This is my journey to becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman - home-making - learning to follow His will in everything I do and learning to live off the land. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:32:00 -0600 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:32:00 -0600  Oh, I'm absolutely terrible!!! I can't believe I started this blog sometime close to the beginning of the year and I've never even kept it going. I just don't get any better. I'm so sorry to all those who have left comments and promised me that they'd keep checking my blog for updates and I haven't even put any up for a long time. I've been so busy, it's hard to even describe. But, the good news is that I've finished school for the year so I'm free to write a little more regularly than what I was... or uh... wasn't. Hopefully this is the new beginning I've been hoping for, for a long time now! (As I'm sure my friends on homeschoolblogger have been too!) :-)  Firstly, I'd like to ask prayer of those people who feel burdened to pray for me and my family. My Dad was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few months ago and we've been slowly adjusting to the lifestyle change and eating habits. Prayer is always appreciated from whoever feels God's leading to do so for us. Thank you to my friends here on homeschoolblogger who already have been praying for my family. It is so greatly appreciated by all of us.  Our Church's New Years Eve event  is coming up on well... New Year's Eve! (Strange, I know! :-) and we've been preparing musical items and things for that. It is a wonderful chance to perform for the enjoyment of the others in the Church, items that give all glory to God. This is our second New Year's Eve event we've been to and the first time, I loved it and so as you can imagine I'm sure, I'm really looking forward to this years. The only thing is that I came down with a cold at the beginning of this week and now I've nearly completely lost my voice! It wouldn't be so bad if my Church choir wasn't performing tomorrow and nearly all items I'm practising for New Years Eve are vocal!!! (I love singing and really have a passion for it.) I'd really, really appreciate prayer that my voice would come back extremely quickly too!!! :-) It's so hard and upsetting not to be able to sing at the moment. I'm pretty certain at this stage, that I won't be able to sing in the choir tomorrow morning.  Since I blogged last, I celebrated my 16th birthday which was a wonderfully, special time. We decided to celebrate simply and had a family over for dinner for one night and it was lovely. I had the special privilege of being invited to sing at another Independent Baptist Church on my birthday, which was Sunday this year. It was awfully cold at the Church we went to but a blessing to be invited to sing anyway! Well, I suppose I'd better finish this post here and let any of you who still want to take an interest in my boring blog, read this message. I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment and let me know you read it! But, it's up to you whether you do or not, I really don't mind. I just love hearing from you. Hoepfully I'll have another post up shortly and be able to start keeping you more up to date again on what's been happening and where the Lord is taking me and my family.                                                                               Your Sister in Christ,                                                                                  ~Rebekah-Grace~ Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.                                                                                                        Psalm 27:14   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/751442/ Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:32:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/751442/ Howdy! I know I've been a little longer in really writing up a post again. But, I'm here now. I don't really have a whole lot to say so I'm going to use the time to show you all some pictures of what I've been up to. We recently went over to our friends' place and of course, I took the time to take some pictures! So, here they are.   If my friend happens to read this... She'll know who she is!! :-) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/682310/ Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:06:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/682310/ Hi, Well, unfortunately, due to the business of the the past week or so, I haven't had the opportunity to post anything. But I've got a little bit of time now, and thought I'd share with you what I've been doing.  We have been working on some Vocal items for Church again recently. I am planning on doing a solo, to the music, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus", by West Coast Baptist College. I really love their music as it's so inspirational, and full of the truth. They are a non-charismatic college, which appeals to us greatly. :-) I'm also singing a duet with my sister to the music, "How Deep the Father's Love". I've always enjoyed this song and for the first time, I will be able to sing it in Church. Talitha and I are also doing another Vocal quartet with the same girls we sang "In Christ Alone" with, to the hymn, "It is well with my soul". It's only been over the last few years that I've really taken an interest to singing, and now that I've discovered I can really start to use it as a ministry, I am hoping to continue the singing, as well as the instrumental items. Our Church has been really good in helping to get us started trying to minister to others through, non-charismatic, music filled with the truth. I never used to enjoy hymns, but now, I find them so enjoyable to sing and play!  I have been using 'Christian Light Publications' Home Economics course for school work over the past few weeks. I have only just begun to further my sadly lacking cooking skills. I'm enjoying it very much, and am hoping to post some pictures of my recent cooking adventures if anybody would be interested in seeing them. (Once you see them, you may change your mind!)  