As you can see...

self and I have done nothing with this blog. But we have not given up. Still holding out for hope (and time) to share with you. I would welcome your prayers for me and my family. God Bless.

Soon to be 2011

Self, what shall I do with this blog...so much time has passed. Time to think about it, so many things have changed and so much to share.

It's that time again...

Enoch's Annual Homeschool Convention. Time to start planning and start re-evaluating.

Reading Together

There is a Book Study beginning this week at Passionate Homemaking. They will be reading the book Practical Hospitality: The Joy of Serving Others by Pat Ennis & Lisa Tatlock. I've decided that I'm going to read this book along with them. I'll explain a bit more later. But you can go here to check out how it's going to work.





Also Tim Challies over at Challies Dot Com is just ending his current "Reading the Classics Together" and he'll be starting a new book in a couple of weeks or so. Keep a look out for his next read. It is wonderful to read and discuss what we read with each other. It helps us learn, mature and grow.

2009 - A New Beginning.... New Mercies

“Remember as you’re cleaning—as you’re iron­ing, as you’re sewing, as you’re pick­ing up, as you’re paint­ing, as you’re beau­ti­fy­ing your home, as you’re doing things to make your home attrac­tive, remem­ber that you’re paint­ing a pic­ture for your children—a pic­ture of God.

You’re demon­strat­ing to your chil­dren in ways that pen­e­trate deep into their hearts, the heart of God, the ways of God, and you’re increas­ing the like­li­hood that your chil­dren will grow up to love that God and to want to be like Him.

You’re demon­strat­ing para­bles of spir­i­tual life to your chil­dren as you work with your hands, as you serve in your home. When you pre­pare food for your family, you’re demon­strat­ing to them that God is a faith­ful provider.

When you’re being qual­ity con­scious in the things that you pur­chase, you’re show­ing your chil­dren the excel­lence of the char­ac­ter of God.

As you are orderly, you are teach­ing your chil­dren that God is a God of order.

When you clean things up in your home, when you keep a clean home, you’re show­ing your chil­dren the impor­tance of purity, holi­ness of heart, of being clean and washed before God.

When you’re dis­ci­plined in your life and habits and sched­ule and the time you get up and the time you go to bed accord­ing to the way that God has directed your family, you’re teach­ing your chil­dren that the Chris­t­ian life requires dis­ci­pline. You are teach­ing them that you can’t just stay in bed and become spir­i­tual. It requires effort and coop­er­a­tion with God’s Spirit to develop godly habits, pat­terns, and sanc­ti­fi­ca­tion in our lives.

When you reach out your hands…to the poor and the needy and you’re min­is­ter­ing to the needs of others, you’re show­ing your chil­dren the heart of God for those who are poor and needy and oppressed.

There is indeed no mun­dane task! Every task assigned to you is spir­i­tual and paints a pic­ture of God!”

This is something that I read on a blog called Passionate Homemaking, (I have discovered this blog very recently). It orginally came from the program Revive Our Hearts. What wonderful gems for us to hold onto and remember.

What did my handbag say about me?

You tend to be relaxed throughout the day. You are naturally at peace. You are a high maintenance person. You feel lost outside of your normal environment. You are open and comfortable with who you are. You don't hide anything. You are a very creative person. Your life tends to be a whirlwind, but you always seem to pull it together.

What Does Your Handbag Say About You?

I just took this quiz...well what do you think... was it right? Why don't you try?

Getting Organized Tips

Maria Garcia at Get Organized Now, has a Getting Organized Checklist for the Month of October. Here are two more tips from her Checklist..

• Now is a good time for a seasonal closet overhaul to keep your closets in order. Go through all your closets and remove clutter. Make sure all seasonal clothing gets properly stored away. (I usually put this off as long as I can; this morning I was in the basement searching for a pair of gloves because it was chilly out. Time to get out the winter gear)

• Check the seals and weather stripping around doors and windows to prevent drafts and bugs from getting into your home. (My husband come home at lunchtime and opened the screen door; as the door closed behind him the weather strip was left where the door once stood. Hmm... not supose to happen. I know what we will be doing on Saturday)
  

UPDATE: The Gift of Friendship

If you read the post on the Gift of Friendship, you might be interested in the post at Keeper of the Home's blog. Stephanie had a similar question asked of her and she gave some very practical and very helpful tips for dealing with this dilemma. I am very grateful to have found this blog post. I must admit, talking about this to my husband and some of you has helped a great deal. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.
Take a look at Stephanie's Blog, I'm sure you'll be encouraged by it. Enjoy.

The Little Engine that Could

This is E's version of "The Little Engine that Could." I love it when kids use there imagination, don't you.

