I don't know exactly why, maybe it's all the ornaments the children made over the years, but the Christmas season always makes me nostalgic. You too? Memories of digging up our tree (yes, we dug it up and replanted it long before the word "environmentalist" had been conceived - it was called being cheap smart with your money), shopping for my Dad's present to Mom at roughly 4:50pm on Christmas Eve (the stores closed at 5pm), and sleeping on the floor all night so I would wake as early as possible on Christmas morning (I think our earliest was 2am, our latest about 5am? Isn't that right Joye??!). It's a wonder my parents didn't cancel Christmas!! One of the clearest memories of Christmas is when I was 12 and we had just moved into a new house with new appliances. I woke my Mom at exactly 2:48 A.M. in a panic because the oven power was ON!! No, I didn't check to see if the oven was hot. No, I had never heard of this thing called delayed cooking. No, I didn't want to be tanned and would lie back down (beside the tree of course!!).
Did your Santa come wrapped? Ours did. It wasn't until after I was a parent and my dear hubby asked what planet was I from that I actually realized there might be a easier better way. My favorite present? A chemistry set. Yep. I think I was probably the first female to earn the title of geek. But it really was my childhood favorite. Because it was what I wanted and didn't think I would get. Because no one else thought I'd get it (in a "you'll put your eye out, Ralphie" sort of way.) Because it affirmed to me that I had parents who actually loved me for who I was and not what everyone told me I should be/not be.
My favorite Christmas? This one, of course. Memory lane is beautiful but today I can give hugs and love and laughter that will make beautiful memories for tomorrow. Presents will come and go, memories will last for a while but love will never end. Enjoy, savor, laugh and cry with those you love today. And as Lea says so beautifully, "Have a fine day, all day long."
I know you've probably seen this, but just in case you haven't - it is a must see. Amazing that a girl of 15 has the insight to put together a piece as heart-wrenching as this. And if after viewing it you want to do something, go to THIS SITE and chose a soldier. Send them a card, letter, anything to encourage them. Please.
We love Awanas. Our children learn an amazing amount of scripture, biblical truths and discipline of the mind, all while having loads of fun. Here is my "widow with her two mites" on October 31st "Bible Heroes Night" at Awanas :
and here are the two cars my children raced in the Awanas Gran Prix:
Emma's "Jewel-y" truck (note "bed of roses" in truck bed!) got 3rd place for design (yes, that's google eyes and purple sunglasses!)
and Ethan's got 3rd place for speed (note the "guns" on top - what a difference between boys and girls!)
So here are Emma and Ethan with some of their tree identification rubbings and our traditional "waxed paper leaves" - this was perfect timing for studying trees.
And then here they are getting ready to record the measurement of their plants (we are recording the germination time and rate of growth for 3 different seeds)
We had rain last week when friends were over and they all had a blast making a "dam" to build "the world's biggest mud puddle"! Funny but I didn't realize until this week that our next study was on dams and bridges - again, great timing!Big brother "alien" ??
Hmmmmm.......
Say "Hello" to a fascinating family raising three little ones as they are called to minister to the lost in Bolivia. They have battled everything from the flu to having one of their young children have to undergo surgery. This is while trying to learn a new language, adjust to a very different culture and trying to establish some relationships in the community. Please take a few minutes today and pray for John and Jenny and their sons - Caleb, Luke and Elijah. Pray that the Lord would heal them quickly and help them see what He wants them to do each day. Praise the Lord for their faithfulness and willingness to go and tell!
Here is a video from Audrey in Japan - it's made just with her small digital camera but her heart is a lot bigger than her camera :) ! Pray for her and all the young people who are on the mission field today. When many young people are pursuing personal gain these wonderful young people are living away from friends, family (and familiar foods!) to help reach the lost and dying world around us. Praise the Lord for them!!
I just got the news that a wonderful young couple who has dedicated themselves to the Lord and His work in Macedonia have added a new baby to their family! Rejoice with Brian and Mandy for the Lord's blessing of Kate Joy Davis! How wonderful!!
