Added to the bookshelf

(Click on picture to direct to Amazon)


I picked up this book at our local Christian bookstore the other day. I'd been waiting and waiting for them to get it in. I suggest everyone read this book.
I remember clearly about a year ago I listened to three mom's that I know of teenage girls talk about the boys coming around. "What can we do?" was the sigh by all three moms. I turned to tell them about courtship and then promptly stopped. They were all smiling about it. They honestly thought that any thing other than dating would never work. We could never ask these young girls to give up their "right" to date.
I climbed back into my shell and ashamedly did not even mention courtship or anything like it.
My daughter is only 12 what do I know anyway?

These kids are way to precious to me to just send out at 13,15,16 and say good luck! Hope you pick a winner! In the above mentioned book, Reverend Baucham suggests we not only protect our daughters and actively help them in choosing a mate, but that we also spend the time it takes to raise up young men to meet these expectations. Why should we focus only on training girls to be wives and mothers and forget that we need to train our sons to be husbands and fathers? As much as we need to show our girls the right way to find a mate we need to show our sons how to respect his future wife enough to be ready to court her properly.

This girl. My 12 year old, lives in a world where boys and dating and relationships are constantly thrust at her. On every tv show/movie geared toward her age every girl is interested in some boy or dating some boy.... we don't watch them here but she is still exposed no matter how careful we are. Even in church girls her age are going out on "dates" with boys. Sometimes with parents along, sometimes with friends. Twelve year olds?

I got this book for her mainly. So that we can know how to guide her. So she can see that there is an alternative.

These boys are going to grow to be men. I have a serious problem with the Peter Pan syndrome of today. Men who never grow up. I know one man who is going to be 40 soon. His ex girlfriend had his baby over a year ago. He picks him up on Saturday night, brings him back on Sunday night. His new girlfriend watches the baby. He balks at paying child support. Seriously? GROW UP!

Our boys are going to be raised to be responsible. When it's time, they will take a wife build a family. We are training them to be protectors, providers, priests, and prophets of their homes. And unless God wills it they will not be doing those things at 40.

Read the above referenced book.

These two little girls will hopefully benefit from any wisdom we pick up while charting these waters with their sister. At 9 and 7, they have not really noticed boys yet. Beyond their sister telling them about a cute boy.

One of the great illustrations used by Voddie Baucham and also by Paul Washer is a man's prized car. Maybe it's an extended cab brand new truck, shiny. Maybe it's a Porshe that a man saved his whole life for. Would he hand over the keys to this to a pimply faced boy of sixteen? No? Well then why would he hand over his precious 16 year old daughter?

Be Blessed!

Preachers I enjoy hearing

My preacher's wife told me sometime back that when her kids were growing up they listened to preacher's on the radio a lot. They are both grown now and both have relayed to her how much they learned from that.

I decided to make that a habit around here as well. First was the quest to find good solid preaching. WOW! There is a lot out there.

Sermonaudio is my favorite place on the web.

Especially since... this guy joined! WOOHOO!

Another favorite, when I am wanting to get hit between the eyes with a 2x4, which is often a lot more than you would think... LOL is this inspired man of God

I am sad to say that even as a Southern Baptist born and bred I was not very familiar with this man until my favorite preacher Voddie Baucham began to talk about him. Now, I am just thrilled with his sermons.

I like this man, and this man, and this man as well.

The great thing about sermonaudio is the awesome line up of preaching from classic preachers that they have.

George Whitfield

E.M. Bounds

C.H. Spurgeon

and so many more! We put someone on while we clean or for our quiet times in the morning. I like to listen some more at night while I am buttoning up the house. When it's quiet time in the afternoon I will often play a sermon or two.

So many ways to get in the good preaching. I hope you all can find some time to enjoy them as well.

Be Blessed!

Through this season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

As I grow older the above verse makes more and more sense to me. I understand the different seasons of my life a little bit more.

As the mother of children ranging in ages of 3-12 I realize that I am at a very unique season of life.

As the wife of a man with parents in their 70s I understand that this season is a time of selflessness.

The sandwich generation is what they are calling it. Adults who are caring not only for the needs of their own children, but also taking care of ailing parents.

This past week Dh and I experienced this in a whole new way. My father in law had hip replacement surgery so we loaded up our kids and our van and left on Thursday night. He had some complications so when we got there he'd been moved from his rehab back to the hospital. Fortunately my SIL, a CNA, was staying with his mother during this time so she was able to tell us about the complication and everything that went with it. In the end it turned out to be pretty minor and he was sent back to rehab on Friday.
Friday we took my SIL to the airport and it was game on for our family. We were left to care for my MIL. It was a very trying weekend and on Sunday Dh sent the kids and I home for a day or two of respite. I spent all day Monday in prayer and asking for prayer from others. I also started the second half of our school year. I knew due to certain circumstances that I would be able to successfully school at my in laws home on Wed. and Thurs. So instead of postponing everything I went ahead and started.
Tuesday afternoon I loaded the kids and the car back up and headed back down ready to be a better helpmeet to my husband.



