Posted in Bible study/prayer journal

This is from Lysa Terkeurst's book What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.

   Lysa says....

When God is speaking to me about a particular issue, I cannot escape it.  Around every corner there is a sermon or Bible study lesson or speaker's topic or conversation with a friend that is consistent with what I've been hearing from God in my time alone with Him.

 Think about having a conversation with another person.  You both speak and you both listen.  The same is true with our conversations with the Lord when we're one-on-one with Him.  We shouldn't be doing all the talking.  God wants us to pour out our hearts to Him, and then He wants to respond to us.  Jesus shared this parable:

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  (John 10:3-4)

 Now let's read this verse with some clarifying remarks added in:

The watchman [Jesus] opens the gate [a way for us to have direct communication with God] for him, and the sheep [you and I] listen to his voice.  He [God] calls his own sheep by name [He speaks to us personally] and leads them out [providing us with direction].  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice [they know his voice because they have spent time with him].  John 10:3-4

 Jesus is the one who provides a way for us to be able to talk with God and hear from God.  God calls us by name.  He wants to have a personal connection with each of us.  Think about when you call someone's name.  You know that person.  You are calling on them so the two of you can connect in some way.  This verse is telling us that the way God wants to connect with us is to provide direction for us in life.  He has gone before us and sees the dangers and trials we will face.  He is telling us the way to go, the perspectives to keep, the things to avoid, and the things to hold fast to.  Most of all He is speaking to us because we are His own and He wants a relationship with us.  He loves us, adores us, treasures us, and has a good plan for us.  He longs for us to know His voice and listen to His voice.  The only way to know and trust God in this way is to spend time with Him.

 When we invest in spending time alone with God, He will speak to us, and what we hear from Him in these quiet times will be echoed in other places.  Listen for God's voice and then look for the message to be confirmed.

 Is God speaking to you?  Are you listening?

Posted in Bible study/prayer journal

I have recently begun to pray earnestly and study God’s word concerning my purpose.  It’s an age-old question: 

“Why am I here?” 

“What is my purpose in life?”

 I know why God created humans.  We are here to glorify God.  That is the plain and simple answer.  But now I want to go beyond plain and simple.  What does that mean “to glorify God.”?

How do I put that into practice?

Here is the verse God has shown me today. 

(I really like www.Biblegateway.com for looking up verses and topics)

Romans 12:5-7 (New King James Version)

New King James Version (NKJV)

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

There are many Christians in our world, or our state, city, church.  And God has a plan, a JOB for each and every one of us.  He gave us gifts to be better able to do these jobs.  I’m not talking about a new car, or a nice home.  Those may be nice.  And those are gifts from God.  But I am speaking of skill, or talents, also known as spiritual gifts.  God has equipped you and me with specific spiritual gifts to be able to do the job He wants us to do.

Finding out spiritual gifts will help us to find out specifically what He wants us to be doing.

Do you know your spiritual gifts? Have you prayed and asked God to show you? Let’s pray together.

Dear God,

I know you have fearfully and wonderfully made me.  I praise You alone for Your greatness.  I pray that You will open my eyes and my heart Lord.

Show me the gifts you have equipped me with. Show me where you want me to work for You. Lord, Show me my purpose.

Amen

Posted in Bible study/prayer journal

During my recent bible study,  Calm My Anxious Heart    by Linda Dillow, she asked us to work on our life purpose statements.  Here is what I came up with.

I am resolved to:

1.  constantly and consistently be in the Word to increase in wisdom and walk closer to the Lord.    A few years ago I started praying for wisdom. I thank God He has shown me the only way towards that is through His Word and prayer.

2. to be the wife Shawn wants me to be.  To be a helpmeet to him that he can brag about.

3. to train my children to walk with the Lord.  To be consistent in my discipline.  To treat them with the same love and respect at home that I do in front of others.

4. to make my house a home that Shawn can come home to.  To keep my home ( and my attitude) in a state that people feel comfortable stopping by without notice.   To create a ‘safe haven’  for ‘weary travelers’ whether they need a cup of hot coffee and a ear…..or bed to rest in.

