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Hi all, I've been happily blogging at: hiddenart.wordpress.com Come on over for a visit.
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I've been tagged by Titus2woman. Check out her beautiful new blog on wordpress. A. Available or Single? B- Best Friend. C- Cake or Pie. D- Drink of Choice. E- Essential Item. F- Favorite Color. G- Gummi Bears or Worms. H- Hometown. I- Indulgence. J- January or February. K- Kids. L- Life is incomplete without… M- Marriage Date. N- Number of Siblings? O- Oranges or Apples? P- Phobias/Fears. Q- Favorite Quote. R- Reasons to smile. S- Season(ing). T- Tag Three. U- Unknown Fact About Me. V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals. W- Worst Habit. Y- Your Favorite Foods. Z- Zodiac. |
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My good friend tagged me, so here are 7 random things about myself. Enjoy! 1. I seem to gravitate to the color orange. My high school colors were orange and black. The room I am sitting in now is orange. The shirt I am wearing now is orange. My purse/backpack is orange. My shoes are sienna, a lovely earthy orange. 2. Green is also a theme in my life. My kitchen where I spend so much of my time is green. My pants are olive green. My sandals are bright green. Okay, my earrings are orange and green. 3. Color means a great deal to me. It inspires me. It can bring me down. I often make purchase choices when both are good products based on the color and styling of the label. 4. I am and always have been for the underdog. I've always had an underlying thought, "If I don't love them, who will." 5. I've always felt like I've never really fit in. I rejoiced when I learned from the Bible that we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. This gave me hope and peace. There is a place that I fit perfectly. I will be home one day. 6. Teasing really hurts my feelings. Am I overly sensitive, or do I see the underlying truth behind the tease? 7. I have never looked forward to chatting on the phone, or making phone calls, except when talking to my mother. I love to sit face-to-face over a cup of coffee with a friend. Perhaps it is because my attention is held visually and I get distracted with what is in front of me while talking on the phone. Perhaps it is because I cannot see the facial expression to see how a person really feels. I revert to email rather than phone calls, unless it's my mother. I'm not going to tag anyone else. I am going into dormancy. |
This quote from this post is a gross across-the-border judgment about women who have been victims of prostitution. These are individuals, not a mass group of unreformable, valueless nothings. Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. Senate Bill 724 is not about reformation. It is about allowing an individual with a past record and a reformed life to be free from job discrimination. “The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission may not issue a teaching, personnel service or administrative license [shall be issued] to any person until the person has attained the age of 18 years and has furnished satisfactory evidence of proper educational training. (2) The [Teacher Standards and Practices] commission may also require an applicant for a teaching, personnel service or administrative license to furnish evidence satisfactory to the commission of good moral character, mental and physical health, and such other evidence as it may deem necessary to establish the applicant¢s fitness to serve as a teacher. A school district may employ or contract with a person who has been convicted of a crime under ORS 167.007, convicted of an attempt to commit a crime under ORS 167.007 or convicted in another jurisdiction of a crime that is substantially equivalent, as defined by commission rule, to a crime under ORS 167.007 if the school district determines that the person is fit to be employed by or to contract with the school district.”
