Who Ever Said that Faith is Easy??

Who ever said that faith is easy, or that being a Christian makes things easier was not preaching the gospel of Christ. As Christians we are tested and refined daily, and in our perseverance we are made more like Christ as we follow in his footsteps. Being a Christian means having amazing experiences followed by trials that test our very core. I mess up, I take my eyes and lower them to the ground, and then I feel defeated. It is only when I graze my eyes upon the heavens and once again drink in the cool, refreshing air, that I find peace in my heavenly Father. When the troubles and people of this world disappoint me, I have to resist curling up into a little ball of sorrows. This is so easy to do, as a woman of God I revert to that natal position almost as reflex. But God comes and finds me in my innermost parts and calls me to Himself. He tells me once again that I am His precious daughter, and that He made everything about me. 



"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
(Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)

He has a perfect plan for my life if I will only try my best to follow one step behind His lead. No one, and no thing can deter me from the task He has given me. And when waves try to wash up over me, I have to grasp tightly to the rock that is my foundation. 


Several things have been washing and crashing over me this past week, and I need to see them for what they are. The evil one of this world would like nothing better than to discourage me and cast doubt into the plan that God has for me. Letter's that make me feel like a criminal, children that make me feel like a failure, and situations that make me feel tiny are no match for my God! 



Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
(Isaiah 30:18-21 ESV)


"This is the way, walk in it." Be patient and kind, for blessed are the poor in spirit. 


“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matthew 5:9-12 ESV)

We are blessed to call Him Father! And we will not be delivered unto our enemies, unless He has a plan to further the Kingdom of God.

Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
(Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)

May His name be made Holy upon the earth, so that people will respond to His calls.


But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)

God is my strong tower, He is my refuge and my strength. I call on no other name, and expect no man to be perfect.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
(Psalm 46:1-3 ESV)

Do not let you spirit be crushed, I have to run to the Father with arms wide open.



The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination. Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. A man's spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? (Proverbs 18:10-14 ESV)

In Him I find rest, comfort and peace like a river. And though I am refined as precious gold, I know that I will make it through to the "Good and faithful servant" if only I can hold fast to my Father. 

And I will put this third into the fire,
    and refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
-Zechariah 13:9


The Lord is my God!

Amen---

Don't hate the players, hate the game...

I read Psalm 16 as part of my bible study today and found it very comforting. I know that all that I have is because of the goodness of God, and I seek to find contentment with the Lord as my perfect portion, seeking no more or no less than he desires for me. He gives me council and and when I manage to walk consistently speaking to Him throughout my day, my days are filled with so much joy and peace. And when I am faced with adversity, I know that my heart instructs me to a correct and gracious response. I pray that I will be able to listen with a fever and a desire to always respond correctly. 

Through our journeys we will all come across people in our lives, walking as fellow brothers and sisters as well as nonbelievers and pagans. All of us, if we do not rely on the strength of Christ, can fall and be used by satan himself, or merely to our own carnal and human desires and free will.  Me must be wary and diligent in our walk with Christ, listening carefully. We must learn to not hate people because of what they do, or the choices that they are making. We cannot expect to make their choices for them. But if we are truly walking in Christ, and following his lead, he will make them ready to hear what he has to say through us, or not. Everyone on earth is capable of wicked and evil deeds, but it is the forgiven who have the relationship with our Lord, Jesus, who will prevail and rise back up after falling. 

On another note, viable fruit should be visible as proof of a persons walk with Christ. If we don't see fruit, it allows us to question their very salvation, and perhaps that is what we need to be praying for after all. I know that there are many many Christians in the world who are walking in a false security of their salvation, having prayed a prayer, but not with meaning, walking a path where no fruit is evident. All of us have kinks and desires that God needs to work out and smooth over, but if we keep falling back to the same old responses and desires, and cannot control our hearts and voices nor our actions, then perhaps there is a greater issue at hand. Our hearts and our minds have to be aligned as one with our faith in the ONE TRUE GOD! 

If you see a brother or sister that consistently falls and repeats the same mistakes over and over again, they may be drowning. They may not be leaning on the strength and council of Christ. We need to be fervent in our prayers and petitions to the Lord. Pray continuously with all kinds of prayers and requests, for this pleases the Lord!