But, I will try to post some pictures very soon, and you can all tell me what you think. I will have a couple pictures of some biscuits and a cake that I made though. :-) The rest of my schoolwork is going pretty well, and we have now come to the end of our first term of school work. It does seem as though this term has gone pretty fast, and we're about to start second term!  Well, we have Church tomorrow so I suppose I'd better start organising our gear. We take a lot of stuff to Church these days. A violin, a flue, lunch - at our Church, the kids spend the day at the Church which means that you must bring your lunch with you - a music bag full of folders, cds, and other assorted bits and pieces, a cd player, plus all our Bibles, and anything extra we need to take for that day! So, as you have probably guessed by now, it takes a while to get ready for Church every week. We also used to take our keyboard along!!! Anyway, I'd better get going, and will try to post more regularly from now on! Your sister in Christ, Rebekah   This is my attempted coconut cake which actually didn't turn out too bad. :-) I know the picture doesn't look quite right but you get the general idea.  And here's my plate of ginger biscuits. Yes, my presentation skills need a bit of work! :-) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/665455/ Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:47:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/665455/ Howdy!  I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to post on our special Awards Night any sooner. We've had a few problems with the computer lately and that is part of the reason I haven't been able to get on. But, I'm now finally getting around to posting all about the night.  Our friend, (the one we were taking with us) arrived at our place at about 12:45 p.m. roughly and we spent some time playing with the guinea-pigs and sorting out the animals before we left at about 1:05 p.m.. Our drive to our grandparents' place took about 2 1/2 - 3 hours and we arrived just in time for afternoon tea. We ended up staying and having an early dinner and heading over to the site from there. When we arrived we saw the large amount of cars, as there always is, and that familiar feeling of nerves/ excitement began to set in. As soon as we got there we spotted our Church bus. Our Pastor had brought our missionary friends on the night. We quickly said hello to them and had to rush in to get ready for our sound check. Plus, I had to be there early to get ready for the grade 10/12 graduation procession. The night went really well. My younger sister and I got up a few different times for various awards and then came the first exciting event. I got up for my grade 10 graduation. It was a very special time that I earnestly thanked my Saviour for. I remember sitting in the seats at Awards Nights in previous years thinking I would never make it to grade 10!  And here I was, standing on stage with my year 10 graduation folder!!! It was a very special time. Now I have the task of completing years 11 and 12 at hand. But all this has only made me realise even more that I am blessed to be able to homeschooled using a Christian curriculum. I never really used to think about it the way I do now. Just a few years ago, as a 10/11 year old I was having quite a lot of trouble with my schoolwork and not completing what I was supposed to and just having a bad time, and yet, nearly 2 weeks ago, I graduated grade 10. Next came the Vocal Quartet which encouraged me and inspired me even more. It was such a wonderful, thrilling, experience to be able to minister and witness through a song that I love singing. I really did feel as though, we were able to witness. I don't know if it inspired or helped anyone else but I know even just from my point of view that it was a wonderful thing to be able to do. Suprisingly, my nerves didn't bother me as much as they usually do and I was able to do a better job then I usually do.  We had quite a few people comment on how much they enjoyed it and were blessed by it and we were able to glorify God which is, in my opinion, the best result we could have hoped for. The rest of the night went well and we enjoyed being with the other homeschoolers. It was a really enjoyable event. Anyway, I'd better go. I've been on here long enough. I hope you enjoy reading about the Awards Night, finally., and I shall post again soon! Your sister in Christ, Rebekah-Grace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/659515/ Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:19:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/659515/ Hi everyone,  I'm sorry I couldn't post another update any earlier. We've been quiet busy lately and I just haven't had time to sit here and post one. I have a few interesting things to say today: Firstly, tonight it ous yearly Homeschool Award's Night that is held a couple hours away from us. We are taking one of our family friends down with us as their mother is actually away visiting her mother at the moment and isn't able to take the kids. Plus, tonight I am graduating grade 10 which I am excited and nervous about at the same time. We also have a missionary family from our Church coming back from the Philippines and we will have the opportunity to meet them for the first time tonight! And to top it all off, we have been asked to specially sing our vocal quartet which I told you about in the last post, 'In Christ Alone' in front of the audience which is usually about 600 people. Tonight will be our biggest performance yet singing that song! We are a bit nervous but also honoured to have been asked. I really want to use tonight as an opportunity to witness, as not everyone there are Christians. It really is a special blessing to have been given the chance to sing this song tonight. We've already sung this song at a special Homeschool Convention, plus a couple of times at various Church events and now we've been given the opportunity to sing it again tonight.   