• Mar. 21, 2010 - Personal Resolutions

"To make a good wife to my dear Husband in all its several branches; to make all my actions Corrispond with that sincere love and Duty I bear him...And next to my God, to make it my Study to please him." "I am resolved to be a good Mother to my children, to pray for them, to set them good examples, to give them good advice, to be careful both of their souls and bodys, to watch over their tender minds; to carefully root out the first appearing and budings of vice, and to instill piety, Virtue and true religion into them." Personal resolutions written by Eliza Lucas Pinckney, 1723-1793, which she read to herself each day,  and resolved "by the Grace of God assisting me to keep."

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• Mar. 11, 2010 - And love Him to eternity.

By night when others soundly slept, And had at once both ease and rest, My waking eyes were open kept And so to lie I found it best. I sought Him whom my soul did love, With tears I sought Him earnestly; He bowed His ear down from above. In vain I did not seek or cry. My hungry soul He filled with good, He in His bottle put my tears, My smarting wounds washed in His blood, And banished thence my doubts and fears. What to my Savior shall I give, Who freely hath done this for me? I'll serve Him here whilst I shall live And love to Him to eternity. -Anne Bradstreet-

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• Jan. 17, 2010 - Some Encouraging Blog Posts for the week

Okay, here are some of my favorite blog posts for the week.  Some of them are rather lengthy, but well worth the time. Christie at Divine Calling wrote about Stay at Home Moms and Stay at Home Daughters Her sister Stephanie wrote more about being a Stay at Home Daughter here.  Excellent job ladies! Geoff Botkin wrote a very eye-opening article about why we are so easily lead into socialism called Why the Public School Systems Teach Revisionist History Sarah Mae got all fired up after watching Children of Caesar by Voddie Baucham and you can read that post here.  Go Sarah Mae! and Ken Ham writes on the Meaningless of Atheism.

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• Jan. 4, 2010 - Question for myself

Am I loving my husband God's way or the world's way?   This is just one of the questions that I am asking myself after listening to this with my husband. (You can listen to the first session for free at that link.)

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• Dec. 21, 2009 - To the battle front!

I love this time of year, but sometimes we expect things to be different and become disappointed in ourselves and our families. That is really just wrong. In my case I have been dealing with a cough for over 3 weeks and it is getting old, but it is just a cough. I need to remember that! I firmly believe that we need to just own up to our short comings and become the grace-filled sturdy women that God would have us to be. Is it hard? Sure it is. Do we fail? Sure we do. I have been loving studying women from the past with my girls...godly women..sturdy women. It isn't all the fluffy stuff that we like to read and learn from... it's the day in and day out faithfulness in all the little things. It is their lives as a whole, what their character was, who they put their trust and hope in, what they taught their children, and how they helped their husbands that inspire us. Our time with our families is short and precious. How will you spend it? To the battle front ladies!

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• Dec. 18, 2009 - What kind of tools are you giving this year?

Wondering how to bless your husband? One way is to give him tools that encourage and teach biblically sound fatherhood! Some of our favorite resources are on sale over at The Western Conservatory.  One of my husband's favorites is the Father to Son DVD set.  Yes, I know, we do not have sons, but it is still a wonderful example of mentoring your children!  And, by the way, it is 50% off.  Go read about it and watch the trailer here.   My husband has been able to use these DVD's to help mentor other fathers, too. So many men have not been mentored by their fathers and really don't know how to or even what it looks like to mentor their own children.  This DVD set gives examples and ideas on how to do just that.  And just for a heads up, Geoff Botkin is going to be hosting an online men's mentoring season on Saturday mornings in January and February.  You can read about it here.

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• Nov. 14, 2009 - Proverbs 14:1 Woman

Part of my daily reading of God's word includes a chapter of Proverbs, reading the chapter that corresponds with the day of the month.  While each of the chapters in Proverbs challenge and teach, when I come to the 14th day and read chapter 14 it always makes me......pause.  The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. - Proverbs 14:1 The second part of the verse makes me fearful: I do not want to tear my house down! So, what makes a woman wise? Where does that wisdom come from? How can one be wise? Does it just happen with age and experience? God's word tells us that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.  Do I have the fear of the Lord? Really? Do I really examine everything I do in the light of God's word?  The entire chapter of Proverbs 14 is full of teaching about wisdom.  Here are just a few: The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way. v. 8 The prudent gives thought to his ways/steps v.15 One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil. v.16 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children will have a refuge. v.26 Prudent and discern are two words that I really need to make sure I understand.  The 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary gives me the best definitions for these words - you can find their definitions here - prudent and discern. So as I seek to build my house and not tear it down with my own two hands, I need to daily renew my mind with His word, I need to daily pray and plead for His wisdom and discernment, I need to daily build my house!

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• Oct. 21, 2009 - Do Not Fear, but Trust in God!

