Jacob and I made these super cute snowflakes yesterday!
Way cuter than the regular old snowflakes we usually make and the best part no little bits of paper scattered all over the house!
I found the directions here.
Our next project…. candleholders!!
I really needed to clean this today…
Instead I shut the door and did this…
Cookies are much more fun than cleaning!
The boys and I are beginning our Christmas break a little early this year…. WOOHOO!!!
It sounds silly to say that I’m looking forward to spending time with them when I’m with them all day every day anyway… but I am so totally looking forward to just being with them.
There are cookies to make and decorate… crafts to make ( I’m not sure what yet, but I bet we can come up with something!)… stories to read… new habits to start… hot cocoa to drink!
And there will be no schedules… no hissy fits over math… no tantrums over writing… I will be cool, calm and relaxed! ;-)
It’s funny how God works, these thoughts came to me tonight during the worship service… then my pastor got up and preached right along these same lines.
Sometimes I feel the Lord’s so close that I can almost talk with Him face to face… here lately it’s felt more like a long distance phone call. I’m thankful for the times when my walk with God is a little more uphill, it makes me appreciate the comfortable times more.
These are a few of the verses that came to my heart when I was talking with the Lord tonight…
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Earlier today I sat in my living room looking at all the work needing to be done and feeling very discontent with my home…
Tonight the boys and I tagged along with the youth from church as they delivered food to a couple of families…
I came home very thankful for all that we have… it’s good to get an attitude adjustment.
I told a friend the other day that I felt like I was about to have a nervous breakdown… I was teasing… mostly.
I’m not that far gone, but these last few months are catching up with me. We’ve been busy, busy, busy and that just doesn’t jive with my introverted personality. I’m letting things slide, forgetting things, dropping the ball… totally out of character for me.
Last Saturday morning I decided not to have class with the little ones so I could sit out and hear the preaching. I was getting over a cold and didn’t feel 100% but really that was just a handy excuse.
It was so good… he preached just to me! One of the last things said was that we all need a time to get away by ourselves. That’s what I’ve been missing… quiet time. Time just to think and be. My hour of prayer.
Wednesday I felt off kilter all day. I don’t know if the boys were especially crazy or I was especially short-tempered but it was a hard day. Starting about mid-afternoon the thought kept coming to me that I should just stay home from church that night… rest. Put the kids to bed early and enjoy the quiet.
We did go… and I was so glad. As soon as I walked in I felt that off feeling lifting from me. The song service was great, I could feel the presence of God so strong. And the preaching spoke right to my heart.
I’m so thankful for a place to worship with others, for anointed preaching that convicts, encourages and uplifts. But mostly I’m thankful for that well of living water that’s in me. That I don’t ever have to go without.
Sometimes I have to be reminded that even when life’s crazy and rushed there is still peace in God. I get busy and then get bogged down in my busyness… I’m so thankful for the reminder that His peace is always with me. And it’s not being lazy or selfish to need to get away for a while everyday.
I told this story to my friend Jennifer and she told me I needed to blog about it… so Jen this one’s for you!
The other day we were getting ready to go to science co-op so I called the boys in so I could inspect their hands and faces. They are building a tree house in a cedar tree and the combination of sap and dirt is not good.
Jake was clean so I sent him to the car. I checked Cade… he looked clean, sent him to the car. Then I called Travis and his hands were nasty so I sent him to clean up. This was our conversation…
Me: Go wash your hands, they’re nasty.
Travis: Cade was touching a dead fish.
Me: Why was Cade touching a dead fish???
Travis: It was in the tree.
Me: Why is there a dead fish IN THE TREE??????
Travis: It was alive yesterday.
Me: Why was there a LIVE fish in the tree???
Travis: It was our pet.
That’s when I gave up. I did find out later that the fish had been in a bucket of water in the tree.
Oh, and if you read my facebook update the other day, this was a different fish from the one in the net!
When I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all that He’s done for me, my soul cries out “Oh, Hallelujah, Thank God for saving me!”
I’ve just been impressed lately with how good God is… that sounds so simple but when I really stop to think it takes my breath away.
How good He is… there’s nothing I could ever have done to deserve His grace, but He gives it anyway.
Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
He died for the ungodly… that was me. It goes on to say that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He didn’t die for us because we deserved it… because we were so good. He died for us because we were lost without Him.
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
How good God is that when we deserved death He gave us life… and abundant life at that!
One of the subjects that always gets pushed to the side in our school is learning a foreign language. Every year I say this will be the year we get serious with it and every year I put it off.
We joined a new library that offers a free online foreign language course… so I decided this would be the year we got serious. Then we started school and I got tired.
Yesterday began our seventh week of school so in an effort to finally get serious I logged on to the library website and pulled up the list of languages available.
There are probably 20 different languages to pick from and my kids picked….
Are you ready????
PIRATE
Yes, Pirate! Out of that whole list Pirate is what they zoomed in on.
So when you see my boys ask them how to say, “Oh my stars, the ship is sinking!” in Pirate.
Good to see we’re finally getting serious with our foreign language study!
Whew… it’s been one of those days when I think I must be crazy for doing this and, by golly, these boys better appreciate all I’ve done when they grow up!!! A week off school is nice, until the first day back!
We got a late start this morning… usual Monday morning stuff, then Brian was letting Travis use the cutting torch to cut up his scrap metal to sell… can’t interrupt that for a silly thing like school! ;-p
I had the bright idea that Cade and I would go ahead and start and then we would do our bible and prayer when the other two joined us. BAD IDEA. I don’t know why I think that will ever work, it’s always a bad idea.
Things just went downhill.
Bad attitudes, defiance, picking, arguing, cutting up, stalling, you name it.
But, by the grace of God, I didn’t lose it! Jacob asked me once “Mama, why are you just sitting and not talking?” “Because, baby, I’m praying so that I won’t say something I shouldn’t!”
Lot’s of redirection, lot’s of heart to heart talks, a little sentence writing, a little spanking… and a little voice raising. Honestly though, I think Jesus probably raised his voice when He threw the money changers out of the temple… sometimes people need a little volume to get it through their skulls!
We finally finished school at 5:00, then there’s animals to feed (real ones, not the kids), supper to fix (kids this time!), kitchen to clean, and baths to take.
The point of all this is you can turn that bad day around… after baths we read a chapter from Anne of Green Gables and then watched the Cowboys.
Everyone calmed down.
I spent some extra cuddle time with the one who gave me the most grief today… he snuggled up for the longest time, I could feel him soaking up the extra attention. By bedtime he was a changed boy, much more mellow and fun to be around.
“Thank you Lord for getting us through this day… and, please Lord, let tomorrow go better!” Amen.
The boys and I took a trip this week to Austin to see my aunt and sightsee. Depending on how I choose to look at life there are two ways I could describe this trip.
On the one hand…
The boys picked and argued and whined constantly while we were driving in Austin and San Antonio. We were always running just a little behind so weren’t able to do some of the things they were most looking forward to. They have no concept of sticking close in the city and watching out for other people. My car broke down on the freeway in rush hour traffic in San Antonio.
But on the other hand I remember…. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
So on the other hand…
On the drive to and from Austin, where they had room to spread out and not be right on top of each other, the boys were great. In downtown Austin they were super excited to use their own money to feed expired parking meters for strangers… and probably some that weren’t expired! Even though we couldn’t do everything they had planned they took in fairly well in stride and started making plans for our next trip. The car broke down right at an off ramp, we were able to crawl off the freeway and right into a parking lot before it totally died. The parking lot was to an electronics store so there were comfy chairs and big tvs to entertain the boys while we got the car taken care of. My aunt was with us when it happened so I wasn’t stranded alone with the kids. They were so good in the store that one of the employees complimented me on their behavior. They got to ride in their very first taxi. And the car was fixed in a day and is driving great.
It’s all in your perspective… I could look back and focus on all the negative and think it was a horrible trip. But instead all I can see is how God blessed us and the fun we had.
I tell Travis all the time during math “There is an easier way!”. He will use the longest, most drawn-out way to find the answer. If I try to interrupt he has a fit, so I sit patiently and watch him do it his way and then I’m able to show him a simpler way.
I wonder how often God has to sit patiently watching until we wear ourselves out so that we will hear Him when He says “Come unto me.”
