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Kristy's Blog




Read my friend Kristy's Blog first, if you are interested in this post, otherwise it won't make sense.....

Reiterating---
Warning Against Idleness

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching Or tradition you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Your Blog was great!!! I loved it!! YAAAHHHH!!

I wanted to comment a few things, but wasn't sure it was "comment worthy" you know??

First I totally agree with you with all your points, I just wanted to add a few things that I thought of as I read it :) I hope that's okay!!

By idle people, I think this verse also is supposed to speak to Christians who are idle, right? My reasoning being the verse itself is written to believers in Thessalonia or however the heck you spell it!! So, certainly we are supposed to be aware of idle seculars around us sucking life from everything around them, but even more we need to be aware of believers or people who call themselves "Christian" in particular who are holding so tight to the "all I have to do is pray a prayer and I am saved" line that they think Christ doesn't want or need them to do anything else. Secondly, I am also totally thrown off by Liberals who call themselves Christians, because I too can't understand how a person can support a party that condones murder. I have thought about this quite a bit fairly recently as well and came to this conclusion..... I know that I want to feel free to believe as I choose, without another person trying to force their "beliefs" on me, whether by laws created or just them being nosey. I think that Liberal Christians hold very tight to that ideal, and choose to be liberal to make a point of not forcing their beliefs on others. Does that make sense?? Just because I believe something doesn't make everyone believe it, whether I am right or wrong. My Faith is the same way. I can only evangelize successfully to those whose hearts have been softened by God. So I think that Liberal Christians really strongly feel that God will work in the government regardless or their choices, as He is in control!!

HOWEVER!!!!!

Like you, I am a conservative, republican who believes that Christians need to stand up for what this country was built on! Our Founding Fathers, and all the immigrants that came here for save haven to practice their Christian Beliefs without conflict, established through their blood this amazing nation! As Christians I really feel that we need to stand strong and fight for the cornerstones that this country has been built on. People shouldn't have changed the country t cater to their wants and carnal desires in the first place, if they didn't like our Christan roots and couldn't find a way to live with us, they should have left! But as Christians we are always trying to win souls for Christ and have accepted all of these wonderful people into our country, thus living among the Canaanites, and have begun living of the world, and not just in it. Instead of us rubbing off on them, we allowed them to penetrate the very core of our sacred government, and have lost control.

What do you think?

Tifany

A Surprising Day

I just wanted to make a note that a "lost" friend and I got to talk for a while today and I felt so much better afterwords :) I am also planning a trip for next week to Eastern WA to visit my long lost friend Stephani. The kids can't wait to see her boys as well. Hopefully Eric won't feel left out, though, because Jason can't come this time :(

I also can't believe that I am Mom to an almost 11 year old!! A 9 year old, 7 year old, and 3 1/2 year old!!! Whew!!

Our friend Rachel got to hang out with us today at Home Connections as well as for Karate and afterwords for a while. Mom and Dad had some "stuff" to deal with for the day, and my kids loved having her around!!

Eb and Flow

I'm not sure what exactly I am trying to write about here except that I know I keep praying for God to bring me a friend. I had a wonderful friend, that I met just a few weeks after we moved here, and then she and her family had to move due to circumstances..... I feel so detached sometimes, and remedy that by plugging into school and church activities more and more. But as I have had to take a break from a lot of these outlets over the past few months, I have had time to ponder once again, the fact that I really wish that I had a woman friend to have tea and visit with. So far God has brought a few new people into my life causing me to hope once again, but they just don't seem to be the fit that my far away friend fulfills. So many of the people that I meet here seem to already have so many connections going in their lives that they just don't have the time or need of another friend, much less a best friend. Why does this one little thing make me feel so disconnected sometimes?? I have so many people around me that are amazing people. Awesome Christian, loving, honorable, hard working people...... Why is it that God brings people into our lives sometimes and then makes them leave again? I know that it's all part of His cosmic plan, and that we are all here to serve Him and do His work, but I still question why, sometimes.....

On the other hand, I have the most amazing best friend that a person could ever have, in my husband. He is passionate, loving, kind, respectful, honorable, just, faithful, and a strong man of God. He treats me like a queen, works from sun up to sun down taking care of his family, both at work and once he gets home. He has been struggling so much with trying to get firewood put up for winter, and I feel so bad that I haven't been able to help at all with that. I feel that he is trying his absolute best and I admire him for that. He is an amazing father, and God has chosen the perfect match for me for me in him.

So as I look out the window today and watch the harsh North Eastern Wind howl at the trees, I am reflecting on my friendship blessings. God has put so many people into my life to help me walk the path that He has chosen for me, that I dare not complain. And I will keep praying that God will reveal to me once more a true woman friend, whom I can feel truly comfortable with, leaving no reserve.

Back to School

This Tuesday was our first official day back to school, though the kids and I worked on stuff throughout the summer as well, but just so it's "official" we have a start Date of 9-8-09. We are slowly pulling out of the station and have visited our new grammar curriculum, are continuing our Math-U-See adventures, have worked a bit with some handwriting and have started Spelling/Phonics depending on grade level. Cayleb is an official 5th grader this year, I can hardly believe it. I know that just a few months away I will be blogging about how I have a high schooler or something! Noah is officially in 3rd grade but is working through 4th/5th grade materials and Charity Ann is in 2nd this year. Sarah Rose is pulling up as the caboose as a preschooler. It's really hard thinking about Cayleb being in high school in just a few short years, but it is even harder thinking about my babiest one being old enough for school period. I guess you could say that I am in a reflective mood. I want to make sure that when the kids and I look back at our schooling adventures they are full of pleasant memories and funny stories, not drills and busywork. I really know that they learn best when they are having fun, as brains turn off completely when frustration and boredom enter the proximity. That's why I LOVE the Konos curriculum that we have chosen for the past few years. We haven't started it yet as we are waiting to go pick up our "wish" list of books from the library to begin, as real books always trigger more learning than a silly old work book anyways!!