Are you homeschooling your children, but living with fear about the outcome? Are you thinking about homeschooling and the thought gives you "little terrors?"  I remember years ago meeting a mother who homeschooled her children.... I didn't want to talk with her...I was afraid...what if I had to do that? What if God wanted us to do that? I just stayed clear of her and thought that would work....but God had other plans for us. Within a few months of that meeting, we were homeschooling too....with much excitement mingled with fear.  I remember driving our little Breezy home from government school on that last day and checking my rear-view mirror for a police car. Were they really going to just let us do this? The school officials didn't seem to have any concerns about what we were going to do. Were they being serious or were they just biding their time until they reported us? Such were my fears.  After a few weeks, I realized our home was different, it became peaceful, not rushed, not living on the governments daily schedule, calm.  Hmm.  My little daughters were playing together again.  I hadn't even noticed when Breezy started government school that my daughters didn't play together anymore.  There was the big sister with another life and there was the little sister who was "too little."  I hadn't even noticed it...it was so subtle.    Fears about how to homeschool, what to teach, how to teach, and will they turn out okay quickly began to diminish as the Lord began to teach us to not fear, but trust in Him.    We are in our last "official" year of home educating and I stand amazed at how God has taken our humanly weak efforts and blessed us beyond measure, building strong foundations for His glory. He has taken our short insights and stretched them long into our children's minds. He has taken our fears and given us confidence in Him.  For a great insight into this topic of fear of homeschooling, Mrs. Victoria Botkin has written a lovely and encouraging article that you can read here at the Western Conservatory for the Arts and Sciences.

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• Sep. 28, 2009 - Please Pray for Chris Klicka & family

Please pray for home school leader Chris Klicka, his health has taken a very serious turn for the worse.  He has suffered with MS for years and has continued to encourage and fight for home school families through it all.  You can read more about him and his condition at his Caring Bridge site and at HSLDA's website.

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• Aug. 28, 2009 - Back to School Sale

Curriculum Advice is on sale!  We listened to this set as a family this spring and we were so blessed and encouraged by both CDs.  Victoria Botkin gives wonderful advice as she talks about home educating  her own seven children. The first CD features a heartfelt introduction by her husband, Geoff Botkin, and scattered throughout both are short segments featuring each of her seven children sharing a little of their perspective on their home education experiences.  I wholeheartedly recommend this resource!  You will be blessed and emboldened to teach and train your own children!  Just click on the image above.

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• Aug. 10, 2009 - They notice

"A child won't notice" is a very bad and untrue phrase to admit into your mind.  A child will be affected by originality, beauty and creativity. And a child in a Christian home should connect being in communication with the Creator God with having been made creative, in His image. Rather than creativity being squashed out it should be enhanced and developed because of being brought up in a Christian home, not in spite of it! -Edith Schaeffer, Hidden Art This quote encourages me to be more creative and share that creativity with my family.  It is a simple way that I can bless my family. My friend, Sarah Mae, is one of the writers for the new (in)courage website.  You can go to this post to see what encourages others.

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• Jul. 25, 2009 - a note on perseverance

"If creativity is an artist's gem,  then perseverance is an artist's combat uniform".   This is from a post that John Moore wrote on writing  Although the post is focused on writing, I felt that this is a timely quote for a couple of young ladies in our household on their creative endeavors.

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• Jul. 23, 2009 - Christian Families at the Crossroads

Last weekend we were blessed to be able to attend our second Christian Families at the Crossroads conference. Our family took the 12 hour drive to Georgia back in February for the first one so when we found out that there would be another conference in Ohio and so much closer to our home we decided to go again.  Geoff and Victoria Botkin and their seven children all spoke about the challenges and triumphs of the Christian life.  Friday evening they had a special surprise for us.  Having just been at the Reformation 500 the weekend before Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin along with several other "friends from history" donned their reenactor's dress and told us their stories.  While each reenactor encouraged us with their stories, Elizabeth's character, Anne Boleyn, had us spellbound.  It was very touching and I realized I didn't know as much about her as I should.  Which really makes me want to study more about the lives of the reformers throughout history.  You can go to Visionary Daughters to see a close up of their outfits and to learn more about their characters. While we were encouraged and challenged by all the talks given, my girls have been especially blessed by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth's talks.  In picture above, Mr. Botkin is introducing his daughters before their talk. I would say that these two ladies, as well as the rest of their family, are truly modern day reformers. I especially like this picture of Anna Sofia and Mr. Botkin.  She had us all laughing several times. This picture reminds me that while we can laugh and have fun as Christians the battle we face is real and serious. Victoria Botkin gave an encouraging talk to the mothers about teaching and training your children for God's glory.  She has made a CD set called Curriculum Advice, I highly recommend it.  I was able to chat with her after the conference was over and thanked her for taking the time to make that CD, she told me she just wanted to do what she could to encourage homeschool moms because they are her heros!   Another part of attending these conferences are the wonderful times of fellowship with the other attendees.  Here my husband, Rob, is getting to visit with some old and new friends.  We were able to have meals with several families and enjoy even more time together.  Like Breezy said in her post we wish it could have lasted all week.   Just think in heaven we won't have to say goodbye.  You can go to Breezy and Emily Rose's blogs for more pictures and some notes from the conference. Here are the links to their posts. (I will add more links as they plan on posting more about it) Emily Rose's 1st post,  2nd post Breezy Tulip's 1st post,  2nd post,  3rd post,  4th post