Twenty-one years ago this morning the Lord blessed us with our second son. It's amazing to think that he is 21 and yet somehow he has been a grown-up man for quite a while so it's not so unthinkable. It's fun on birthdays to think about all the blessings we've gotten from being chosen by the Lord to be the parents of the birthday child so here's a few memories -
Right after birth he cried a soft, almost "calling" cry - very opposite from the cry of his older brother! Just a quick reminder to me that God created each of them very different, with their own special purpose and reason. At age 8 months he couldn't walk yet but would climb the slide from bottom to top, turn around and slide down (talk about giving a mother a heart attack!!). From an early age to even now he loves to observe and analyze anything in nature - rocks, flowers, spiderwebs, frogs, anything ... and then of course bring it into the house to keep :) . At age 5 he didn't want to even learn the alphabet because it kept him from being outside but by age 7 he was reading 2 years ahead of his age. At age 8 he announced to us that he wanted to be a "volcanologist" and study volcanoes up close (ayeeee!!!), had grown his own experimental cotton plants, had 2 guinea pigs as pets, and had a vast array of "collections" under his bed! At age 11 or 12 he and a friend started collecting computer parts and he self-taught himself more about computers than most programmers with advanced degrees. (Check out his website). At age 14 he developed an intense interest in all things military and begged us to join Civil Air Patrol. He excelled there and went on to two successful years at West Point before deciding that military life wasn't his calling after all. Now I look and see a very loving son with a smart mind, willing and working hands, a big heart and a strong desire to do God's will. Mighty proud to call you son and wish you a very Happy Birthday, Russ!!! Thanks for making 21 years of our lives a true blessing!
Well, technology is a wonder and for all the evil spread by it there are wonderful, awesome things that happen, too. As with anything, it's all in the hands (and hearts) that use the tool. For instance, my friend Eileen is able to see digital photos of the children they are going to be bringing into their family from Ethiopia. Friends in a dangerous country are able to get messages to family and friends at home that they are doing well and even having a chance to witness among the chaos! And thirdly, I have learned that the friend of a friend has a real heart and burden for the millions of lost souls in Japan. Since my oldest son just returned from a trip there and my second son's best friend has been learning Japanese for several years it just drew me in (and Audrey does a great job on her blog!). Start HERE to learn how her journey has progressed since she arrived in Tokyo in July and spend the day praying for her today. Follow her journey and look at her pictures (I love pictures!) and Audrey - May the Lord lift you up and bless you as you bend your knees and heart for the Japanese people today and every day. Today we pray this scripture for you: "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21
Got some good deals at Walgreens this week including 10 packs of 10-snack Reese's for 99c (not each, in total after coupons - they were supposed to be for Halloween but I think they'll be gone before then!), 4 free packs of gum, 4 Clorox supplies and bleach for $1.40 total and 2 gallons of $3 milk. Use Store coupons and manufacturer's on the same item and viola - free (or almost!).
We had another Field Trip this week where we learned about tree identification at a Nature Park and the kids really enjoyed it and are now telling me tree names! Perfect timing since we study trees and wood starting next week for the next 3 weeks. We will definitely have to go back to that park and explore more of their walking trails when it cools down a little and maybe as the leaves are changing. Wanna meet us there??
Pecan Orchard - I am ravenously reading everything on the web and any book I can find about pecans. We go to visit another orchard Saturday morning and it will be interesting to compare that with the one we saw last weekend. In the meantime, we also need to do soil samples and get them back to the Coop extension office, determine what varieties we want, chose a supplier and place our order in the next few weeks. Scary thought when there are so many varieties (over 400!!) and so many suppliers (over 40 commercial ones) and it's the biggest decision we will make (as far as money goes) about the orchard. Everyone we talk to gives us different information about both tree and supplier..... ughh.... pray we will make good decisions because quite frankly we can't afford to replant 500 trees if we make the wrong decisions! That's a few of the things happening... this weekend's orchard trip, BIL's Birthday bash, Nursery duty Sunday am, a friend's baby shower Sunday afternoon, a family Ice Cream Social Sunday afternoon, my grown children visiting at different points throughout and still lots to be done in the house, flower garden, fruit orchard and yard... WHY am I sitting here blogging??? gotta go - have a great weekend! -F
What a blast we had today at Yates Mill Park. Our tour guide was a professor from NCSU and was so great answering the children's questions and getting them to think about life in earlier times. The mill was built in the 1740's and it is amazing to think about standing in a building that was used before our country was even formed. The wife of the original owner wrote about what a terrible time they had with bears, cougars and wild animals to the point of barely keeping their livestock alive. Amazing to think about as you stand there with cars whizzing past about 20 feet away and knowing 1 million people are now living within 50 miles of that spot! Anyway, enough history lesson - here's some pics!!
this award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends & those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.
Lea over at "End of the Road" has brightened my day many a time through her blogs and her smile and now she brightened my day by including me with the "Nice Matters" award. Thanks Lea!
There are lots of others that I think deserve this award but since the rules are 7 I will split them between my blogger and homeschool blogger friends. I would've included Beth and Shelley but Lea beat me to the punch so here are 7 others that I think deserve the award:
Angela - for blessing me with a window into the joys and trials of lots of little ones, making me remember the times with peanut butter smeared walls and lots of pushing to see who gets Mommy's lap next. Thanks for making me stop and be thankful for each moment with each child.
