Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

The other night, me and Abram (my 2 year old) were having a little talk about Daddy going to work and why.  I asked him, out of curiosity for what he would come up with, what his work would be when he grew up.  Guess what he said?!  He said he was going to have one of those big poles that catch fish (fishing pole).  I said, Oh so your going to be a fisherman?  And he said yeah.  And I said, So you're going to catch fish for your work?  And he said, "No, I'm gonna catch men!" 

Wow!  That blew me away.  I did not put that in his head, and I don't know where he got it from either.  I thought that was worth writing down! 

(That does not mean I'm going to eliminate all other careers from his future possibilities--I'm not one of those kind of parents.  He could be in any career and still 'fish for men'.  However, this makes me really aware, yet again, of my need to focus more attention on teaching my children the bible.  I had a dream shortly after Abram was born that I was nursing him, and that instead of milk, he was drinking the Word of God!  It was a very real dream that I take very seriously.  I don't know what God has in store for that little boy, but I know He wants me to pour the Word of God into him.)

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Just a quick warning:  This page should not be read by teens or children without the approval of their parents!!!

I fight daily with the desire and longing for a simpler life, whatever that means.  To some, it means being in the mountains of Montana, off the grid, like my dear blogfriend MontanaMama.  To some, it means having a sparsley furnished condo and decorating in black and white.  To me, however, it means a clean, orderly home, unhindered by the things we don't need. 

This dream of mine is still so far away, but I work towards it daily.  Cleaning out a box here, organizing a closet there, learning a different, healthier way of making macaroni and cheese.  Simplicity for me means more than just the house, but all that home involves.  A simpler diet, of healthy foods, a simple budget that removes debt from our lives, a simpler schedule, that frees our family to be a family.  (I loved being able to just throw the kids in the car and go eat a birthday lunch with my dad and the whole Fenter family.  Would that have happened if my calendar was stuffed to the brink?  Probably not.) 

Most times, simplicity means subtracting from our lives, to add to the fullness of it, but other times it means adding.  Adding in the bubble bath, unrushed for the kids to play in, the time to sit and enjoy reading my bible, excersize to reduce the weight that hinders (getting there, slowly).  Homeschooling itself, is a simplicity to me, even though it adds a lot of work to my life.  Abby and Abram will most likely miss out on a few really remarkable teachers or the Region choir competition, that I was able to be a part of.  But they will also, hopefully, miss out on some of the experiences I had to face while I was really too young:   I almost became the girlfriend of a gang leader (unbeknownst to my parents), was approached by real pimps asking me if I would like to make big money prostituting for them, was accused of being a lesbian, was given an application to be a stripper at a nearby place, and was told details of a homosexual relationship between one of my close friends and his boyfriend, just to name a few.  No, I was never approached about drugs or alchohol, but some of these were far worse.  I would like to spare my children of such temptations, because whether or not I would like to admit it, I was flattered to be asked about such things at that time.  I had really great parents, and yet these things I faced.  I would like a much simpler life for my children. 

I don't know if simplicity of life will ever mean for me homemade bread every day, and land to explore in, but I also don't want the possibility of a remarkable life crowded out by junk food, too many toys, too much t.v., terrible influences, and boxes full of junk I can't find a place for. 

At this time, my de-junking is mainly dietary.  I want the junk food out of my house and healthy foods to come in.  I don't know how long this will take, but I am looking forward to a healthy body and a healthy family. 

(Oh, and P.S.--My DH bought me some industrial strength garage shelves to organize the stuff I want to keep on!!!!!!!  Thank you, Josh!  What a treat!!)

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

I have started a new blog about my health and weight issues and how God is changing me.  My mom found out she is diabetic, and I need to change my habits and health while I'm young.  God has been calling me to change for a very long time, and that's what this new blog is about.  Change is going to happen, and if you want to help keep me accountable or pray for me, please comment on my new blog, www.homeschoolblogger.com/freedomcorridor .

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

"He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.  Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."  --Isaiah 40: 29-31

This was not what we wanted to hear, but everywhere I turned, every time I got quite, that's what God said to me, "Tabitha, those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength" or "Someday you will mount up with wings like eagles, but you have to wait" or some version of that.  Then the songs that came to mind, the blogs I read, the songs at church, spoke of waiting.  At first I thought it may just be a 'don't rush it' kind of thing, until we talked to the realtor.  We wouldn't have come away from the table with much for our new house. 

I told Josh about what I had been hearing on the way to church, but told him it was his decision anyway.  The first song at church was about waiting!  Okay God!  Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I am listening.  And after Josh decided to call off the moving for a while longer, a peace really came over me about our little townhome.  My home looks so clean now and I'm determined to keep it that way.  I will not be unpacking all those boxes!  Our home looks so much better without all that junk.  I might have to dig for a few needed things, but the rest of it can stay packed for awhile.

We might still be fixing up some things around here.  The back of our house needs to be redone and our floors look the worst.  I'm just going to leave all that up to Josh and help where I can.  He's thinking about laying tile downstairs--his mom has a tile saw and he knows how to do it. 