The next few days were hard, but Roy and I had a couple of opportunities to share Jesus with my MIL. I was given new insight into the absolute utter lostness of man apart from Jesus that has completely changed my heart. With God's help I made it to Friday before I snapped and only just a little bit. My kids were able to see what a difference our home is to a lost person's home. They were also given opportunity to serve and honor their grandparents.
Through all the downs and downs God sustained us and made us stronger with every passing day. He gave my FIL healing in such a sense that we were able to return home as a family on Friday after he got out of rehab.
God has also given us some new decisions to make. One is whether we will be moving closer to them. They are only about 3.5 hours away right now, but that is still a hoof with a van full of kids. Also with a home of our own down there I believe we would be better able to minister to them physically and spiritually without neglecting our small children.
Roy is not really sure yet this is the direction he wants to take. It was hard on him the last few days. He is praying through the possibility. Me? My bags are packed. But then that's why I married a Mr. Steady to keep me from making rash moves.
In the end I realize I could have been more gracious and had more of a servant's heart. I am so thankful that God is teaching me through all of this. I am starting to see my theme for the year run it's way through this part of my life. The theme of choosing joy and letting go of my happiness. Maybe that's what the first half of the year was about. Getting me to this place where I can easily say that yes, moving closer to them is an option. An option I would be open to and sincerely content with.

Who knows where God is taking us this time. LOL

Be Blessed!

Tribute to an amazing Daddy!

His vision for our family: Father, grant my request that the number of my descendants in heaven is equal to the number I have on earth.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth it's fruit in it's season whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

Therefore, now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever. 2 Samuel 7:29

So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household."

Acts 16:31

For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands; happy shalt though be and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house; thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. Psalm 128:2-4

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

Proverbs 20:7

I am working on our home education list for the rest of the year. I bought some books at the used curriculum sale last week and some more at CBD. I am reading through some more "how to books" and gaining lots of ideas. I like to school til about Thanksgiving and then "take time off" in November and December. I try to make sure we read a lot and watch some good educational videos during that time. I am trying to mesh up Charlotte Mason, Classical Education and the different learning styles of my children. I am working on some more "home ec" stuff. See my posts in the sidebar for Maiden Karly, Responsible Adrian, and Gracious Kelsie and Tamara. There are some new pics coming soon, I promise.
Jonathan is begging to "do school" so I have a little Bible craft and letter he colors. Also lots of reading. I want to incorporate more classical music and art history study this year. Karly is heading swiftly out of the grammar stage into the logic stage so I am looking into some logic stuff for her. On top of everything I am trying to make school more fun!

My head hurts! :)

I have prayed and prayed over our Math curriculum. I am comfortable with it and my kids do well with it... even though they hate Math. Sometimes I read that I should shove the Math curriculum because they hate it, sometimes I read that if it works we should stick with it. I would dread trying to start a new Math curriculum. When I weigh all the pros and cons I am thinking I will just stick with it. I think they hate it because it requires them to think.. I don't think another Math curriculum would fix that. LOL

For Grammar I wonder if I should switch, but I love the comprehensiveness of the Grammar program we are using. I tried a different one this year and it was just not it. I know with this one they are learning what they need and it's pretty low maintenance on my part. With five kids I treasure low maintenance. Then I read about all the fun Grammar programs. I think for now I will stick with what I have The kids don't mind it too much. The part they don't like is the writing, but that's Grammar..right?

Handwriting I will keep the same. They only do the Kindergarten, first grade, transition, and last book.

I love copywork so we will keep that.

We are not reading nearly enough. I have a Literature Pocket (Nursery Rhymes) coming for Tamara and Adrian. I am doing a Beatrix Potter study with Kelsie and a Literature Pocket (Fiction books) with Karly. On top of that I am checking out biographies, classic fairy tales, and other fun read aloud books from the library to read aloud during the day.

Our science and history was getting dull and boring. I have a new science project program and am adding something to our history program to spice it up a bit. On top of that we are going to read everything we can get our hands on for the science or history we are studying.

For Tamara and Adrian I am adding in a structured Phonics program. I was trying to get away with not doing it, but Tamara especially needs some more help. We are also reading a whole lot with them. A. Whole. Lot. They have a simple school day of one math worksheet, an addition fact sheet, three pages in Explode the Code, a handwriting sheet, and soon a Phonics sheet.

I picked up a new Spelling program I think I am going to try with Karly and Kelsie. It's very low pressure and seems to be really good. We will try it. My girls are HORRIBLE spellers. :)

I am sitting here blogging because I don't want to go play with lesson plans and schedules anymore. I need to because July is going to be when we start most of the new stuff.

July is kind of the start of the second half of our year. It seems weird, but I get pumped around this time. We have the used curriculum sale, the state convention (which I have yet to get to), and the regional convention (which I enjoy going to!). All of that works to get me back in the groove. Around Thanksgiving I really want a break, but then there's the new year and it's time to get pumped again. LOL

I love home education..even if it makes my head hurt! :)



Be Blessed!

In the garden

My garden is doing just as poorly this year as last.. oh well. I will keep trying and keep learning. I think it was still lack of bees.
Here are some squash, zucchini and tomato plants. The tomato plants actually look a lot bigger now and I have staked them. We will see. The squash looks bad and no results.

Here you see pepper plants and my gynormous cucumber plant. The cucumber plant just keeps going and going and going. My pepper plants look beautiful but nothing. Last year they bloomed and fruited really late in the summer though so I have not given up hope yet. With all the rain we had in the past few weeks the weeds are totally out of control. I pull and pull and pull, but they just keep coming back. Here it's not so bad. Of course this picture was pre rain!

And here it is, boys and girls, my big garden bounty so far this year. Yum-O they are good!

I really believe in growing my own food so I will just keep trying. Someone suggested a humming bird feeder for the back yard so that is on my list of things to try.

I thank God for the cucumbers though. It's nice to see something for my labors. :)

Be Blessed!

I'm just saying....

I read this article today with a pain in my heart. California a lot of the time leads the way for other states. Two very distinctive things struck me about this article. One was the fact that these kids were being called these horrible names. The other was the parents who are so upset over this ruling.

