November 19, 2009

Dear Ginger

You asked to be notified of VOM Meetings in your area. A new meeting has been scheduled.

Meeting Details

Friendship Baptist Church
Speaker	Robert Brock
Location	3310 Old Niles Ferry Rd Maryville, TN 37804
Date	November 22, 2009 at 09:15 AM

For more information about this meeting, including a description and driving instructions, please click here.

We may actually have our home improvement projects done before Thanksgiving.  We now have space to homeschool, not to mention EAT. 

The stove was moved back and plugged in none too soon. Recent deaths in our church family meant serving food for the bereaved. Handsome Hubby just informed me that the Deacons will be cooking dinners for the widows of our church in a couple of weeks [so I'll try to have a backup meal ready to thaw and serve in case they burn the Fellowship Hall down--just kidding, sweetie!].  My pal Kasey is famous for saying: "A Baptist meets all catastrophes with  Scripture, prayer, and casseroles." 

The office, kitchen, and two of the bedrooms are painted leaving only the dining room. The floor in the kitchen is absolutely MAAHH-velous, and almost complete.  And the stuff we've gotten rid of! Yikes! Who knew that there was a whole 'nother house hiding in the mess of the one we now dwell? That's how it felt, going through all the clutter. Space and order is so refreshing.

 In family devotional time last night, I had to confess that my attitude stunk during the remodel [as though the family didn't already guess that about two months ago!]

The Family LIfe broadcast yesterday with Nancy Leigh DeMoss focused on being grateful. How convicting! Here God's blessing us to improve our home and fussing about the inconvenience and disorder.  What was really a blessing, I treated as a burden. The end of this messy process will yield beauty, comfort, and order for our family. But I was stubbornly holding an  "I can't stand the mess RIGHT NOW" attitude. Once again, something small became a teaching moment from God. This little lesson in patience and gratefulness is easy to hear and to give lip-service to, but  hard to put into  practice. 

So, gentle reader, we are getting it altogether again in so many ways.  If I can actually take a picture that isn't fuzzy, I might post some when we are all finished.

We are in the middle of a remodeling project. Or perhaps I should say "projects."  The kitchen floor has been mostly ripped up, we have trim stacked in the foyer for the cabinets, new wood flooring stacked in the dining room for the kitchen, tile for the bathrooms and laundry stacked in the garage. The garage and shed need siding up before the really bad weather sets in. And, yes, we are hoping to re-do the "dining room of many colors"  so it is all one harmonious hue instead of the patchwork of paint samples that we about which we were undecided.

In the middle of this mess, it is just too distracting to do school. Since we are doing very well with our days and our assignments, we are taking off a few days. The kids could use a break, and I need time to clear out some clutter and take stock of where we are academically. I also need to make a LOT of copies of certain things and my printer has died an unnatural death. Chalk up a day out to town for a Xerox run.

Tonight we're having microwaved burritos and putting down the new kitchen floor. I can't cook homemade meals right now because the stove has been moved.

It's been an eventful day already. The children and I have  rearranged furniture, done some yard work, and  tossed some unnecessary books.  Boy, that hurt to type. It goes against my grain to call any children's books unnecessary. My friends that know what a book-nerd I am will be shocked to read that. I may bring them to Jen's get-together this Friday so I can make sure they find good homes.

I'm almost ready to let go of children's clothes, too. Notice I said almost.  Every article of clothing my children have worn has been carefully stored for future use. We weren't sure how many blessings the Lord would give us, so I kept all the clothes to save money.  Now that we know there probably won't be any more little ones around here, it's time to start letting some things go. Ouch. That hurt to type, too.

All in all, we need some time to regroup, catch up on home stuff, get ready for winter, and make more detailed lesson plans. We have a small time window before Dad starts his next several surgeries. I plan to make a little time to find out what it is like to sit down for a while and relax, too. With a cup of tea that Pat sent me this week. Ahh! Things are shaping up nicely already.

I just got this in my email today and HAD to share--I've already downloaded my copy. Thank you, TOS!

It's your FREE gift . . .

Get ready to . . .
Wrap your family in a ribbon of thankfulness and joy and
season your holiday with laughter, love, and togetherness.
Start planning now for a wondrous holiday season with . . .
 