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• Jun. 9, 2009 - Christian Families at the Crossroads

Join us this July 10th and 11th in Columbus, Ohio as we gather for the Christian Families at the Crossroads Conference. This unique family event will both encourage and challenge you in your Christian walk.  "With his wife Victoria and seven children, Geoffrey Botkin will provide non-compromising answers to the most serious questions facing the disappearing American family. " You can find out more about this amazing opportunity at Crossroads09.com!

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• May. 22, 2009 - Ways to Bless Your Household

This month has been full of activities and projects that have kept us busier than normal.  One of the things that I am seeing is that the busier we are the more we need to be in God's word and prayer.   As we go through our day it is easy to get overwhelmed with a list that seems to be growing instead of shrinking, but we can stop, pray for the Lord's peace and strength and praise Him for the work that He has set before us.  We can also praise Him for the ability that He gives to accomplish our tasks.  What if we can't stop and pray?  Pray and be thankful on the run!! I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Phil. 4:13 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  Phil. 4:5 As we seek the Lord and let Him work in us and grow our gentle spirit we can bring peace and encouragement to those around us and help set the tone for our household. Following are ways to bless your household, especially in seasons of extra stress. 1.  Make studying your bible a priority. 2.  Pray without ceasing. 3.  Rejoice always. 4.  Speak with gentle and kind words. 5.  Serve those around you, even when you are busy! 6.  Be thankful in all things. 7.  Have a joyful heart. 8.  Do your work with delight. 9.  Praise the Lord for the work that He has given you. And when you mess up (you know we all do), with all humility repent and apologize and...get back to work.

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• Mar. 25, 2009 - Morning tea

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8 By the way, I have a highly opinionated ;) guest post up at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.

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• Feb. 13, 2009 - Christians at the Crossroads Conference

This past weekend we were blessed to attend the Christians at the Crossroads Conference by the Botkin family.  We spent most of the day Thursday traveling south and slowly seeing the snow disappear. That evening we pulled into the beautiful town of Columbus, Georgia.  It was WARM and SUNNY.  What a delight that was, since when we left our home earlier that day it was below 0.  Friday and Saturday we attended the conference which was held in an old building, full of history, that has been renovated into a conference center.  The topics that the Botkins spoke on where both encouraging and challenging.  Do we think biblically in all areas of our lives?  We are so influenced by this crazy culture we live in that it is hard to bring all our thoughts to Christ, but we must strive to do that.  Mr. Botkin and his family shared so much scripture and information that I really can't explain it all,  so I will just give you some snippets. If you ever get a chance to hear Mr. Botkin and his family, I urge you to go.  You will be blessed. Their family was ill during the conference so that was an extra challenge for them all.  Mr. Botkin shared how it is a blessing to be sick, not that they were enjoying it; but we find out how we respond to the small trials in life and it prepares us for the more difficult ones.  It is also humbling to be ill, consciously having to depend on God and others for their care and help.  Mr. Botkin shared with us Psalm 112 and how it is about our family, homes, and descendants.  It is a beautiful Psalm and one that has greatly encouraged me this week.  Mrs. Botkin also shared some insights with the women on being a godly wife and mother.  A young mother, who was pregnant with her fourth child, asked her advice on how to handle the busyness of having so many little ones.  Her answer was this:  The first priority is to train and raise the children - housework and cooking comes after that.  You should fit those things in around your training and raising your children instead of making chores the priority.  She also shared about the phrase "See to it".  I was so encouraged and challenged by that simple statement.  God's word tells us in Ephesians 5:33 to "see to it" that we respect our husbands.  Am I "seeing to it"?  I need to be purposeful in this daily and "see to it".  By the way, I am really liking that phrase.  Maybe I need to embroider it on something so I see it everyday. Another wonderful part of the weekend was getting to meet  and visit with so many wonderful people.  Some that we had met online and was able to meet in "real life" and others that we met for the first time.  We will be sharing more photos over the next few days.  Emily Rose and Breezy already have some pictures up on their blogs.

