As we celebrate Christmas...

...please remember and interceed for our brothers and sisters all over the world who are being persecuted for claiming Christ.  Especially in China and the Muslim Nations.

Hebrews 13:3 "Remember the Lord's people who are in jail and be concerned for them.  Don't forget those who are suffering, but imagine that you are there with them."

For more information check out Voice of the Martyrs

Thankfulness

Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion.

Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception.

Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude.

Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road."

-John Henry Jowett

It is the eve of Christmas eve and as I sit and look at our tree that is beautiful and still smells wonderful I ponder my gratitude for the ONE in whom we celebrate this season. We choose not to do the Christmas craziness this year and just enjoy the moments, the hot chocolate, the good advent books, friends, family. Isn't that enough? I don't want to limp along a spiritual road devoid of thankfulness, striving to conform to the latest and greatest. No this season, I am thankful for the peace of simply sitting with my Abba Daddy. I am thankful that we don't have to conform any longer to ways of this world, even when those ways look good and inviting. I am thankful for a God, who loved me too much to leave me the way I was, so HE sent His son as a wee one, laid in a manager, to be my passover lamb. Isn't that enough of a gift? I am thankful to be content with the greatest gift, I am thankful that my spirit is no longer striving to find fulfillment in the things of this world, but is joyful in all the Father has blessed us with. God is so good and all my days I will remain grateful!

Day 6...the candles still burn

1 Peter 2:9

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nations, a peculiar people; that you should praise Him who called you out of darkness and into the marvelous light!

LIVE THE LIGHT!!

7 Types of Fasting

There are several reasons we fast.  Often these reasons are responses to the different circumstances that are surrounding us; unique motivations that call us into a season of pressing in. 

#1  Experience the power of God in personal ministry (Matthew 17:21; Acts 9:9; George Whitfield, John G. Lake)

#2  Prophetic revelation of End Times (Acts 2: 17-21; Daniel 11:33-35; Jeremiah 23:18-20)

#3  Fulfillment of God's promises to our city or nation (Daniel 9:1-3; 10:1-3; Nehemiah 1:1-11; 9:32-3; Luke 2:36-38)

#4  To Stop a Crisis (Joel 1; 2:1-9; Jonah 3:3-9; Ezra 9:1-6)

#5  Direction (Acts 9:9; 13:1-2; Luke 6:12-13)

#6  Protection (Ezra 8:21-23; Daniel 6:18-23; Esther 3:13; 4:7; Acts 12:1-19)

#7  Intimacy; longing for Jesus (Matthew 9: 14-15; Ps 27:4; 35:13; 69:10)

Fasting accelerates the rate at which we receive revelation from God.

But it is written

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared

for those who love HIM.

But God has revealed them to us through His spirit. 

For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2: 9-10

Give me your grace Abba, I need the grace to fast for it is so hard!

FIVE...

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it.  John 1:4-5

Then Jesus spoke again to them saying, "I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  John 8:12

Let your LIGHT shine, in you is the kingdom...the HOPE of GLORY!!

4 Candles tonight!

Luke 11:34

The light of the body is the eye: therefor when your eye is single, your whole body is full of light also; but when your eye is evil, your body is also full of darkness.

Acts 26: 18

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

As we were getting ready to light our candle this evening, some very dear friends dropped by and blessed us with a painting.  We were in AWE...

"Jesus, Being Still...overlooking Jerusalem"

I love it!! Thank you Michelle!

Light the third Candle...

Matthew 5: 16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.

Luke 11:33

No man, when he lights a candle, puts it in a secret place, nor under a basket, but on a candle stick, that they who come in may see the light.

We are to reflect the LIGHT that came into the World to point us to the FATHER!!

Light the second candle

A fun game played at Chanukah is called Dreidel.  The dreidel is like a spinning top, but 4 sided.  On each of the four sides are the Hebrew letters Nune, Gimel, Shin, and Hay.  The letters stand for "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham - A great miracle happened there."  An interesting side note, dreidels that are in Israel say "A great miracle happened here."  Each player puts the same amount of something - we like to use M&M's - in the "pot".  Each player spins the dreidel.  The side the dreidel falls on determines what you get out of the pot. 
   Hay.....you get half the pot
   Gimel...you get all the pot
   Nune....you get nothing
   Shin......you must put one in the pot
Whoever has the most at the end wins!!!  When dreidel is played with real money, it is customary to give the winnings to charity since Rabbis are opposed to gambling games.