Julie - for reminding me that every small thing as well as the big things show the love and creation of the Lord. Thanks for showing me your heart of love through your words.
Eileen - friend, sister in Christ, and so full of love the Lord keeps blessing her with more children who will glue on her walls! Thanks for letting us share in your joy of adoption.
Katy - for being such a joy to know and such a wonderful friend to my son. I enjoy getting to know more about you through your blog.
Brian and Mandy - for having such a heart for Christ and letting others be a part of their mission through their blog.
Cynthia Robin - for having such a heart for the military and having such wonderful devotions.
JenIg - for making me laugh till I hurt and smile at life and "stuff" !
Here I just blogged about how faithful God is and you have GOT to go see the sweet faces of a wonderful story of how VERY faithful HE is!! (I can't wait to kiss those cheeks and hold those sweet ones - watch out, Eileen and Ellie, we are coming to help!!)
Thursday, August 9, 2007 Faithful in all things No, not me. I'm not faithful at all and often think my name is so ironic since I have so little faith. But GOD IS FAITHFUL and once again He has shown it in such unexpected ways. We have been praying about our dd's upcoming roommate for quite a while, and I've had others doing the same, although I'll admit I haven't even been faithful to pray for that like I should have. Let's just say my first roommate experience was an "eye-opener" in ways I'd rather not had my eyes opened to, so I should have been praying much harder. So we were pleased with our dd's roommate when we got her name a few weeks ago because she seemed like a very nice young lady, and I'm sure she probably is, but my daughter doesn't know her. And she was also a little concerned about her ability to concentrate on school amidst a "chaotic" dorm setting (although I think living in a house with younger siblings while trying to do school is even more chaotic than a dorm!). Then early this week my daughter gets an email from a friend from the church we just "happened" to feel led to move to last year and whom she just "happened" to get to know and who just "happened" to be a junior at the same Christian college my daughter is attending (and whose wonderful Christian parents we have known for many years). Her roommate "happened" to decide not to return this semester and she would like our daughter to room with her. It's a one-bedroom apartment on campus, same price as the dorm but much more private with their own bathroom and kitchen. Housing has OK'd everything with no penalties or problems and at the same price as the dorm and we are just in awe of how it just "happened" - when really we know that it didn't just happen - God works out all the details. How can the same God who holds the millions of stars in His hands, twirls the earth on its axis, causes the sun to shine exactly at the right temperature, counts the sparrows that fall, How can He have the time and love to orchestrate the timing of something as small as this? And yet HE does. Unimaginable. Love greater than our hearts and minds can wrap around for sure. Love without any end or any hesitations or any boundaries. And we (me) of little faith see once again how faithful HE is to answer all our prayers in ways above and beyond what we can ask. Amazingly Faithful.
A friend emailed this to me this week from a study she is doing in Isaiah. Neat.
Our Christian Calling. And what are the servants of God called to? We need a strong dose of Isaiah 6 to counter the ‘prosperity gospel’ of these days. Which of the true prophets were wealthy and comfortable? Where was the palace Jesus Christ lived in on earth? Which of the apostles died in his own bed? It is amazing that contemporary followers of Jesus and the apostles and prophets can speak of their Christianity as though it were a stock investment. Jesus did not call his followers to take up their portfolios and follow him. Neither did the Father of the Lord Jesus call Isaiah to worldwide success with millions of followers trailing after him wide-eyed, pressing cash contributions upon him.
Where are the Christians today who will leave their worship palaces and their luxury automobiles and their stock options to take up the cross of Christ even in sacrificial giving to the cause of Christ? Where are the young people who will stop looking for careers in sports and entertainment and rather choose, like the gifted cricket player CT Studd, to become nobodies in order to tell the broken and the outcast of the holy God who has died for them because he loves them? Of course there are such persons today, and there will be until the Lord returns. But in Christian America there are not enough. The fire has not touched our lips so that we can taste the candy better. Nor has it touched our lips so that we can become golden-tongued orators. Rather, the burning sacrifice of Christ has been laid on us so that we too will be able to lay down our lives for the gracious God and for those who will hear whenever that becomes possible.
Taken from Oswalt’s commentary on Isaiah, chapter 6.
Coming Home....