Truly you are all the good that is in me, without you I would be no good at all. Lord you are enough for me, you hold my life in your hands, and by trusting in you my paths have traveled through pleasant places, indeed you have blessed me with a beautiful family, a loving church of brothers and sisters and a home that is above and beyond what I know is possible without you. Without you, I would have no reason to go on. You are my comfort, my grace, my salvation, my entire reason for being. I try to walk and seek your council, my heart listens for you at night. In you I have confidence that no one can shake me. My heart is glad, my soul feels solace in you Lord. My life is safe in your hands, and I know that you will never forsake me. You reveal your purpose and path for me in your awesome time, and let me see glimpses of the path ahead and the possibilities and promises of joy. I know that through you I will be blessed, and in times of turmoil you will never be silent or leave me alone. You are who you say you are. 

Psalm 16

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam of David.

16:1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Quickly

We are having a great beginning to our week. I have a huge list of things I want to accomplish: weeding, getting my SLP's in for the year, canning some preserves, some grocery shopping, and working on a few crafty things. I hope that I can get to all of them, but to do that, I have to get off of here! So, there it is!

Ode to the Dear Hack Weed

Oh my dearest hack weed,
How thou does touch my heart,
Your  branches stab at my legs,
As I walk past you trip me and make me fall.

Oh my dearest hack weed,
Your loving caresses slap across my face.
Your sticks bend over in my path
They whip my back as I walk past.

Oh my dearest hack weed,
And your field fellow black berry.
Blackberry's thorns so carefully scratch and dig
In my awaiting skin like a fish hook they grasp tightly.

Oh my dearest hack weed
And black berry with your graceful thorny vines
Without you two adorning my path
How could I go on?

This Ode is to my friend the hack weed..... and black berry too. Without them my days would be less full and complete.... that is of stabs, trips and gouges!! I had time to think about this as I was out doing my chores this morning.... Hack weed is not my favorite of God's creations right now.... 

What is Honoring?

I came across an old book the other day, well actually it was a while back. It was an old devotional book that a friend of mine had. I love old books and felt that perhaps this old book had something to say to me regarding things that I had been pondering. The first page that I turned to, the page that was for the date of that day was very interesting. I loved what it had to say. It was straight forward, to the point and didn't call crap anything but what it truly was. Basically it said that as Christians we are called to live our lives to certain standards. And that as long as we are doing what Christ is asking us to do, our lives will never dishonor him. No matter where He leads us or what He asks us to do, it may seem silly to us, or scary, or in some cases wrong, it will never dishonor Him when we come back and look at it hindsight.  Jesus, Christ, will always be cast in a beautiful glow of light. If the light our lives is casting is not so beautiful, or maybe as bright as we think it could be, it's because we may not be listening correctly to what He is asking us to do. Or, perhaps, it's the people that we choose to fellowship with. Friends and family can be making bad choices in their lives as well. Choices that reflect back on us because of our connections, choices that cast drab color or shadows upon our own lives and lights. If these friends or family are "Christians" being born again through Christ, they are supposed to be held accountable to the exact standards that we hold ourselves to. If they are not believers, the case is completely different. But if they are believers, sometimes Christ asks us to release them from our lives and let Satan have them for a while. They have a lesson to learn that we cannot teach them, or in their current state of mind are unable to understand. They need Christ to work in their lives through circumstances in their lives so that they can come back and repent for what they have been doing wrong. As their friends or family, however, we are still asked to pray for them. Prayer is what saves people. Prayer is the only way that we can help "save" someone without affecting their God given right to free will. Regardless, I am abashed by the people in my life that fall to the tempting roll of crutch. I loose respect when it seems that they cannot possibly be doing what Christ would want them to do for fear of the results. God is in control. What He wants to happen will happen regardless of what we want! One way or another, and often we choose the harder path, God will effect what His will is for all of our lives. He will bring us through it kicking and screaming, thinking that we know what is best, and we will be better Christians for it. I may look back, understanding now not how things could possible reflect anything less than a horrible image of Christ, and find that yes, even what appeared to be a pile of poo in the room was actually not poo but compost to use in my garden. But all I can say for now is it looks like poo, smells like poo and has flies buzzing all around it......just like poo!  LOL!