No child deserves to be taunted cruelly or called horrible names. It's never Christ like to bully someone else. These Christian parents should be teaching their children that while we don't tolerate sin we still need to have mercy towards the sinners. No one is going to come to know Christ while being teased and taunted mercilessly. I don't believe the sin of homosexuality is any different than lying. Sin is sin. Just as mercy as we minister to other sinners is mercy.

Next, can I just say, as a parent if the ruling in California makes you so angry, why are your kids still in public school in California? Do you really think this is the first time they have gone outside of your permission to teach your child lies? Evolution as a fact, anyone? Revised history that completely leaves God out of our country? Why is it ok for the schools to teach your kids this but not the homosexual agenda? As my favorite preacher Voddie Baucham says, "If we continue to send our children to Caesar for their education - We need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans."

Be Blessed!

Thoughts and Musings

We were out of town for the better part of last week. We went and visited with my inlaws for a few days and then hopped over to Tampa to visit my husbands best friend and his family. It was a busy but joyful week.

Karly has her schoolwork caught up. A huge deal around here. We are ready on Thursday to start June. WOOHOO! I won't tell you that I just decided to move all of May to June and just pick up there. LOL I really do love homeschooling.

Roy went for a test for a job on last Tuesday. Please say prayers that it all works out. He is very excited about this prospect and I pray with my whole heart that this is it for him. He really feels that God is leading him in this certain direction and is trying to be obedient. Of course it would mean major life adjustments for our family, but hey, I'm all for it if my husband is loving what he is doing.

We have our yearly used curriculum sale Saturday. I look forward to this all year. I am so lame. LOL It's so much fun pouring over the curriculum and finding that treasure. You know, like last year Saxon 5/4 the whole package brand new for $24.00. No lie! Or how about Keeping Your Child's Heart by the Maxwells for $1.00. A book I have come to love and treasure. Of course occasionally I walk out with a dud or something I end up not using but for a few dollars a piece it's not a huge loss. Of course God always sends someone my way that I can bless with my oops purchases.

Potty training. Stubborn. Do I need to say more? "Jonathan, you can't play the Wii until you are potty trained. You have to be a big boy." "Ok," he says cheerfully. Ask him if he wants to play the Wii. "No, not til after potty trained," he replies and then goes on his merry way. Seriously?

"Jonathan, you can't spend the night with grandma. She does not like changing diapers." "Ok, I wait," he replies with a grin. *Sigh* I do so love this little boy though!

Anyway, just a glimpse into the everyday chaos that I call life. Hope you are all well.

Be Blessed!

A Psalm For Every Season

In the morning before my prayer time I read through three chapters of Psalms. At Psalms 119 I split it up into about four days. They have been such a blessing on my life. When I was going through this I read Psalms about God's protection and His vengeance on those who came against His people. So, comforting.

Psalms 91:9-10, "Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."

Psalms 140:4-5, "Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah."
When I am at my wit's end with Children who I just don't understand God gives me Psalms about his grace and mercy. Words that I can apply to my children and pray over them.


Psalms 144:12-15, "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD."

Psalms 128:2-4, "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD."

Psalms 112:1-3, "Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever."

Psalms 103:17-18, "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them."

Psalms 32:8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."

Some days are just days of worship. The Psalms are full of worship. Praise to God. Glorifying His name and who HE is, it's a wonderful time.

Psalms 16:8, "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

Psalms 62:1-2, "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved."

Psalms 89:1, I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations."

Psalms 139:13-14, "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

Some Psalms are Psalms to call me to repentance. Psalms that touch me so deeply that I can't help but cry out to God for forgivness and renewal!

Psalms 139:1-6, "O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."

Psalms 119:9-16, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word."

Psalms 51:2-17, " Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

And oh, so many more. May the Psalms bring you whatever you need in this season of your life.

Be Blessed!

When daddy is home we...

take impromptu trips to the zoo!
This giraffe walked right up to us.. until he figured out we weren't going to pay to feed him. So he stormed off. Ok, not really but it sounded good.

Adrian, asked me to take this picture with him and Jonathan. After 30 minutes of trying to get them up there both boys were like, "Hot, sweaty, are we done?" Cute pic, huh?

This is my girly girl. LOL Seriously. But today she had the urge to climb and swing. See daddy's strong arms in the background ready to catch?

Yes, my children, please dip your fingers into the dirty water. I will take the picture to remind me of you after you catch swine flu.

Just stand still! I don't care if you smile! This is the entrance to the new Asian garden. It was really quiet lovely.

Come on, I have this new camera and I must take pictures. This is the third attempt with this picture. This is by the lotus pond. Then you cross The Bridge of the Weeping Tree (or something like that) and leave the Lotus behind to venture onto the Koi pond. Thrilling.

I cracked up when I looked at this picture. Can you see the pained expression on Tamara's face? You would never know it was overcast by the squints and glares I was getting.

Mom, why are you taking pictures of flowers? Hush, it's my camera! I thought these hydrangeas were pretty and they made me think of my sister in law who loves hydrangeas. Plus, they did not squint, glare, move, or complain when I took the picture.

Blurry, but oh so worth it. I love the look of pure delight. Apparently she did not know I was taking the picture. Thus the smile.

My spider monkey. He wanted me to take a picture of him and I Am Speed (Lightening McQueen) in the spider web. "Ha, Ha, that's punny, mommy!"

Can you tell they are holding hands? Ha, Ha, caught ya! You do love each other. The other picture I had was too blurry. And check out those clouds. It was still to be another hour and a half before it rained. Although the lightening crackling above us made us move pretty quickly towards the parking lot.

