From the Hearth - Homeschool Blogger

NEW Blog

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:16:00 -0600

Hey everybody -
For the last few weeks I have been blogging elsewhere - and I just wanted to come here and let you know how much I hope you'll visit me there. I heard that great new things are happening here - like a new server, which is really exciting - but I am not sure if I'll be back to this blog or not at this point.
If you are interested come visit me here at my new blog!
Hope to see you there!

Thank you Secret Sister

Tue, 6 Feb 2007 18:55:00 -0600

Today I got a beautiful hand-made card from my Secret Sister. It was very beautiful - and a kind note. I wanted to say thanks!

Also, I am attempting to start a new blog elsewhere as it took me three attempts and more time than I care to mention to log in just to post this simple note. I'd like to have a more reliable and less frustrating blogging experience. I have appreciated Homeschoolblogger so much - and met some great women here - but I do hope some of you will come and visit me at my new blog. Until further notice, this blog is orphaned. What a shame - as you can tell from what all has been done here, my archives and the number of posts I have made - I have put my heart into this blog - but it does me no good if I cannot reliably access it. I have not even enjoyed blogging in a couple of months because of it. I hope to find the joy of blogging again soon!

Pics of my Hair

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:47:00 -0600

Since several of my friends have requested to see my hair with my new perm - I thought I'd humor you. Please scroll down

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and without further adieu ...... - Okay - it's not me - but this is pretty much what I look like right now - only a LOT less cute. I caught my girls making fun of me behind my back while I was reading aloud this afternoon!   How rude!?!

What a Day!

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:54:00 -0600

Today started off with a bang! Quite literally! A grouchy husband dropped something on his way out the door at 6:30 am and I never went back to sleep. I decided to use my nervous energy (I never really do recover when I wake up with a start like that!) to clean out the area around my desk. Around 7:30 a lady that I met at church called – Kendra has been making friends with her daughter and telling her she should “quit school and get a REAL life” – and giving her the whole “unschooling” schpiel. The mom said that they had been reading a book that Kendra loaned to her daughter, and she wondered if she could stop by and talk with me. My first thought was “Oh no!” I thought we had made her mad. But when she got here it was a pleasant surprise – she is considering letting her daughter pull out of school and Homeschool/unschool! This girl is the head of the flag squad, and very involved in so many activities at her school, but her mom said that school has gotten harder and harder – too much workload, and too much pressure – and never any time to live a life. What a fun job to get to be the one to tell her it didn’t have to be that way!

I looked some things up on the HSLDA website – because as I spoke with this woman, I wasn’t sure that I had a full grasp on the Texas state Homeschooling laws. I found more about them on the THSC site. However, when I was perusing the HSLDA site, out of curiosity I found out that a secretary in Jefferson County where I used to live had sent out letters to homeschoolers in that county that contradicted Homeschool law. Just a reminder to those of us who Homeschool to stay informed about the laws of your state!

THEN I had to go and pay our taxes. I got a little education about the differences in how things work here and what I was used to in WV. That was a difficult check to write! OUCH! When we refinance in 2 years, I am going to have the taxes and insurance rolled INTO our loan. I’ll never do it the other way again!

Late this afternoon – I did it. I have debated about it for months now – on and off again. I have worried that I would hate it – but I don’t. Actually I love it – once it stops stinking – yep – I went and got me all permed up! J Ha haa! I have been so frustrated with my hair l Anyway – my husband says he loves me and I’m cute even if I do stink!

Okay – I’ll post more later – I have some pictures of the kids updated bedrooms that I wanted to post later – but there was just way too much that went on today! Sorry about the rambling post – thanks for hanging on until the end. I bit you adieu!

Save Me a Seat in the ADD Section

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:12:00 -0600

We have been attending a new church that is actually right around the corner from our house, and while it has paramount differences from everything we are used to, we are definitely feeling our hearts tugged, our souls warmed and our spirits fed while we are there. The service and style are far more traditional than we are used to, in many ways. The music is ALL hymns when we were used to a more contemporary service, and while I find “worship” slightly strained at times, I find the meditation on these long standing hymns of the faith is a joy. Kullen and I had a “lightbulb” moment one Sunday when I pointed out that one of the hymns we were singing was by Fanny Crosby, whose biography we had read a couple years ago. I am also thankful that my children seem to know more of them than I thought, considering that they seldom heard hymns in our previous churches. The congregation has a majority of older folks, but they are unexpectedly warm and gracious with our whole family, including my 9 year old son. (Oh yeah, and they never snubbed me, not even once because I wear jeans every Sunday!) One thing that is taking some getting used to is sitting in the middle the ADD section at church – meaning my hubby and my son. Kullen puts his feet on the pews in front of us, uses his clipboard to fan himself in wide, sweeping motions distracting other parishioners up to 3 or 4 pews back, and just about any disruptive thing he can think to do. I am sympathetic, as I know how difficult it is for him to sit still – but it makes it VERY difficult for me to fully engage my brain in the sermon. My hubby, while not up to the same antics as his son, gets restless at times, and I can feel it. Isn’t that weird? There is no such thing as “children’s church” where the children are dismissed to their own mini-sermon and activities – the children actually *gasp* sit through church with their parents. And while I am distracted, I am trying to remember that this is a season of training for our family.