I’ve written a lot about our homeschooling lately… that’s what’s consuming most of my time lately! But if your sick of hearing about it better stop reading now…
My friend Jennifer issued a “Day in the Life” challenge and I took the bait… so here goes!! (ETA: I should really read BEFORE I write! Heart of the Matter is hosting the blog hop... but I read it on Jen's blog so there you go!!)
I aim for getting out of bed between 7 and 7:30… I’m a night owl forced into an early bird routine and it doesn’t always work out but that’s my goal… get dressed, start breakfast for the kids, get them up if they’re not already. Some time in there I do my morning bible reading… I’m doing a chronological reading plan this year so I’m reading in Jeremiah right now.
After breakfast I usually start a load of laundry, maybe tidy up a bit and then it’s time for school. You’d think all that would go really fast but we never get started before 9…. time flies when there’s a million things to do!
We always start with prayer and Bible… we’re reading through Mark together, I read about half a chapter and then we talk about it. Then we do scripture memory… right now we’re just reviewing passage they’ve learned the last couple of years.
That finished we go to the school room… Mind Benders puzzles and handwriting they usually do together. I help Jacob with phonics while the other two work independently…. of course independently is all relative, we’re usually interrupted about every 30 seconds.
Things begin to go crazy after that… I try to get Jacob’s phonics and math finished and then he’s free until after lunch.
Cade likes to do spelling, science, reading and either math or english before lunch. Spelling he does alone and most of the time math, he reads silently but then we do the comprehension questions aloud, science he reads silently and does the questions himself but we also have oral reviews and experiments at least every other day, english we read and go over together and then he has some work to do on his own.
Travis does spelling, math, science, and english before lunch. Most of his he does alone, except for some oral review in english and discussion and experiments in science.
When they finish their morning work they can fix their own lunch and play for a while. I look over the work they did that morning, setting aside anything we need to go back over, do more laundry, and find myself something to eat. Then I SIT in PEACE AND QUIET…. sometimes I have to hide to do this but it is very important or I will not be a very nice mommy!! This is my time to check e-mails, facebook and all that good stuff.
Around 1:30 I have my sanity back enough for another go-round. We start with history… read aloud, review, narration, timelines… all that good stuff. Travis has some extra non-fiction reading, while he does that I help Cade with whatever he has left. Then Travis writes summaries of what he read. We review whatever they had trouble with that morning. Cade’s usually finished with school by now and Travis just has 30-45 minutes of reading to do. I help Jacob with his reading, check their afternoon work, and… we’re done! Hopefully by 3:00!!
More laundry, tidying up, supper to start… twice a week we have ball practice, Wed night church, library visits, grocery shopping. Boys bedtime is 8 and 8:30 if we’re home then, we hardly ever are, so if not it’s as soon as we get home. And then I crash…. read, computer, TV, whatever… until Brian gets home at 11. Catch up with him for a while, try to get in bed by 1 and start all over the next day!!
***I wish it always went that smoothly!! The phone rings, someone knocks at the door, daddy needs me to help with something, unexpected errands to run, the dog pukes in the floor, the toilet stops up, and any and everything else you can think of knocks us off schedule… but that’s life (and also why I need to SIT in PEACE AND QUIET!!!)***
This was our school room the day before we started school….
And here it is after two weeks of school…
And this is after cleaning three times in the last two weeks… yeah, things don’t stay tidy around here for long!
Overall it’s been a good two weeks. We had a to reassess Jacob’s phonics program. I’ve shelved our Rod and Staff for now and we’re using Explode the Code… and loving it. Phonics time is suddenly much less of a headache!! And he had break through in math…. WooHoo!! We’ve been working on +8’s, everyday I would explain how to do it and everyday he would count to find the answer. Finally Wednesday I explained again and gave him a problem and he says “Oh, ok… 8+6… so 8 wants to be 10 so he takes 2 away, so 6 becomes 4… so 14” YES!!! I love when everything clicks and they finally get it!!
I bought the Book of Artrageous Projects for Cade and Jacob. It is the coolest thing!! It teaches about different kinds of art and has everything you need to do the projects included. So far they have mixed and painted with watercolors and woven a medieval tapestry!