Some of my dearest friends are what you at TOS call “ex-prostitutes.” That’s like calling me an ex-accountant, or an ex-bar-fly. I am actually a teacher now. |
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I am trying out WordPress in the blogger world. Check out my new blog: http://hiddenart.wordpress.com/ |
Posted in Balance
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Yes, I have touched on this topic several times since I've started blogging. It has been a struggle of mine. I desperately needed help in the motivation department. Feeling rotten and lacking energy just wasn't motivation enough. We joined the YMCA a three weeks ago. Since then, I am actually getting regular exercise. I have found that I am motivated by taking classes. The family has the option of taking the classes with me, or of working out in the machine area, or swimming, or playing basketball. We've all had a great deal of fun with this, and I am feeling good again. Now my goal is to get those aging, flabby muscles of mine back in shape. This time spent exercising has been good for the whole family, but there is always a catch. I haven't had time to blog. Life is give and take, isn't it? Until we get our schedule figured out and it becomes routine, I fear I will not be spending much time here in blogland. I miss it already, and look forward to my moments posting and commenting. First and formost are my responsibilities as wife, mother, and teacher. Then I get to blog. |
Posted in Book Reviews
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One of my favorite books of all time is The Hidden Art of Homemaking: Creative Ideas for Enriching Everyday Life by Edith Schaeffer. Edith says:
Contents: This is not a quick read. I found each chapter to be so full of meat that it took some time to finish the book. But it has intrigued me so that I have read it again and again. Since first picking this book up seven years ago, God has been developing me creatively. He is making me aware of ways to make life more alive and fulfilling in the everyday. He has used His expression of creativity in Edith to affect and change my life. I entertained for a short time the idea of starting another blog just about this topic, Hidden Art. Reality has since knocked on my door as I realized that I struggle with one blog most times. Two would be too much. So I am going to add a new category called Hidden Art. I'll be sharing thoughts from this book and from my life on how to incorporate Hidden Art into our daily lives, how to express ourselves creatively in the everyday. Let the posts begin...next week. This weekend my parents will be visiting! |
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Yesterday I did something so strangely familiar. I cleaned the laundry area. Seems this has all happened before. Surely I wouldn't allow my laundry shelves to get so cluttered again, would I? And I never did post pictures of my storeroom. Scary. Sunday is my day of rest. I don't have a schedule. The day flows. The only thing I'm sure to do is go to church, because I want to. Yesterday, I also wanted to attack the clutter in my storeroom and the laundry area. Cleaning this was not work to me. It was so spirit-lifting. Clutter and disorganization can be debilitating. This clutter built up over time. At some point it became a burden which I was reminded of each time I did laundry or tried to put something away in my storeroom. Anyway, this time I took the organization of these areas to a higher level. I am hopeful that it will be so easy to put things away, that I will never entertain the idea of just setting them down. For those of you struggling with clutter, check out Amy's blog. She has created this blog specifically for the purpose of conquering the clutter giant. Although she is not actively posting at this time, she has The Colossal Clutter Cleanup challenge and beautiful organizer available for FREE on her side bar. Check it out. Work through her assignments. You, too, can conquer clutter! |
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Check out this new blog. There is some beautiful worship going on there. |
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We visited Yolanda at the county jail today. She has gained weight and looks healthy, even after her goiter surgery. Better than her health was her attitude. She let many tears flow as she talked of her mistakes and her future. She so desperately wants to make the right choices, especially when she is released. She has the sense that if she fails again, she will have no more chances. This next week she goes to a year-long drug recovery program through the penal system. This is her choice. She could be released from jail in about 5 months, but she has the desire to be made well, to be healed. Although she is not excited about attending group sessions from 7am to 9pm each day, she desires to overcome her addiction even more. Even more exciting than her desire for recovery is the truth that she is drawing closer to God. She is beginning to pray in preparation for things, rather than as an afterthought. She is turning to God to help her make right choices. She is even beginning to feel compassion for many of the other women in her cell block that have committed heinous crimes. When she first arrived, knowing what these women had done really bothered her. Her heart is melting. My son was along on the visit. He and my daughter flipped a coin to see who got to go. Only two visitors were allowed. When we pulled in the garage after the visit, he made a perfectly true statement that is profound for a 10 year old. “It doesn’t matter how you are raised or what your childhood was like. It all comes down to the choices you make, doesn’t it?” |
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Tonight our homeschool group will be discussing the planning for the next school year. Here are some of the questions that we'll discuss: What do you do to plan out your school year? How far in advance do you start your planning? How do you determine if changes need to be made to your curriculum to fit your children's individual needs? What qualities do you look for when curriculum or book shopping? Do you plan the weeks of the year you will "do" school, or do you just let the school year flow? Do you find encouragement or gain new ideas at homeschool conventions? Do you shop predominately at conventions, used book sales, online, or locally in stores? Please share your own thoughts and ideas, and if you have any other great questions to add, I would love to hear them. |