A beautiful Day with beautiful music.....

Today was a busy day.  To begin, I got up and ready for church by 8:20 so that I could be there by 8:30 to set up for Sunday School. Jason and I have taken on the challenge of teaching the 1-6 graders through the summer; 12 weeks of planning ahead of me!  I thought for a sec a few months ago that maybe I wouldn't be lesson planning for a few months this summer! LOL Anyways, so I headed off, set up practiced with the worship team for a while then when that finished up went in and finished getting ready for the kids to arrive. Jason arrived in there somewhere with our kids that he got ready and to church by 9:25 all by himself, no easy feat let me tell you! We then proceeded to teach the kids, we had 15 on our opening day! After that and a quick breath of relief we hurried off to the service. Worship, share prayer, sermon wrap up and then a rush to get people their eggs and kids a few pages for the new prayer journals that we decided to begin as part of the Summer curric. for Sunday School. Then, home to make dinner for our first Host Ministries dinner with Bob and Mary Eytzen. The dinner turned out great (for what they all said, I didn't try it) albeit a half hour after our original ete- estimated time of eattage. We had a lovely visit with them both and I am so happy that they were able to make it over. I had hoped for a sunny day like yesterday so that we could host partly in the yard, but the weather didn't agree. The weather wins that that competition every time! It turned out nice regardless, though, and Mary even brought in her harp so that she could play us a few tunes. I played a long, kind of.  Then the kids each had a turn at a mineature recitle of sorts. Cayleb on the clarinet, Charity Ann on recorder, Sarah Rose on the shaker egg and a harmonica and Noah on the piano. They all were very proud of their accompaniment and the chance to share with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Mary. Mary is an amazing musician. She can play ANYTHING that she touches, by EAR, without hardly a bad note! She plays the organ at church as well as the piano for special numbers here and there. She brings out her accordion for special occasions like church potlucks and BBQ's at the beach, and now the harp :)  She makes me smile, and gives me a life long goal. I respect, so very much, the ability to play by ear but the equal ability to play with music. So much these days you have a musician that can do one or the other but cannot both. The present garage band craze has developed musicians that cannot support their skill with technical knowledge. I am not saying that as a generalization, because there are a lot of talented musicians that have the technical know how to back up their skills!!  I just really respect the people that can do both. I also have encountered "musicians" that have the technical ability ingrained into their brains, but have no heart for improv. They can play any sheet of music you put in front of them, well, but without the ability to venture off on their own here and there, or they just plain lack the desire or courage to do it regardless. They stomp the piano keys or breathe steadily into their mouthpiece, but cannot master the beautiful tones avaliable to their instrument.

I so very much admire Mrs. Vivian and her wonderful talent as well. She is so versatile and willing to teach my kids!! What an asset she has been to my family the past several months! I also think that she is a great musician, I just wish that we had more opportunity to play together! Actually, our entire worship team at church has so much heart and ability and passion for music that I relish every time that I am able to play with them. A good group of musicians is one that you feel challenges you to better your own skills. If you feel like they are holding you back, or are smothering your ability to play what God is placing in your heart to play, it is not so enjoyable. I love that I feel challenged!!

All this spurred by getting to hear Mrs. Mary play her harp :)  Thank you Mrs. Mary!! We love and hold dear all the hugs that we get to share with you both!!