5.  to encourage other parents that they are capable of homeschooling if God leads them there.  To encourage Christian parents to think outside the box, and seriously pray about the decisions they are making concerning their children.  To be an example to parents that think they can’t homeschool b/c they aren’t organized enough, or don’t have enough time, or don’t have enough education, or don’t want to spend that much time with their children, or think that they HAVE to work outside the home to make ends meet, ….or whatever other excuse they are using. 

Posted in Bible study/prayer journal

It has been a very long time since I have posted.  I have missed it here.  I have missed "talking" with all my friends at homeschool blogger.  I had considered simply starting a whole new blog.  Sometimes "new" can motivate me to do more.  But I will stay here to rekindle old friendships.  I like it here, and I need to work on my follow-through!

Let me update you a little.

We no longer have any extra students at our school, but we do have an extra sister!  My 21 year old step daughter has moved in with us.   The littles absolutely adore her.  They are having a great time with her here.

We are within a few days of completing our 180 required days of school. But we will keep working on Math and a few other things over the Summer.

I am already planning on next years stuff.  I just LOVE finding new things.  I think that is my favorite hobby...researching new curriculum.  As soon as I get it figured out I will post it here.

Glad to be back. Hope to visit all your blogs soon!

Homeschool Estore.com is having a contest.  Go here for more information. 

With all that said, Here we go…… I figured with my contest, we can all get to know each other a little better. At least on the homeschooling front.

1. How many children do you have / homeschool?  I have 3 children ages 9, 6.5, and 5.  They all are home educated.
2. How long have you been homeschooling? This is our 5th year.
3. Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school? We have homeschooled from the beginning.  Well, actually since the summer before my oldest child was scheduled to enter public Kindergarten.
4. Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation? God willing we will homeschool through graduation.
5. Do you belong to a co-op? We do not currently belong to a co-op.  but we have in the past, and probably will sometime in the future.  It just did not fit our schedule this year.
6. Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule? I count days starting Aug 1st, and keep track until we get to our required 180 days.  But I believe learning happens ALL the time!
7. Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials? We use lots of different materials, including but never limited to: workbooks, library books, computer games, online information, board games, flash cards, family discussions, and seeking out people who know things we don't.  I consider us relaxed ecclectic.
8. Are field trips included in your school plans, or are they just family time? I "count" field trips as learning time, but I am not organized enough to plan ahead to incorporate fields trips!  Usually if a field trip opportuntiy comes up...I switch our learning time to match it.
9. Do you and your kids do crafty stuff together for school time? My kids LOVE crafty stuff!! too bad for them I am craft handicapped!
10. Would you consider everyday household life stuff ‘home ec’? Yes.  Everyday life stuff is one of the MOST important things my kids need to learn about.
11. Do you have any advice for new homeschoolers? Relax.  Don't compare your child to anyone else.  don't try to match what school looks like in your house to anyone else.  Just do what works for your family
12. Do you have advice for homeschoolers with little ones under foot? Relax, and enjoy every moment.  Taking care of little ones IS educational.

My kids love to play outside.  I am so thankful for the beautiful weather we have had so they can get out and run and jump and play.

And I love the technology to take pictures and almost immediately be able to show them to friends and family.

I had such plans to write a truly moving and inspirational post.  But by the time I am able to sit down here and write it, I have forgotten it.  We'll call that SAHM brain damage.  hehehe

well..just so you don't wonder why in the world you even clicked on my blog..here are some pictures.

here is Kayla (in red) with our extra student.

Here's my Jake..isn't he adorable?

How does he manage to look so angelic in pictures yet .....

and one of our new kitties.

have a great day!! I'm gonna go visit some of your blogs now!

My youngest son is such fun.  I believe that he is on the autism spectrum, but I do not have an official diagnosis.  But that is a post for another day.

He is definitely entertaining.  He knows some sign language.  And he makes up his own signs.  He also knows a little Spanish.  More than I know.  And one of the things we do for fun around here is pick a word  (like Hello)  and then look up how it say it in lots of different languages.