Another Day in the Big Thicket

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:28:00 -0600

Yesterday I felt like myself again. The first remarkable thing that happened was compiling that list of the Lord’s faithfulness to me. I am going to make it a point to do that more often as it had a tremendous effect on me throughout the entire day to remember His great love for me. It spans beyond the cross and reaches into the everyday living of this common life. Referring to one of my lessons yesterday about “uncommon friends” – there is none more uncommon than the way Christ loved us. In fact He loved us so much He elevated us beyond mere friendship to the status of “brother”. Oh how I wish I could walk with that truth ever present in my mind as I live my life each day. How it would change much of what I do, say and think!

Yesterday after we attended the local co-op, the kids and I were in Walmart grabbing a few things we needed while we were “in town”. I asked the kids if they thought they would enjoy having a certain family over one afternoon for lunch and a visit. They all said yes, but the Kullen added, “Let’s ask them over tonight for dinner!” After calling Travis and making sure he was up to it, I called and invited them and they said “YES!” They came over and we had a nice dinner and great conversation. The kids all enjoyed themselves, and we had some real discussion. It was such a fun time. It reminded me of some of the first times getting together with some of my dearest friends. We were thankful to have fellowship with another Homeschool family. It is very rare, seemingly almost non-existent in this area to find other families that Homeschool and share similar family values and reasons for homeschooling. It was a great night – and we hated for it to end!

This morning I got an email with a testimony from friend. I wanted to share it because I thought it might touch your heart like it did mine. I hope that I am not sharing out of turn, but this was amazingly profound I have a precious friend who was the very proud parent of a spunky little dog. We all loved his little dog who was a BIG part of his family. Yesterday my friend had to make the decision to have the dog put down for reasons I am not aware of at the moment. When I emailed him to tell him how sorry I was, he said this……”for the hour after I made the decision I was a basket case, in the midst of it I got a microscopic glimpse of how God's heart breaks for us and I can't begin to imagine how horrible it was for him to watch his son die for filthy me. I thanked him for that glimpse and for his grace.” What a testimony, and a reminder that He is revealing Himself in everything that happens, if we will just open our eyes to see!

Butt Kickin' and Encouragement

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:03:00 -0600

Okay, let me first say that the overwhelming responses to yesterdays post which was put both on Homsechoolblogger and Homesteadblogger was amazing. The words of encouragement were astounding to me, and I cannot say how much this has meant to me. I think I grasped it this morning when one of my precious blogging buddies, Deedeeuk sent me an e-card – I realized I DO have friends, just not ones I can put my arms around and HUG right now! Thank you all so much for your kindnesses. They blessed me beyond measure. BUT I do want to say that the most astounding comfort came directly from the Lord. Where to start…. Hmm…. I think I shall have to make somewhat of a list:

Yesterday afternoon my friend Carol called just to chat. She is one of those friends you can share anything with and never fear that she will put you down or judge you – and yet she will tell you the truth. She is also very compassionate. She had received a card I sent her to encourage her through a rough season in her life – and we discussed how I can see the Lord’s promises hold true for HER situation – but have difficulty applying them to my own. By the time we got off the phone – I felt so much better.
Last night during family devotions (we use the One Year Book of Family Devotions and read one every single night before anyone is allowed to leave the table!) I was reading, and the scripture text was Romans 8:26-31. Verse 28 says this………And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (NKJV) As I read this out loud to my family I started to cry. Then we all started to laugh, because we knew that God had spoken – directly to my heart.
After dinner, we went to church. The adult Bible study text was ALSO from Romans 8! The focus was on verses 12-14. The emphasis of the teaching was that we “owe no debt to the flesh” – the life in the body is nothing compared to the spiritual aspects of our living for Christ. The pastor talked passionately and confrontationally about sanctification. How can we be caught up worrying about the flesh while people around us are dying and going to hell. I felt about this small, and so very convicted that I’d lost a day of my life to live for Christ wallowing in self-pity. Basically, the Lord kicked my BUTT and then turned around to help me back on my feet! (I love it when He does that!)
When I woke up this morning, the SUN was shining! It streams through the window beside me even now and I can feel God’s love in it. It calls for rain again tomorrow – but I will enjoy the sunshine for today, and let tomorrow carry its own worries.
My Bible study this morning was out of I Samuel – and focused on the uncommon friendship of Jonathan and David. Beth Moore’s notes highlighted some attributes of uncommon friendships:

1 – Uncommon friends can speak their minds without fear

2 – Uncommon friends can share their hearts without shame

So I am reading all of these notes and starting to feel again – thinking about my friends back home.