More pretty flowers that preened and curtsied as I took their picture. Thank you flowers for allowing me to play with my camera today.

As we left the zoo I had to snap this picture. Still no rain, but we half expected to see our first funnel cloud. Look at the sun trying to break through though. I thought it was a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.

Be Blessed!

For this season...

I had an interesting conversation with a friend on Facebook today. I was speaking of being blessed by being able to be home to take care of my family. She asked me how I balanced it all. I had to laugh as we had this conversation.
(Part of my pantry)

The first thing I told her was that I strongly follow the "Fake it til you make it" principle. Yep. I pretend that being home with my family and cleaning my home and taking care of my family is my most joyous past time. I might force a smile or a tune. I might laugh a little to loudly, but it's all in the attitude. If I grumble and complain nothing will get accomplished and no one will feel like a blessing that day. LOL

(My Fireplace)

The next thing I told her is that I have to recognize what I am doing is only for a season. One day my kids will be grown and gone and I will have all the "me" time I can stand and then some. Right now I have to invest as much of myself into my family and home as possible. It's such a short time. "Wait a minute! Hold on! I have to have some time to myself. That's not asking to much!" you might want to argue. I agree. That's the next thing I shared with her.

(The queen of laundry, Miss Kelsie)

I catch my moments here and there. Maybe it's only 5 or 10 minutes when I look around and realize I can stop for a moment. I like to check my facebook or blog or read other blogs. That down time can give me the oomph to get right back in there. This morning my kids were reading together, laundry was going, and the sink was empty. I could have started school, but I though, let me take just 5 minutes to check email/facebook. And I did. No big deal. I was done within the five minutes and we started school. Easy as pie. And I have pretty much been going the rest of the day. My kids are resting right now and dinner is cooking so I thought I'd blog for a few minutes.

(Cheesy himself, Master Jonathan)

My family is a huge priority for me right now. As a matter of fact I believe it's God's biggest priority for me right now. My husband is unemployed and looking at a new career that would change our whole lives. He is working diligently to get our house ready for market if it comes to that. He needs me to be supportive and to handle all the other day to day stuff. He needs me to manage this home efficiently. My children are all going through spells of disobedience. School work is the last thought on any of their little hearts. They need me to be consistent and have a good attitude. They need me to be able to change things up a bit every now and then and keep it fun.

Truly, for the most part I love being home. I love ministering to these blessings God has given me. There are days of course when I think, "Surely a full time job would be so much easier than this!" LOL But those are the days that I go to Jesus and tell Him that I can do all things through Him. Not by my strength but by His. Then I slap that fake smile on. I start to sing a little too loudly and forcefully and I head back out to the field. Because this is one battle I am determined to fight and see the Lord's victory over.

Be Blessed!

Guess What I Got...

My handsome hubby below thought that I would like to go and pick out my own Mothers Day present. He was right. I said what are you thinking of? He said how about a camera since yours is having some issues. Let me pause here to say that my old camera was given to me by a dear friend and has been so wonderful. It's having trouble holding a charge and we never could get it to cooperate with our computer so I could never download right to the computer. So I got a new camera for Mother's Day. A Nikon (one of the cheaper ones not the really nice ones!) it works wonderfully for me and I adore it.

Please ignore the computer desk. I cropped out as much as I could. I am looking for some small baskets to hold the stuff that accumulates up there.

What is up with my table cloth? Heck, what is up with my brother? The red guy? That's my little brother. Here we are having the special meal of Spaghetti for Mother's Day. My mom looks a bit surprised?

This picture looks a bit odd. I will have to play with the colors a bit more. Anyways, here is my mom making flowers out of tissue paper for the girls. They were enthralled.

Who are these guys? And seriously, what is up with my tablecloth? LOL I promise they are supposed to be the same color. They had a great Mother's Day playing with all their cousins.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Be Blessed!

Praying Together

I sure wish I could get to this blog more than once a week. Maybe things will slow down a bit in a few days and I can. My floors are almost done so that will be a huge thing off of my plate. Of course in a few short weeks we start painting. LOL

We have been reading the book Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends aloud lately. It's really a great book and I recommend it to all. My younger kids don't get it a whole lot but they seem to enjoy listening to the stories.

Last night we talked about building relationships now that will last into adulthood. Something I pulled out was prayer. The Bible tells us in Matthew 18:18-20, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

I encouraged my children to look around at one another. If they have a strong relationship with one another as they grow older then they automatically have four other people to agree with them in prayer. How awesome is that?!

I even told them it does not have to wait until they are grown up. They can take their prayer requests to one another now.

My kids have a pretty good relationship. Not too much arguing and fighting. As I look on other families where siblings barely speak to each other I realize how blessed I truly am. I think a lot of it has to do with homeschooling. They can't go their separate ways every day. They have to rely on each other to entertain themselves. It's sweet to see my kids reading to each other or building tall lego buildings together. To see them gravitate to one another in a crowd of children.

I would love to continue to nurture that against all the naysayers who claim our kids will despise each other in the coming years.

One weapon I will use is our prayer times together. If your praying for someone it's a lot harder to despise them, I think. If your praying with someone it draws you closer to that person's heart.

Yes, I will fight for my kids relationships with one another. I will guard them jealously. Friends come and go, but you will always be connected in some way to your siblings. I want to do what I can to make sure my kids enjoy that connection.

Be Blessed!