Another cool thing is Start Exploring Masterpieces, a coloring book of paintings by great artists. The boys really enjoy coloring their pictures to look like the original painting.
I’ve been thinking about patience lately… or maybe the lack of it. One thing I think all homeschoolers hear over and over from non-homeschoolers is “I would never have the patience for that”… well guess what…. I don’t either!!!
When my 1st grader takes 15 minutes to get his blankets and pillows situated just right so he can do his reading and then suddenly has to use the bathroom or get a drink… I don’t have patience.
When my 3rd and 5th graders take advantage of the time I’m out of the room… trying to listen to the 1st grader read… to race around the room, throw supplies everywhere and then run and hide…. I don’t have patience.
When my 3rd grader “Can’t doooo iiiiittttt” because he doesn’t know where his pencil is, because he threw it across the room…. I don’t have patience.
When my 5th grader can’t remember how to do any of his math unless I’m sitting right beside him… and the other two take advantage of this to start dragging out toys…. I don’t have patience.
When any of them have a 45 minute melt down over 10 minutes of work…. I don’t have patience.
And when all of this happens in one day… I Really Don’t Have Patience.
But I do have a choice… I can choose to yield to my flesh and lose it with them, or I can choose to allow God to work in me and through me and show grace. I don’t have patience, but He does. I am not very merciful but He is.
I wish I could say I always choose the right way… unfortunately I’m not there yet! Thankfully it’s not always that crazy. Most days are fairly calm and easy. And, thankfully, the rest of the time… on Those Days… I’m not alone and God gives to me from His patience when I have none.
I’ve spent the last week cleaning out our school room, rearranging and planning for this year.
I love planning school… in my plans everyone gets along, no one argues or complains about doing school, and we have the best year ever… it’s nice to have dreams, isn’t it!!
Travis wanted a place to himself this year so his desk is in my sewing/storage room.
The past few years I have loosely followed the Well Trained Mind plan. By loosely I mean I own the book and use a few of the curriculum recommendations.
This year I decided to follow it a little closer with Travis. He’s going into 5th grade and I’d warned him the work was going to get a little harder… but, yikes!, even I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now!!
Math won’t change… we’ve used Math-U-See for years and I’m still happy with it. Jake is learning his addition and subtraction facts. Cade’s working on his multiplication facts and then will start multiple digit multiplication and probable move on to division before the end of the year. Travis is finishing up fractions and starting decimals and percents… next up for him… pre-algebra! Double Yikes!!
We use Rod and Staff for phonics/spelling/english/science. I love this program…. except for 2nd grade phonics. 2nd grade phonics is HARD when you speak with a Texas drawl!! Thankfully, I don’t have a 2nd grader this year!
Jacob and Cade will also use Rod and Staff for reading. Travis will be reading novels and non-fiction books that go along with our history studies for reading this year.
I’m really excited about Travis’ science… we’re dissecting this year!!! I’ve been waiting to dissect something since he was in kindergarten… and no, killing chickens to put in the freezer does not count as dissecting!!
For history we’re using The Story of the World. Jacob and Cade will listen as I read from the book and then do activities and crafts that go along with each lesson.
Travis will also read the corresponding section from our history encyclopedia and write an outline on that, read and summarize original source books from the time periods we study, and write reports on non-fiction books covering whatever we’re studying.
For the last two years we’ve had a history timeline on the school room wall. You can see it in the top picture on the far wall. Starting this year, I’m also going to have Travis keep a notebook timeline so he can add more detail.
We start tomorrow…. pray for us!!!!
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. ~ I Corinthians 15:19
I thought of this verse yesterday as I had a few quiet moments to myself in the truck.
This summer is knocking us for a loop. None of our cows bred this year… so money we were counting on making from calf sells isn’t coming. Our pastures are mostly dust…. the hay meadow that last year made 40 bales… this year made 5.
If in this life only we have hope….
My garden is burning up. Last year the produce stand was open into August… I had to shut it down last week because everything is dead or dying or being eaten by grasshoppers. And pantry shelves that are normally full of things I’ve canned this time of year are still half empty.
If in this life only we have hope…
Gas and diesel prices are killing us. It takes almost two full paychecks to pay the gas card each month.
If in this life only we have hope….
