Happy New Year! {2013}

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to wish  you all a very happy and healthy new year.

And may we all be challenged in the year ahead to walk closer with the Lord Jesus.

How thrilling to think that this may be the year of His coming to take us all Home!

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" ~Revelation 22:20

 

His Second Coming

"We cannot think of the humility of His first coming into this cursed,

hateful world without thinking of the mode of His coming again

when the heavens shall roll up as a scroll

and the islands will be moved and the mountains shaken.

And every eye shall see Him and every tongue shall confess 

that He is Lord of all.

And among His redeemed, gathered from the four corners of the earth,

there shall be some from every tribe and nation on earth.

Praise His Holy Name."

~ Nate Saint, martyred missionary pilot

Some Thoughts on the School Shooting

Briefly, my friends, because I am sure that you, as I, have been inundated with news reports about this tragedy...here are my thoughts on what happened in Connecticut on Friday..

First, I am saddened beyond words about the loss of those precious children..and of the adults, as well.

However, via the Internet, I have watched over and over again the liberal media trying to make sense of it all. I have listened to the outcry of "We need stricter guns laws!" and "We need more police officers at the schools!"

I have seen many, many people reaching out to those families who are grieving.

And I have heard President Obama's attempt to comfort the people of Connecticut. I hope it brought a measure of solace, but at the same time his words were hypocritical (a man who approves of and encourages the murder of thousands of babies every day actually values the lives of others? seriously?).

Where is the outcry over the thousands of innocent babies who are murdered in their mother's wombs because of "convenience"?
Where aren't they broadcasting photos of the post-abortion babies as they lie in 5-gallon buckets, only to be disposed of in the garbage receptacle like rubbish? (I worked as a counselor at a  crisis pregnancy center and saw these photos for myself.)
Where are the people who want to reach out in love to the broken and distraught mothers who have their babies' blood on their hands?

People want to know...when will they figure out the "why" of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary? There are many blame games being played right now.

Some people blame the gun laws.

Some people blame the schools.

You see, you can blame anyone or anything.

But the fact of the matter is..."The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" ~ Jeremiah 17:9

There is a cure for all this, my friends.  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~ Romans 5:8
"..that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." ~ Romans 9:10

May God have mercy on our country.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." ~ Psalm 33:12

Queen of the Home {15}

 

"Again, let me say that no wife can underestimate the influence

she wields over her husband

or the measure in which his character, his career, and his very destiny

are laid in her hands for shaping.

The sway which she holds of him is the sway of love,

but it is mighty and resistless.

If she retains her power, 

if she holds her place as queen of his life,

she can do with him as she will.

Even unconsciously to herself, 

without an thought of responsibility,

she will exert over him

an influence that will go far

in making or marring all his future.

If she has no lofty conception of life herself,

if she is vain and frivolous,

she will only chill his ardor,

weaken his resolution,

and draw him aside from any earnest endeavor."

~ J.R. Miller

My ABCs

Hello, friends.

I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about myself, using the ABCs...

A - age: 46 (til April, anyway)

B -brother: I have one, who lives just over the hill from me.

C - children: I have 8:  7 on Earth and 1 waiting for me in Heaven.

D - dogs:  we don't have any. Hubby is allergic to them, but on Saturday morning, after 2 stray dogs killed our 30-lb. gobbler and 2 chickens (one of whom was our homeschool chick  and the other one was Elmer.),  I can now safely say that will never own a dog.  And after seeing my children grieve for their pets for the past 3 days, I am perfectly fine with that.

E - exercise: I desperately need it, but just don't take the time to do it.

F - fall: my favorite season.

G - grandchildren: I have 2 grandsons and 2 granddaughters.

H - home: my domain and my sanctuary from this world. I strive to make it as peaceful as possible.

I - introvert: I like to be around people, but I am most comfortable with those closest to me.

J - Jack: our newest furry family member, very gentle with the children.

K - Kim: Aaron's cat, and what a life he has - sleeps, eats, sleeps, eats...well, you get the picture.  :)

L - Lisa: my name. My daughters and granddaughters all have a form of my name in their name. I love that.  :)

M - mom: my mom is the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman, with a true servant's heart.

N - necklace: I love to make homemade jewelry.

O - outdoors. I'd rather be outside (working in my flower beds or in the garden) than inside.

P - peanut butter: I used to love it, and after being on this sugar-free diet for so many months, I "cheated" and took a little taste of it. ICK! I never want to eat it again.

Q - quiet: I need some of it every day.

R - rain: I love cool, rainy days. They're perfect for sipping hot apple cider and curling up with a good book.

S - sisters: I have 2 and I am the youngest. And I never let them forget it. ;)

T - Todd: the name of my beloved.

