~ About Me ~
Hi, welcome to my blog. I will be sharing our experience as we homeschool 5 boys - our struggles, trials, prayers, and blessings. There are many challenges along the way for any homeschooler and I hope you are encouraged by what you read here. We use Sonlight and My Father's World as our main curriculum. Thank you for stopping by and comments are welcomed.
Oct. 4, 2008 - Alpacas...Birds of prey...clay projects - a plenty!
I was finally able to get my pictures of the alpacas uploaded. Yeah!
We went last night to see some birds of prey at a show put on by the World Bird Sanctuary. I thought you might enjoy seeing these amazing birds. They had hawks, an eagle, Eurasian eagle owl, peregrine falcon, turkey vulture, screech owl and a barn owl. They had the birds fly from handler to the other across the audience's heads. They flew very low and sometimes brushed the tops of our heads. The boys were so excited!! Some of the pictures are a little fuzzy and for that I apologize. These birds are from the World Bird Sanctuary located in St. Louis Missouri. The DeGraaf Nature Center in Holland put on this show.
The boys sculpted Metapec clay suns this past week. If you are interested in doing this project you can visit Bright Ideas for Learning and get the directions.
Oct. 3, 2008 - Fruit of the Spirit Friday - Goodness
Welcome to my fruit of the Spirit Friday post. I must confess I am not prepared for this week's post. As I was sitting here this morning deciding whether to skip the post or not Exodus 33:18 & 19 came to my mind:
Exodus 33:18-19 ‘Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."’
Just prior to this Moses was up on the mountain with God receiving the Ten Commandments. The people felt Moses was taking too long so they asked Aaron to make them a god. Aaron complies with the people and makes them a golden calf, which they proceeded to worship. The Lord tells Moses to go down at once because the people have corrupted themselves...the Lord tells Moses that He is going to destroy the people because of their sin. He also tells Moses that He will make him into a great nation. Moses (instead of accepted the Lord's offer of greatness) pleads for the people - what a perfect example of humility.
After destroying the calf, mixing the gold with water and making the people drink it the Lord tells Moses and the people to continue into the promise land BUT the Lord would not being going with them. Moses heart is to know the Lord - he begs for lives of the people of Israel instead of allowing greatness for himself, He worships the Lord and speaks to God as a friend and his heart's desire (v.13) is to know the Lord and his ways. Moses tells the Lord that if He does not go with them - there is no point in their going. I want to be like Moses - worshiping the Lord and only going where the Lord is going. If God isn't going there I don't want to either.
This brings us to Moses asking to see the Lord's glory. I love that! I love the fact that Moses wanted to see the glory of the Lord and he was not afraid to ask. God tells Moses: "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you..."
Have you ever doubted God's goodness? I know I have. When you look around and you see the pain and suffering in this world it is sometimes difficult to believe in the goodness of God. A few years ago after feeling this way and literally feeling despair I realized I had been duped. I don't know if it was the Enemy or my own flesh that had duped me into believing my God was not good. Now when I start to have those feelings I go back to the word and focus on the Lord's goodness. The word says He is good - therefore He is. I do not understand all that goes on around me but I do know that I need to put my faith in God and not in circumstances or someone else's opinion.
In Exodus 34:6 - 7 the Lord passes by Moses after He has tucked Him in the cleft of the rock and He proclaims:
"The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."
Moses asked and God gave - in Moses' desire to know the Lord He asked the Lord to show Himself to him. Do we have a desire to know God more? Have we asked Him to show us His glory - His compassion, grace, patience, lovingkindness, and truth? Have we see the Lord's goodness? Do we extend that goodness to others?
How can we exhibit the fruit of goodness? Learn from the Lord - follow His example and yield to the Holy Spirit because He will help us.
The Jewish people just finished celebrating Rosh Hashanah, their New Year. It is a time of preparing oneself spiritually for the coming year by repenting and seeking forgiveness from the Lord. Of course, there is a lot more involved but in short it is a time to prepare your heart for Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). It is also a time according to rabbinical tradition it is believed that your name is either written in the Book of Life or the Book of Death depending on the previous ten days.
I was reading an article by a Messianic Jew about this holiday and I wanted to share:
I am thankful Jesus (Yeshua) gave His life for us so that we can have our names written in the book of life. We can thank the Lord that He is our King - the great King over all the earth (Psalm 47:2) and when we make Him Lord and King of our lives He gives us eternal life. Thank you Lord that my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life - Hallelujah & Amen!
I am also thankful that my King promised to return for His children. We must be ready - continually confessing our sins and keeping our hearts right before Him.
The Jewish New Year also reminds me that our God is a God of new beginnings. Even if we sin and fall away from Him - He is willing to forgive when we come to Him seeking repentance. I know I have been on the receiving end of a new beginning many times - thank you Lord that you are faithful and full of grace and love.