But, praise the Lord, our hope in God is not in this life only… I will go to sleep tonight and sleep fine because I know my Redeemer lives.
If the bills don’t get paid… He still lives.
If we live on peas and Spam… He still lives.
If we have to walk everywhere…. He still lives.
No we’re not to that point… and I pray we never get there… but if we ever do it won’t change who He is.
I think our modern American church has done christians a huge disservice. We hear that if we love God bad things won’t happen to us. Prosperity, prosperity, prosperity….
But Jesus said “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
God loved Paul and look what all he went through… He loved Job… He loved John…. and we think if God loves us we shouldn’t have to go through anything? Really??
As long as we are in the world we’re going to have trials… but He has overcome this world. Our hope is not in this life only… He lives and we will live, too. We are looking for that city.
Or we should be…
Our focus has become so ME centered… I want it now… what will Jesus do for me now. We’ve lost sight of our goal.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away ~ I Peter 1:24
This life is so fleeting… this is not all there is. If we live to be a 100 and have suffering all our days… how does that compare to an eternity with Jesus?
And yet He loves us so much that even in these present trials we have hope. Even in the midst of pain there is joy. Even in confusion we have peace. When it seems like nothing is stable we can stand planted on that solid rock.
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God ~ Job 19:25-26
Honestly, what else matters?
We had a great camp meeting this year. I wanted to write about it earlier but what I thought was going to be a slow relaxing week turned out to be not so much!! So for the last several days I’ve just been meditating on the word that we heard… letting it sink down into my soul and do it’s work.
The message that I keep coming back to was from Luke 17:6 “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”
What sycamine trees do you have in your life? What is holding you back in your walk with God? What is keeping you from just totally selling out to Him?
To often instead of totally rooting sin out of our lives we just try to prune in back some. We think we can handle it, use will power if you will… prune it back, beat it down and walk on with God.
But the thing is, even if you cut that tree off at the ground the roots are still there.
From my Bible commentary: Now, look at this tree - its ample girth, its wide-spread arms branching off from the parent trunk only a few feet from the ground; then examine its enormous roots, as thick, as numerous, and as wide-spread into the deep soil below as the branches extend into the air above the very best type of invincible steadfastness.
The roots are still alive. The temptation is still there, it’s still a struggle. Maybe not a constant struggle, but as long as those roots are still alive they will continue to send up shoots that you will have to constantly be on the look out for to prune back.
Or…. we can do what Jesus said. He didn’t say prune it back, He said “say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea.”
Speak to that sin, pluck it out by the roots and plant it in the sea. As someone at church brought out, planting it in the sea doesn’t just get it under the blood of Jesus…. that salty sea water kills it. It’s not just gone and forgiven, it’s dead!
I know for myself to often I’m guilty of trying to do it under my own steam instead of resting in Jesus and allowing Him to do the work for me. And it’s exhausting!! What I think is “I’ve got this one Lord, thanks for the offer but I can handle it”, but in reality I’m just not ready to let go yet.
And what I’ve found is that when I try to handle it myself I’m just pruning it back. Sooner or later that old tree will shoot back up again. It’s time to stop pruning and start plucking out by the roots!!
Dear Lord. So far today I've done all right.
I have not gossiped.
I have not lost my temper, lied or cheated.
I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent.
I am very thankful for that.
But in a few minutes, Lord, I am going to get out of bed,
and from that moment on I am going to need a lot more help.
~ Anon
A few months ago I started Financial Peace University. At the time I really didn’t think I needed the class. We were on a plan to pay off debt and had already made a dent in it. While we never had just loads of money… we always had enough to do the things we wanted to do. So I got a stomach ache every Friday when I paid bills… they were always paid in full and usually on time… so what’s a little stomach ache!!!
Fast forward to now… I am SO glad I took the class!!
For the first time ever, we have an emergency fund! No more panic when something unexpected pops up… and it always does.
We have a budget… and it’s not near as hard as I thought it’d be!! So all those extras… insurance, taxes, car repairs, CHRISTMAS!… are budgeted for with money set aside every month. Now instead of scrimping and borrowing and panicking when it’s time to get the oil changed or buy a birthday present we can just go get the cash that we’ve been budgeting! How freeing is that!?