We have begun our year with the unit "Explorers, Navigation and Sailing." Pa Pa will be proud! :) Next week we will tackle ships and sailing, then we are off to learning how explorers navigate in open water with out electronics, computers or sunshine. After that we will delve into various explorers that have sailed the oceans blue and purple. After that we will dive into pioneers just in time for Fall harvests and Thanksgiving, then off to Norway for a Christmas adventure!

I am still canning, trying to fit in the peaches that are just about ripe atop our aquarium. I also have apples available when I am ready to do apple sauce. I need to harvest our carrot crop and can those, as well as the remaining beets. I am also waiting to see how much corn I will end up with because I'd really like to get several more quarts of that canned. I am also drying things this year, some veggies, but mostly fruit. The kids have been enjoying that immensely. They turn down cupcakes to mom's dried kiwis and pineapple. Jason has been enjoying them as well.

The farmers market has been a new adventure for me this summer as well. my friend Katie and I have been working together there since the first part of June and are having a lit of fun. We have been getting into character lately as pioneers selling the lovely Grace Harbor Farms Guernsey Cow Yogurt as well as Saanen Goat milk and yogurt. Our main product, however, is the MSM cream which is an all natural pain reliever/anti-inflammatory. It's a great cream that smells absolutely divine because of the particular combination of essential oils that contribute to the mixture. My whole family enjoys it's benefits, especially Sarah Rose. She LOVES for Mamma to put the cream on her after her bubble. So, anyways. All that to say that Katie and I have been having fun making costumes to wear each week.
Here is a pic of us at the farm:We made our aprons the night before, until 1 in the morning!! I'm not too keen on patterns and sewing in general but was able to figure this one out!

Canning Dialogues....

My family and I have taken a new road of canning this year trying new things and techniques. No longer do we can only apple sauce, peaches and the occasional pear or apple pie filling, no that wasn't quite enough!! We added a pressure canner to our collection of kitchen gadgets which has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities, so far we have only canned corn and green beans and some stewed tomatoes with it, but the possibilities are endless!! Hehe :) I have tried my hand at pickled beets, green chili sauce, rhubarb raspberry sauce, some new jam blends and pickles as well. So far I am receiving rave reviews as things are opened up and tried for the first time. Yummy's abound!
I must say that my garden this year has been fruitful. Not only did I increase (with the loving help of Jason) the size 4 times to a whopping 40x60 but I added some new plants to the mix as well. We did 3 rows of Corn, 5 rows of Green beans, 3 rows of sugar snaps, Beets, Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Broccoli, Bok Choy, Carrots, Lettuce, Cucumbers Pickling and Salad, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Sunflowers and radishes. I have the tomatoes, sunflowers, pickling cucumbers and some of my herbs over in the chicken planter that wraps around the chicken yard. All that to say, boy 5 rows of green beans may have been a bit much :)!! Hubby and I canned 35 quarts tonight that added to our current number of 57 quarts! What does that add up to, I'm going to have to stop typing for a minute so I can figure it out as my poor brain is being stubborn...... 92, is it 92, really?? OMGoodness.... 104 would be enough for 2 quarts a week for a year! Good thing we like green beans :)
The corn is getting ready, the lettuce is about done and the beets are ready for their final harvest as well. I think the carrots need to be thinned and canned as well.... But we are starting school tomorrow, so my canning ventures will have to wait for afternoon at least, or perhaps the weekend. Ugh.... too much canning. I always look back as December approaches and think "Whew, am I glad that canning season is over....." But this year will take the cake for the most canning we have ever done. I have purchased some new jars, and have had a few given to us.... And I am officially out of regular mouth quarts, thanks to the green beans.... I need to get more jars so I can do my apple sauce and the box of peaches that are ripening on top of the fish aquarium :)
Hubby also built me a really nifty canning closet to store all of our canned goodies! There was no way that all these jars were going to fit in my pantry, nice as it is! Sorry if this is a bit scattered, it's getting late and I am finishing up those silly green beans! But, I'd better go for now.

Long Time no write....

Sorry everyone!! Yes, all my peoples.... he he, yeah like maybe 1!!

Lets see, I am going to keep this brief because I am typing with one hand :) I had my first Carpal Tunnel Release done last Thursday. Yeah! So far I am doing great and haven't been having too much trouble getting things done. But that is mostly thanks to my beautiful kids and husband! Wrist number 2 will be done Sept. 24th. I have only missed one week of playing at church and miss it tremendously already. I can't believe that it will probably be almost November before I can start playing again. :( I love sharing that gift, and feel useless with out that chance.

I have finished serving the Thomas Family, however, which has allowed the kids and I to have a fairly relaxing August to prepare for our upcoming school year. I know that this lapse of non-service will end before too long, as God always has a new challenge in store for me! But for now we are looking forward to a great year of schooling together as a family, as well as AWANA and Martial Arts. I am so looking forward to a more intimate year than was permitted last year. I can't wait to snuggle on the couch for morning bible studies with coffee and cocoa :)

We begin school next week with a unit study on Explorers, Navigation and Sailing. The kids all helped pick that out.

Better go for now, hopefully it won't be so long next time!

Jason's Dad did this!

Ha Ha Ha!!! too funny!

http://67.192.181.179/clip/?hid=610b7d26a324cc2ea0231be3d6e7e3c7