Funny Kids

When asked what his favorite character of Star Wars was, John responded, "The Hoo-chahs." We had to probe to find out that he meant "the mean guys with guns"...aka Ewoks!
So, days later, Lily and John were playing Lego Star Wars and Lily announced that they were in Hoo-chah City! (Endor) Woah...it's contagious! : )

ABC Box

Lily and John helped put together this ABC Box for working on spelling and playing word games. The project itself was fun for them. Lily wrote some of the ABCs on the juice lids (V-8 Fusion is our juice of choice).



It's good to pull out in a pinch when I'm lacking in the planning department for the little ones. Can anyone say, "Recycle?"

My three munch-kins just sang in a chorus with New River Youth Symphony and Chorus. I have been a proud Mama.
And, aren't they cute? ; )
OK, this really isn't my kids...these are some little carollers we made.





But, here is the real thing:

Weighed Down

Today, I'm thinking a lot about the heaviness of this season. The holidays can weigh many people down. One reason is that we want to escape the everyday and get lost in lights and presents and baby Jesus. We want the supernatural to erase all that is weighty in life. But, the weight is still there.
That shouldn't disappoint. I picture the weight pulling on us until we are so weighted down that we are on our knees. I'm close...to being on my knees. I have very little weight on me personally, but I'm watching numerous people around me who have much pulling on them and it makes me heavy for them.

My kids pray day after day for healing for loved ones and for peace for those who are suffering. I listen to their prayers and benefit from their faith.

Recently, a friend asked me and others to join in a New Year fast and I did not jump at the chance. But, it has come to mind time and time again. I think of this Scripture:
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."

Jason said that he would like to support a child or two through Compassion. And, I'm realizing how all this is connected. If I don't feel the weight of other people's needs, I'm missing out.

I only want to fast if the Lord directs it. And, I think that He is. Food for the hungry. Shelter for the poor. These are weights I don't want to escape.

May God soften any hardness in this heart so that I could feel.

Certainly Free

This morning, my prayers are centered around the fulness of the Spirit. I need to decrease that He (Christ) may increase. Otherwise, I feel the emptiness.

I have also been thinking about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is the evidence that I am walking in a free manner. When I am free from (unencumbered by) sin, I can walk in the freedom intended for me.

As I have prayed, a call to freedom is what keeps coming to mind. I looked for those verses about the fruit of the Spirit and found them in Galations, chapter 5. But the beginning of that chapter states, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." I am not working to attain freedom, but to maintain it. If Christ has ever made me free...then I am free. Though sin lives, I am dead to sin.

Yes, I'm preaching to myself.

I have not been made free to do all things. Though the Word says, "All things are lawful for me", it also says, "but not all things are profitable." (1 Cor. 6:12) I don't want my freedom to become it's own chain. I want to be truly free...not mastered by anything.

I want to keep standing firm.

Lord, let it be so. May I walk in freedom from the sin that dwells in me. You have said in Your Word that I am dead to sin (Romans 6). You have told me to walk by the power of the Spirit. Amen!

Advent Begins

I am so glad that the Advent Season is beginning. I now have a reason and purpose in making daily "devotionals" with the kids last for an hour! Ok, maybe not an hour, but close.

Last night, we read from Jotham's Journey and put our first Jesse tree ornament up. I love the anticipation of the Season. There is a growing intensity in me (that started weeks ago as I prepared).

I think I know the purpose of all this. Preparing the heart.

I read recently that the celebration of Advent is not only looking back in history to the first coming of Christ, but looking ahead to His second coming. I have missed that prophetic part of this celebration for years. 34 of them, to be exact. I pray that all this will build an excitement and anticipation in my own children's hearts.

Presumptous sins - Psalm 19

Yesterday, I heard Adrian Rogers speak on Gideon's army. God doesn't look for the strong, the smart, the capable. He chooses the weak things to confound the strong. The foolish things to confound the wise. That started the process of recognition of sin in my own life. I'm not being used of God for my own ablilities. If God allows me to join with Him at all it is because I'm humble enough to recognize my own frailty and inability and have faith that only He can.

Secondly, I heard from Moon Williams that meditation on the Lord is the central birthing place for right thinking in believers. I recognized that my meditations weren't pure as of late. I've been meditating on my own worth and ability. (Yuck - it sickens me to admit this.) My test came and I failed this one.