Spring Cleaning

I know I have not been around a lot lately. Even my IRL friends are wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth. ( I did not by the way!) :)

We are busy putting in our new floors, decluttering, and getting ready to open our home for God. We have Life Group starting Sunday, I'm also looking forward to inviting people in for lunch on Sundays, game nights on Fridays or Saturdays, and just overall fellowships with more of our friends. It's an exciting time. New opportunities have presented themselves to my husband that I can't even bear to think about because I get so excited I'm sure I will burst! So our home is being spruced up and paired down.

I am also getting ready to spring clean my blog. I have many blog links that no longer work that I need to take down and some new ones to put up. Also, as much as I love the picture of my kids I'm ready for a new one.

As things start settling down here, I will be back to more regular blogging. We only have to finish the great room floors and then we can slow down a little. The bedrooms don't have to be done by Sunday. LOL

I hope you all are doing well. If I have not stopped by your blog lately, please know that I am slowly moving down the list and playing catch up as time allows. :)

Be Blessed!!!

The Arrows

These are our pictures from Christmas. High time I got them up, huh? LOL


My two boys. Brothers through and through. Adrian Charles and Jonathan David. My gifts from a loving and gracious God. Adrian can copy anything. Building with legos or drawing. He has a real talent. Jonathan... well we don't know about that kid. He is pretty sure he is his daddy. He follows Roy around with a screwdriver trying to fix everything. Roy let him help pull the nails out of something the other day. He thought he was grown.
A family. God has so blessed me. Psalms 113:9, "He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD."

Look at those cheesy kids. They are a mess. Jonathan just wants the cookie I have. Yes, I bribed him with a cookie. Every picture you see of him smiling or at least not crying involves a cookie.

In this one you can clearly see the words "Cookie" coming from Cookie Monsters mouth. I believe this is when I first walked in with the cookie. Look at the little ladies all prim and proper. What a mess this bunch is!


Attitude. Yes. That's what it's all about. That tall girl in the pink. She is 12 going on 30. Yep. Karly Rose, Kelsie Ann and Tamara Kathleen. They are princesses. They are sisters. They are sweet. They are sassy. But they are my dolls. How could I not take joy in the blessings the Lord has given me?

Psalms 127:3-5, "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Keep On Keeping On!

A couple of years ago my husband was sent in a new direction. A place far out of our comfort zone. God sent him towards a new career path. A different journey. Dh has faithfully followed after this path trying to discern from one day to the next what to do next. We have had times of awe when God swung wide a door we were sure would be shut tight. We have had low times where we thought surely we must have misheard God. Through it all we have trudged forward.

Recently, with another birthday gone by, we began to question again the direction we both felt God leading us in. Some people who know about the new direction are beginning to raise eyebrows and give little words of wisdom about how if it was truly God's will it would have come to pass by now. I myself was starting to listen to them. But then the other day I caught sight of someone in the field that my husband is being directed to. I watched this man work his work diligently and efficiently and thought of what a perfect job it would be for my methodical, patient husband.

Then I felt this restlessness. As clear as anything I know God was telling me that I have to keep supporting him in this. I have felt such peace about this career change. Such assurance. I don't know if Dh will ever end up in this field, but I do know that I am to keep supporting him and encouraging him to move forward.

It's been a long hard road. But God never promised it would be easy. He is testing our faith right now. Will we remain obedient when it looks like all hope is lost? Will we just go down our own path, the direction we would rather go because it would be easier and make us happy?

We know what God has called Dh to. As his helpmeet He has called me to the same path. I am renewed with hope in God today. I want it to happen now, but I guess David might have wanted to be King the day he was chosen. Abraham might have wanted to have a son the day God promised him one. Jesus' followers wanted him to take up the sword and become the physical King when He was here on earth. But God has a perfect time for everything. God does care about the little details in our lives.

I believe one day I will open this blog and post that my husband is now a ________. But, that day is not today. We have another long road to go down, but in the end we will be blessed for our obedience.

To anyone who does not believe God called my husband to this new path, I will be gracious. I will not argue. I don't have to, because we are going to press toward the mark. God's words will be fulfilled!

Be Blessed!

The Young Lady

So in a few short weeks I will be the mother to a 12 year old. It's a bit daunting. To understand that my time with her is winding down. There is still so much left to teach her. I pray daily that she will be molded into this young woman who loves God and desires nothing more than to serve Him. I look at all the short comings in my own life and notice how she tends to pick up some of my worst behaviors. I only have a short time to be a better influence on her.

She talks of marriage and babies and staying home. I pray that she truly believes those things in her heart. I pray for her future spouse. That he is right now surrounded by godly, faithful men. Men who are leading him and guiding him into true manhood. A man who loves God and wants nothing more than to serve Him is my prayer for this young man whoever he is.

We talk daily about decisions and choices and how they can help or hinder. About how habits that she forms now will be habits that she can either benefit from or will hurt her in the future.

I look at the young woman she is becoming. She had a gift card to Walmart the other day. She went straight to the toy aisle. She meandered up and down looking at baby dolls, Pet shop stuff, some dress up clothes, eventually she realized the toy aisle did not hold the same appeal it held only a few short months ago. We ended up in jewelry and clothing and shoes. Eventually she wound her way back to bedding. She found a nice fuzzy pink blanket that she claimed as her own.

She has asked for a camera for her birthday. I guess Build A Bear is out this year.

She is leaving girlhood and entering a new season. In another year she will be gifted with her very own home management notebook, full of ideas and inspiration for the daughter at home. With blank pages left to fill in her own schedules and routines and project ideas. It will be designed to grow and go with her.