Just a snapshot of life

I was thinking on the way home today, that our lives, speaking of oneself, are like a moving picture, but the lives of others around us are more like photographs. If you think about it, what we see of the lives of others is just little snapshots of what they are really going through. You might see someone walking down the street or entering a restaurant. You may think to yourself, "Wow I am so glad that they are getting to go on a walk," or whatever. You would walk away or continue driving on thinking to yourself, "I bet that person must go on walks a lot." But really, that is just an impression that our brains paint together based on a few seconds of information. What their lives are really like is still a complete mystery. We encounter our own lives with every minute detail. Every second that we are conscious we are recording memories and judging our paths and choices. But the lives of others can be so unfairly judged based on just these small glimpses. We see people walking into a fancy restaurant or walking down the street with a Juicy purse and make certain calls about that persons life. But in reality, we have no idea what their circumstances are. Sure, they might actually be able to go to fancy restaurants when they want to, or buy a new purse on a whim, but the reality could also be the opposite. Maybe they have come across these circumstances by other means, through gifts from others, careful planning or personal sacrifice. I look at my own life, and then try to look at it from the snap shot perspective. What do the choices that I make every day regarding outfits, what my kids are wearing, what I drive, my attitude, how I spend my money (when I actually have some,)how my kids act towards others, or my interaction with humanity say about my circumstances and priorities in life. Do they reflect careful planning, the knowledge that God will provide for my family and I, frugality, a love for Christ and wise choices? Or do they say something else?

As a Christian, I am charging myself with the task of reflecting on these things more carefully. It is so important to me that people see the important things about my life, and not judge me based on what I have. I am so blesses in so many ways. May family blesses me. I get the most beautiful clothes from my Mom and Sister for myself and my youngest Sarah Rose. Jason and I were blessed by the investment in real estate in California, before the market tanked. God has blessed us with vehicles that are nice, run and get good gas mileage. He also lead us through the purchase and organization of the property that we call home now. I look at families trying to buy now and know that if God had not had his hand in the process 6 years ago, we would not have been able to get what we got then, much less now. He continues to bless our property, allowing us to stay above water in a financially soaked market. He lead us to a church full of beautiful people, with beautiful hearts and a passion for Christ. Above all, He protects and feeds my family each and every day, and continues to bless us even when we can't imagine where the blessing could come from next. I also know what He asked us to sacrifice in order to be where we are now. We were asked to move 900 miles from everything and everyone we ever knew. He asked me to not see my Mom and Dad and Grandparents, for months and years at a time. He asked me to not be involved in the day to day lives of my brothers and sisters. These things can break my heart, and do if I am not careful. But these things also make me truly treasure every moment that I get to spend with them. I know that even these times, though they always seem too short, are also a gift from God.

So, the next time you find yourself judging someone based on just a snapshot of their life, back up a second, and think about it from a different perspective. You do not know the choices that they had to make or the sacrifices that it took to get them to where they are. You don't know how God impacts their lives. You don't know how they are feeling or how they are reacting to the world around them. It's going to be hard, but we can do it.

Then there are the people in your life that say one thing but are clearly not really truly living what they say they are living. And then, I feel like I have a little more ability to see the full picture. These people are the hypocrites of the world, the charlatans.... And they will be judged by the true judge, the only judge that really matters.

Trying to Accept

I keep trying to convince myself that things don't matter. Really they don't, it doesn't take much convincing, once I ask myself if it matters. I just wish that other people would tell me what they are really thinking sometimes, instead of just giving me the answer that they think that I want to hear. Really it's easier on everyone if you just come out with it and stand behind what you chose. I am not going to judge you based on the choice you made, unless you are a sister or brother in Christ and your decisions are reflecting poorly on your faith. Then I will have to pray that God gives me the words to say to encourage you in the right direction. But, beyond that, who am I to tell you what is best for you and your family. Some people don't seem to have much of a problem with that. Telling me it just doesn't fit in with their schedule, and leaving it at that. That leaves me to the facts. No wishy-washy decisions that seem like they need a push in any direction. I say Okay, great, lets move on to the next thing. Maybe people value themselves too much in regards to my feelings. Perhaps they think that I will be heartbroken if they say no, that they are not interested. I may be disappointed, but really, who are we thinking about here. Is it really me, or do they just not have the stomach to stand up for the choices and decisions they are making. You don't need my approval. If you feel it, deal with it, or decide to change it. But when you leave it open so that we think you are interested and then back out at the last minute, all the while we knew that you were never in it to begin with. Doesn't that make you look silly? Haven't we learned from the past. I have. I just need to call Dirt, well.... Dirt! I can't expect to sow a beautiful flower garden with vegetable seeds, I need flower seeds. Maybe your just not a flower. Not that Vegetables are any less prized. And certainly I can plant some veggies in my garden as well. But, we need to properly label our planted seeds, that way we know what is what and there is no confusion as to why broccoli came up when I was expecting begonias. Dirt is dirt, and crap is crap. I don't really need any more of the later, I have plenty around here to go around, literaly. So if that is what you are peddling, please pass my homestead over. Thank you.