Psalm 19:13-14 says, "Also keep back Thy servant from presumptous sins:
Let them not rule over me:
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer."

Presumptous sins. Unfortunately, that sums it up for me. Arrogant, immoral actions. Haughty thoughts and words. I'm done with it...again. I'm so thankful for the grace of God that leads me to places of restoration!

More books...

You might think I'm a reader or something. I dabble in most things...including reading. Here are more books that sound great!

References for Future use

I found a great list of books on Amazon that I might research for the kids.

I'm currently considering getting The Young Peacemaker and The Princess and the Kiss as resources for the kids as well. I'm not sure where they'll fit in...church or home. Just don't know.

Book Nook

I recently saw an amazing book shelf that picqued my interest. But, I knew that it wouldn't work for me. So, I was pleased to see this simple alternative. I think this would be great for library books which are treated like gold at my home. No one carries them to off to unseen nooks. They must be returned to a given spot after each read.

Having a "holy experience"

I'm just beginning to dig into Ann Voskamp's site...holy experience. And it is.

This morning I tearfully read about her need to feel validated in the doing. If you don't have proof of all that you accomplish, then what's the use, right? Hah! I hear my heart in her words.

I'm so touched by my first brushing encounter. I will be back to dive in!

How much do I grow in 36 hours?

In 36 hours, God has caused me to grow...even to be stretched!

Wednesday, our cell group discussion centered around doing the will of God and walking by the Spirit. We read Matthew 26:36-46, Philippians 2:1-11, and Galatians 5:16-26. There were fruitful discussions about the cup that Jesus prayed would pass from Him, where faith comes from, and whether we need more faith or if we just have to exercise what we have.

Faith became the focus of the evening as did this passage.

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Luke 11:13 repeats this final Word as follows, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Faith is still the issue. I haven't been asking, seeking and knocking recently. I have been accepting. Accepting sometimes requires faith in the sovereignty of God. But, God wants me to exercise my faith. I know this.

Thursday morning, a friend posted this on fb. I was floored at the exactness of this message in addressing what we talked about. The final analogy of 70% diet and 30% exercise was a perfect period on the conversation, or so I thought.

An hour or so later, a new/old friend called. She went to high school with me. Now, she's joining our homeschool group and we're getting to know one another. She has her own mountains to move. Really. I told her that talking to a new homeschooler (just like a new believer) is refreshing and brings excitement to my own journey. Her response was profound. She said, "I'm a new believer. I learn something new and get to believe anew all the time." {She got saved at 8 years old!!} I'm still carrying the excitement of those words with me. Faith is new all the time, that is, unless I'm not using it AT ALL.

I am a new believer, too...
and there is no period on this conversation

No Vacancy!

Sunday, I had the honor of listening to Jason teach. He is gifted as a teacher!
The message was about true conviction, confession and repentance. So many misconceptions exist.
Conviction is realizing God's goodness compared to our sinfulness.
Confession is saying the "same thing"...acknowledging sin as such.
Repentance is changing your mind.

God cleanses us from sin and the effects of it as we draw near to Him, confess the sin and call it by name (acknowledge it), and change our minds about the practice of that sin.

Today, I have read in my devotional Daily with my Lord "that every victory must lead to an occupancy." An empty victory is no victory at all. Just as Jesus taught,

"Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first..." (Matt 12:43-45)

Vacancy isn't victory. Jesus doesn't want to us to merely be free of sin, but to be alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)

We must be more than white-washed tombs. My emptiness doesn't glorify God. Fullness marks the child of God!

I'm a Billy Goat

Well, I declare! I don't know what's up with this boy o' mine.
He dressed himself up in this bathing suit with heels on and said, "I'm a billy goat." Freaky!

Handprint Table

I'm getting sentimental in my "old" age!

Masterpieces!

Mother's Day Craft

I'm planning to make this for Mother's Day to give to Mawmaw and Grammy.

Soccer 2010

I liked this *artsy* shot of Hannah workin' the ball toward the goal and goalie!

Hannah teaching Lily to ride a Bike

Moments like this really make me proud!

Edible Math

Simple math project!

The kids counted these Starburst jelly beans out separately...no eating until the end. Then, Hannah had to do the hard work: make a pictograph.