We were in our PJ's most of the day, but we still got a lot done. We are using Before Five in A Row as part of our Homeschool Curriculum. It involves reading a book every day for a week and using that book to teach a new lesson each day. I'm also using the Ambleside Year 0 reading list as my read-a-louds. There's a lot of reading going on in this house. We've read "The Little Engine that Could" at least 8 times in the past 2 months and each time we do there is something new to discover and talk about. How cool is that.

There is a lot more involved in the Before Five in Row Ciriculum and The Ambleside reading list that I just didn't get to say. So stop by those websites and check them out for yourselves. Maybe sometime soon I will be able to share how our cirriculum is working out for us. This is our first year ya know.

Hymn of the Month

This is our hymn for the month of October. E and I sing it every morning before school. Most days we are singing it throughout the day as well. We try to learn a new hymn/song each month, even if we don't learn the whole thing. It's been a blessing to do this with my daughter. She loves music and so do I. This is a Sovereign Grace song written by Bob Kauflin. You can listen to a part of it here. Enjoy.

Grace unmeasured, vast and free
That knew me from eternity
That called me out before my birth
To bring you glory on this earth
Grace amazing, pure and deep
That saw me in my misery
That took my curse and owned my blame
So I could bear your righteous name

Grace, grace, grace, paid for my sins
And brought me to life
Grace, grace, grace, clothes me with power
To do what is right
Grace, grace, grace will lead me to heav'n
Where I'll see your face
And never cease to thank you for your grace

Grace abounding, strong and true
That makes me long to be like you
That turns me from my selfish pride
To love the cross on which you died
Grace unending all my days
You give me strength to run this race
And when my years on earth are through
The praise will all belong to you

Fall Lesson - Mushrooms

E. and I went outside in the backyard to investigate the mushrooms that were growing in our yard and in the neighbors. We found a book at our local Barnes and Nobel called Fall by Nuria Roca and used it as our guide to mushroom facts and also to compare some of the leaves that had fallen off the trees. It was a great lesson in nature and what happens when Summer ends and Fall begins. I love outside lessons.


We saw 2 different mushrooms; they may be the same type but E. pointed out that they looked very different.

We dug them up, touched them to see how they felt and ended by reading about the different types of mushrooms in our book. It was a great day for mushroom hunting.

The Gift of Friendships

Alpha and Omega Publications has a daily devotional that I get in my email everyday. This one really hit me, and I included it below.

I am new to homeschooling; my daughter just turned 4 and this year was suppose to start out slow allowing us to get comfortable with a new schedule and new ways of doing things. But my personality can lead me into trouble. Being frustrated when everyday things get in the way of MY SCHEDULE. The thing that sends me into the abyss is the telephone. When I hear my phone ring I feel obligated to answer it. But my phone rings all day, sometimes it's my friends or family, but most times its just telemarketers and such. When I am in the middle of something and the phone rings I am sent over the edge; do I answer it, do I ignore it, who is it, is it important... ugh... I know this sounds crazy, but it's true. That's what goes through my mind. I tend to go to the extreme of not talking to anyone for weeks or talking to everyone and sending my daughter off to play and getting nothing done. How can I find the balance? I am so blessed by the friends God has given me. If you've known me for any length of time you know how difficult it is for me to make friends; and at the age of 46 God has give me a great group of friends and family and a wonderful husband and children. I want them to know how important they are to me and I pray that I can bless them as much as they bless me. Again I ask... how do I find the balance...anyone else out there like me,....anybody... anybody....

"Have you ever watched young girls interact? They can be the best of friends one moment and dire enemies the next. Because of petty differences and easily hurt feelings, young girls are notorious for having a new "best friend" each week. My homeschooled daughter found it difficult to keep up with these fluctuations in her friends. What she wanted most was an "Anne of Green Gables" kindred spirit in whom she could confide (Philippians 2:20). The Bible gives us a great example of true friendship — Jonathan and David. Willing to lay down their lives for each other, they displayed a standard for us to follow. The example of their loyal friendship shows what is needed to be a friend and keep a friend. "And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, inasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever" (1 Samuel 20:42a). Are you faithful to your friends? Do you work at making and keeping relationships alive, even during your busy homeschooling days? Don't forsake the treasure of a true friend! Schedule time into your homeschool day this week to bless the friends God has so graciously given you. Remember, too, to schedule time for your best friend, the One who sticketh closer than a brother — Jesus! "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24)."

I pray this prayer along with the many others that are thankful for the mercies of our Lord... "Jesus, thank You for all the wonderful people You have brought into my life. Help me to treat each one as a special gift from You. Thank You for being my "best friend" and giving me the Holy Spirit to remember all You have said. In Jesus name, Amen."

Getting Organized Tips

Maria Garcia at Get Organized Now, has a Getting Organized Checklist for the Month of October. Here are two that caught my attention, one is just plain fun and the other is both practical and smart.