U - unique: my children tell me that this word describes me.  Hmmm... I wondering if this is good or bad.  ;)

V - virtuous: I strive to live by Proverbs 31 every day. Sad to say, I often fail.

W - weepy: I tear up easily, which really bugs me sometimes.

X - xylophone: I played one at a Christmas concert in elementary school.

Y - yellow: not my favorite color.

Z - zipline - we have one in our backyard, and the children love it!

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!" ~ Psalm 72:18

I hope your week is full of blessings!

sharing with The Modest Mom

What I've Been Up To

Hi friends,

I'm back.   And I sooo enjoyed my little blogging break.  :) 

Here's what I've been up to over the past several weeks..

Our firstborn daughter, Nicole, and our 2 sweet granddaughters came for a visit, so I spent lots of time snuggling with little Evelette...(isn't she a beauty? :)

And Elia had a wonderful time playing with all the kids, but she and Mimi were really glued at the hip. Here they are looking out the window at Elmer, our rooster..

Ian's new tenor saxophone arrived, and he and I have been playing duets...

 We adopted a new furry family member.  We gave Nicole the honor of naming him, and she named him Jack. He's such a good cat, even though he and Kim aren't the best of buddies - yet.  ;)

 School lessons continued, with Nature hikes (and Mimi was particularly excited about this hike - she danced all the way down the driveway!)...

Running through the fields...

Finding treasures...

We even discovered a Persimmon tree on the farm (yum!)...

 Identifying birds in our bird feeder...

Decorating for Natty's ninth birthday...

She asked for pink sugar cookies..and I made a few with edible pearls..

And we made a new Give Thanks banner since our old one is dried up and falling apart. We had so much fun gathering items to make it.
The G is made of milkweed and a pod from a redbud tree...

 The I is made of berries (not sure what kind)...

The V is made of lichens...

The E is made of ferns, grass, and a wild rose hip...

The T is made of ferns and honeysuckle leaves...

The H is made of hay seeds...

The A is made of wild grapevine twigs...

The N is made of pods from a redbud tree...

The K is made of oak bark, hayseed, and grass...

And the S is made of wild rose hips (which I almost ran out of, thanks to Mimi's devouring them before I could glue them to the paper)...

The finished banner was hung in our front windows...

And last but not least, our weather station arrived...just in time to begin our study of weather this month.  The children are captivated with these and would watch them all the time!  :)

Have a lovely week, my friends!


"This is the day  the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." ~ Psalm 118:24

Until Then..

Hi friends,

My little corner of the web will quiet over the next couple of weeks because I'm taking a short blogging break.

So, until then.....I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."

~ Psalm 100:4

Friday Funnies {2}

Our cat, Kim, loves Math. But as you can see, sometimes he becomes exhausted from doing all those quadratic equations.  ;)

Hope your week-end is filled with blessings!  :)

Queen of the Home {14}

"It is a high honor for a woman to be chosen from among all womankind

 to be the wife of a good and true man.

She is lifted up to be a crowned queen.

Her husband's manly love laid at her feet

exalts her to the throne of his life.

Great power is placed in her hands.

Sacred destinies are reposed in her keeping.

Will she wear her crown beneficently?

Will she fill her realm with beauty and with blessing?

Or will she fail in her holy trust?

Only her married life can be the answer."

~ J.R. Miller

Jesus is King

Enough said.

Our Home School Chick

Hi friends,

Some of you may remember my sons' posts about our first  and second clutches of baby chicks that we hatched out.

Well, we tried for clutch #3 before winter set in. We put 8 eggs under a broody Black Australorp hen. Only one egg hatched this time.

 Here's the little guy (or gal) that came out..

Now, since this little one is the only "child" so to speak, he gets pretty lonely. And somehow the children have talked me into letting him come into the house so that as they call it, "have some company".

He must think he's human because he loves to stay in the school room if we're having our lessons in there. We consider him our newest student.

He loves to perch on Mimi's chair..

But I guess you could say his favorite subject is Math, because he loves to act as our official Math "tutor"..... as you can see in the following photos..

I hope your home school days are as fun-filled as ours.  :)

Happy homeschooling!

"He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge." ~ Psalm 91 :4

Discipline

 

WHAT IS DISCIPLINE?
When I refuse the easy thing for love of my dear Lord,
And when I choose the harder thing for love of my dear Lord,
And do not make a fuss or speak a single grumbling word,
That is discipline.
When everything seems going wrong and yet I will not grouse,
When it is hot, and I am tired, and yet I will not grouse,
But sing a song and do my work in school and in the house,
That is discipline.
When Satan whispers, “Scamp your work–to say to him, “I won’t,”
When Satan whispers, “Slack a bit”–to say to him, “I won’t,”
To rule myself and not to wait for others’ “Do” and “Don’t”
That is discipline.
When I look up and triumph over every sinful thing,
The things that no one knows about–the cowardly, selfish things–
And when with heart and will I live to please my glorious King;
That is discipline.
To trample on that curious thing inside me that says “I,”
To think of others always–never, never of that “I,”
To learn to live according to my Savior’s word, “Deny”,
That is discipline.