Then of course…he has his own language.  He just makes it up.  I haven’t decided if he makes it up as he goes…or if he remembers it from day to day and is saying the same things.

So there are times when he is playing or trying to tell us something that he will use an amazing combination of all of these.  Three or four signs mixed with Spanish and English and then Jarek language thrown in for color. It is quite interesting to say the least.

There are so many times that I must make him repeat himself about a million times, and then have his big brother translate for me.  It can get frustrating for him to say the least.   I am not certain that he realizes that he is doing it.  And I must remind him that I don’t speak Jarek language….so he needs to talk in English.

Well I had an epiphany today.  (amazing I know...hey...I'm still learning, too!)  A lot of my frustration comes from telling Jarek the same thing over and over and over again, and then of course he still does the opposite of what I tell him.

So maybe…just maybe…when I tell him something in Mom language…his brain is trying to translate into Jarek language, or sign or Spanish, or some combination of the above.

And maybe…it somehow gets lost in the translation.  Sometimes it seems like he is purposefully disobeying me.  It seems like he is defying me just for spite.

But maybe….he just really can’t understand what I am telling him to do.

So my prayer is that God will give me the patience and understanding to learn to speak Jarek language.

Posted in Bible study/prayer journal

I just completed a great women's bible study.  Here is a part of it that moved me the most.  It 'stepped on my toes."  God is talking to me.

It wasn't too long ago that I posted about being worried.  Shame on me. 

Because God is so good to us. He loves us more than we can even imagine - and He wants to bless us.  Here are just a few of the things I am thankful for right now.

1. a new vehicle.  well...new to us anyway!

2. Kayla is taking horse riding lessons.

and she is enjoying it so very much!

3. visiting friends with lots of beautiful land!

This year we have opened our homeschool to non-related students.   Here in the state of Indiana our home is, by law, a private school.  So we have opened enrollment.  So far we have added one extra student.

I think this is a great idea to be able to help parents who want their kids to have the benefits of homeschooling, but who do not feel they can accomplish this on their own.

Our curriculum this year is as follows:

Math, reading, and LA are all Christian Light Education.  I simply can not say enough good things about this curriculum.  I absolutely love it.  The math is especially well liked in our school.   It is a spiral approach - which means there are lots of opportunities to review previously learned skills.  It does not have the boring qualities of some other math curr. - I'm sorry - I do not want to say anything negative.  I just know that with some math programs the number of problems done in one sitting is just way too .......boring....for my crew.  This curriculum is "meaty" and from what I have read - a little ahead of others grade wise.

For science we are doing Exploring Creation through Astronomy by Jeanie Fulbright.  this is a neat program.  It is VERY Christian centered.  And I especially like that all my students - from 7th grade to preschool - can do science together.  I read the lesson to them all - then use the suggested activites to give each student an assignment according to their ability.

For history we are using the Mystery of History.   This is set up similiarly to our science.  I read to them - then assign different activites to each student according to ability.  This curriculum has all the activities laid out for you...for younger, middle and older students.

We are also doing some creative writing with Igniting your Writing by Sandy Larsen.  I met her at a conference.  She is super nice - and even autographed the Jackpoint Pine  Adventure books for my daughter.  We like this creative writing program.  It is also set up to include 3 different levels of students. 

I know I have not been blogging regularly.  But this is something soooo worth it!!!

Finally - toys we can, as Christian parents, suppport 100%!  This is an awesome idea, and I want to support this company.

Tales for Glory as created some Bible based toys.  I had planned on these for Christmas presents = but then this contest came along.  this is a WONDERFUL contest!!

The Battle for the Toy Box Contest!
I entered the Battle for the Toy Box Contest
on the HSB Company Porch.  I hope to win
over $100 worth of, Tales of Glory, Bible-based toys
from one2believe!!

It has been so very long since I have been on here - I can't remember how to do everything.  So I am gonna experiment with this blog a minute.  Bear with me please.

 a friend asked me how to put pictures on my blog - i had to actually do it - to be able to tell her.