Short Sweet and to the Point

I realize that it has been a while since I last blogged. Lots has happened, don't get me wrong, but that hasn't left much time for sitting on my bum to write it all down. We recently got some beautiful Saanen Goats. I am milking one and she is providing such lovely creamy whiteness to our table that I treasure each chance that I get to go to the Goat Barn to milk once again. I've been experimenting with some different uses as well, I've made a simple cottage cheese, which turned out pretty good, but I need to get my pasteurizer in running order to do much more, I think. It will be fun to continue to experiment, however.

I also have been very busy at church. Mrs. Viv has talked me into teaching Childrens Sunday School this summer. 12 weeks of unplanned lessons are waiting to be tackled. I really need to find a few hours to get a nice start on those!

Tonight the boys have a concert, they are both singing as well as playing choir chimes for a few numbers as well. They are excited. I get to be a ringer as well for the choir chimes songs. Hopefully Charity Ann and Sarah Rose will be content sitting in the audience, as Daddy won't be able to make it due to his current schedule.

I will try to get a few pictures posted on here, so that everyone can see how much we are all growing!

That's all for now! Sorry not so spectacular!

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.

Ice Skating

So I asked Charity Ann this morning what she wanted to do for an extra curricular activity this year. We had been talking about some dance lessons. I mentioned to her that she could try ice skating since she could take a class at the same time as Cayleb's learn to skate class. She was really excited! She didn't know that that was even an option. I hadn't really thought about it much before this morning, but woke up with a sort of tada moment thinking, Wow, wouldn't it be easier on me if she wanted to try ice skating, instead of dance, then I would only be carting them to one place a few times a week, rather than 2 several times a week! So, I asked, and then Noah heard from her that she was going to be ice skating and he got this left out look and I asked him if he wanted to and he said Yes!! So Then I decided I better take in the contract form from Blaine Home Connections so that they could start that paper work and we could get our lessons paid for out of our stipend. When we got there at 10:15 this morning the "Home School Skate" had just started and the lady was like, we'll they can skate today as their first practice if you want? And of course the kids all said yes, even though they were in T-Shirts and a few even had shorts on! They looked pretty cute out there on the ice in their shorts, t-shirts and skates! :) I got a few pictures but will get more later. Their first class is Friday with a 3 hour practice session afterwards. They are very excited to go back, and this time Cayleb can actually take his skates with him so that he doesn't have to borrow the stinky ones. We may have to work towards purchasing skates for the other two if they are going to stick with it.

Cayleb is learning how to skate so that he can play Hockey, so he's just glad to be back on the ice :)

I am just glad that I won't be going to 2 different places 4-5 times a week!! B'Ham is getting more and more expensive to get to these days, though I did get Diesel today for under $4 a gal. I haven't been able to do that for almost a year I think!! It was a nickel away from $5 for way to long!!

Right now was are playing catch-up on the school we "missed" this morning. My extra kiddos aren't here today since today is Zoie's Birthday and her Mom was able to take the day off and treat her to some fun! We are just relaxing, and enjoying the quiet while Sarah Rose gets her nap. We have AWANA tonight so that will be plenty loud to make up for the peace right now!

Gotta Go.

Tif

Marvelous Monday :)

Yeah, I know I have used that one before, I think..... so lets see what else can we come up with for Monday....
Madd
Moody
Magnificent
Mischievous
Macho
Money
Mooselicious
Marockin
Hmmm..... Okay, I guess we'll go with magnificent this time :)

Yesterday was great. I decided to throw our schedule out the window, and instead created a lot more detailed assignment sheets for each of the kids. That way they could decide what they wanted to work on, yet still have the ability to see what they need to do. So it was fun for them to get those choices, and they could go at whatever pace they wanted to. This was a big plus for the big kids, as they didn't have to wait for me to finish up things with the younger ones before they moved on. Some got done pretty early and had free time, others worked until lunch and a few had just a little to do after lunch. We did spelling together after lunch and also our Konos fun stuff about the Music and Sound experiments unit that we are working on. I felt mush more relaxed about it, not feeling like I was holding anyone back, or pushing anyone ahead either. And it let me work with a few at a time on Math, because the most I got working on Math at one time was 4 and it was all the younger ones.