And so we light the second candle...

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps 119:105)

The entrance of your words give light; it gives understanding to the simple (Ps 119:130)

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life

(Prov 6:23)

The nature of God's word is light, pointing to the ONE who would take our sins away and bring us into relationship with HIMSELF!!!  Thank You Father, for your LIGHT!

Happy Chanukah...Night 1

Do you know the Story of Chanukah?  The Festival of Lights the Jews celebrate every year?  Let me tell you a story...

Almost 22 centries ago, during the time of the second temple in Jerusalem, an evil tyrant from Syria, Antiochus IV, was ruling in Judea.  He did not worship the ONE true God, but he allowed the Jews to worship YHWH.  As the years passed, many Jews began to embrace the Greek culture and lifestyle.  Antiochus decided to go into to Jerusalem and take treasures in the temple.  As if that were not enough, he forbid the Jews to keep their Holy traditions, laws, and culture as prescribed by the Holy One of Israel.  In a moment to define his power, he desecrated the Holy Altar by sacrificing a forbidden, unclean pig upon it.  The temple was then dedicated to Zeus and the Jews were forced to bow Zeus under penalty of death.  Many innocent people were brutally murdered and the surviving Jews were taxed heavily.  Antiochus' power was not yet sated as he then declared himself a god, Epiphanes, meaning God manifest. 

Many Jews resisted, refusing to follow Greek practices or to bow to the pagan idols.  This ragtag group of common people, farmers, workers, and servants all banded together under the leadership of Judas Maccabee.  By using guerrilla warfare they drove the Syrians out and regained control of the Holy Temple.  Immediately they began the task of purifying it.  They rebuilt the defiled altar, all new holy vessels were crafted, restored the interior and consecrated the Temple courts.  The rededication date of the temple was set to be the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev (which usually falls sometime in the month of December on the Roman calender).   The festivities for this rededication were to last 8 days.  But as they soon discovered they only had enough oil to light the Menorah for one day.  With an order for new oil to be made, they lit the first candle.   Miraculously, the Menorah burned for the entire 8 days of the festival.  The whole congregation of Israel decided that the rededication of the alter should be observed with great joy and gladness at the same season each year.  The purpose of Chanukah is not just the retelling of the revolt, although it is a marvelously story.  The biggest lesson is the power of the Spirit of YHWH, the ability of God's people to live by God's commands, the 8 days of miraculous oil.

"...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts." Zech 4:6

We light the first candle...

The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you:  but the LORD shall be unto you an everylasting light, and your God the Glory!  Isa 60:19

The LORD is my light and my slavation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the strength of my light; of whom shall I be afraid?  Ps 27:1

Fasting is...

Fasting is hard.  There is no other way to say it.  If someone says it's not, their lying!  It is hard to give up the nature desires of our flesh.  It is hard to say no to the gnawing of hunger in the pit of your belly when you still have to make food or serve food or be in the general vacinity of food.  That is why there is GRACE for fasting.  We have to ask for it, HE is always faithful to give it because fasting is a kingdom concept; one we all should embrace.  The New Testament Church history records the early christian's fasting at least once a week, but most of them did it twice, usually on Wednesdays and Fridays.  That is lifestyle, not just a "when the preacher calls a fast" type thing.  That is the basics.  It is not radical. 

• Fasting is an invitation by the Father.  He is not going to make us, what kind of relationship is that?  No, it is an invitation because He wants me to want MORE of HIM. 
• Fasting is a paradox.  Food (and things) are used to stimulate us, they give us the illusion of strength.  But as we begin to fast from food (things) our illusion of strength disappears and we stand raw and tender before the Father.  Weak and hungry, our spirits are sensitive to the HOLY SPIRIT.  And in that sensitivity, our Spirit is strengthened. 
• Fasting is a grace.  As voluntary weakness is embraced, knowing our strength is coming only from the FATHER, we walk in more spiritual strength.  His Grace is multiplied to those who seek it.  (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18)
• Fasting is humbling.  Psalm 35:13; Psalm 69:10
• Fasting is worship.  It declares our need for HIM.  As we fast out of our desire for him, we become better equipped to pour out our lives right back into His hands. 