• This Friday or Saturday take in the excitement of a High School Football game. (I have to say I really miss going to my sons football games... weird huh...GO KNIGHTS!!!)

• Clean out your gutters and downspouts (Where we live the weather is going to be unseasonably warm this week. Now is the chance to get outside and get this job done, when it's not too cold)

What to Expect Next...

Can I say that I really miss writing on this blog,...heck I miss writing in general because it helps me to think through the many, many thoughts that at times haunt me. I don't mean to sound so ominous, I just can't think of another way of putting it. Anyway, I will start back slowly and build up from there.

I have a number of things I would like to include, two of which are to finish some things that I've started:


The Excellent Wife
Leslie at Lux Venit was hosting a book study of the Excellent Wife in February. Due to many circumstances I could not keep up with the reading, but starting in November I will be picking up where I left off. And with the help of Leslie's blog, and the other ladies who participated, I know this study will be both enlightening and tough; for I have much to learn and change.


Lets Study Ephesians
The women of our church were going through the book of Ephesians and just as before circumstances made it difficult for me to keep up and I did not finish. We were reading through the book of Ephesians, using Sinclair Ferguson's book Lets Study Ephesians as a help and trying to memorize as much of Ephesians as possible. In November I will be picking this back up so that I can complete it. At times I'd like to share my thoughts on this blog. What a wonderful book of the bible Ephesians is - so much packed inside.

I also plan to continue the Hymn of the Month, Morning Devotions, Homeschooling Moments and many everyday moments in my walk on this earth with the family and friends God has given me.

As time goes on I pray this this blog would not just be a help to me, but an encouragement to others as well.

I don't care how poor a man is...if he has family--he's rich.

~Dan Wilcox








I saw this on "A Wise Woman Builds her Home" With the way things are going in our economy and in many of our households, this thought made me really pause and think.

"Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer"
Music by Keith Getty; Words by Margaret Becker
Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music

Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart's testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more.

Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne.

This song has been a blessing to me during these past few months and especially during these past few weeks. I hope to be back soon, Lord willing, and I do miss you all. May this song bless you as well.

Did I Mention That I Moved

It's been a while since I've spent any time on my blog. I apologize for disappearing... I forgot to mention that we were moving. And the process has been a bit more then I expected. I'm still here and I'm still reading all of your blogs. As soon as we're done unpacking, I'll be back and ready to write. Keep us in your prayers as we get things settled here. I'll have more details soon and I'll be glad to be back. Thinking about you all.

UPDATE 7/24/08
I hope to have a few more things organized by the end of the week and I hope to be able to share some things here some time next week. God Bless.

Hymn of the Month

My hope is built on nothing less

Words by Edward Mote (pictured at right)
Music By William B. Bradbury

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest upon unchanging grace;
In ev'ry rough and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, his covenant, his blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When I shall launch in worlds unseen,
O may I then be found in him;
Dressed in his righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne

This is my 3 year olds favorite Hymn at the moment... she wants to know all the words so we sing it all the time. What a great Hymn for her to sing. I pray that she will always put her hope in Jesus Christ. May His grace, support and righteousness always surround her.

Since I can't get the MIDI player to work I'm going to send you to Cyber Hymnal to listen to the song,

Lux Venit Reading Group

The Excellent Wife Chapter 9: Love - The Wife's Choice

Its been several weeks since I have been able to put some sentences together on this Blog. I'm still battling the effects of a long time sinus infection and my ears and my throat come come to join in the party. All I can do it seems is wait it out.

Needless to say I am a BIT behind in my reading of the the Excellent Wife. Though the other ladies have moved ahead, I am am going to continue where I left off. This book is truly worth completing. It has blessed me, taught me, and challenged me; and I'm sure there is more to come.

With that said, lets get going with chapter 9.

"The bond of love between a husband and wife is special because of the "one flesh" intimacy that God has given them (Gen 2:24). And even if the husband does not respond in love, it is the choice of the wife must make because of Christ's command" page 81.

A wife must chose to love her husband whether he reciprocates that love or not. We do it because Christ requires us to. That is something to think about. We are required to love our neighbors and be kind to our enemies and this is no different, in that sense.

Mrs Peace list 5 biblical principles regarding our love as a wife:

1. Just do it, Love our husbands
Since we are commanded to love one another, it should be very easy to understand the command to love our husbands. We can sometimes put a lot of time and attention into our friendships "Making sure we are known as a caring and loving person..." But do we make that same effort for our husbands. I would have to answer no. I take him for granted many days. One thing I do is neglect to tell him that I love him, often... thinking to myself , he already knows that so I don't really need to say it. Mrs. Peace says, even in the toughest of circumstances, we can still show love to our husbands. "We have to commit ourselves to think biblically about our husbands and our relationship with them and not let our feelings lead us around."