The TOS 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement

WOW . . . a gorgeous Holiday/Christmas Digital Magazine filled with a fabulous lineup of planning, recipe, gift, and craft ideas you'll love. 

“This is TOS’s gift to the homeschooling community, and anyone is welcome to it. The 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement will fulfill your yearnings for fresh and original additions to your long-treasured, family customs, and maintain Christ’s honored position first, and foremost, in your celebrations.”

—Gena Suarez, publisher of The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine

I am so pleased to announce and invite Doehill readers to our church  Sunday,  November 22, to hear a Voice of the Martyrs speaker who has ministered in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East.  

He will be speaking to the entire church during the Sunday School hour. This special event begins at 9:15 a.m.. If you are going to be in the area [possibly vacationing at the Smokies?] , please feel free to come be with us.  If you've never gotten to hear about their amazing work, I hope you'll come be with us, or at the very least, go visit their website at www.persecution.com .

Once again, we are blessed to have the opportunity to hear about, pray for, and actively help the persecuted Church through this organization. VOM has been to our church before for  two different ladies' mission conferences [here, here, and here] , but this is the first church-wide meeting. ALL AGES ARE WELCOME! Two staffed nurseries are provided.

Please visit out church's website [ www.fbcmaryville.net ] for directions! And come back here for more info as we get closer to the event! in Christ, Gin

This week I began reading several different types of books--Christian living, children's fiction, and adult Christian fiction. In an evening I finished C. S. Lewis' last book of the Narnia series, [appropriately titled] The Last Battle .  I also began  D. Martin Lloyd-Jones' Spiritual Depression Its Causes and Cure. The title sounds dreadfully boring, but it's actually one of the best things I've picked up in a long time. Here's a challenging excerpt  from chapter three, "Men As Trees, Walking"  :

We are considering this subject not only because it is sad and tragic that any Christian should ever be miserable, but because of the whole state of the Church today. I have no hesitation in asserting again that one of the reasons why the Christian Church counts for so little in the modern world is that so many are in this condition. If all Christians simply began to function as the New Testament would have us to do, there would be no problem of evangelism...It is because we are failing as Christian people in our daily lives and deportment and witness that the Church counts for so little and that so few attracted to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So for that most urgent reason alone it behoves us to deal with this question...

 

On a recent trip to the library I picked up some Christian fiction. The only current Christian fiction author I care for is Jan Karon. Another author came highly recommended and I sighed while pulling it off the shelf, hoping to be pleasantly surprised.  Let's just say that Christian Gothic/prairie/Amish/western/modern romances  and Christian serial killer series aren't  appealing to me. But I do like classics, some mysteries, and--of course--Hank the Cowdog books.   Our local library is small and has a limited space [about three small shelves] devoted to classics.

To change the subject slightly, our librarian commented that our local library would be moving into a part of the new public school about to built in the community. It will be a little strange taking my homeschooled kids to school just to go to the library, though  we certainly could use a bigger library facility.  Here's hoping there'll be more room for classics.

Have I mentioned that I really like Jonathan Park cds?  Yesterday's field trip to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies was a welcome break.  The crowds were thin, and we were able to enjoy it at a leisurely pace. Ripley's is a beautiful place and doesn't drip with evolutionary nonsense, but it is there. There is a lot of very interesting science as well--such as how they get the water salty enough for twelve sharks to survive and keep all that water clean with sand and bacteria. And of course, there are the fish! What an amazing variety of life the Creator has designed!

I waited for the children's response to certain lectures and exhibits.  It was time to see what they had picked up without me prompting them with questions. They were able to detect certain statements presented as fact and immediately wanted to talk about it.  Thanks to the excellent teaching from the Jonathan Park series and materials we've used from Answers in Genesis, the children are seeing science from a creationist perspective.  I love homeschooling!

During school, we typically don't answer the phone. We stay offline as well, but today something wonderful happened. It was an interuption worth having.

In the middle of a school lesson, my middle child looked out the window and saw a truck in the driveway. It wasn't just any truck--my DAD was driving!!!  Out like shots we flew from the house to meet and hug in the yard. We just saw him a couple of days ago, but he was DRIVING!! It had been months since my Dad had driven on his own.  His brothers, my brother, or myself have been doing the driving for him. It was as though this year hadn't happened and there he stood in the yard like always when he'd drive down for a visit. Honestly, it seemed like time had rolled back to pre-cancer days!