As we fast regularly, our paradigm changes and the rhythm of our body sets in.  It could be compared to running.  As you are building miles (or a mile, as the case may be), it is painful.  But as the miles build, endurance is achieved and your body creates a pace.  Does it become easy, NO.  But it does become more a part of who you are. 

Oh ABBA, daddy, that you would work this fasting lifestyle in me.  That it would become a rhythm of who I am.  That my heart would hotly pursue you above all else.  I want more of you, so I come...meet me and give me the GRACE for this discipline. 

A Lesson You Cannot Learn from A Book

Where there is no cross, there is no crown. This lesson cannot be learned from books, and men do not usually taste this sweetness. This rich life does not exist in a comfortable environment. If the spices are not refined to become oil, the fragrance of the perfume cannot flow forth; and if the grapes are not crushed in the vat, they will not become wine.


FROM A CHINESE CHRISTIAN

Monday's are for Gratitude

Gratitude brings us closer to the Father as our perspective is changed and we see that in even the smallest of details that HE is passionate about us!

So continuing on in my gratitude journal...

11.  A Wonderful thanksgiving meal with family and friends

12.  Waking up to snowfall (and especially sweet as that was the Christmas tree picking day!)

12.  Boys building snowmen

13.  Snowball fights

14.  Candy Canes

15.  A Hot Fire on a Cold Snowy Day

16.  Good Friends

17.  Winter Coats and Mittens that keep us warm

19.  The Warm Home Provided for us

20.  The Christmas Tree that helps us Celebrates the REASON for this SEASON!!

21.  Sweet, Sweet Girls:  Molly, Madelyn, and Caitlyn!

So as this new week begins, what are you thankful for?  Where can you find the tresures hidden in the mundane of life?  Join us at the Gratitude Community...A Holy Experience

May your Monday be Blessed beyond measure in all the Father has...

Happy Home

Home is the true wife's kingdom.

Very largely does the wife hold in her hands, as a sacred trust, the happiness and the highest good of the

hearts that nestle there. In the last analysis, home happiness depends on the wife.

Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere.

Her hands fashion its beauty.

Her heart makes its love.

And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, that no woman who has been called to be a wife, and has listened to the call, should consider any price too great to pay, to be . . .

the light,

the joy,

the blessing,

the inspiration,

of a home.

The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies.
A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of home happiness.
God sends many beautiful things to this world,
many noble gifts;
but no blessing is richer than that which He bestows
in a mother
who has learned love's lessons well,
and has realized something of the meaning

of her sacred callling.

~ J. R. Miller, "Secrets of Happy Home Life, 1894" ~

Fasting: not an if, but a when

The idea of voluntary sacrifice is rare idea in our culture that is saturated with pleasure, instant gratification, and selfishness.  Fasting by definition is abstaining from food.  Many Christians think fasting is radical, however, Jesus said WHEN you fast (Matthew 6:16), not if you fast.  So if Jesus said WHEN we fast, why are we not fasting?  I believe most people don't understand it.  My lack of understanding has lead me on a path of learning and listening because I want to understand.  So these next few posts are going to be about what I have been learning about fasting.

Jesus has a burning desire for us, a firey passion.  The depth of His love comes through to me by His tender mercy, His gladness of having a relationship with me, His zealousness.  Until we fully understand our idendity in Christ, we won't understand our need to fast or even possess a desire to try it.  Fasting positions our hearts to encounter Jesus as the Bridegroom.  The purpose of fasting is to strengthen us in our quest to be preoccupied with God and His will.  We fast in in order to encounter God more intimately, more profoundly, to change the world! 

I read that and think, YES, YES, YES...I want that intimacy with my Abba daddy.  I long for Jesus, so I fast.  I want to fully embrace the discipline, the grace, the joy of fasting.  So I challenge you, will you choose a day or two each week to say "I could eat that, but I won't because in my weakness, Christ strong, Christ is revealed."  That is my hearts cry, deep, active intimacy with my DADDY.  I want to experience HIS heart. 

Abba, Father, draw me closer to your heart.  Give me the grace to fast and to hear your voice!