2. Selfishness Hinders Love
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also the interest of others." Philippians 2:3-4

"be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor..." Romans 12:10

We need to put our husbands first...as hard as that my seem, it is true. We need to set our hearts and goals on doing that which will glorify God, even if we do not get our own way. Sometimes this will be hard and it may even feel like the opposite of what we should be doing, but just remember...Gods was are different from our ways and that's a good thing. We should strive to do all that we do for the glory to God and to honor our husbands. If our husband is behaving selfishly, Mrs. Peace is not saying that we should ignore it, we will learn in future chapters how to deal biblically with our husbands in that situation, right now she is still laying down a foundation.

3. Bitterness Hinders Love
Mrs Peace says..."bitterness and feeling hurt are essentially the same thing" left to themselves they will yield the same bitter fruit - vengefulness, self-centeredness, brooding, loss of joy.
One thing we can do to counteract that bitterness in us is to focus 100% on our own sinfulness in that situation. Her example: I feel bitter toward my husband, he is 60% responsible for the problem and I am 40% responsible. Instead of focusing on his 60% I need to focus on my 40%, taking the beam out of our own eye first. It can be difficult to hold things against another after taking a long look at our own sinful hearts. Mrs Peace says
"Confessing bitterness, clearing your conscience, and giving blessings will go a long way, but in addition you must put off the bitterness by putting on kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving thoughts. " Pg 93

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Eph 4:31-32

She also gives us a chart on page 94-95 to help us replace bitter thoughts with kind ones. This chart was very helpful. This chapter has helped me see where the bitterness is in my own marriage. I tend to judge my husbands motives and be critical of him all be it silently, then I brood about it, which compounds the situation even more. If I address my husband at this point it is not going to be in love or in gentleness. My hurt feeling's have become bitter feelings. I am grateful to God for opening my heart to this. I plan on making every effort to change and also apologize to my husband.

4. Fear Hinders Love
When I first read the heading I thought Oh well, this wont apply to me. This must be about husbands who are abusive to their wives. Then I read..."she may be afraid of not getting her own way..." and that got my attention. I am often afraid that my husband will not see things the way that I do. If I get completely out of hand I will resort to manipulating the situation which then turns out in disaster. Manipulating my husband to do what I want is not loving.

"The biblical key to overcoming (MY) her fear is to trust God and love (MY) her husband." Pg 99.

5. Put on Love

"Putting on love begins with biblical thoughts and motives then progresses to your actions." Pg 104.

Spending time in the word and in prayer is the best way to renew my thinking. Getting my thoughts focused on what God says and not what I want.

This was a very challenging chapter for me; I thought I was going to just breeze through it because, I love my husband already and do some pretty wonderful things for him - Ha...think again. It made me realize that I am still selfish, can be bitter and unloving and need to guard my heart and my marriage by the word of God and prayer.

Leslie from Luv Venit Reading Group is hosing this book study and there are several women who have great thing to share on this chapter and and the ones beyond. Please go to here to read what others have said or jump right in and join the group. God Bless.

Have I Fallen Off the Grid?

Well... yes... and UGH!! is my response. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity in my home and outside of my home. I have quite a bit to catch up on. I have been battling a Sinus Infection for over a week which has contributed to my lack of motivation to do just about anything. I started a regimen of antibiotics on Tuesday to help clear it up. And I am praying that things get back to normal (well... what I think is normal, hehehe) soon. I have many Post swimming around in this "Headache(y) Head," here are a few of the things I'm working on:

The Excellent Wife
First I want to catch up on the Lux Venit Reading. I have "just finished" chapter 9 and I am starting chapter 10 and 11 this week. My hope to to post on chapter 11 by Monday. I may include quick comments on chapter 9 and 10, but there are plenty of ladies who have done excellent jobs of this already. You can find them on Leslie's blog here and here.

Homeschooling
We are beginning a journey in homeschooling. My daughter will be 4 in September and loves to learn new things. My husband and I along with some great friends who are also beginning their journey, went to our area Homeschool Convention. I am excited and nervous, so you ladies out there who are seasoned and know the drill; I may be asking you a lot of questions.

Hymn of the Month
I and my daughter have enjoyed learning a new hymn each month. Though we may not learn all the verses in a month, we do plan to revisit a few so that we can continue. Some hymns are timeless, they enrich us and they teach us. We are blessed by this time.

Scripture Memory Monday
I am moving along with my memorizing of Ephesians chapter 1 (slowly but surely).

Update our Daily Schedule
Since summer has begun, my daily routine has been changing and changing. I want to take a look at those changes and incorporate them into a schedule we can follow this summer giving us time to accomplish the important task of the day as well as time to enjoy each other.

Well, those are some of the things I am working on. I ask for your prayers of healing and strength and I will continue to pray for you as well. God Bless.