She enjoys spending time in the kitchen. She loves helping out. In a few short years we look forward to releasing her to help the sick and overwhelmed for a few days at a time. She still has some maturing to do before that season. She loves to read her Bible. She enjoys talking to us about what she has read. I believe that God has something big in store for this young lady. She has been beaten down repeatedly in life but she always springs back for just one more go round. She has a warm gracious personality. I'm not sure she has ever known a stranger. Yes, God has a mighty goal for this young one. I look forward to watching it come about.

On days when she is my hardest child to parent (more and more it seems lately) I remember that God placed her here for a reason. She came to us at 8 years old. Insecure, rebellious, undisciplined, and unruly. I have seen God work a mighty work in her and I know He is not done. I am excited for this daughter of mine. Excited to see what God works out in her life. Excited to see her become a gracious, godly young woman. What a journey!

Be Blessed!

Homestead Happenings

So, whats been going on around here? Rain, Rain, Rain. Lots and lots of it. My garden is very green. Roy is going to put in two more boxes for me, I'm hoping this weekend. I have one box of mostly bell peppers and some cucumbers. My second box has mostly squash/zucchini and one row of banana peppers and one row of tomatoes. I keep praying over these boxes, it would be a big help to our grocery budget. Our neighbor brought us some cabbage over from her garden and it was huge. I am so going to grow some of those next time.

We have some new floors to get in. In three more months we will be painting and doing some touchups on the wood around here. Our goal is to have our house market ready by the end of this year. Of course that always seems to be our goal, but at least we have the means to make that happen now. We have been decluttering like crazy, but still have no room. Let's face it this house was built for a family of four who were never expected to actually LIVE here. The storage space is just sub par. :) But we make do. Creativity is the key!

Homeschooling is going well. I have to do evaluations next month for Karly and Kelsie so I'm busy putting there portfolios together. It stinks because I'm no where near where I wanted to be at this point, but we just keep pressing on. I have to change up what I'm doing with Tamara and Adrian some. Adrian is taking to reading a lot quicker than Tamara. We have been working through An Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Your Child to Read, but the kids don't like it and I'm slacking because it just does not fit our family. I'm moving back to my trusted Saxon Phonics and Explode the Code. These worked great for Kelsie I don't know why I thought I needed to change. :)

Well, I guess I need to get back to my day. Just wanted to update with some of the stuff around here. I miss blogging more regularly but it's been neat to see what all I can get done in a day. LOL

Be Blessed!!

Making It Work

Well it's been 3 weeks since Dh got laid off. Things are actually going pretty well around here. We have had some good news financially and are learning as we go. So how are we making it work?
1. Time together as a family. We have spent a ton of time together. Taking the kids to the park, the beach, reading together, watching movies. Just enjoying the time we have with daddy while he is home. This has helped us see a lot of the positives of the lay off.

2. Good old fashioned hard work. We all have to work together now to come up with less expensive ways of doing things. We are learning to cook more from scratch and stretching the grocery budge. I have some old sheets and stuff that the kids and I will be ripping up and turning into rags/napkins. I have cut up some of our old clothes to turn into other necessities. Some potholders or a new outfit for another child. Our garden is turning green so that's been a lot of fun. Cleaning and organizing does not take a lot of money and it's helping to turn our home into a more peaceful place during this transition.

3. Of course, daily time with God. Prayer and dependence on Him. After all He is the ultimate Provider. He will never leave us or forsake us. Look at how beautifully he has clothed the flowers in the fields. Can we expect less from Him when it comes to clothing our family?

Be Blessed!!

The News

What do you do when you get hard news? Do you shut down? Do you wail and moan? Do you look towards heaven? A week ago we got some hard news. DH lost his job. I thanked God. I was praising Him for showing us Dave Ramsey so we could get started and have some money in savings. I was praising Him for the opportunities DH can pursue now that he has some time off. I was praising Him for delivering DH from a horrible job he hated. I was praising Him for all the provisions I knew He had planned for us already. You see God was not surprised on that Thursday morning. He had his hand on my DH and on our family. Dh got a wonderful severance package that will help us out in the coming months. But even if he'd walked out the door with not a penny we would be ok, because God says that He is our Provider.

We have many options to pray through. It's kind of exciting. It's a little overwhelming.
Someone asked me the other day if I was freaking out. No. What would that accomplish? Would that help Dh get a job? Would that put food on our table? No. I'm not "freaking" out. I'm very peaceful. We have enjoyed having daddy around the past few days. We both know God has something great planned. It might involve us stepping out of our comfort zone a bit, or we might get to stay all safe and cozy right where we are at. Whatever God has planned for us we know He will provide.

Food Diary - Thursday and Friday

Sorry about missing yesterday. I had a bad headache most of the day and we had some extra errands to run. Here is what we ate yesterday.

For breakfast we had oatmeal. An always filling food. :)

For lunch we had leftovers. Remember the yummy hamburger steaks I was going to make Wednesday night? I did and WOW they were great. Even better the next day. Although I did not have enough for the poor children. They had to survive on peanut butter sandwiches and bananas.

For dinner.. we ordered pizza. *Sigh* Remember the headache and the extra errands? Sometimes it happens.

An even better idea would be to make up a batch of pizza dough and freeze for nights like this. I will work on that.

Today's menu looked like this:

For brunch, because everyone slept late this morning. I mean really late. It was weird, but needed I think. We had oatmeal.

For dinner we had beans and rice. An easy meal and cheap. :)

Tip of the day: Freeze some meals ahead of time. Have some pizza dough in the freezer. There will always been one night that the schedule is off or something happens. I wish I'd had something already prepared instead of ordering pizza. :)

Be Blessed!

Food Diary - Wednesday

For breakfast the kids had oatmeal. I noticed the other day the oatmeal made me sluggish so I opted for two eggs. Dh had an egg sandwich after the kids and I left for our homeschool co-op.