~ by Amy Carmichael

Leaf Waxing Tutorial

We tried something different this week for Nature study:  trying to preserve some of the beautiful fall colors that we are surrounded by this time of year. And in searching the internet for ideas, I came across the idea of leaf waxing. We decided to give it a try.

It turns out that the we had a blast doing it...the children kept telling me how much fun it was.  It wasn't just the actual process of waxing the leaves that they enjoyed; they also loved collecting and identifying the leaves.

The supplies are wax and leaves. Simple enough, right?
The first thing  to do is collect some leaves. (Make sure they're clean and dry.)

Next, melt the wax in a double-boiler. (I used tea lights and lined the smaller bowl with foil for easy clean-up.)

After the wax is completely melted, dip the leaves into it , holding the leaves by the stems, letting the excess wax drip into to the bowl.  (Be careful with your littles...the wax is very hot.)

We waxed some wild rose hips, too..

 After dipping the leaves, lay them on foil or wax paper to harden.

When the wax has hardened, use the leaves to decorate for fall.
We put them on a grapevine wreath..

And hung them from the ceiling fan and in front of the windows..

and on the lights...

"Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain,
With banners, by great gales incessant fanned,
Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand,
And stately oxen harnessed to thy wain!
Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne,
Upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand
Outstretched with benedictions o'er the land,
Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!
Thy shield is the red harvest moon, suspended
So long beneath the heaven's o'er-hanging eaves;
Thy steps are by the farmer's prayers attended;
Like flames upon an altar shine the sheaves;
And, following thee, in thy ovation splendid,
Thine almoner, the wind, scatters the golden leaves!"

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Happy fall, y'all!  :)

Modesty by Elisabeth Elliot

From Elisabeth Elliot:



"Let’s think first what immodesty says about us women before we talk about what its effects may be upon others. What are your Christian standards? Do you seek to be noticed, to make a splash when you come into a room? Or do you seek to be simple, humble, gentle and quiet in spirit and not wearing the very latest fashions nor looking frumpy by wearing something that’s way out of date. We do have to conform to a certain degree, but there are always classic clothes. Those are the ones that I try to stick with because they last for many years. I have a suit now that I think is 17 years old and I just wore it about a week ago. I wear things, which are tailored and simple and classic.

But we’re talking about these low-cut dresses, sleeveless blouses, see-through blouses and the slit skirts. The Bible says that we’re supposed to shine as lights in the world. Christ lives in me. Does that make any visible differences? Will it correct my thinking? Do I pray that God will purify my desires?

 Prostitutes dress obviously, so as to draw attention. It’s their business, isn’t it? The last thing that a Christian woman is thinking of is being like a prostitute.Does a man’s thought life have a problem? Well, of course. But here is some very frank talk from two different men in two different places, and it’s not by any means the only letters that I’ve had from them. It is a very difficult and a very delicate question. As both of these men recognized, it is their job to stop looking. Don’t look the women up and down. Don’t fall for the types who are dressing like prostitutes. But is it right for us women to be thoughtless in these areas? Is there an earnestness about pleasing the Lord? Have we taken His yoke? Are we learning from Him? Are we gentle and humble in heart? Are we walking worthy of the Lord, looking and acting and speaking differently from the Lord?

What would the Lord have you do? Look like a frump or look like the vanguard of the fashion magazines? Flashy or sober? Are you pregnant? Are you overweight? Do you try to dress in such a way as to minimize those things? Are you too old for short skirts? I see a lot of women as I travel around who I would certainly say are too old to be wearing those short skirts. And if you’re 16 years old, how short a skirt can you wear if you want to be responsible before God in the presence of young men?

Neat or messy? Wildly and deliberately messy? I see some hair-dos, which I think of as wildly and deliberately messy. Feminine? There are many ways of drawing attention to yourself without your once thinking about it. Think. Ask the Lord’s guidance. We older women must be willing to take the risk of making someone angry and speaking to her about the way she is dressing. We have to take responsibility. It is our fault that we have not been teaching younger women modesty."

Friday Funnies {1}

My oldest daughter put this on her facebook and tagged me in it, just to let me know how really felt about Algebra when she was being homeschooled....   ;)

 Have a fabulous Friday, friends!  :)