Workbooks were put away, we went outside to walk in the yard, take the dogs for a walk, and watch the children jump on the trampoline. We fiddled with the tractor and talked about firewood for the winter. We planned a trip to Cades Cove. He stayed with us for a month in the summer after his surgery, but hadn't seen the changes we'd made in our ongoing remodel. Pleased, he said he might not mind a stay with us again---which made us all laugh. His last stay was punctuated with hourly statements of, "Well, I'm ready to go home now. How 'bout it sis?"

After Mother died I used to dream of what it would be like to have her back again. When things were bad with Daddy, it seemed like I tried to squeeze every bit of life and memory from each moment , anticipating  his loss, knowing I'd need  those memories to help me. We thought we'd lose him. And here he was, driving, cancer free, in my house again.  We sipped our coffee together, looked at old photos, and enjoyed our time together. It was a real visit--not a doctor's appointment, not a hospital stay, not a recuperation. But a lovely, lingering visit. And Daddy was able to drive.

It may seem like a bunch of drivel, this post of mine. Maybe it was just something you had to be here for. I'm glad we both were.

A few years ago I was blogging at another host about homeschooling, the persecuted church, and trying [emphasis on try ]  to be a Titus 2 woman. It wasn't going well.  Someone --in pity, I'm sure-- left me a comment about TOS starting a new homeschool blogger platform and left a link to come join. It was a very good move for me--making friends, learning, being inspired in this off-the-beaten path choice of home education  were [and are] some of the benefits of being part of this community. What a blessing HSB has been.  Now, I'd also like to thank HSB for featuring Doe Hill Homeschool as Blogger of the Week.  It's an honor.

I've been blogging about my Dad and the trials and joys and ups and downs of dealing with cancer. My husband and I both lost our mothers and grandmothers to cancer. When we heard the c-word in February this year, we braced ourselves for the worst. 

God in his mercy opened doors, answered prayers, and helped us so much this year.  My Dad was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma that his local doctors described as rare, agreesive, and probably fatal before Christmas this year.  But God allowed us to go to a different facility--the Vanderbilt Medical Center--to meet with an incredible surgeon and his team.

In May, Dad was told he needed to go on hospice. Two weeks later, I was at Vandy with him for a fourteen hour marathon surgery that removed his right ear, part of his jawbone and skull, many lymph nodes, his facial nerves on the right side, and a massive graft from his right leg [knee to thigh.]  At nine o'clock on June 10, his surgical team met us in the lounge and gave the good news: they got all the tumor.

He began more chemo and 37 radiation treatments. After finishing those six weeks ago, it was time for tests to see if, indeed, they got it all. And his scans came back clean--we just got the news yesterday!

Now we have some reconstructive surgeries to get done. It's the fairy tale ending to a cancer story that you dream of, but are almost afraid to hope for it.  We aren't sure how long this will last, but then again, none of us are promised tomorrow.  We give praise and honor to God, thanks to some local doctors that were glad to acknowledge they needed help, and  are grateful to have such a world-class, top notch facility in Tennessee like Vanderbilt Medical Center and Dr. Netterville.

God is SOOOO good!

Get your IDOP kit at www.persecution.com/idop .

My sweet cousin sent me a picture of a family Thanksgiving celebration from the 1960s in Cades Cove. My dear mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins are all there. It was so touching to see my mother again. I hadn't seen her in so long--it struck me how much my middle child looks like her. The oldest lady [seated on the left hand side] is directly in front of my Mom--the blonde- headed teenager.

This morning I'm listening to Dr. Micheal Youssef's message, "The Truth About America."  What a challenging message it is--calling for Christians to repent.  Here's the summary from the Leading the Way site:

 

Recently, Michael Youssef delivered a powerful message on America's Christian foundation and why it is critical to a free society. Take a few moments to watch this timely and relevant message.

With three vans, children, teens, adults, and coolers full of sandwich meat and peanut butter, the Children's Ministry set off on our trip to the Creation Museum Saturday morning. Awake at the unearthly hour of three a.m., we loaded up on as much coffee as we dared and hit the road by four thirty. Hubby, baby, and I brought up the rear of this caravan--Earnest T. and Thelma Lou were riding with friends.