We have an accelerated debt payoff plan. And because everything else is budgeted for the plan is easy to stick to! It’s so cool to see that total debt balance falling each month.
Dave also walked us through how to invest and make our money work FOR us! We’re not there yet, but someday that will be really cool!!
My favorite part of the plan though is that the focus is not on “let’s see how much money we can get and spoil ourselves with.” Instead it’s all about “let’s see how much money we can get to use for God’s kingdom and help others.” The first item on the budget each month is tithes/giving and he never loses that focus. The videos are full of testimonials from people who have followed the plan and now are in a position to really help others. How cool would it be to be able to give someone $10,000 to go back to school, or buy a car for someone who was in a real bind!?!?
We still have a ways to go, but that’s my goal!
Ok, it’s been a while and I have a lot on my mind… but not a lot of time, which is why it’s been a while! But I do want to share how once again God has provided just what we need.
I know we aren’t the only ones struggling to pay for gas lately, but this month’s gas card bill was CRAZY! So last week I paid almost Brian’s entire check on that one card… just so we wouldn’t have to pay a late fee… it barely made a dent in the month’s balance. All week I’ve know that today’s check would have to go entirely on the gas card, and we’d stuck back some extra we’d gotten from another job to help, too. While I’ve been thankful for that extra, it’s still a strain because, obviously, we have other bills to pay than just that one!
We got Brian’s check today… and praise God!!… it was $1 more than the balance we owed on the card!! That may not seem like much of a praise but this check was quite a bit more than he’s been earning lately. I shouldn’t still be surprised, but it always amazes me when God provides just exactly what we need at just the right time!
I have more to share, but that’s all you get for now.
Coming soon… why I’m in love with Dave Ramsey!!
I woke up this morning thinking about this song.
And this verse… Matthew 21:44… go read it!
We heard a great message on breaking up your fallow ground Saturday night… I’ve realized I’ve become way to complacent lately. I’ve become content with just doing my daily bible study…. daily prayer… attending church… it’s time to arise and shake myself, Isaiah 52:1-2.
I intended to post this Wednesday night… obviously I never did but I’ve been thinking on this for the last couple of days.
I’m stealing thoughts from Bro. Cody, this was part of his testimony Wednesday night, but I’ll probably wind up adding to it!
I’m often guilty of thinking how much easier it must have been for the disciples because they had Jesus right there with them in the flesh. We read were John would lay his head on Jesus’ bosom. How great that would be… to talk face to face with the Lord, to reach right out and touch Him.
But here’s the kicker… if Jesus were walking this earth today He most likely wouldn’t live in my house. Sure I might be able to go see Him or He might come see me but most likely He wouldn’t be right here with me every day.
Jesus said in John that it was expedient for man that He go away… be crucified. That He was with them, but He would be IN them.
Really we have it so much better.
We don’t have to wait for Jesus to come to our town. We don’t have to push through a crowd to touch Him in order to receive our healing. We don’t have to climb a tree just to get a glimpse of Him.
Any time, no matter where we are, we can call on Him and He’s right there.
There’s a song we sing… I looked and couldn’t find it online, but the chorus says
He lives, He lives, He lives in me, oh, He lives in me.
Jesus Christ, the King of all kings, oh, He lives in me.
It’s a great song, I wish I could remember all the verses. But just think how very, very blessed we are. He doesn’t just live with us, walk with us, but we are His temple… He lives in me… how humbling that is.
Consecrate me now to Thy service Lord, by the power of Grace divine.
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope
And my will be lost in Thine.
I’ve gotten to Joshua now in my bible-in-a-year plan…. yeah, I’m a little behind! Yesterday I read this passage…
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
About a year or so ago Bro. Swain taught a wonderful lesson on The Angel of the Lord, you can hear it here.
I’m just so thankful once again for this reminder that He is a personal God, that all along He has desired to walk with man, to lead us and be with us and is not a far off God.
A little tidbit that I found in my study bible… the word commander used there can also be translated as Prince.
I really pray you can take the time to listen to the message… it’s long, but so good!
I wish everyone reading this could have been at my church tonight!! Such peace and joy from the Lord filled the house!