Sadness attempted to come in – until I got to the third note:

3 – Uncommon friends can stay close, even at a distance!!!!!!

I got chills when I read this! My friends and I are friends, united in a bond of love with the Lord. This verse is illustrated in the friendships that I do have whether near or far – “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” Eccl. 4:9-10, 12b

I am so thankful that the Lord heard my prayer, and the prayers of any of you who were willing to pray for me. Once again He dazzled me with His love.

AWOL

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:17:00 -0600

I haven’t blogged for a while. I have been in somewhat of a funk. I have been struggling with all sorts of things – mainly sheer isolation. It has been a dreary, rainy winter. I expected Texas to be warmer in the winter than I am used to, however, the dampness here penetrates all the way to the bone. The sun has done little more than peek out over the last couple of weeks – and it has really been blah. I still haven’t really made one friend – and while I know that is a process, I am feeling a bit impatient at the moment. Eight months without “girlfriend” time is taking its toll on me.

Another issue is my blog. I don’t know where to blog – and about what. I have attempted to start a new blog elsewhere – because I think I have come to the conclusion that I would rather belong to the larger blogging community. This has caused me to be disinterested in this blog in general. I do have friends here – some great ones, and now that we’re using services like “Bloglines” it should be easy to stay in touch with one another, regardless of where we blog.

On the issue of being in a funk – it was a topic of our Sunday School lesson this past week – but instead of the word “funk” I believe the pastor used “discouragement”. He talked about how it was a tactic of the enemy to keep us down. I know that is the truth. Even while I know it, the feeling has been washing over me every day. I asked the pastor if he thought that wallowing in discouragement – having a pity party – feeling sorry for yourself – whatever you want to call it – was a sin. He said he thought so and so do I. So I am sorry for another bleak post on this blog. If you happen here could you pray for me – I am struggling with this right now. I know God has a purpose in this time of isolation – perhaps to remind me that He is all that I truly need.

What is Blasphemy?

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:14:00 -0600

I have to post about this. My daughter came to me with eyes overflowing with tears, and showed me this website this afternoon. We just sat in shocked horror and disbelief. Satan has attempted to capture the minds of the youth of a generation - and this is one of the most devious, and heart wrenching tactics yet. Check it out if you dare - it is horrifying to think that there are people out there who spend the very breath God gave them to blaspheme His name, but worse to encourage others - the total videos posted thus far range around 150,000 - to do the same. There was one personal "blasphemy" video where the credits rolled at the end thanking those who had contributed to his "enlightenment" - and the last name that slowly scrolled up the list was "my dad". As a mother this makes my heart skip a beat. Did this dad contribute to this young man's position by sharing his own atheistic viewpoint, or was it because he lived a life of hypocritical Christianity? We are all hypocrites at times - and it is difficult for us to lead anyone in our fallen state to the only One who was perfect - but let's not cut ourselves too much slack here. WHAT are our children seeing in our lives? Religion or relationship? Are we showing them even in our failings how Christ redeems us daily? How can we as parents keep from turning our children away from our Lord? I have an uncle that I love dearly who is the father of eight children - one in heaven since infancy - and six out of the other seven that want nothing to do with God or church - which to them is synonymous. They saw organized religion as a system set up to hold them in restrictive confines. My mind is reeling. And what is blasphemy anyway? Is it word or deed? Maybe it is a combination of both.
Pray, not only for this generation that the enemy would love to pervert, but also for each of us as parents, that our lives would draw our children TO Christ and not away from Him.

Prayer Request - My Mom

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:10:00 -0600

I talked to my mom - she is nervous today because she is going to see an oncologist. She has had quite a time with her health spanning over two decades now. She has type II diabetes, ashtma, etc. While a lot of these health issues are exacerbated by lifestyle choices, I still love her and worry about her. In 2001 she had gastric bypass surgery that put her in ICU for three months, primarily unconscious, shut her kidneys down, and had her hooked up to life support. We saw a dramatic answer to prayer when her kidneys started to work on their own again after about 6 weeks of dialysis. She has recently had skin cancer removed, and ended up in the hospital when the incisions of every single one erupted almost immediately with severe infection. They found out that her body has been carrying a staph infection all this time which explains a lot. But they can't figure out why her white blood cell count is still up. Her doctor told her that she needs to see the oncologist because she "needs bone marrow". None of us really knows what this means for her - but if you are a prayer warrior, please pray for my mom. Thanks.