For lunch we had leftover chicken and rice from last night.

For dinner I am making hamburger patties and melting a slice of mozzarella cheese on top. I will also saute some mushrooms and onions. I have some red potatoes that are getting old so we will mash those up. And I know I have some frozen veggie in the freezer. End meal!

Tip of the day: Don't be afraid to make your own. Your own bread. Your own spice mixtures. Your own salad dressings and condiments. It really does save money and it's healthier. If you have older children teach them how to do these things. Call it school. I am teaching my two oldest girls to bake bread in the next few weeks. Eventually it will be their job.

Food Diary - Tuesday

For breakfast we ate out with my mom. This is a tradition for Tuesday mornings. My mom is so gracious and she buys us a big breakfast.

For lunch we had peanut butter sandwiches and bananas. I had to use store bought bread because I did not make any this week. I spent a little extra for good quality bread without high fructose corn syrup. I can't afford some things that are supposedly needed for a healthier lifestyle but I do try to avoid products with MSG and high fructose corn syrup and dyes as much as possible.

For dinner I had a few packs of yellow rice. DH grilled a few chicken breasts and we chopped them up and mixed them with the rice. The rice was already flavored so we did not even need to season it. The grilling of the chicken gave it a great flavor with no extras needed. I steamed some broccoli and melted butter over it and some salt and dinner was served. The whole family sang it's praises. It was a simple meal with only a few ingredients that went together pretty quickly.

Tip of the day: Save all of your leftovers. Even if' it's just a spoon full of veggies. Look for dishes to add leftovers to and stretchhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Be Blessed!

Food Diary - Monday

I did not have to go to the grocery store for big shopping this week and probably next because I have chicken, beans and rice over flowing. It's nice when I am a little low on funds to have the needed ingredients just waiting for me. I stopped off and picked up 2 18 pack eggs, 2 gallons of milk, and 2 boxes of oatmeal. These are staples that I usually do have to buy every two weeks.
Anyways here are our meals for today.

Breakfast was oatmeal. I can make two big containers last about 2 weeks. We eat oatmeal about 4-5 days a week. Sometimes if we are in a hurry I smear peanut butter on tortillas or we have eggs on tortillas.

Lunch was cheesy rice. This is just leftover rice with some frozen mixed veggies (which I ALWAYS have in my freezer) and herbs (whatever's handy) fried in butter or sesame oil and topped with grated cheese. We either have this, leftovers, or quisadillas for lunch.

Dinner will be shepherd's pie. I take some ground beef, beans if I have some (to stretch the beef), veggies and either bar b que sauce if I have it or some gravy and mix it together with whatever herbs and spices I grab. I top it with mashed potatoes (from real potatoes, it really is cheaper and does not take that long) and shredded cheese. I bake it for 15-30m and boom dinner is served. If I have stuff to make a salad I will throw a salad with it. I do buy the big cans of mixed fruit and sometimes we will have that on the side. Tonight I don't have either one so it's solo. I think I have some apples so we might cut those up and let the kids have that for dessert.

We don't snack a lot around here. I try to keep apples, oranges, and bananas around. If I have them I will cut up carrots ( I always buy them whole and wash and cut myself). But we rarely snack on those. We might have them with a meal or if we are on the go.

Tip for today: Make up big batches of beans and freeze or can. Use them to stretch beef recipes. I can use a little bit of beef and get away with it if I have some beans to either mash up and throw into a recipe or just throw them in whole. Kidney beans and pinto beans work great for this.

Be Blessed!

At the grocery store

Since finding Dave Ramsey we have been very strict about eating at home as much as possible. We do have a budget for eating out but with five kids lets just say it's not much of a budget. LOL
Now, we have decided to tighten our belts even more for awhile and not eat out at all. (That's our goal) for awhile. Sorry, my Chik Fil A friends that includes my Tuesday lunches. I thought the best way to do this would be to plan every menu before shopping.

After 4 weeks of this I remembered why I don't do it that way. My grocery budget went up about $100-$150 dollars. Not really working out for me so much..

So I'm going back to the old ways. A stocked pantry, meal planning when I get home from the grocery store, crockpots working over time.... the frugal kitchenista. :)

With the above method I can spend between $175-$250 every two weeks on groceries for a family of 7 with leftovers. LOL

I buy a couple of whole chickens either roast them for a meal one night or boil them for meat.
If I roast them I take all the bones and leftovers and throw them in the crockpot with some water, some vinegar, carrots, onion, maybe some spices. I let sit for a little while so the vinegar can do it's magic then I turn on the crockpot. In a few hours I have chicken broth that I can now can with my new handy dandy canner and store. If I boil the chicken I do the same thing as with the roasted chicken except when it's all done I tear the meat off the bones and freeze it for future use. This works great when chicken is on sale. I hear you can do the same with turkey but the only turkey I ever bought ended up thawing in my garage while we were out of town. Yeah. Yum.

We also buy beans and brown rice like it's going out of style. I always have those two staples in my pantry. Doing this we discovered that our family LOVES lentils. Who'd of thunk it? We have a lentils meal at least once a week now.

I only buy fresh produce if it's a great sale. With the exception being greens and carrots. They are so much better fresh. Frozen fruits and veggies are a better fit for my budget though I know some would disagree. Also I am hoping to get more from my garden this year.

I do splurge and buy cheese every shopping trip. I get the cheapest I can find but it goes a long way in helping to pull a meal together. I also splurge on Organic milk and when I can really find some extra money I buy raw milk.