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• Jan. 21, 2009 - Incredible Journey

Eleven years ago, God began us on a journey that has been an incredible blessing to our family. What was that journey?  Homeschooling. On January 1, 1998, I decided to study God's will.  I started in my Strong's concordance and began looking up verses that had the word "will" in them.  It is a very long list, but I decided that I had a lifetime to work on it so it didn't intimidate me too much.  For some reason I skipped around and just picked a few verses that day to read and study. One of them was Exodus 33:19. Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  NKJV After I read through this verse I immediately was struck with idea that God would have compassion (mercy) on whom He would.  I wrote in my journal that morning my prayer. I begged God to have compassion on my family. The next day, while at the library, I picked up a couple of books on homeschooling, The Right Choice by Christopher Klicka and The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell.  I had no intention of homeschooling, but a friend of mine had been talking about it and I wanted to see what it was all about. Later that day I opened up the book by Debra Bell and read one sentence near the front.  It said something to the effect that she believed homeschooling was God's way of showing compassion to our families.  I was completely shook by that statement.  I began reading these two books with a different attitude; not with curiosity, but with interest and wonder.  I began sharing with my husband what these two books were saying and we began seeking the Lord's will for us in this area.  After two intense weeks we felt the Lord's leading us to homeschool and decided that we would begin the next year.  Within a day of that decision we realized that we were delaying our obedience to his call.  After much prayer and discussion we decided that we would begin homeschooling the week after Breezy's 7th birthday.  She was in 1st grade and had been really looking forward to bringing treats to her class to celebrate her birthday.  The Friday of her birthday week we brought her home for good.  It has been an incredible journey.  In all honesty it has had it days of trials, but the abundant days of mercy and compassion have far outweighed any trials that we may have faced.  The Lord has been gracious to us.  This picture was taken last Saturday as we celebrated an early birthday party for Breezy.  Next week we will celebrate Breezy's 18th birthday and then celebrate our homeschooling anniversary; eleven years of learning, exploring and growing in character. Our story in a nutshell: Two sinners who married, four sinners who were saved by His grace, four sinners who have been shown incredible compassion and mercy. May the Lord be praised!

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• Dec. 8, 2008 - Motivate Me Monday- Being a Woman of Prayer

I want to be a woman of prayer.  I want to stand in the gap and pray for my husband, my daughters, our family & friends, those suffering and needy, the lost, our nation, etc.  I don't always succeed at this... being a woman of prayer.  Actually, one of my prayers is that the Lord would help me to become a strong woman of prayer.  My prayer life has seen a lot of different seasons.  I have had strong seasons of faithfully praying and others where I fall of the wagon,  praying little snippets here and there and thinking that is good enough, or that I will pray more later. How this must grieve the Lord.  He gave us this privilege to pray and yet I don't always treat it as the treasure that it is.  I have really been convicted of my laziness in this area. A couple of weeks ago I began reading again The Power of a Praying Parent and The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.  I had read both of these books several years ago and now going through them again I see that God has answered so many of my prayers for my family.  How many more answers to prayers would I see if I had been more faithful in this area?  Do you struggle in this area? Are you wanting to spend more time with the Lord in prayer?  Maybe you have been a strong woman of prayer and have some great advice.....care to share? Here are links to some more resources on praying and using God's Word in prayer. The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian The next three are free pdf files. 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband 31 Biblical Virtues for Praying for Your Children 15 Ways to Make Prayer a Part of Your Everyday Family Life These next two are articles by John Piper. The Sovereignty of God and Prayer A Conversation between Prayerful and Prayerless Thank you Lindsay at Passionate Homekeeping for posting some of these links on your blog. You can read more about Motivate Me Monday at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.

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• Dec. 1, 2008 - Earnestly and Early- The 5 AM Club

O God, thou art my God early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. Psalm 63:1 KJV O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NAS These are different versions of the same verse. The Hebrew word shachar translated into early in King James and earnestly in the New American Standard.  I have been rising extra early for the past few weeks, desiring to spend time alone with my Lord in the quiet morning hours.  Sometimes I have company and sometimes not, after all I don't want to be stingy with those quiet morning hours.  I have made it a habit over the years to read my bible and pray first thing in the morning after I rise.  When the girls were little I would get up extra early so that I could have my quiet time with the Lord without interruptions.  I would almost always take a little catnap in the afternoon when the girls would nap, but as time when on I just got up a with everyone else and then had my quiet time.  Still first thing, but more likely to be interrupted or cut short.  After reading on Sarah Mae's blog about rising early and reading her link to Carloyn Mahaney's post about rising early, I decided to do the same.  My commitment is to rise early, read & study my bible and pray.  While it may not always be 5 AM it will be the first thing that I do. Does it have to be first thing? No, but when you do something earnestly do you usually put it off till you have time or do you make every effort to do it right away? Does it have to be 5 AM? No, this is just what I am choosing to do now.  Will it make a difference in my life?  Yes, I believe it will.

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