Posted in Balance
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For some time, our family struggled with diligence. I take responsibility for this sin. I am a poor teacher on diligence in many areas. My attention span and memory are both short, so my ability to get side-tracked is limitless. But over the years I have improved due to God's training and correction in my life. There is great reward in diligence, the biggest one for me being Less Stress. My difficulty was in teaching diligence to my children. One of my greatest struggles with homeschooling has always been keeping my children on task and holding them responsible for their lack of diligence. We struggled for years with messy rooms, undone school work, uncompleted chores, because I lack the follow through to see that they were doing their work. As I came to see my sinfulness in this area, we as a family would address it and discuss ways to change. Slowly we have made progress. This school year, my daughter has really struggled with getting her schoolwork done on a timely basis. She was always getting behind. My husband and I timed her work, made schedules for her, kept at her to do the next task, but it was torturous for all of us. She lacked motivation. We were not the motivation she needed. And when she did complete the schoolwork assigned, her chores would be left undone. Then something inside her seemed to click. She says she doesn't know what it was that motivated her to get her responsibilities done, but she did it, once, on a timely basis. And since then, she has done so well. I think she realized that having all that stuff done released a load of stress and allowed for free time that she enjoyed. She still doesn't know why she started being diligent, but I am so relieved that she did. I am less frustrated with her. And she has the free time to explore different directions she didn't have time for before. She has started a mosaic project, helped with gardening while it was warm, worked on editing projects to earn $$$, practiced her soccer techniques, all without the guilt of knowing her work wasn't done. The house has been cleaner, her room has been neater, and her attitude refreshing and motivating. Diligence provides freedom. Through diligence we are able to attain that time of rest that we all need. Personally, my goal is to be very careful not to add too much to my schedule so that I am able to complete my work. Then if I don't get it done, I know it is because I have allowed myself to get distracted. Prayer is a big part of diligence. If I allow God to lead all my activities and responsibilities, then I know that I will be able to accomplish them. He will not give me more than I am able to do unless His plan is for someone else to pick up where I left off. If I pray about each thing that is set before me and listen carefully, He will guide me each step of the way. God has been leading me in some new directions lately. He has been calling me to lead some Bible studies with a couple different groups. I am stepping into this prayerfully. From my perspective it will be too much, but I must stand on the knowledge that if it is His will, I will be able to accomplish it. I thank God for the beautiful picture of diligence that He gave me through my daughter. My prayer for her is that she reaps the rewards of diligence and these rewards keep her diligent. And that she is chastised for times when her diligence slips. Her diligence has given me the affirmation that I must remain diligent. I must abide. So although she doesn’t know why she changed, I believe God was using her as a picture to help me grow. God does things like that all the time. Thank you, Lord. |
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My son wrote another great song. My daughter is playing backup guitar and singing an echo of the song along with him. It sounds beautiful. I will have to record them and have that on my blog as well. The tune is just a good as the lyrics. I am in awe at how a boy can worship so fully and teach a grown up so much. God always amazes me in the way He teaches me. Chorus G C D C G C D C D C I want you Lord I need you God (repeat) G C D C G C D C Even, when I’m, afraid, you still hear me G C D C G C D C I am, not, worthy, of your presence, but you're still near me. Chorus G C D C G C D G Even, though I’m, Not, worthy of you, I’m still near you G C D C G C D C I know, that though, I am, your creation, I still hear you Chorus G C D C G C D C And when will you come, to take me? Repeat x 4 Chorus Chorus Chorus |
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My son has been busy working on projects. Molecule display board:
Close up of a molecule:
Solar system (did you know the solar system could fit in a shoe box?):
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I am done, DONE, with our taxes. I just sealed the last envelope. It is time to celebrate. My husband, boss-man, has even offered to take me, his accountant, out to dinner to celebrate. I whole-heartedly accepted, especially since I haven't gotten our grocery shopping done. I was preparing our taxes instead. (I'd rather grocery shop.) I love being self-employed. My husband especially loves being self-employed. For those of you that have read Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl, my man is Mr. Visionary himself. Our life is full of adventures. There was a time when I dreamed of having a "normal" schedule so we could actually make "normal" plans. My husband actually worked a "normal" job in his line of work for awhile. It didn't take too long before the life was drained from him. His creativity had no outlet. Yep, self-employed is the life for us. I've learned it is much more fun to ride the roller coaster hand in hand than to stand and watch, waiting for him to get off the ride. Plus, when I was a professional career woman way back when, my boss didn't take me to dinner when I tackled a project. (That would have been kinda weird anyway.) Did I mention, I'm done with our taxes?!?! |