How to begin your week right...Gratitude

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul

~Henry Ward Beecher

The only way to life a full of gratitude to my ABBA FATHER is to always have my eyes and heart open to the blessings, both big and small, both beautiful and ugly, both extraordinary and mundane that surround me every moment of every day.  The way to combat the cares and worries of this world is by being ever aware of the largeness of God's love for me.

There is a blog I love to read for she writes about the substance of life, the beautiful moments, and the hard truths.  Her name is Ann Voskamp.  You can find her at A Holy Experience.  She has begun what she refers to as the Gratitude Community.  Each Monday she seeks to find the beautiful among the mundane, ordinary and ugly of life.  It is transforming people, it is transforming me and my family.  It is not hard once the FATHER opens your eyes to all HE has given you.  The goal is about living a life of worship!  How else can you come to the ONE who has given it all for for you?  How else can the darkness flee but by continual praise?  1000 gifts, that was her challenge, that is my challenge.  My family and I started our school year with Gratitude Journal.  Now I am going to join her in the blogging world and I hope you will be encouraged!  Come, join us!

1.  My Abba daddy who loves me too much to leave me in my filth

2.  The early morning sun shining on my face as I seek my FATHERS

3.  The words of LIFE spoken by a GOD who pursues me and a daddy who loves me and thinsk I'm enough

4.  The start of a new day, new beginnings

5.  Fresh revelation

6.  A straight path before me

7.  Birds singing praises along with me

8.  Grateful, sweet children

9.  New, big kitchen

10.  My hardworking husband

Something to ponder...

John Adams said, "From all that I have read of history and government and human life and manners, I have drawn this conclusion: that the manners of women were the most infallible barometer to ascertain the degree of morality and virtue of a nation. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans , the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public spirit and their republican forms of government when they lost the modesty and domestic virtues of their women."
Proverbs 14:1 "The wisest of women builds her house, a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."

A new plan...

For many years I have dreamed of the years I spent in the mission field as a child. Often yearning to return with an intensity that I could not explain or understand. After all I only felt that way because of my memories as a child growing up...right? That is what everyone told me, I had begun to set aside that deep desire. The Father had given me the other dreams HE had placed deep in my heart to be a wife and a mother and I was seeing those come to fruition before my very eyes. But why, on quiet occasions or while reading missionary stories to my children, did I have to tamp down the strong urge to GO? Recently I came to understand that that desire was there for HIS purpose, it was a dream HE did place in my heart, one HE intended for us to pursue.

Some months back in the spring of this year Kendall came to me and said the Lord had shown him something. Not telling me what it was, he wanted the Father to show me separately. A laying out of fleece so to speak, like Gideon did in the Old Testament. Then one early morning as I was reading through the New Testament I read this:

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not hear?

And how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

As it is written:

How beautiful are the feel of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things?

Romans 10: 14-15

AND I KNEW, the Father in HIS all encompassing presence and sweet, still voice, whispered in my spirit..."Yes beloved, I have lit that same flame in your husband, I am giving him the dream of taking ME to the nations! Your dreams will be a reality, for that was MY dream for you!!" So I ask do dreams come true?

Just as Joshua asked the leaders of each tribe of Israel to take a rock as they crossed the Jordan and set foot into the promise land so it would serve as a reminder for the generations to come what God had done. This blog has become my "rock" to bring Glory to my Abba Father. We are willing FATHER, send us where you want us to GO...

I'm Back!

Wow, it has been a long time since I have been here. Preparing a home to sell, moving, and then preparing the new home to live in takes much time and energy. Life is returning to normal, our homeschool curriculum is ordered...we are anxiously awaiting its arrival!!! Kendall and I have a surprise trip planned for the children to end our tiring, hectic, and exciting summer before we start school on the 7th of September. I am hoping to be back to blogging now that I have a place to put my computer and we are not rolling out of bed to remodel and unpack. God has been so good to us. He is such an amazing, loving father. Our summer's journey will be my next post. God told the Israelites when they crossed over the river Jordan to take a rock to commemorate what the LORD had done. I am going to write, so not to forget the love the father lavishes on us, so not to forget the Hand that so lovingly provided us a new home in which to grow and share his greatness...looking forward to the new year and many new memories!