The "Ya-Ya" sisterhood!

Black hole

Wow! I'm meditating on the significance of the black hole.
Context, please.

Very recently, I was confronted with a black hole of my own. It was/is the selfish sin nature that gravitates everything to it's center only to destroy them.
Seriously, through tears, I confessed to Jason that I was feeling an ugliness within me that was heartless, lifeless and it was draining all the life around me. I was becoming black. This season I'm in is one of testing, it seems. Not "Oh no, I broke my nail" kindof tests. Serious stuff. I'm being tested against myself.
The message spoken by my pastor today was pertaining to self-examination. Self-examination is a constant necessity. It precedes humbling ourselves. And, I have discovered that if I do not humble myself, my Father God is forced to do it for me out of His merciful Love!
Of course, after that self-examination and confession to Jason and before God, I was restored. The black hole's drawing power diminished.
It reminds me of the cliché that we all have a God-shaped hole in us. I don't know if this all fits together, drawing a proper analogy, but I know that God can restore the blackest of souls.

"El Senor Don Gato"

Taught this old favorite of mine to the kids today.

El Senor Don Gato was a cat
On a high red roof Don Gato sat
He was there to read a letter (MMM)
Where the reading light was better (MMM)
Twas a love note for Don Gato

"I adore you" wrote the Lady cat
Who was fluffy white, and nice and fat
There was not sweeter kitty (MMM)
In the country or the city (MMM)
And she said she'd wed Don Gato

Oh Don Gato jumped so happily
He fell off the roof and broke his knee
All his ribs and all his whiskers (MMM)
And his little solar plexus (MMM)
"Ay Caramba!" cried Don Gato

Then the doctors all came on the run
Just to see if something could be done
(here I can't recall the words, but they
couldn't save him)

When the funeral passed the market square
Such a smell of fish was in the air
Though his funeral was slated (MMM)
He became reanimated (MMM)
He came back to life, Don Gato
Ole!

I borrowed this book from the Sophia library the other day. The book isn't so exciting, but has fun pictures and clearly explains verbs. Then we undertook cut and paste words from magazines. Turned out to be fun for all 3 kids! Even John made a graphic organizer of verbs. They all used their own name for the subject in the center.
Then my 3rd grader attempted a poem from word snip-its. That was even harder.

I plan to borrow the other books in the series to build on the idea.

Really, there are sooo many. You get the picture. I don't have to link them all! : ) Sophia library had many of the books in the series.

out my back window

Spiritual Discipline

It has been my experience that disciplined activity of any kind doesn't come easily, at least not for a sustained period. I can start a regimine and carry through with it for a matter of days or even weeks, but the initial motivation is lost and the activity fades. So it has been in my walk with the Lord. I get motivated and get up early to read and pray and see the fruit of the Spirit in my life moreso than at any other time. The Lord works out those things I cannot do on my own. I see patience flowing from me, joy that I don't normally exhibit, kindness that doesn't come naturally, and so on.
The Spirit life is what I desire. I need the Spirit of God to overcome my own corruption. When left to my own true nature, I get twisted inward. My life becomes riddled with fleshly corruption. I am devoured by the nature of self.
As a disciple, I must choose discipline. They are so related. In all these things, I must surrender to the Spirit of God to enable me. But, I still must choose. That's my one requirement. The path to victory: yielding, surrendering, submitting.
On one hand is death and corruption and then there's God. His ways are not my ways. He offers abundant life. I must choose him above the pull of sin and self.
Oh, how I love You, Lord. Your deliverance I desire.

Gal 5:22

Resurrection Cookies

These cookies are a tradition for us. They didn't taste great. But it was a great experience.
Maybe this time I'll have pictures to post...Sunday.

Fun Preschool Stuff

Some of my favorite preschool memories with Hannah include making books. Some workbook that I had (and wish I knew the name of now) had sequence books in it. You know...what comes first, second and last? I loved doing those. Well, I don't have those exact ones, but I plan to make these with my two preschoolers soon.
I made a personalized book for John that says, "God made me a boy." The fact that this part of the book is prescripted is funny because John Caleb had a habit of declaring that a little while back. "God made me a boy." One day, as he played dress up with his sisters, he was wearing a dress as he often did. He came down the stairs and declared, "God made me a boy, but Hannah made me a guuull." Now, that's funny!

