I'm a conservative born again Christian wife to a wonderful husband and mom to three energetic but sweet daughters. I'll share my joys and struggles as I strive to be a godly wife and mother. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:33:00 -0500 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:33:00 -0500 There is this great corn maze in town that many people  like to go through each year. I don't like it myself because I don't like that "lost" feeling. I was thinking that in some ways a corn maze is like a life without Christ. A person can go through life with all it's twists and turns and feeling like there is no way out. They run into all these obstacles and they feel there is no way out.  Unless they are willing to follow the path that leads to Him they will remain trapped, going in all sorts of directions heading the wrong way, What a lonely feeling that must be.     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/740056/ Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:33:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/740056/ I have noticed in the news lately that the number of children who ended up being injured or killed has increased. Locally there is the guy (I wouldn't call him a man) murdered his girlfriend's four year old child. I mean what is going on with people hurting innocent children? I know it must grieve the Lord when people hurt His little children. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/738554/ Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/738554/ I find it so disturbing how much Halloween is glorified with all it's evilness. I felt really bad for my 12 year old daughter because she was with her friends  recently who come from Christian families and all they wanted to talk about was how fun Halloween is. My daughter tried to tell them we don't celebrate the holiday at all but they wouldn't listen. She was really upset about it. I guess this falls under the category of "just because your family doesn't do this doesn't mean my family can't".  I recently got some tracts regarding Halloween that are written for Christians. It's very informative and convicting.  Before God convicted me of the whole Halloween thing, I thought it was fun to go out trick or teating or get involved other  seemingly "innocent" celebrations. A fellow Christian shared with me the origins of Halloween , it's paganism and scriptures backing up why we as Christians should have nothing to do with Halloween. Galations 5:19-21 19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   The author of this Halloween tract talks about how people claim that Halloween is just  harmless fun for children. He asks this question of Christians "Can a thoughtful Christian give a Scriptural reason for observing a holiday so steeped in paganism and witchcraft?" He talks about the modern resurgence of withcraft and Satan worshippers who openly claim Halloween as their holiday,  and asks " How can Christians observe it, even in fun?" It has not been easy not to get involved with the whole Halloween thing. I still struggle with allowing our daughters to get dressed in costumes.  We stopped going to this one church's Halloween alternative event because it was just too much for us. Some of the children and parents too were  in costumes that were either too scary or too sleazy. Even  some of the  church's volunteers had costumes that were inappropriate. I guess that was the straw that broke the camels back and I said no more! I'm sure dentists would have a major conniption if they saw how much candy the church gives away!   It won't be easy to say no to any Hallween or Halloween alternative activities, especially when all our friends and their children are doing it.. In a few days it will all be over. I can't wait. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/737023/ Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:59:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/737023/ Today we went to a little town a couple of hours away to visit some friends who have started a new church. We don't get to see them that often and so it was nice to see them again. The church is small so they meet in the home and because of the size of the living room they don't have the separate seating you see in most conservative Mennonite churches. The service was great and we had a wonderful fellowship meal afterwards, After the meal the sisters sat together and talked while the brothers  sat together and chatted. The men  decided to sing a few hymns  together and it sounded so wonderful. It pleased my heart to hear my husband singing with these guys too. A few minutes after they were done singing I heard these sweet children's voices singing. It turned out that my eight year old daughter and her friends were singing "adult" hymns. I say adult because these songs aren't usually taught to children. I felt a little bad that my daughter didn't really know the songs but she did pick up the words with the hymnal. It made me wonder why we don't teach our children the hymns like Great is Thy Faithfullness, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus and more.  Maybe we think that children can't sing them or that the songs are too old. I think if children are brought up on hymns they will learn to appreciate them and sing them. That's all I'm going to say on that subject. I don't want to start a controversy. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/735381/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:09:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/735381/ Like I was saying in my previous post the Maxwells are very textbook oriented and they talk about it all throughout the book.  They don't seem to agree with homeschool methods that make homeschooling "fun". All in all the book was interesting and I got some good ideas for managing my homeschool a little better. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/735375/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:03:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/735375/ I'm nearly finished with Managers of Their Schools by Steve and Teri Maxwell. It's a very interesting book but they seem to really favor textbooks. I'll write more on that later. I'm off to an appointment. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/733800/ Tue, 6 Oct 2009 16:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/733800/ Well it's the third week of school and we have actually gotthen through without a bunch of complaints. The girls seems happy with the courses and so is mommy! You know the old saying "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" I'm trying hard not have bad attitude in the mornings and I have found that spending time with the Lord is helping me tremendously. It sets the tone for how my day will go.  