Abba's Love for Me

Do I know that...

...the Father knows my name?

"I will go before you and level the exalted places...I will give you the...hords in secret places...I call you by name." Is 45:2-4

...the Father keeps track of the the smallest details of my life?

"Even the hairs of your head are numbered." Matt. 10:30

...the Father collects my tears in a bottle?

"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" Ps 58:6

...the Father has inscribed me on the palm of His hand?

"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." Is 49:16

...the Father's heart is stirred and aroused with compassion for me?

"The Father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him." Ps 103:13

...the Father has a cord of love tethered to my heart and is gently drawing me closer?

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son...It was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws and I bend down to them and feed them." Hos 11:1, 3-4

Abba wants me, he desires a deep, abiding love relationship with me. He wants my heart. He says, "How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My father, and would not turn from following me." Jer 3:19

Do I understand His love for me? Do I understand His desire to hold me, sing over me, breath on me? His desire for me has nothing to do with my performance. But His sheer love and delight in me, His daughter. Praise God!!

Father, come! Sing over me, hold me, breathe your breath of life over me until only you run out of me...only you Abba Father!

"...He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zep 3:17

Mothering...a calling from the Father God

As I sat in the quiet of the morning, dry, weary, listening for the Lord to say just one word to me. For I knew that just one word from him would water the wilderness I was feeling in my spirit. I was parched and needing just sit in the river of the Father so that when my sweet children awoke they would find a mama who was refreshed and ready to mother. The Lord is faithful, always! He sat with me this morning and ministered in such a way so I could minister to my family. What He said was not profound revelation, but simply a reminder. A reminder that most mamas need every now and again.

Mothering is a CALLING from the heart of our Abba Daddy. I am not "just" a mother, a domestic slave as our culture would trap us to believe. No, I was called, created for this very vocation from the foundation of the world. It is not just the fixing of the meals, keeping the children clothed, housekeeping and home managing. Mothering is a HOLY calling, one that rocks the foundations of the world, one that storms the gates of hell, one that brings the kingdom of God to the very present moment we are living in. What shows the love of God more profoundly than families that love and honor one another? Who, but a mother, can orchestrate that love and honor better by building her home with her hands; loving, serving, and helping her husband; mothering her children, the arrows in her husbands quiver; running her home efficiently and with care? These traits are what mothers are created with that effectively usher in God's kingdom and His amazing love to this world, a world that is so in need of a savior.

Sometimes as mothers we just need a bit of holy perspective in the midst of mopping up dog hairs and muddy feet prints, cleaning bathrooms and making dinner. This job of mothering is not "just" some job, but a Holy, Godly, foundation building journey. Allow the Father to remind you just who HE created you to be. For we need not another earthly present for this mother's day, only a sweet word from the Father whose love for us and our families is so deep and wide that he called and chose us to be A MOTHER!!!

What do you think on?

Our lives are bombarded with stuff...sensory overload you could say. From TV to movies, from magazines to billboards, everyone wants you thinking about something. I am horrified at what is allowed to be printed or recorded not only for me to see but my innocent children. How to we combat this barrage of information that constantly takes our thoughts away from where they need to be? Paul says in Philippians 4 "to think on these things"....things that are:

TRUE

NOBLE

JUST

PURE

LOVELY

GOOD REPORT

VIRTUOUS

PRAISEWORTHY

How can we do that? By taking every thought captive and replacing it with thoughts that are true, lovely, noble, just, pure, virtuous, praiseworthy, good report. It begins with consciously doing it. One way we consciously do it is by not allowing evil to come before our eyes, as David says in the Psalms. As we begin to walk this path, really paying attention to what we see and think about, we make decisions on a moment by moment basis to think about some thing true (go to the word of God) or something Praiseworthy (sing praises to the Father). Then we will find that we begin to walk in a more intimate relationship with the father. Why? Because our minds are continually focused on HIM. I don't know about you, but that is my hearts desire!

Who do you strive to please?