Have you read the book "The Way Home" by Mary Pride? How about the sequel "All the Way Home"? These books were such a great encouragement to me many years ago when we were trying to "rationalize" why I should leave a great paying job and come home. Beside scripture, these books, Elisabeth Elliot's radio broadcast and personal encouragement to follow God's calling from a wonderful Godly older lady all had the effect of helping us make our decision to make major life changes. We thought that the biggest challenge we had was financial. But in reality, there was a challenge greater than that one. It was the challenge to give GOD control. Submit to HIS will. Trust HIM to be the Provider for all of us. Not listen to all of the relatives and friends who scolded and shunned and ridiculed us for making a God-filled decision but keep our eyes firmly planted on HIM! Hard times financially just solidified our marriage in a wonderful new way, kept us in close relationship with our Lord, built up our faith and trust in Him and His Word in a way we had never known was possible. If we had not had such hard financial times we would have missed millions of priceless blessings. We would have missed turning a rocky, hang-on-by-the-thread marriage into a wonderful one. We would have missed getting to know our children, teach them the Truth of God's Word, watching them grow into wonderful young adults. We would have missed being used by God in ways we never imagined, tying together relatives and strangers and friends literally across the world as we shared in the joys and trials of many both here and in foreign countries. We would not have allowed God to show us HE could provide our son's college costs without our help, HE could provide food for our table when there was no money in the bank, HE could provide enough to pay for tuition for Seminary for several dear children of God who are like our own children. As long as we had money, we had not allowed HIM to show how HE blesses us every day. I am so thankful that we had those times when we followed His call to "Go Home and tell what great things the LORD has done".
-F
Well, we have run a marathon in "sprint" time this year! For the past few years we start school in mid-August when we are all tired of the scorching hot days and have finished most of the gardening and have had enough "break" to want "order" back in our lives so we start the new school year with plans to finish by mid-May. Then in September the last vegetables come in, October is so very nice and so very many good field trips and things to do, and November is so wonderful to get yard and farm work done ready for the winter and December has so many special things to do.... and then we fall behind little by little and finish in early to mid-June. Not so bad. Well, this year I HAD to finish early because we had my dh's company convention and we extended our trip to then rush back here to graduate dd #1 (child #3) so.... we did it!!! Every book and every subject done for dd#2 and math, Chemistry and all but some Social studies reading done for dd#1 which she will (hopefully) finish on her own before graduation. I like finishing in early May - although I must admit we planted a smaller garden this spring between school and knowing we would be away for almost 2 weeks. I'm such a nut, though - do you take school books and homeschool magazines and catalogs with you on vacation? My dh and I haven't been away together for over 3 years and I had a suitcase half filled with my "favorites". Some people like fiction or biographies - I like homeschool magazines and catalogs to read on the beach or by the pool.
Give me my Bible, my Timberdoodle and other catalogs, a TOS magazine and a stack of highlighters and I am one happy camper!!! Strange but happy!! I'll post some pictures of our trip soon -
-F
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that
goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two
"wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy,
sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment,
inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is
Good . It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
No, I'm not feeling like Santa... well, maybe around the mid-section as I bend and hoe and weed! It's that glorious time of the year where daily we get to watch leaves pushing their way through the ground and wondering how in the world God can create a small seed to produce such a small, tender leaf that is strong enough to push through the hard cracked dirt and rise to reach for the sun and rain. It is just amazing to watch leaves that look so similar grow and produce such a variety of fruits. Only as the plants grow up and mature can you tell some plants from others, and some good seeds from weeds. We weed and prune as needed but still can't determine which ones will produce the most. We just keep on weeding, spraying for bugs, watering when needed, supporting the tender stalks until they can stand on their own, and caring for them until it is time to harvest. To everything there is a season and this week and for the next few weeks in our garden is the season to hoe, hoe, hoe...... In the family, my dh and I must do the same - weed, hoe, water, nurture, tend, train.....Enjoy the spring!
-F
Family with children ages 4 to 25 who feebly seek to grow upward, closer to our Lord and Savior through daily life, school days and trying to understand and obey God's Word.
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Well, we have run a marathon in "sprint" time this year! For the past few years we start school in mid-August when we are all tired of the scorching hot days and have finished most of the gardening and have had enough "break" to want "order" back in our lives so we start the new school year with plans to finish by mid-May. Then in September the last vegetables come in, October is so very nice and so very many good field trips and things to do, and November is so wonderful to get yard and farm work done ready for the winter and December has so many special things to do.... and then we fall behind little by little and finish in early to mid-June. Not so bad. Well, this year I HAD to finish early because we had my dh's company convention and we extended our trip to then rush back here to graduate dd #1 (child #3) so.... we did it!!! Every book and every subject done for dd#2 and math, Chemistry and all but some Social studies reading done for dd#1 which she will (hopefully) finish on her own before graduation. I like finishing in early May - although I must admit we planted a smaller garden this spring between school and knowing we would be away for almost 2 weeks. I'm such a nut, though - do you take school books and homeschool magazines and catalogs with you on vacation? My dh and I haven't been away together for over 3 years and I had a suitcase half filled with my "favorites". Some people like fiction or biographies - I like homeschool magazines and catalogs to read on the beach or by the pool. 
