Tuesday, September 27, 2011

180

I have been anxiously waiting the release of the new 180 movie. God revealed that in America, we have our own holocaust to me a few months ago, so I couldn't wait to view Ray Comfort's movie on abortion.

It's available to view for FREE and takes 33 minutes of your time.

Sometimes, I think it's important to take a stand. It's time to stand up for God. The God who created all life. The One who gives you every breath you take. He did it for you and me...couldn't we do it for Him?

**some content not for children**

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Monday, September 26, 2011

A Focus On Gratitude and Joy

I woke up yesterday got the boys breakfast and dressed for church. I then got myself dressed and it started.

Melt down city! Whoa. Jaiden would not keep his clothes on. I mean NONE. I got him dressed again and tried to direct him to the car for church. He fell to the floor, a dead weight. I couldn't pick him up.

I thought I'd go to the car and pretend I was leaving so that he would join me. I waited 5 minutes and he came out....no clothes on.

I went inside to see papers all over the floor, his clothes, and food out of the fridge.

I cleaned it up quickly and went out to the car to tell the boys we wouldn't make it to church, and found my purse dumped in the car and he was pulling his brothers hair. Oh man.

He ran in the house and scattered the papers I had just cleaned up. I cried. I cleaned. I prayed.

Hours passed and I had cleaned up a jar of marbles thrown on the floor, a bowl of cereal thrown on the floor, 2 drinks...thrown on the floor.

The tv was locked, computer unplugged, all the doors locked, and I had rigged up a lock for the fridge. I hid bananas and a bowl of oranges and apples in the top of our closet. He had finally settled for wearing his swim trunks and sat for a few hours looking through magazines ripping out the inserts, while I sat reading to him.

2 Chronicles 20:17
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.


You see, I felt Him with me. The whole day through, like I was outside looking in. I never felt angry. I never yelled. I did feel disappointed, but never defeated. He was with me, and that's all I needed.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

I felt joy, I felt happy. When Dan came home, I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. We talked, but I never complained or whined. This is different from before, and he took notice. If I had reacted in defeat and crying and complaining, that would break my husband's heart and make him feel helpless in his ability to protect me while he works. He knew God was with us and carried us through the day full of joy.

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

He loves us and is with us! So no matter what we go through, if we allow Him to go through it with us, our days will be blessed!

He is my joy. My true desire is to love and honor Him in all that I do.

My joy is overflowing.



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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Links I love

It's been a while since I've posted links I love. I like to post links to things I want to go back to. I post new ones at times in the sidebar -------> but like to post some here as well.

I have been very into reading about parenting lately. Godly parenting, and of course raising boys to be men. I thought this post was very encouraging, and I'm glad I read it while my boys are the age they are. Aren't they such a blessing!?

Like I've mentioned earlier, we have felt strongly led to observe Sabbath (Shabbat), I had a few emails and comments about some of you being led to abserve it as well. I loved this post on how to prepare for The Day of Rest. Great tips!

I LOVE this post on simple way to decorate for less. I just love posts like this!

Dealing with Challenging Behavior? Sometimes it starts with you (me). I find this to be true too many times.

Need some outfit inspiration? I LOVE some these so much! I hunted down and ordered the maxi dress the second I saw it, can't wait until I can throw that outfit together! My favorites? The red and grey. The yellow and turquoise. The maxi dress with the boot of course! The purple and grey (love purple these days...someone even asked me if it was my favorite color) The green and white...green IS my favorite color. Have fun looking!

Scripture memory doesn't need to be complicated. "Words take root in repetition"
This post about a man "His name is Helmer. He’s 86 years old. He carries a narrow-tooth comb in his front pocket, a work-worn Bible in his farmer hands, and Truth tucked deep into marrow." touched my heart. May it also touch yours?

I've often struggled with the "things" we own and why we own them. Why we even buy them to begin with. I am trying to learn a balance. I often get so consumed in how to live, that I don't stop amd think about why I live. This post led me to think about when we have enough.

I'm going to end on that note, I hope you all had a day FULL of blessings!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Let's Just Choose

Preparing for another weekend with my little guys, I was anxious to see how it would go. I was starting the weekend with my parents at a Chonda Pierce concert. We all need to laugh...and ...um cry.

Words stuck out to me when she mentioned being a guest on Wanda Sykes' show. Wanda told her that she was the only christian that had ever been nice to her.

Why? Why is who we choose to represent in this world not being represented at all? People will never know Him if all they see is us. We have to let Him be what they see, NOT us.