Reverence

Psalm 119:38 Establish Thy word to Thy servant
As that which produces reverence for Thee.

I was reading through a one-year Bible reading plan many months ago and read the following two passages on the same day. Lev. 21:16-23 and Matt 5:29-30.
Lev. 21:16 begins, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to Aaron, saying, 'No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the bread of his God. For no one who has a defect shall approach; a blind man, or a lame man, or he who has a disfigured face, or any deformed limb, or a man who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye or eczema or scabs or crushed testicles. No man among the desendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, is to come near to offer the Lord's offering by fire; since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, only he shall not go in to the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect, that he may not profane My sanctuaries. For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.'"

I am not singling out this passage for it's unusual content, merely! Hang on!

By the way, Aaron's sons were to bring the sacrifices before the Lord. Why not one with a defect? Is this an unfair judgement upon those with birth defects? Bearing in mind what was just declared by the Lord to the priestly line of Aaron, we will read what Jesus says in the New Testament book of Matthew.

In Matthew 5:29 and 30, Jesus is quoted as follows, "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell."

Why would the Son of God ask that we mutilate ourselves for righteousness sake, when God said that no person with a defect could come into His presence?

I say one word answers this delimma: reverence. Our malformed, twisted ways make us unapproachable to a Holy God! Jesus was saying that it is better to sever the part of your life that makes you stumble spiritually than to be tripped up by it continually and never be able to stand (and not fall) before God.

Lev. 21:22...'He may eat of the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, only he shall not go in to the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect...." We all have a defect, to be sure. It's sin.

Reverence for God causes us to forsake our own pursuit for perfection and trust in the One, Holy, Righteous Sacrifice of Christ!

Psalm 119:38 Establish Thy word to Thy servant
As that which produces reverence for Thee.

St. Patty's Day

I am not usually inclined to celebrate the holidays with much fan-fare. They seem to catch me off guard. But, I do have a few things for St. Patty's Day tomorrow.
We'll make this Irish Potato candy recipe! : )
We may watch our Veggie Tales video that tells the tale of St. Patrick for the wee little ones!
I printed this off for fun! I love Family Fun!

That's about it for me.....
unless I decide to dye my hair....haha

Who am I mad at?

I've asked myself before, "What is the purpose of this blog?" Then I answer myself..."I need to work through and work out things in my head and heart. This seems like a good place."

Currently, I'm evaluating why I'm constantly shaking my fist.

In the past, I have shaken my fist at bullies. I have shaken it at myself, at laziness, at apathy, at the TV, at God, at the radio announcer, at no one in particular. I'm inclined to anger. I have confessed this numberous times to others in hopes for freedom, compassion, understanding, and better yet, for it to end. Anger was once my default mode. It may still be, I'm afraid to admit.

Now, I'm finding that anger masks my own ignorance. When I don't understand, I get angry. Most recently I got angry at the writer of my morning devotional. I thought that he was misrepresenting Christ. I proceeded to ask Jason if I was, in fact, right in denouncing his faulty doctrine. Then he busted my angry bubble. He agreed with the writer. The doctrine in particular isn't as important to me at this moment as is realizing I'm just shaking my fist at my own ignorance. At that doesn't do me any good!

Now, what am I going to do with this new-found knowledge. Hopefully, I will close my mouth more often and lower that clinched fist of mine.

The debt that all men must pay...

That's the phrase that has run through my mind for almost a week. My Papaw passed away on Valentine's Day (he went to be with his Valentine). And I have thought of that quote from National Treasure many times. I thought, "How bizarre. Not a Scripture, but a movie quote that reverberates in my mind at a time like this."

How true. The debt that all men must pay is death.

RADishes : )

We have been having fun learning about radishes, of all things. I have learned so much myself!

I recommend this curricula. These people know what they are doing and make it easy to implement at home.

I will add more pics later. Tonight: we eat the plant. Not the radish, mind you. We eat the plant!

Almost Heaven

Recently, I made this for a friend for her birthday. This is my second try. The edges aren't perfect, but I'm pleased. Maybe someday I'll be selling these at Tamarack!! : )

Before giving it, I did put some blue in there behind the matting. I forgot to take another picture once it was complete.

I am proud to be from "Almost Heaven, West Virginia".

Toodles!