I'm adding school devotions to our curriclum and for us any of the Miller Family series of books works well for us. They are Amish-Mennonite stories and they have a lot of Godly values.  We all seem to like Wisdom and the Millers and Prudence and the Millers the best. The interesting thing about these books is I'm learning alot myself and there are times when I have been convicted of a behavior that is less than Christian after reading one of these stories. Or I will read a devotion about the very issue that we read about in one of the Miller books. Thisis when I know the Lord is dealing with me. One of the things I enjoy about homeschooling is having my children home with me. I know that there are some  parents whose children go to school outside the home and they are counting the days when they go back to school. It's like they don't enjoy having their children around. I don't like not having my children nearby. Even though they are 14, 12 and 8 it is such a comfort knowing they are safe because I know where they are, though I know they will leave home someday I'm not saying they don't get out because they do. They have lot's of activities they are involved in but they are not overscheduled either. That would not sit well with dh or me. I have ordered the Maxwells book Managers of Their Schools because I think I need a better plan. I have Magaers of Their Homes and Mangers of Their Chores. Both are great books so I need to get with the program and do some scheduling. Maybe that will cut down on I'm-bored-syndrome. ******I started this post days ago but had to save it because one child got sick and I'm just now getting around to finishing it.******       http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/729496/ Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/729496/ I can never figure out a title for my entries since sometimes I feel the need to ramble. Like my last post about the Duggars expecting their 19 child. I mean how cool is that? I've been doing Angelia Burrells Bible Study on the Proverbs 31 wife. Anyway is free do join in anytime. It's located here http://home.mindspring.com/~shepherdshillhomemaking/id20.html Angie is a very gifted woman of God. She is neither Amish or Mennonite but she and her family have been led to lead a plain and simple lifestyle. That being said I have found it challenging to be the woman described is Proverbs 31. She seems so well ,,, "perfect"! Of course I realize that is not the case but I think she is the model of the godly wife I would like to be. I think it would help us if we had "seasoned wives" in our churches to guide us in this area. I could definitely use an older "mentor mom" to guide me and ask for advice. Of course I should always go to the Lord first but I believe he calls older women to teach the younger. The problem is I'm almost 49 and I still feel the need for someone older to set me straight. There is an older woman at the Mennonite church we visit when we can who I can tell she is gifted of God. She is the bishop's wife and her nane is Sister Lena Martin. She seems like someone I can talk to. Especially since we have pretty much the same doctrinal beliefs.  I feel this is important because if the woman you have as a mentor doesn't hold on to the teachings of the Bible but has her own ideas then that could mean trouble. I had that problem a few years ago when I thought that the Lord was opening the door for this woman to be a mentor to me when I was still attending my old church. However she had her own ideas about what the scriptures taught about issues that were very important to me. Much to my dismay the Lord promptly closed that door. So now I'm still seeking that Titus 2 wife to mentor me and be a prayer partner to me. I'm open to whatever the Lord has for me. I don't see the Lord opening the door for me to have Sister Lena because of the distance. The church is two hours away and it would be difficult to try and form a mentoring relationship. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/724101/ Sat, 5 Sep 2009 00:41:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/724101/ I just heard the Jim-Bob and Michelle  Duggar are expecting number 19 child in March. Oh I can hear it now at the water coolers  "Those people are nuts!" or "Haven't they ever heard of birth control?" It takes an incredible amount of faith to put one's fertility in the hands of the Lord. I remember reading an article in An Encouraging Word magzine a few years ago called "If I trusted God for My family size he will give me 22 children!" or something like that. The author explains that she and her husband have put their family size in God's hands. At the time they had only two children and they were s few years apart.  I don't know if she has had more children or not but she and I agree that it is God who opens the womb. God knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we can handle. He knows Jim-Bob and Michelle can handle 19+ children. I admire Michelle because she is willing to face ridicule,persecution, and hatefilled attacks by bringing forth these godly children. Unfortunately many of these attack will come from Christians. I also admire her willingness to obey the Lord and "Be fruitful and multiply". I believe that God is using this family to bring glory to Him. We as Christian parents need to be raising these children to the honor and glory of the Lord.  The Lord blessed us with five children but He chose to take two home early. We  learned too late about trusting God for our family size. I am grateful though to encourage wives and mothers who are trusting God for their fertility. You can read more about this at Aboverubies.org and saltmagazine.com. These sites aren't just about allowing God to plan your family size, but they offer articles that encourage us in our roles as wives and mothers and fathers too. I highly recommend them both.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/723662/ Thu, 3 Sep 2009 15:35:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/723662/ I love to read books and this book is one of my favorites. It's called  "A Song for Your Honor" written by Kay Evans. I'm sure many have read this book. It's a true story about a new widow  with six children who goes on the run after her in laws pressed charges against her claiming she was an unfit mother. It's a story of courage, faith and forgiveness. You can get this book from Christian Light Publications. I'm sure it's available at most Anabaptist  book companies.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/718625/ Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/coveredwifeoftim/718625/