Anyway, thank you all for praying for us in this process!!  He answered.  I still believe God has a house out there for us, but it's not His timing just yet. 

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

We're probably going to have a realtor come through our house on Saturday to help us put it on the market.  I've been busting by bottom trying to get it ready for her to see, and I feel like I'm just burying myself in my own clutter.  I de-junked the garage and laundryroom pretty thouroughly, but now that I'm in more of a hurry, I'm kinda just throwing whatever into the boxes that isn't obvious trash.  I had an idea my clutter problem was this bad, but man!  It's looking better all the time, but I feel like there's just so much left to do, and I only have a couple of days before she sees it. 

I know I still have a little time after she see it to pack and stuff, but honestly, I want it almost done by then.  I think it's important that she get a really good first impression of this place so that she can sell it well.  Anyway, just be praying.  I'm busy, busy, busy right now!!

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

It's been a real mess around here, trying to de-junk and box up all the non-essentials.  I'm trying to be orderly about it, but with children dragging stuff from one room to another, it's not easy.  I've just accepted that some things will just have to wait until the new house to get in order. 

I'm keeping out the books and workbooks we are on currently, but I have been so busy I have yet to do any real teaching the past week and a half.  But I hold out hope that I will sneak a couple of weeks of school in there somewhere between houses, so I keep our books unpacked and bagged in their home. 

As for finding a house, we found one we really love, but we have to wait and see if we're preapproved and if they accept our offer, etc.  So, we would love to get it if everything works out, but it still up for grabs.  Please be praying for us!  We would really love this home if we got it.  It's the size I want--cozy one story--and has a huge yard with a fence, it's got a big driveway and get this, it backs up to a ranch where horses come up to the fence!!  Oh, I might just cry if we don't get it.  But I know that God is in control, and that if we're meant to have it, we will. 

But I am very motivated right now to get all this packing and cleaning done, so as not to miss out on the opportunity if possible.  If not, I know God will have something else that's just perfect for us. 

Another thing to be praying for us about is for our house to sell quickly.  We're not very worried about that, but it's still something to pray about.  Every townhome where we live has sold in less than 3 months of being on the market.  However, not many people are doing contingencies right now because of the economy.  And even though the house market is in our favor, that still makes it difficult to move.  We might be stuck with two house payments at the same time until ours sells, or have to bunk with someone if ours sells faster than we can get into something else.  I would hope it would work out where it was a smooth transition, so please be praying a lot for us. 

I'll be keeping you updated as we know anything knew! 

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Well, we may be moving soon!  We're not 100% that it will happen, but there's a way better chance of it now since the market is so low.  That really works to our advantage.  Most houses are extremely hard to sell right now, but not so with ours.  In these years where so many are being forclosed upon, they are looking for an inexpensive place to live--and you can't really find much lower than ours unless you want to live in a bad neighborhood.  Even making a profit on our home would put it under the normal apartment rent around here, and that's what people are looking for. 

So...project move begins.  I'm really excited about the possibility!  We've never really been in a place financially to get a house with a backyard, which is my dream.  I would love to have a backyard, where Abby and Abram could go out and play more often.  (Right now they have a great place to play, but no way for me to watch them without being out there with them.  So it's only possible to go out once during the day for a little play.)  But they would love to be outside way more often.  I would also like to have a one story house instead of two.  That would be a major plus for me. 

It's kindof made me a nervous wreck lately, though.  I don't like to put things off until the last minute, and there's lots to be done.  But then there's the chance that we won't be moving at all.  Not that the work would be totally in vain, since I would get a decluttered, spotless house out of it...but still.  I guess I just don't like the unknown!  Will we??  Won't we??  God's trying to give me peace about it.  But I'm not doing a very good job at accepting it, I guess.  I don't feel that huge worry over finances like I have in the past.  It would still make things tight for a while, but it wouldn't break our backs financially this time either. 

Please be praying for me lately.  I would truly love to finally be settled!!  I don't think I've ever felt quite settled before.  One move after another after another, always looking forward to another move.  I hate that.  I like our little townhome, I just hate this unsettledness.  I know that this is not the house that God has for our family.  But, on the other hand, I know God is preparing a home for us.  Last year God called me downstairs (on March 10, 2007) after beginning a search for a house.  I was stressed out and desperately lonely for community.  My bible literally fell open to a page in Psalms and my eyes fell upon this verse:

"God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land." --Psalm 68: 6

I knew that this was God's word to me.  At that time I believed that it was a word for that time, but then it would have led us into huge financial stress, and it wasn't the right timing.  I know God is preparing a home for our family, somewhere we can settle in and minister through our home.  But is that time now?  Is there a house out on the market for us right now?  or is it still a ways off?  I'm not sure, but I hope for it to be soon.  I want Abby and Abram to have a place to look back to as being there home and to come back to for Thanksgiving and visits with the grandkids.  I believe that this is the plan God has for me.  I have been unsettled far too long, and I believe God's preparing a Settlement for me!