Sep. 18, 2008 - Pray the Vote!

  Pray the Vote! (and then be sure to vote!)

 The Connelly family is now an official "40 Days to Pray the Vote" member.  It was a snap to sign up.  With that sign up we now have a bunch of wonderful information available to us online.

 1) A certificate to post on the wall to remind us to pray every day from now until the election.

2) A list of key prayer points

3) A list of Scripture-based prayers

4) Prayer request of the day

5) And more great resources...

 Election time is a season that needs to be drenched in our prayers!  Sign up you guys!!!

 My kids may be too young to understand it all but that shouldn't stop them from praying.  What a wonderful experience for our family to focus this time in prayer.  Let me know if you do the same.

 40 Days to Pray the Vote:   http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ptv_homepage

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Sep. 16, 2008 - Answers in Genesis at the zoo!

I took the kids to the zoo last week.  This time we took along our Zoo Guide by Answers in Genesis.  I don't find the exhibit signs to be full of enough interesting information.  The kids always love looking through Zoo Guide so this time I decided to bring it along with us.

Shortly into our visit, we sat down to eat our picnic lunch.   Just as we were finishing up, a zoo employee (David) sat down at our table with us and struck up a conversation.  Turns out he is the zoo's education specialist.  He shared with us many eye witness stories and tidbits about the animals both in captivity and in the wild.  He noticed the Zoo Guide and asked to take a look.  Of course, it is creation based!  But that didn't deter him from pulling out his notebook and writing down the information on where to purchase his own copy!  Woo Hoo!

We also were able to share some information about the animals that he didn't know!......That the book of Romans states that man can know there is a God simply by looking at creation. There is no way an explosion could leave behind all this wonderful nature that works together so wonderfully. It took God to create it! We shared that when the animals were created they were all plant eating.  When sin entered the world, it changed everything, including nature!  We also shared that one day the LORD will return. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  The lion will lie down with the lamb.

Well, I hope he does indeed purchase Answers in Genesis' Zoo Guide.  It may be a tool that leads to a changed life.  He gave us his card and told us to be sure to call him the next time we visit the zoo.  He will give us a personal tour.  Oh Yah!!!

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Sep. 5, 2008 - Blogger Friend School: Assignment #100

Assignment: Take time this week to write about YOU and your feelings of trials and triumphs with homeschooling.  Touch on when you first heard about the concept of home schooling and whether you tip-toed into the idea or just jumped in and never looked back.  Share your schooling as a child and how you compare it to what your goals are for your children.

My feelings of trials and triumphs?  I think I feel both on a daily basis.  Trying to get everything accomplished is a trial.  I'm going on my 4th year of homeschooling.  I'm going on my 3rd year of wondering how to keep up with maintaining the workings of the house.  I suppose it will never all get done. But I do feel some sense of triumph at the close of every day.  Just having my kids under my wings throughout the day is a triumph in itself, regardless of whether we got to every subject or not.

I first heard about homeschooling when my mother began homeschooling me for my 10th and 11th grades.  That was in 1983!!  Homeschooling my own children was something I had always wanted to do.  My husband backed it up wholeheartedly.

I currently teach my 3rd grader, twin Kindergartners, and a 2 year old.

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Sep. 5, 2008 - Legacy Prayer for My Children

I recently read the passage of Scripture John 17 in which Jesus prays a lengthy prayer in wrap-up of His earthly ministry.  This takes place just prior to His arrest.  What struck me, though, is the portion of His prayer dedicated to His disciples (John 17:6-19). 

Jesus was a parent, in a sense, to the disciples.  Read it for yourself and see what similarities you can draw in comparing Jesus and His disciples with you and your children.  With that in mind, He left us a perfect example of how we can pray for our children. 

I have written my own personalized prayer for my children by using this passage as my "template".  I have titled it "Legacy Prayer for My Children".   Some of the specific wording of my prayer will change as the children grow and mature.  My four children are quite young. I am not anywhere near "sending them off" yet, which is the point that Jesus was at with the disciples at the time of this particular prayer.  It didn't require much adjustment, however, to tailor this prayer to my current season of life but at the same time including my mission for where I want my children to be when I do eventually send them off.

I am not going to publish my "Legacy" prayer on my blog because I want to challenge you to come up with one of your own.  Pray it regularly for your children. You will be asking God to accomplish great things in your children. At the same time, it will also serve as a compass for how you choose to live each day and set your priorities! 

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Aug. 26, 2008 - Tennessee Vacation

We went to Tennessee (from Michigan) to visit my dad and his wife.  They moved to Tennessee from Florida and Michigan a couple years ago.  This was our first trip to visit them in their new home.  The mountains are so breathtaking when flat land is the usual view!  Actually, it's been over 15 years since I've been to Tennessee.  

So here's a couple pictures from our trip:

And here are 3 of my weary mountain climbers:

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Jul. 2, 2008 - The Names of God

Recently, our pastor preached a sermon on prayer.  He mentioned about praying the format of A.C.T.S.  I have heard this format countless times in my life but have never really stuck with intentionally praying exactly this way. 

In case you are not familiar with praying ACTS:

A - Adoration (praising God for who He is)

C - Confession (of sins)

T - Thanksgiving

S - Supplication (presenting requests)

A few weeks ago, I decided to teach the kids to pray this way.  It has brought me into a deeper understanding of God and who He is.  I highly recommend that you give this a try.  I've changed the order of the letters.  I use this for presenting specific requests to God.  Here are a couple of examples:

(1) We would like more children.

C - Confession - Hopefully we have already confessed our sins immediately upon realization.  If so, we pray "Search us, God. Make us aware of our secret sins....."

A - Adoration - We choose a name or character of God that corresponds with the request we want to present.  "God, you are the Creator and sustainer of life......"

T - Thanksgiving - "Thank you for the 4 children you have given us so far......"  If we cannot think of an answered prayer that corresponds with our new request, then I have the children look for evidence in God's Word, an example where God answered a similar prayer for someone else"

S - Supplication - "Bless us with more children"

(2) A teen friend asked for prayer during a week of "boot camp".  Each day we prayed something different.  One day it was for peace among the teammates.

C - Confession

A - Adoration - God, you are Jehovah-Shalom, a God of peace....

T - Thanksgiving - Thank you for the peaceful country you have chosen us to live in.....

S - Supplication - Bless Sarah with peace among her team.  Give each a spirit of cooperation....

I found a Names of God wall chart that I would like to purchase.  It would be great to have on hand for prayer.  There are quite a few books and studies on the topic, as well.  If you're familiar with any that you highly recommend, let me know!

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Jun. 27, 2008 - I Was Fired!

I was left cleaning the kitchen all by myself after an unusually late dinner.  The children had all deserted me in order to do their bedtime routine.  My 5 year old son yelled down from his bedroom, "Hey mom!  I don't have any clean underwear!" 

"Sorry!", I answered back.

He bellowed in reply, "You're fired!"

"Good!", I retorted, "I'll just go find a family where the kids all do their own laundry!"

My nervey little son shot back with, "That's a fairy tale!  You're stuck with us!"

I have no doubt that my husband was feeding my son his lines! 

(By the way, my 8 yr old has been helping with the laundry for a couple years. Recently, my 5 yr old daughter asked me to teach her how to work the washing machine and dryer.  Guess I better get right on that!)

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