I could stand and probably give a list a mile long of trials and struggles… but in spite of all that I can still say “It is well with my soul”!
There are many things to pray about tonight… I’m praying for finances…. I’m praying a hedge of protection around helpless family members and peace of mind for other family members… I’m praying for God to knock one more time on hearts doors… I’m praying for healing for some… for direction for others…. but with all the needs I still know my God’s not dead, He is still on the throne and I know where to turn when I need peace!
I’ve been turning around a post on grace based parenting in my head… but Sally beat me to it, and said it much better than I ever could!
Showing grace to my boys does not come naturally to me… big surprise. But the more I do the more I come to appreciate the grace God shows to me.
It’s so easy to expect immediate, cheerful, constant obedience (notice I said expect… not receive!!) from my kids… then I turn right around and expect God to be understanding and forgiving when I fail… and I’m so thankful that He is!! How hypocritical of me to expect something of children that I’m not even capable of!
If you go to church with me you’ve already heard this… so get ready to hear it again!
Last night the boys and I loaded up to head to church, as I backed the truck out I felt a pop. I’m always driving over stuff in the yard so didn’t think to much about it. I started to pull forward and felt another pop and then the truck started sliding sideways.
Brian said the ball joint broke. In “Lisa Speak” the thingy holding the wheel in place broke and my front wheel went cock-eyed.
I’m so thankful for God’s hand of protection. Just a few days ago I was driving 70 mph down interstate, just that morning Brian was driving like a crazy person on the back roads here by the house, later that morning I drove the kids to church… not like a crazy person.
That joint could have broken any of those times, or a few minutes later when we were down the road, and the situation would have been much different. Instead God allowed it to happen when I was barely rolling in the front yard.
Now you might say, “but wouldn’t it be better for it just to have never broken?”. I believe many times God does keep things from happening and we just go merrily on our way none the wiser. But sometimes He allows things to happen so that we can see His hand at work.
We live paycheck to paycheck… and haven’t gotten far enough along in our Dave Ramsey plan to have any savings put up… so I had No Idea how we would pay to have the truck fixed, but these verses from Matthew kept coming to me.
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
So I just handed it over to God and told Him I trusted Him to provide.
This morning Brian called and got a quote on having the truck towed to the mechanics… because it’s to big to get on a trailer and even if he could get it on a trailer we wouldn’t have anything to pull it with… the quote was $180. We don’t have $180, so again I handed it to God trusting Him to provide.
This afternoon I began to see God’s hand at work. Our mechanic made a house call! He said we couldn’t replace just the piece that broke, the whole thing had to be replaced and it costs $400. But then he said that it should still be under warranty so we shouldn’t have to pay anything! And, he thinks he can come here and fix it well enough to be driven to the shop so we won’t have to pay a wrecker!
I may not know yet just exactly how God’s going to work all this out… but I know that He will!!
I have a lot on my mind today. I spent the weekend at a Mom Heart conference in Dallas, this was the second year I’ve gone and it just keeps getting better. Soon I’ll write about it but for now I’m still soaking it in and trying to put things into practice.
So instead of that I’ll share our trip to the zoo!
We intended to go Sunday, it was Cade’s birthday and that’s what he picked to do.
Then Brian suggested we wait and go Monday because he had to work Sunday afternoon but would be off Monday… Cade was agreeable so that was our new plan.
Monday morning Brian woke up feeling sick… we hung around for the morning waiting on him to feel better with no luck. I had decided to take them by myself when sweet Cade offered to wait one more day so Brian could go with us.
I am so proud of Cade for being flexible and understanding when plans didn’t work out the way we intended… wish everyone in our family had been so understanding, but we’re still a work in progress!
Brian was still feeling bad this morning so the boys and I loaded up and went without him. I drove the big blue truck to Tyler all by myself… Woohoo!!
The boys loved the maps and had a great time figuring out where we were and where we should go next. We walked the entire zoo… twice!
The played and played until I finally drug them away. Next time I’ll take my Kindle to entertain me so they can play as long as they want!
It was a Good Day!!
Sometimes God has to remind me of things… maybe not so much remind me as thump me over the head… ok, maybe not so much thump me over the head as pound it into me… I’m a little stubborn.