We arrived at opening and eagerly got in line. We wanted in alright, but not just to see the exhibits. It was cold outside! After the obligatory group photo, we started wandering through the self-guided tour.

I really like the museum, but fluent readers are the target audience. Our baby liked a lot of the colors and noise, but it requires lots of reading to understand the message.  There are stops along the tour for kids who need interactive time--exploring Noah's ark, a puzzle bench, and creative displays are very nice.  The petting zoo and grounds provide plenty of room to play and run. The swinging bridge and the pontoon bridge were fun for all the children in our party [including the adult children!].

Hands down, we enjoyed the planetarium the most. I could hear my kids whisper, "WHIT!" in excited recognition as the narrator began the story. Paul Herlinger of Adventures in Odyssey lent his vocal talent to an outstanding presentation about the universe.  The Dragon Legends video was very well done, as well.

There are only a couple of things I would change. MORE DINOSAURS! and MORE DINOSAURS!  Did I mention the bookstore? Yes, I would definitely change it--it's address, that is, to match mine! Oooh la la, is it nice. We had a terrific time, and I can't wait for the next issue of Answers Magazine. Thanks, Friendship, for sponsoring this trip for the children!

I'd like to ask all my fellow homeschool bloggers and readers to pray for my Pastor's family. His wife learned that her sister-in-law was killed in a home invasion yesterday . Her niece was critically injured.  Please remember this in prayer. Thank you.

Compass Direct reports that this past Monday, rebel militants in Somalia tricked a Christian woman into revealing she had Bibles in order to murder her. Mariam Muhina Hussein witnessed to  the wife of a rebel militant Islamic leader who pretended to be interested in Christianity. The wife's mission was to confirm that Hussein had Bibles in her possession. The next day, the wife returned with her husband and other men. They also feigned interest in reading God's word, and then shot Hussein.  

This group has been linked to other murders of Christians since July, including the beheading of two boys because their father refused to give information to the rebels about a church leader. Read the whole story here, and be in much prayer for this region. 

We are so excited--a group of families from church are going to the Creation Museum tomorrow! To celebrate and "bone" up on what to expect [sorry, I know it's a corny pun, I just couldn't resist], we'll be having a special Jonathan Park school-day today after our basic lessons.

We recieved the latest issue of Answers magazine yesterday and can't wait to read it. I think I'll take it with me to read on the way up. On our last trip, we didn't get to the dinosaur room or the petting zoo. We'd really like to do that this time. The fact that we are going with some of our favorite people in the world makes this trip even better!

It's time to pass along  the products I liked on CBD's "Fab Friday" sale this week.   The first is something I'd like to get for hubby---shhh! Don't tell him!

Pastoral Ministry  Retail 24.99, SALE $8.99

KJV Compact Reference Bible with Magnetic Flap Closure Blue Bonded Leather  reg. $24.95, SALE $9.99

The Beloved Poetry of Helen Steiner Rice reg. $19.95, SALE $2.99

 Here are direct links to CBD's   Homeschool   and    Marriage, Parenting & Homelife sections. Enjoy!

The President has proposed longer school days and a shorter summer vacation.  As a homeschooler, I cringe at the thought of children in school from 7:30 to 5:00 pm.  Childhood is being taken away from so many in the name of competition. What does this bode for the homeschooling community? I'm not sure, but I sure don't get a warm fuzzy feeling thinking about it.

I just saw this on Facebook from The Old Schoolhouse. It was so cute I wanted my friends to read it!

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It's time for my Fab Friday book sale from Christian Book Distributors!   Wow--these are some real deals! !  Elizabeth George's books are so well written and helpful when you are teaching daughters.   The Noah's Ark book is georgiously illustrated--just follow the link to view a sample. The Charles Stanley book looks really good, too. Enjoy!

Landmines in the Path of the Believer: Avoiding the Hidden Dangers By Charles F. Stanley

From CBD:

" Are you aware of the hidden dangers planted by Satan along your spiritual path? Helping you navigate the devil's minefield, Stanley shows how to identify, avoid, and defuse seven explosive booby traps that can derail your faith---pride, jealousy, insecurity, compromise, unforgiveness, sexual sin, and laziness. A must-have survival guide for your Christian journey! 256 pages, hardcover from Nelson."

