her not to organize something because the wife KNEW it drove her husband crazy. I'm sure there are many wives using disorder in the home to punish their husbands, which in turn punishes their children--both are utter sins, nothing less.
Finally, we were reminded of Proverbs 14:1, "The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands." Children watch our behavior with our husbands. As a divorced woman who has clearly struggled with lonliness in raising 2 children on her own (and the only believer in her entire family-they are still Jewish and she is a saved Jew), she admonished us to treat our husband's as God commands. Only then are we allowing Him to build our houses, and Scripture says in Psalms 127:1a, "Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;" (she extrapolated with homeschoolers that unless the Lord chooses our curriculum, we choose in vain).
And today's closing thoughts from a woman I could listen to for days, if you want organized children, YOU HAVE to be ORGANIZED! If you want your children to respect you, you need to respect your husband and treat him respectfully (of course God tells wives to respect their husbands which then allows husbands to love their wives as they ought--for more on this read Love and Respect by Eggerichs.)
Nov. 18, 2009
Homeschoolers and Health Care
For all my homeschooling friends who think ObamaCare will solve their financial and health insurance woes, think again. It may give you temporary relief for your financial headache, but it may also invite government nannies into your home to improve your child's well-being and health.
HR 3200 that passed the House of Representatives, currently has a provision for funding states that implement a "voluntary" home visitation program for parents with young children or who are expecting. (See Sec. 1904 sec. 440)
The intended purpose is to " improve the well-being, health, and development of children by enabling the establishment and expansion of high quality programs providing voluntary home visitation for families with young children and families expecting children."In America we used to believe that was the role of the parent, but now it's the role of our benevolent and compassionate Uncle Sam. A gaze over the Atlantic will show us exactly where we're headed,
"Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents.New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought to be at “greatest risk of unintentional injury”.
Council staff will then be tasked with overseeing the installation of safety devices in homes, including smoke alarms, stair gates, hot water temperature restrictors, oven guards and window and door locks.
The draft guidance by a committee at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has been criticised as intrusive and further evidence of the “creeping nanny state”.
Where are the safety devices for the "creeping nanny" who keeps sticking her nose into our personal lives?
Why homeschoolers support this bill or President Obama is beyond my understanding.
-Spunky
Cross-posted, with permission, from SpunkyHomeSchool
Nov. 18, 2009
Simple Organization Rule
This is so weighty and true, yet SIMPLE. Florence pointed out that if a person has a house that is a wreck, there is TOO MUCH IN IT. And, if they are UNWILLING to give up what is required to get the situation under control, they cannot be helped. There is a FRUSTRATING stand-still for her as the professional organizer because nothing can be done.
A standard she gave was that if a house has been organized and it comes undone in a week, there is too much in it. You know, we know these things but somehow still allow the IDOLATRY of stuff. We often violate the 1st Commandment about having no other gods before the true God. Stuff, control, ourselves...we can worship to the point we will argue and ignore God's word and His truth.
A final thought she shared--if there is a laundry problem in the home, there are TOO MANY CLOTHES. She got specific and said hand-me-downs are not necessary and she has known families with as many as 7 children who do not fool with the chaos of hand-me-downs (and they don't have a lot of money), yet their children are clothed and look nice. We buy into a falsehood in America that the clothes make the 'man' and we have more than we should, so time gets wasted organizing, cleaning, worrying about too much. Our kids only need a few items to wear that are "good clothes" and some for play. Taking care of her mother who had dimentia for 6 years, Florence learned that clothes don't matter. She lived as one poor, and one rich. She has helped 1,000's of people get their lives in order, and I dare say she helped by touching their homes as well as their hearts!
God is a God of order, and disorder, which breeds chaos, is not of God.
November 17, 2009
Wordless Wednesday: Remembering...
Great Grandpa and Grandma on their 65th Wedding Anniversary 2006
Please keep our family in your prayers today and tomorrow as we go to Grandpa's viewing and funeral. It's gonna be REALLY hard for us. :(
©AmandaDixon2009
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