Yesterday was one of those days. He prodded me to study on grace and I wound up in Romans, chapters 3-6 specifically but don’t stop there… read it all when you go read!
So I read that and got a few things re-ironed out in my head about living a life dead to sin. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t come naturally. There are some things my flesh doesn’t want to let go of. And when I try to do it all on my own, I fail… of course, we were never meant to do it all on our own. Which brings me back to my stubbornness and toddlerish insistence to do it ‘all by myself’… yeah, it never works… you’d think I’d learn by now. Thank God for His grace ‘cause I’d be in a world of hurt without it.
After reading my conversation went something like this…
Me: But it’s hard, I know I should want to lay these things down but I don’t want to… I should want to, I want to want to… but I know it’ll be hard, so what do I do about that??
*Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.*
Me: Ok, so you’ll help me and it won’t be hard… but what if I don’t? It’s not that big a deal… does it really matter??
*The wages of sin are death*
Me: Well alrighty then… guess that answers that!
Yes, that was a short talk… usually I have a lot more “yeah, but”’s before I surrender. There just isn’t anywhere else to go after that… it’s life or death, kind of brings it down to basics and makes the choice pretty clear.
And I’ll say it again, I’m so thankful for His grace that never gives up on me and keeps pulling me back up when I stumble.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
I really, really, really wish I had pictures to go along with this post… it’s just not going to have the same effect without pictures. But, typically, I didn’t think to grab my camera!
In case you’ve ever wondered, the quickest way to freak out your friends and make them run away screaming is to invite them over on chicken butchering day. Boys love it… girls, not so much! I asked my friends daughter if she wanted to be a farmer, she just looked at me with wide eyes and said “Not today”
When my babies were babies I would often spend hours rocking and singing to them. One of my favorites to sing to them was “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand”.
There are many things I hope to teach to my boys… and some they take to easier than others. But with all the worldly knowledge I try to impart to them, if I fail to teach them to trust in God… I’ve failed them. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?
The words to this song are my prayer for my children.
Time is filled with swift transition, not of earth unmoved can stand. Build your hopes on things eternal. Hold to God’s unchanging hand.
Trust in Him who will not leave you, whatsoever years may bring. If by earthly friends forsaken, still more closely to Him cling.
Covet not this world’s vain riches, that so rapidly decay. Seek to gain the heavenly treasure, that will never fade away.
A friend of mine is getting ready to lead a Dave Ramsey class so I borrowed one of his books from another friend to look through… It was looking pretty grim until I got to the “Keeping Up With The Jones’” section, I passed that one with flying colors.
I was to rate these as to how important they are to me… how important is my “image”…
1. Paying for dinner with a gold or platinum credit card – don’t have one so not to important
2. Getting complimented on my brand of watch – don’t wear one, again not to important
3. Wearing designer clothes – wouldn’t even know where to go to buy designer clothes, nope not to important
4. Living in a nice neighborhood – I live in a logging camp scattered with farm implements, that’s all I have to say about that
5. Having people be envious of my car – ok, admit it, y’all are all totally jealous of the flatbed
I guess there’s always a silver lining… we may be broke but at least we’re not prideful!!
When the kids are quietly entertaining themselves… playing checkers, building puzzles, legos… do you make them stop in order to finish school??
Am I a total slacker if I’m leaning towards letting them play??
A few days ago Jacob and I were alone in the living room when I heard him whispering to himself –
“poop” giggle
“pooper poop” giggle
“poop pooping poop” giggle giggle
“pooping pooping pooper poop… I said poop” giggle giggle
*sigh*… Boys!!!
I’ve been pondering choices the last few days…. what brings a person to the place that they would choose destruction for their house?
I’d like to be able to sit back and judge harshly and say that will never be me, or point to one choice as the one that made everything go downhill… but I’ve fought this fight long enough to know it’s never that simple.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
“Choose you this day”… every day, every minute, we’re making choices. Will we choose to serve God or will we choose to let sin reign?
It’s easy to feel like we’re ‘getting away with it’ when we don’t face immediate consequences for our sin. Then, before we know it, that one little sin that we thought we had control of grows and has control of us.
Gal 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Choices… we either choose corruption or we choose life everlasting. There is no door number three.
I end with this thought…
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