I think it comes down to a choice. A single choice. You choose to follow Him and choose the way of righteousness. Or don't. But not both. You see, if you "choose both" you have turned you back on what is Holy.

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 2 Peter 2:21

We can't afford to turn our backs on rigteousness. We pay a price. If we turn others' from His love, His mercy, His grace, His laws, then we have turned from it all as well.

Ezekiel 18:24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

Why not, intead of condeming others who are in sin (and not even counting our own sin) carry their burdens with them. Then, they could see HIM.

Galatians 6:2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

When we fall away from who He has given us knowledge to be, we crucify Him all over again. The people we condem see Him as they see us. Are we representing Him or us?

Hebrews 6:6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

You see friends, we are all in the same boat. We are all stained. We can all be cleansed by the same blood. The One who loves us all the same.

James 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

If we choose Him, let's hold on to who He is and let others see Him.

Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Movie Night Picks!

The days keep piling up on top of each other, I can't quite keep up! I had the boys all to myself last weekend. I was a bit nervous to have them all on my own (you know...in case we had a crazy 6 hour long meltdown) but it went fabulous! We had fun, rested, went to church, and just enjoyed the weekend together.

Now, gearing up to do it again this weekend =]

I have been doing tons of planning and organizing. I can NOT wait to share, but I want to upload pictures, so that may have to wait until the weekend.

We have been doing school, but again need to upload the pictures.

Now on to Movie Night! We have weekly (Fridays)movie nights, but are currently switching them to Saturday night in order to observe the Sabbath.

Over the past few weeks we have watched some really great movies. I like to give a little rundown so you can see if it's something your family may enjoy. Sometimes we love the movie, sometimes not so much.

We did have a movie night outside to end the summer!

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#1) A Bear named Winnie. It's based on the true story of a bear named Winnie of course and that inspired The Winnie the Pooh Series.

It sounded like it would be a fun topic. It's an old movie, and while it was good, it seemed to drag on for a long time and was honestly a little boring. Good story, just boring.

#2) Moondance Alexander. This happens to be a favorite in our house. About a quirkly little girl with no friends, Moondance starts cleaning stalls for a man so that she can learn to ride one of his horses. Very predictable and cheesy at times, but really a good quality film for all.

#3) The Secrets of Johnathan Sperry. I mentioned this one last week. This one touched our 6 year old so much and left him in tears. The story of some boys in the 60's or 70's mowing lawns, riding bikes, and having crushes on girls, meeting a man who taught them to bring out their Bible and use it to change their lives. Many life lessons, I highly recommend this one! When the movie was over, I turned and asked Tristin if he was okay. Wiping tears he said, "I'm just thinking about what a wonderful man Mr. Sperry was."

#4) A Shine of Rainbows. I am a sucker for movies taking places in other countries. I love the scenery and the culture. This movie takes place in beautiful Ireland. About a boy who is adopted by a woman and her husband. The little boy absolutely loves his mother, but doesn't bond well with his father. This movie includes some refrences to a difference in what we believe when it comes to praying. No mention of God. We did love the story line and thought it was still a beautiul story. Our boys know that people practice different religion and some not at all. With our firm biblical upbringing we felt this was an enjoyable film. We are sure to talk with them when we see others depending on anything but God.

* There is mention of magic in the summery of the movie. There is no magic (as in super power type stuff) Only finding wonder and love in a boy that had nothing.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Multitudes of Gifts

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400. listening to little boys singing in the shower
401. renewed hope
402. the new crisp morning air (a welcomed change!)
403. a hardworking husband
404. a consistent fellowship with our Creator
405. embracing every minute at home with my boys
406. endless hours of giggles, hide and seek, and playing
407. cookout with grandparents
408. a big pile of new books
409. watching Netflix movies of my choice after boys are sleeping and husband working
410. God leading on a new journey...trusting beacause I know He holds the future
411. evening with the boys on the trampoline
412. storm in the night
413. simply praising...all the days of my life
415. wonderful update!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Today and an Amazing Update!

Today I have no plan but to praise. (quoted from Ann Voskamp)

I am currently listening to Rebuilding A Culture of Virtuous Boyhood: Raising Boys to be Godly Men of Courage. A lot of the intersting topics covered are:
*every boy who wants to get married should be reading scripture
*Fear God. God holds you (men) first accountable for the raising of you children
*Be ready to receive the blessing of God when you marry (children)
*Be ready to provide for your wife and family
*Do not be a slave....to debt
*Instead of focusing on your future job, focus on your life purpose
*Teach them to treat girls as their sister NOT your buddy
*Teach them to look out for the honor of women and children (a boys' mother and sisters)

**How and why to train your boys to honor authority
**Boys need vision and dad's need to nurture and protect this vision of raising virtous boys



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In other news. Remember the challenge God has placed on my heart? This is an update.