"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ" ~ Apostle Paul, Galatians 1: 10

This begs the question to ponder, "Who do I strive to please?" So many times every decision and action I make throughout the day comes from the root of who will be pleased. Often it is not a conscious decision but one breed out of habit, the desire to be important to someone, worthy of something or someone. I believe that if I change the motive of my decisions, actions, words to how would Christ have me respond, it would radically change my life. Supernatural living because my flesh is crucified and Christ is living through me, loving through me. I want to be a bondservant of Christ, not a man pleaser. It is not man whose blood covers all my sin. NO, it is Christ who died for me, who took on all my nasty, ugly sin so that I could live intimately with HIM. So again, who do I strive to please?

Oh Father that you would give me a heart that seeks hard after you, after pleasing you. That I would not be concerned with man's thoughts and desires and pleasures, but that you would be my only thought in each and every decision I make. It is the essence of supernatural living; the Holy Spirit indwelling in me.

The Garden in Daily Living

As my family and I are preparing our garden, I found this quite fascinating...

Plant Three Rows of Peas

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

Plant Four Rows of Squash

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

Plant Four Rows of Lettuce

1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

No Garden Without Turnips

1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another







And We Must Have Thyme

1. Thyme for each other
2. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love.Remember, you will reap what you sow.

Author Unknown.

Belief

God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality whom you know intimately, meet everyday, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love. Live this life of the presence of God long enough and when someone asks you, “Do you believe there is a God?” you may find yourself answering, “No, I do not believe there is a God. I know there is a God.”

~Ernest Boyer, Jr.

As the school year ends...

I ran across this quote today: It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. —Ursula K. Le Guin As we are quickly ending our "formal" school year, only 3 weeks left to go, I have been wondering about the journey we took this last year. It was not a good start, but it is ending as the best year yet! Praise the Lord!! We sometimes get so excited to be DONE, and yet the journey was amazing. We have all learned so much this year. My 9 year old who was stuggling to read picture books back in August, just came in and told me he has finished Robin Hood. My 6 year old who was not reading at all, is now devouring the Magic Tree House Books, in one morning, I might add. And of course my oldest, who is 11, wants to read the originals, not the abridged versions any longer. So the question I ask myself is...just how was our journey? Oh we had more valleys than mountains this year, but in the end, the journey was magnificent for the simple reason that my children are loving to learn. They want to be done with math and grammar, what child doesn't, but they want to continue History and Science...we may just not stop!! They are learning to self-educate themselves, like Charlotte Mason talks about. And as mom and teacher, I could not be more happier!!

New Crayons

With the love of coloring in our home, crayons often break while we are coloring... but the broken crayons can still be useful. Here's how we've turned potential trash to treasure by recycling the old crayons into new crayons...great for gifts as well! Here's how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees

Separate broken crayons and sort by similar color

Place crayons in a ziploc bag and, using wooden mallet or meat tenderizer, smash pieces into 1/2 inch or so sized pieces. A regular hammer will also work, but tends to smoosh crayons more.

Put crayon pieces into foil cupcake holders so as not to ruin your pans. Silicone works well also and the molds you can find are many... but I would only recommend using them just for this project and not for food.

Bake crayons for about 11 minutes.

When the crayons look melted but the colors are still intact, take pans out of the oven. Do not stir them to keep the colors. Let the pan cool for at least one hour

Remove foil liners from pans and let cool for at least 6 hours to overnight. If using molds, just leave overnight.

Unmold the new crayons and start creating!!

A Merry Heart, A Happy Home

Proverbs 17: 22 "A merry heard does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones."

Our cheerful, merry heart determines much in regard to the way our day goes, how smoothly our home runs. Waking up on the "wrong side of the bed" is reflected in our home and our family throughout the whole day. Have you ever heard that the mother/wife is the thermostat of the home? That is a big responsibility. Praise God that "we can do all things thru Christ who strengthens us" (Phil 4:13). He is the one that can change us, mold us, shape us when we go to Him daily and allow Him to gently remind us that it is all about Christ and the Kingdom. He has called us into this walk as wife, mom, homemaker. He has promised us that he will give us all we need to fulfill this very calling. Let us rest in His arms as we go about our days, allowing His sweet presence and aroma to fill our spirits and our homes with love, peace, and joy!

Integrity

"The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him."

Proverbs 20:7

Am I walking in integrity in all things?  There are little feet walking beside me, behind me, all around me who are watching...I desire blessing for my children.  Change me O God so there is integrity and godliness in EVERY detail of my life.