It reminds me of the Lord's continued faithfulness and His willingness to forgive anyone who comes to Him seeking restoration and a relationship with Him. I am so thankful our God does not show partiality but welcomes all into His kingdom through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
I am thankful the Lord keeps His promises and is able to finish the work He started - He is sovereign, good, loving, kind, patient, all-powerful, all knowing, gracious and full of mercy. I can help but praise Him because of who He is, what He has done and what He will do.
Oct. 1, 2008 - "A Grand New Day" - Women of Faith Conference Giveaway!
Wouldn't you love to go to a women's conference for free - and come home refreshed and revived? Laced With Grace has teamed up with Women of Faith for a great giveaway - a chance to win 2 tickets to a 2 day conference at any venue in the U.S. You can enter to win everyday Monday through Friday - stop by and read the Women of Faith daily devotion and leave a comment. Simple!
Welcome to Word-filled Wednesday! I am so glad you are here. I decided to choose a verse from Job - my prayer is that I will remain on the path & have a testimony like that of Job. Be blessed!
"But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 "My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12 "I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. 13 "But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does. 14 "For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such decrees are with Him. 15 "Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him. 16 "It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed me, 17 But I am not silenced by the darkness, Nor deep gloom which covers me." Job 23:10-17
It was a beautiful weekend here in Michigan. The sun was shining and it was blue skies! It decided to take the boy to an Alpaca Farm. We found an farm, Till Farm Alpacas, out in Grandville that was participating in Kent Harvest Trails and decided to head out there so that we could visit another farm, Post Family Farm, in the area. Kent Harvest Trails is a way for families to get out a visit local farms that are participating in the program.
According to Wikipedia: "The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance. Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas are not used as beasts of burden but are valued only for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as sheep's wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States. Alpacas and llamas differ in that alpacas have straight ears and llamas have banana-shaped ears. Aside from these differences, llamas are on average 1-2 feet taller and proportionally bigger than alpacas."
We took a ton of video but we are having some technical difficulty. We also took a lot of pictures of the boys at the second farm - enjoying a hay ride, zip line, picking pumpkins etc. but alas you will have to wait for those pictures. I was able to get the pictures off the camera with no problem and was able to make slideshow of the boys.
Therefore encourage one another and build
each other up... 1 Thessalonians 5:11b
Aug. 21, 2008 - Thankful Thursday
Iris at Sting My Heart is focusing on peace today. Everyone longs for peace - peace in their homes and in their countries. As Iris pointed out one definition of peace is: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. Another definition, which encompasses the above definition is: Strong's Concordance 7965 - Hebrew Shalom ..... A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.
I am so thankful for the peace of God. It is more than being free from conflict on the outside...it is true freedom from conflict on the inside. So many times we appear to be cool, calm and collective but inside our emotions and thoughts are raging. I am so thankful that we, as believers, can have shalom even in our inner being. When the storm is raging call on your Prince of Peace and He will quiet you with His peace. Thank you Jesus for that peace...it is a strong testimony of your work in our lives.
I am also thankful for my MIL and her sister. They have offered to take the boys for a day so that I can have some time to myself.
I am thankful that my dh's new job is going well. The Lord has given him peace, wisdom and strength each day.
My prayer for you:
The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace (shalom). Numbers 6:24-26
Sonshine over at Glimpse of Sonshine presented me with this award - Thank you for your kindness!! It was not easy to choose only 5 blogs for this award because I enjoy reading so encouraging and informative blogs. Blessings to all of you...and keep on writing!!
Now I must:
1. Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.
2. Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog so everyone can view it.
3. Each award-winner has to show the award and put a name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4. The award winner and presenter should post the link of the �Arte y pico� blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Please post these rules.
I nominate the following blogs for this award(in no particular order!)...
Tiany at Less of Me~More of Him: a beautiful blog plus homeschooling and homemaking resources
Stacy at By God's Grace: love her cute graphics, worship music & her willingness to be real about life and give God the glory
Dee at Boys 'R' Us: fellow homeschool mom of all boys; enjoy reading her humorous posts about life with all boys
Song of the Sagebrush: enjoy her poems & posts about her life on the ranch; brings me back to the simple way of life
Shorty Bear's Place: love to read her Thankful Thursday post; a beautiful heart that loves the Lord
"Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You..."Jeremiah 32:17
I am thankful there is nothing to difficult for our God. If He can create the heavens and the earth through His great power then we can be sure He is able to accomplish mighty things in our own lives.
I am thankful for my husband, who has worked tirelessly this week training in his second job and continues to accomplish work in the ministry. I am thankful for his dedication to the Lord and to his family.
I am thankful for my children. They are each a unique gift from the Lord. They may bring challenges into our lives but they are also a huge blessing.
Thank you Iris for hosting the Thankful Thursday meme. If you would like to know more head on over to her blog and check it out. You will not be disappointed.