Just so you know how hard it was getting in our home...Jaiden would come home and HAVE to watch tv for about 1 1/2 right after school and still throw a fit when it was turned off. Then I would have to keep him busy for the next 1 1/2 until my husband would come home. I would have to lock the tv, hide remotes, phones, watch him because he would climb on counters pulling out food, go outside and take off all his clothes, and ask about 200 times is he can watch tv. Let's just say that was a hard few hours!

I won't get into all the details on what we started a few weeks ago (you can read that here) but I wanted to update you and please know all the glory goes to God. He is faithful.

The first week was hard. The second was better. Still a little on edge and he was noticing I was shortening the tv time. We are now watching about 15-30 min after school and turning the tv off. When he is done HE turns the tv off and usually goes outside to play!

We started word cards to help him learn to read. I let him pick the words he wanted, and they were mostly peoples' names. He loves people. He will bring me the words daily to learn.

Right now (Saturday) we have not even turned the tv on. He hasn't asked once to watch tv! He has gone outside to play by himself. He has sat down and "read" about 5 books.He has participated in both of our Bible Studies so far today. He is happy, he is engaged.

Lastnight he helped me cook and unload the dishwasher. He was up at 5 AM this morning ready to watch tv, but I sweetly asked him to go back to sleep. He did . When I woke up at 8:00 today, he was outside jumping on the trampoline.

This morning when we were about to sit for breakfast he was thrilled about the banana bread he helped me bake. He also grabbed our Bible for Bible reading time and pointed at the word Bible and said. "BIBLE!" (one of his words) He is doing wonderful, Praise the Lord!!


In other news about our character training. It is going beautifully! Our boys are learning and applying what they're learning about obedience. Today for example the boys asked to go play with their friends. I only allow about an hour a day due to the habit training we're trying to do, I notice if allowed longer their moods change and they quicky become influenced and disrespectful.

So I told them to come check in in about 30 min. They come home about 50 minutes later to check in and ask if they can play with their friends in the front yard. The tone our son used was a bit demanding not to mention they were 20 minutes late. I simply told him no. He knew immediately that he had been disrepectful in 2 ways, and said, "yes maam, I'm sorry I didn't honor you."

I'd say something is sticking!



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Lastnight we watched a wonderful movie for Family movie night. I will post about it in the next few days. Let's just say it touched our 6 year olds' heart. Can't wait to share!

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Our Lord has brought a few things to my attention lately. Some things that may seem crazy to others, but I know when He is speaking clearly to us and I know to not ask questions, but to simply obey.

One is our keeping the Sabbath (Shabbat). It is the 4th Commandment, and one most people don't keep. We are starting to work towards keeping the Sabbath. I start at the begining of the week to keep our home maintained, and yesterday we spent the day finishing up laundry, cooking meals, and baking bread. It was wonderful! My husband had to work, so we will ease into it until he can be home for a full Sabbath. I said blessings over our boys, and today we have had Bible studies, read books, did some puzzles, and played outside. I am planning to move our movie night to Saturday nights (later in the evening) in order to observe, and will not be in any way "plugged in" on this day in order to keep it holy. Like I said we are easing into it since changing our son's routine on a whim is not easy. God will bless our efforts and will help him through it though!

In a nutshell, this is what he has been showing us. It didn't start with this video, but this sums it up.

Watch here:

Yeshua answered him, “If someone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Someone who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words — and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me.

- John 14:23-24




Thursday, September 1, 2011

Week 3: B is for Bear

B week! We mostly read books and did activities about bears, berries, and buttons.

Books we read this weeke were:
Jamberry
Going on a Bear Hunt
Blueberries For Sal

Bear Cutting Practice

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Along with gluing and puzzle making

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Sorting Buttons

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Drawing the other half of the bear

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Bear Counting

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Matching the bear to his house

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Ending the week with yummy bear claws!

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The boys also found a toad in our backyard! We NEVER find anything because of our dog. We were excited and observed it a while before letting it go.

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The lifecycle and sketches. We talked about the lifecycle and where they live when tadpoles and in winter. The boys determined that this one was a girl beauce she was silent the whole time ;)

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Then the little gal was ready to go.

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It was great fun!

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