Regularly, $19.99, on sale TODAY for $4.99

The Abbey Road Sessions/The Walk--CD and DVD By Steven Curtis Chapman

This is a cd and dvd set. Regularly $18.99

on sale for $1.99

The Elizabeth George Young Woman's Collection

This collection has three books in one. Her books sell for $7.99 each, but here's three for $6.99

Regularly $17.99, on sale for $6.99

KJV New Testament - Audio Bible on Cassette

Regularly $39.99, on sale $4.99

The Story of Noah and the Ark, According to the Book of Genesis the King James Bible By Gennady Spirin, illus.

Regularly $18.99, on sale $2.99

Thoughts & Reflections on Billy Graham's Life Principles

Retail: $14.99

Sale:  $ .99

This is a hardcover, 128 page book. What a deal!

Wycliffe Bible Dictionary By Charles F. Pfeiffer

From CBD:

"Comprehensive enough to satisfy the avid student, and inexpensive enough to meet the needs of the layperson! This Bible dictionary gives you extensive information on every proper name and place in Scripture, as well as doctrinal, historical, and theological topics. Includes articles by more than 200 leading evangelical scholars, photos, maps, charts, and more! 1871 pages, hardcover from Hendrickson."

Regularly $39.99, on sale for $14.99

The Senior: My Amazing Year As a 59-Year-Old College Football Linebacker By Mike Flynt with Don Yaeger / Thomas Nelson Chatting with former college buddies, Mike Flynt mentioned his regret about not completing his senior year with the football team. Could he tackle his dream again? Read how this 59-year-old grandfather returned to his alma mater and played linebacker! An inspiring story about possibilities and fulfilled dreams---great for baby boomers! Includes practical fitness tips. 224 pages, hardcover from Nelson.

Reg. 24. 99---sale $7.99

How do you make the time pass when you aren't really supposed to be doing anything at all? Well, crochet and read, of course! You watch Pride and Prejudice. Over and over and over again. And peruse catalogs.  

For a woman who hates to shop in town, I really enjoy having a handy stack of catalogs available. There are a few clothing catalogs around here, but there's also a steady supply of book catalogs, craft supply vendors, garden seed publications, and home decorating brochures. My husband has referred to them as my stack of wasted trees--joking of course, but he marvels at the amount of catalogs we get when we don't buy anything!  

And let's not forget the magazines. Some I've bought, others have been gifts from friends. Old copies of Victoria, Southern Living, Cooking Light, Tea Time, Southern Lady, Country Sampler, Country Woman, Grit, Ideals, and Skeet Savage's Home School Digest are in a basket that I keep handy for myself, my oldest daughter, and friends.  If that weren't enough, I'm thinking about getting a subscription for The Girlhood Home Companion for Thelma Lou.

My aunt--who is an avid gardener, cook, crafter, and all around fun gal to be around-- and I hit upon the idea to trade our old magazines.  We've learned new crochet patterns, recipes, garden hints, and decorating ideas.  Magazines in good condition are often available at used book stores or even Goodwill.  Since  they are so expensive on the newstand [sometimes $4 or $5 or more], buying them used makes sense.

Besides, when I'm sick, my marvelous fabulous husband pitches in to help with laundry. It's better for me to bury my head in a catalog than interject, "Gee, hon, the towels stack better if you fold them this way."  Yep, it's just much better to read, clip coupons, and pretend that I'm not going to refold the whole stack as soon as I get better or he goes to work.  LOL!

I don't use my kids' real names on the blog, so they picked out AndyGriffith Show-related names a couple of years back.  Dear Son 1 (aka "Earnest T.")  and Dear Daughter 1 (alias, "Thelma Lou")  chose a lovely name for our new arrival last year. "Charlene Darlin' ".

Well, Charlene Darlin' was 1 year old yesterday.  Hubby arranged the little birthday party  since I was still recovering from surgery. We had such a sweet time, but  missed going to church yesterday.  CD didn't have a clue what was going on, but she had a great time eating cake and playing with her shape-sorting ball.

What a year it has been. God spared me from death just hours after delivering her last year. He has allowed her Grandfather to survive cancer this year. And now He's brought me through more health stuff. Time has flown by, but we've tried really hard to savor milestones and make memories.

Charlene Darlin', happy first birthday.  We love you!