That's about all for now. I need to go as we are getting prepared to leave. We wouldn't have to go so early except that it is being held a couple of hours away from us. We are stopping off at our grandparents' house on the way to have dinner and get changed and then we are going to go over to the site. Thanks for reading! Your sister in Christ, Rebekah-Grace   P.S. I'll tell you all how the night went in a couple of days time. (Hopefully) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/655460/ Sat, 7 Feb 2009 11:09:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/655460/ Howdy! I am quite restricted to the times that I can post, so I am afraid there will be about a week in between each new update. But I suppose that's not too bad. It gives me time to think about just exactly what I want to talk about! Firstly, I would like to share some pictures of my guinea-pigs for you all to see. (Atleast any of you that are interested anyway!) :-) The first one is a picture of my guinea-pig, Ruth, who is commonly called Rufus! That was actually my idea even though I am generally against calling a guinea-pig names other than there own name. This picture is one of my sister's guinea-pig, Hope. (I'm sure you'll all be interested to know that I helped name this little girl.) :-) I hope you all enjoy looking at these pictures!  Well, we finally started school again this week. We'd been on Christmas holidays for the past six weeks and it was about time to get into a routine again. I have always been one who very much liked routine. I have been known to go on and on about... SCHEDULES! I always feel the need to have a nice, orderly schedule to follow. (Even if, a lot of the time I don't necessarily follow it!)  Atleast I've got the right idea. :-) My schoolwork went surprisingly well this week, but that could be due to the fact that I didn't do any Algebra this week. I should be starting that this coming week. Currently I will be doing: Algebra, English, Government: Collectivism, Life of Christ, Christian Growth, and Home Economics. I really can't wait to start Home Economics, one of the reasons could be the fact that it is a Mennonite Curriculum and I've always had an interest in their ways. Each day I will also be practising, Piano, Violin and any vocal items I'm performing in Church. It keeps us pretty busy, but we enjoy it!  We have Church tomorrow, at which we are sinigng our vocal quartet, "In Christ Alone" with two other girls during the morning service.  On Sundays, I play violin at Church and Talitha (13) my sister, plays piano some weeks. The Church orchestra is composed of two organs, one piano, one flute, one clarinet, two-three violins, one cello, and one guitar. This Church has really been a blessing for us as it is the first Church we've found that allows the children in the Church to use their music, either instrumental or vocal, to worship the Lord as well as allowing the adults to do the same. We have been able to witness this way through Church events and it has helped us gain the confidence to go out and witness to others better. And it has also helped me to learn to play my violin better as it has forced me to get up there and play as best I can to serve in the Church. Our Church really has given us chances to serve. One evening, after the Evening Service, we had a Church supper that was meant to get all the kids serving the adults, but in the end only Talitha and I were there for it so it was just us two plus a couple of the adults serving the entire Church supper! Let me just say, that was a learning experience for us! :-) But in a way it was fun and was used to bring glory to God and taught us how to better serve in the Church. Anyway, I suppose I'd better stop now and post this before I take up the rest of the page! Your sister in Christ, Rebekah-Grace   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/649556/ Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:46:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/649556/ Hi, Before I do or say anything else, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Rebekah-Grace. I'm a 15 year old homeschooled, daughter of Christ. I'm about to start grade 11 work after graduating grade 10 at our Awards Night in February. I live in Australia with my family, and wonderful pet guinea-pigs and cat.  I have always had a passion for farming, and anything related to living off the land and being self-sufficient.  I'd love to meet some people who are also interested in farming and living the way God intended. I also love music, and using it worship my Lord, and Saviour. I am currently working on 6th grade piano and 5th grade theory, have been playing the tambourine for about 6 and a half years and started learning the violin last year. The violin has been an instrument I have always wanted to play and I'm so grateful that I got the chance to do that in 2008. I play violin or piano (depending on the week) at our Independent Baptist Church and also enjoy singing for His glory as well. I sing in the Church choir and like to do items for Church with other people from the Church. I was baptised through that Church on November 9th, 2008. I like to read Christian books especially books based on Amish living. I've always enjoyed reading those kinds of books, Amish or Mennonite. So far, I haven't found many people with that same interest yet but am hoping to. I am learning to sew and cook as well as cross-stitch and knit. I enjoy doing those things although at times they can be frustrating.  I'm also very interested in missions and feel God leading me to become more involved with that. Hopefully, later on this year I will get the opportunity to go on a mission trip with my Church to the Outback which I'm thrilled about. We're still entirely sure that will happen but hoping and praying! I would like to meet other Christian people who also have interests in some of the things I do, and would like to discuss those things.  That's about all I have to say about myself.  I can't wait to meet other Christians like myself! Some of my dreams for the future, if they are what God has planned for my life would be to: Get married to a wonderful, dedicated Christian young man, and live on a farm with him. I'd also really love to have 14 children or more although I'll be happy with whatever God blesses me with and I'm not at all sure that I will end up with that many kids! I want to raise a strong, dedicated, Godly Christian family and serve Him through my life, witness and ministry. Your sister in Christ, Rebekah-Grace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/645161/ Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:37:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/livingofftheland/645161/