This is a picture of my kids climbing the walls.  People think I am kidding when I tell them my kids do this - so here's proof!

this is my little man hanginig out upside down.  he is standing on his head with his feet on the bottom of the piano.   He likes to spin and twirl and be upside down.  He has so much energy - i know God has something very special planned for his life.

 the handsome dude upfront is my red haired blued eyed angel boy.  He is so sweet and caring - and always trying to take care of mom.

My beautiful daughter on the right - and one of her best friends on the left.  they share the same first name - and love it!

I am very overweight.   And I usually don’t tell anyone when I am trying to lose weight – b/c I don’t want to deal with the failure.  If nobody knows I am trying – nobody can ask me how it is going – and I don’t have to feel guilty because I am not doing well.

I have always been overweight.  I remember being about 7 years old – and my grandmother patted me on the leg and said “yup – you’re gonna have fat thighs just like me and your momma.”

Wow – I was doomed from them on! 

I have 3 kids – that also added to my weight.

But – those things are NOT the reason I am fat.

I am an ex-smoker.  I tried quitting many times – and every time I quit – I gained weight.

I am now truly an EX smoker – but what I kept was the need to put something in my mouth.

As a smoker – I would schedule my days around cigarette breaks.  Do something – take a break and smoke.  Accomplish something else – take a break and smoke.  Eat dinner, take a break and smoke.

After quitting – I replaced those pack-a-day smoke breaks with food breaks.  And weigh more now than I did when I was 9 ½ months pregnant.

Since I usually don’t talk to anyone about my weight – I am struggling with posting on the WORLD WIDE WEB my weight – or my goals.  But I guess if I am going to take this seriously – and need someone to hold me accountable – I need to post actual numbers.  So here goes:

I am 5’2” and weigh 205 lbs.  I need to lose 70 pounds.

I truly believe the only way this is going to work – is the exact same way I finally quit smoking. 

Prayer. 

Only with God’s help did I escape that horrible habit – and only with God’s help will I regain my health. 

A comment from pumkinsmomma  reminded me that I have not updated eveyone on my daughter's auditions.

Kayla did a great job, making me very proud - especially since she usually will not get up in front of people.  she has been awarded the part of 'passenger kid #5' and 'shepard #1".

She has about 10 lines - and sings with all the casts, and one song with only 3 other kids.

We are truly enjoying this experience so far.  The group is called Smorgasboard Studios, and is directed by a 16 year old young man.  He gave a speech the other day that moved me to tears about making sure that everything we do - as a theater group and as individuals, honors God.  As I sat and listened to him talk - it made me so very glad we decided to embark on this adventure.  Before we started it seemed fightening, and intimidating.  I realize it was simply the fear of the unknown - we knew NONE of the people participating - we have very little experience in acting or theater (does 20 years ago when I was in high school count?).

But only 2 weeks into it - and I am thanking God He directed us towards this wonderful group of people.  I just know in my heart we have the beginnings of lifetime friendships brewing.

And we are having a blast!!

  We are so very blessed here in Southern Indiana. My family was able to attend a re-enactment of the Battle of Normandy right here in our town.  Before going we talked to the kids about war, soldiers, and the things we might see.   It was amazing - and a wonderful learning experience for all of us.  We got to see up close an Allied and Nazi camp – uniforms, weapons, packs, and vehicles.  We were able to talk to the volunteers – most of them veterans – and ask questions.

Even after preparing all of us for what we might see - I cried like a baby during the reenactment.  It was loud and confusing – and I thought about what it must have been like to be in the middle of the REAL battle.   I cried for all the men and women who have sacrificed so much for my freedom.   I cried thinking about my grandfather fighting in World War II.  I cried thinking about my uncles in Vietnam.  I cried thinking about my husband and brother both in the first Gulf War.  And I especially cried wondering what kind of war my sons might have to fight in. 

Everyone should understand - our Freedom is NOT free. 

I thank God for all the soldiers who volunteer and risk everything – to make sure I can be safe and sound here in my home in the best country in the world.

Thank you All.

my kids in front of the LST (ignore date on pic)

an allied soldiers pack