Six has been an adventure so far, but I am enjoying it and will keep it up :)

Life in general

Hello!!

I'm getting ready for another busy week. We are starting our 4th week of Homeschooling and are going strong. Last week we had a few slow days for kiddos to catch up on lost sleep and some had dentist appointments, but other than that we have been trying our best to have fun. I hope that we continue to have fun as we continue to get more and more done each day. I am hoping that we get our Math-U-See in soon, so that the kids who are waiting to start their books can start soon. In the meantime, they are having fun helping the other kids with theirs, as well as continuing to work on telling time. I am so thankful that Jesus is my strength because I know that none of this would be happening or working without Him as my strength. Some may think that that seems weak, but to me, it's my strength and courage.



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Now playing: Chris Daughtry - What About Now
via FoxyTunes

Why Jesus?

A good friend of mine who has very recently become a believer has had a lot of questions, as is normal!! I had this response for her latest round about why Jesus had to die for us, and Why we have to have eternal death for our sins among a few others.... I really hope that she does not mind me posting this response. I really would like some feedback positive or negative regarding my accuracy and things I could say better or things that you liked about what I have said......

Simple answer: Because the wages of sin is eternal death (not literal death on Earth, but it separates us from Him in eternity), we deserve death in God's eyes when we sin against Him. Jesus died in our place, for our sins, so that we could have life (eternal life.)

My answer: In the old Testament times people sacrificed perfect animals to "atone" for their sins, or to try to balance them out on a sin vs.. "please forgive me" scale. We all Sin, and God knows that we can't help it, it's our nature and he made us with free will so that we would have the choice between sinning and doing what he really wants us to do. All He really wants is for us to realize our sin, and admit it to Him and then ask for forgiveness. It's a lot like being parents, we all want our kids to grow up happy and healthy and to have good lives, but when they do something that makes us upset, i.e.: breaking a safety rule or being destructive, they make us sad and all we really want for them is to admit what they did was wrong, learn to not do it again, and then move on with their lives, right? The big thing is we want them to know that what they did was wrong. God has similar rules for us. If you want to look back at the basic 10 commandments, they are all pretty much safety and do not abuse rules.... And when we do something that goes against those teachings, God wants us to realize it, admit to Him that we were wrong and tell Him that we won't do it again. Right, just like a parent! God had profits prophecy the First coming of Jesus. He knew that the old ways of "sacrificing animals" was not going to work for long.... He knew that they only way to get our attention back to Him was to do the most drastic, horrific, and unbelievable thing that a parent could ever do. Imagine the feelings he had to have gone through as the creator of that master plan!!!! But He did it because He loves us and He wanted us to find Him again!! Jesus was His perfect Lamb, and though it seems very savage and horrifying, He knew that the only way to get His peoples attention again was to be willing to sacrifice His son in the most excruciating death possible. You are probably thinking, why do we have to have death as the wage for sin? God is perfection, and we are not. God is perfect!! We are His creation, but we cannot stand before Him unless we have been washed clean of our sins. In the old testament they sacrificed animals to atone or compensate for their sins, After Jesus, the "New Testament" was created and died for us, it became possible for us to spend eternity with God if we only accept His Son into our hearts as our personal savior. This means admitting that we have sinned against God, Asking Him for forgiveness, Accepting that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins, and lastly accepting Gods Eternal Grace to clean us of our sins. No one can enter the presence of God with out Jesus standing by their side to "vouch" for them. I other words, we need to have the "Jesus stamp" on our hands to get in the gate :) Another way to think about it is Jesus was willing to take the call to die for us. God asked Him to do it and He accepted. God didn't make him do it, he wanted to!! And, since Jesus is God, it tells us that God was willing to Die for us to redeem us of our sins!!! We do have to take responsibility for our own sins, anyone who does this has accepted Jesus as the Son of God. Any one who hasn't admitted their sins to God, hasn't. And, Jesus can only save the people that have been willing to accept Him for who he was. They have to accept the gift that he is offering. If they don't accept the gift, then he has no choice but to turn away when it is their time to approach God. It truly is a gift, too, we don't have to do ANYTHING but take it and move on. Just as any parents dream is for their children to grow up to respect them and know that they did their best for them, that is God's dream too. But a child that grows apart from Him, mocks Him their whole life, turns away when He calls them and isn't willing to accept Him dying for them, can't be a true child of God. They have to be turned away. We have our whole life to figure this out no matter how long or short.... our life is our 1,000,000,000 chances to get it right. And if we can't figure it out by then.....we won't.

You are also right about it seeming sort of "tribal" but really the tribes were not far off, their idea of God had strayed from the One True God to the idea that there must be several to have created such a beautiful world. And Sacrifices have long been our way of asking God for forgiveness. Some tribes have taken this to extremes that God never intended, i.e.: human sacrifice.

Boring Blog

Just wanted to mention that I made it through another week! Whew!!

We went swimming yesterday while Jason went to Costco for me. He also gets to work today and tomorrow, first overtime in a LONG time (like 6 months or so!) Every little bit helps!

Kristy's not feeling well, I hope that she is feeling better soon!!!! You need to go to sleep at a better hour, silly.... maybe it's all these 1-2 o'clock schedules??!!

I also have been doing a little self observation. I have known since I was in the 6th grade or so that I have quite a few allergies. Most of them are ones that I really can't do anything about..... Grass, Trees, Rag Weed, Mold etc..... But I have been starting to notice a trend of headaches after I eat 2 of my food allergies Eggs and Potatoes! I was getting pretty bad headaches more and more often over the past few years.... I have been trying to narrow them down by cause so that I know how best to treat them. I know know that I get them for the obvious outdoor allergy reason, as well as by being dehydrated or waiting a little too long to eat, monthly wonders of being a woman reasons, as well as possibly food allergies. So, now that I hope that I am getting a better idea of why I get these literal pains in the neck and head, I hope that I can find good ways to treat them, not via OTC pain relievers. I have never been one to "pop pills" I hate doing that to my body. So, ultimately, I would like to find other ways to deal with them......There's not much I can do for the outdoor allergies, I won't restrict my outdoor activity unless it's smokey or while people nearby are mowing.... But I can try to take better care of myself by drinking lots of water, which I'd like to add I have been doing much better at! Eating proper meals IE: enough protein and vitamin rich veggies and whole grains has always been a goal of mine. And if I can contribute not eating my fave. baked home made french fries, and the fresh eggs that our lovely chickens lay for us..... well I will have to try :)

See, I told you it was boring!!!

A friend being refined......

I thought that perhaps my word to a friend of mine's blog might comfort someone?

Just be patient with it, time will smooth things over. But I know that patience can be torture too. Just make sure that you are putting all your trust in the one truth that you have in this life. The one that if all the mess around you just disappeared you would be held up by it. I know you know what I am talking about. God doesn't give us anything that we cannot handle, but we also have to choose not to handle the things that are too heavy. We have to put it down for a while sometimes to rest. Pray about it. Hand it over to him, give him the control and then try to sit back and listen to the quiet whispers of his presence in your life! He loves you, if nothing else makes sense, even if He doesn't make sense you have to try to have the faith to know that He is still there, even if you can't see Him or feel Him. I am praying for you, that you will find some peace within and stop tormenting yourself to be a better person. We are what God makes us and that is important to Him. I pray that He will comfort you and make you aware of His presence in your life because only He can make you pure as gold and gentle as a lamb. Refining is a terrible thing to go through, but just try to accept it and just make sure that you are refining how He wants you to :) I am Praying that His love and peace will cover you like a warm quilt on a cold winter night. That you will be able to distinguish between God's will and plans and your own Earthly ones. I am praying for you to be strong, and for wisdom for you and your family and friends. I am sorry I can't do more than that, but I did witness a miracle this week that has validated my respect for prayer and it's power.

My parents house was spared.

There was a Fire near my parents home today. I received a phone call from my Mom as she tried to prioritize what she should take with her. It was really scary trying to think of what to tell her to take.... They were evacuated a safe distance away but my Dad and Tesha's fiance stayed behind to try to get the house as ready as possible to survive the flames. Both my grandparents and parents live on the in the same houses that I grew up in and near. A lot of emotions flooded over me thinking of the possibility that they would loose everything. I can't imagine how it must have felt actually being there. I wanted so bad to be there to help and hold and comfort them. All I could do was hang on to their words over the phone and try my best to tell them what they needed to hear. I began e-mailing, calling and posting everywhere I could for people to pray for them and their homes and for the brave firefighters that were trying to save it all. That was what I could do to busy myself. I think that I contacted half of Washington state for prayer! Flames burned completely around my grandparents house, burning through the underbrush of their orchards and eucalyptus trees; and it burned almost completely around my parents house. There really was no reason that my grandparents house is still standing. The eucalyptus grove of about 5 acres is dry and full of oily leaves..... But it was spared. I give all that credit to God, because he is Awesome. There are terrible things in this world but we have to try to find the grace within. To try to see God's hand at work, even in the most devastating of circumstances. Thankfully their homes were both spared. Others haven't been so lucky and the fire is still moving east fanned my dry September winds. I keep praying that others will be spared as well and that firefighters will have the wisdom, strength and ability to put this fire out. Please pray if you read this. Thank you.

Blessed by His grace,
Tifany

A Little Less Overwhelmed...

I am feeling better today after all the events of the week. Kristy wants to be more involved with school over here so that has helped ease my worries a lot! Just knowing that someone else will be here to help me out with stuff no matter what it is has comforted me a lot. Thank you Krist-te-te :) I know that both of us are heading in the right direction and we just need to stay centered on what's important, why we are doing it and for who.......

News News News!!

OMGoodness!

Phew, Okay, I had to get that off my chest. Yesterday after much dwelling and trying to deal with my sad heart, I decided to do a huge thing. A friend of mine, who has been home schooling her children since they were school age, is going through the beginning of a separation with her husband and has had to return to work just to make ends meet. She has been torturing herself because putting her children in public school has been unavoidable yet untollerable, as I can understand. After having Cayleb home for just one year I can't imagine sending him back to a place that I know hurts him and demeans him. So, after much prayerful thought and consideration on my part I have offered to home school her children with mine until a things get straightened out in her life so that she can once again take over.

So, what does this mean for my family? Well, to start we all need to start going to bed earlier because her schedule requires her to drop off her 3 kiddos here at a bright and early 6:15. And since mine are used to getting up closer to 7 I need them to go to bed a little earlier so that I don't have crankies on my hands!! But that's not a huge deal. I am hoping that Sarah Rose can still manage to sleep in a little each morning so that I have a little time to get ready for the days. Next is the idea of having 3 extra kiddos here every day for school 5 days a week. I had already gotten myself mentally psyched for my 3, so 3 more of very similar ages doesn't seem to be a HUGE deal, though I do have a fair share of butterflies in my stomach. I think that for the most part it's just not going to be as relaxed as I was hoping it would be, at least not in the beginning because I need to develop a good routine and schedule that gets everyone where I need them when I need them there. We will need to try extra hard to stick to our schedule unless we want to go off on a tangent for a while :) It will be more like an assembly line instead of a well, I don't really have a good work for it right now.... But I am still hoping to cling to the relaxed reading time and sharing time and morning gathering time.

We will have one place to go each week, besides field trips, and that will be my kids two classes in Blaine each Tuesday. My truck will just hold the 8 of us! Hehe, Wow, I knew we needed lots of room, but lately we have been managing to fill her up quite a bit! (and I don't just mean the fuel tank!)

So, for now we are working through the preliminary set-up for what we will be doing and how to figure out what feeding the extra ones will cost us etc. So, I will leave it at that, because my brain needs to go work on something else for a while.