I buy cans and cans and cans of tomato products. I buy salsa and spices. With a few ordinary ingredients it's easy to throw together a meal for just pennies.

Every three months or so I go to the health food store and buy olive oil, coconut oil. and honey. I also get organic wheat flour and pastry flour for my bread.

We eat oatmeal for breakfast most mornings and lunch is either pb or cheese on tortillas or leftovers.

When I get home I sit down and plan my menu for the week. My crockpots pull duty with chicken broth, beans, or meals. My oven bakes bread for the week. My food processors chops and dices and shreds. The stovetop is used to brown beef and cook rice. I do a lot of my cooking on Monday and it's that much easier throughout the week to have stuff ready when dinner time rolls around.

Next week I will blog about meals I made and prep that went into it. I won't be grocery shopping for about 4 weeks but then I will blog about that adventure. :)

Be Blessed

Around the house..

Somebody turned 9 yesterday. Of course if you go to the Walt Disney World website you will see that this year you can go free on your birthday. Guess where my husband and I took little Miss Kelsie yesterday. All. By. Herself. She has celebrated five birthdays with us. I'm amazed that God took this amazing darling girl and placed her in our family. She is a huge blessing. She says yesterday was her best birthday. She's so sweet.

In other news around the house we are still ripping up carpet. We priced flooring the other day. I'm waiting for my darling to come up with final numbers so we can look for it in the budget. I'm sure it's there. The house already is starting to look better as I become more diligent in keeping up with it. I can't wait to get the floors and really start opening our home up.

I have some new recipes to share. We are doing great with our eating at home challenge. Of course my grocery bill went up with all the food I have bought, but that's my fault and I know how to fix it. I will share more on that later. I have been making some notes and pondering on the issue of legalism vs. holiness. It's been a fun discussion topic around my house lately and I will share some of my thoughts on it very soon.

I hope you all are having a blessed week.

Be Blessed!

Guarding your mind.

Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Through all the trials and tribulations of the last few months one thing has become abundantly clear to me. People don't give up on their marriages over night. Spouses don't turn to someone else to fulfill their needs on the spur of the moment one day. We don't turn our children over to the enemy on a whim. No one has ever become an alcoholic after one drink. A junkie just because they were in the car with someone who was lighting up. These are all things that happen gradually. Especially in a believer's life. A Slow Fade if you will.

How should we avoid the Slow Fade? BE ON GUARD! If I think my husband is not happy about something in our marriage we need to talk about it now. If some man is trying to get my attention I need to notice it for what it is and let my husband know. If I see one of my kids heading down a dangerous path I need to stop them. We must, must, must be on guard. To be on guard we HAVE to be aware of what's going on around us. To be aware of what's going on around us we need to be in CONSTANT fellowship with the Father.

Some people scoff at me but I pray all the time that if my kids are getting away with something that I will catch them. This has led to many instances where I have caught my children in lies, stealing, cheating, anger.. whatever. I have to be aware of what's going on in my family. One lie could lead to many. One day my child will be an adult and not know how not to lie if I don't stop it now.

To be on guard means to be aware of what we are putting into our minds. What are we allowing in? I watched a video the other day on the homosexual agenda in America. In 1989 a book came out about how the homosexuals were going to turn America around. The first thing? Desensitizing. They got into Hollywood. Homosexuals on movies and television shows were like able buddies. Characters you grew to love and empathize with. Even in the Christian church we don't so much condemn the sin anymore because that would be too close to letting our buddy down.

What about something not quiet so dramatic. Language. Some of the language you hear just running errands now a days would have been thought completely wrong just a few decades ago. Now, some kid says a bad word on T.V. and America laughs. Because we heard it so much on television and in the movies it's ok to say it now. Desensitizing.

Our preacher gave us a list of how to renovate your mind. I am going to share it with you now.

1. Take all reading, listening, and viewing materials not good, pure, helpful, just, lovely.. and throw them out.

2. Replace the above materials with God's word. Practice meditating on God's word.

Psalms 1:2, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

3. Pack your mind full of God's word. Read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize it. Read books by Christian authors. Elizabeth George, Charles Spurgeon, Voddie Baucham, George Whitfield, Matthew Henry, Elizabeth Elliot, Billy Graham.. there are so many great Christian authors out there.

4. Put a picture, a full size portrait, of Jesus in the front of your mind. Keep it there. I also walk around just saying Jesus' name out loud to keep him front and center in my mind.

5. Be aware of His presence, purity, and power. This will cause wrong thoughts to move under His control.

I hope, my friends, that you understand that this is just something I am working through in my own life. If it helps someone else out thats great! I appreciate you letting me share this journey with ya'll.

Be Blessed!

In the Kitchen

As promised so many moons ago, some recipes from our Valentines day dinner.

Chicken Stroganoff

1 pound fresh mushrooms sliced ( I used canned)

1 large onion chopped

2 tbls butter

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up

1/4 c browning sauce

1 1/3 c beef broth divided

1 c white wine or additional beef broth

2 tblsp ketchup

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp salt

3 tblsp all purpose flour

1 c sour cream

6 c cooked egg noodles

In large nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in butter til tender. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, cook the chicken with browning sauce until browned. ( this made us laugh because after you put the browning sauce on it looks browned.. ) Add 1 c broth, wine or add. broth, ketchup, garlic, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15m.

Combine flour and remaining 1/3c broth until smooth; stir into chicken mixture. Add reserved mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low. Stir in sour cream and heat through (do not boil). Serve over noodles.

Mile High Lime Pie

1 can (14oz) sweet condensed milk

1 c sour cream

1/3 c plus 2 tblsp lime juice

5 drops green food coloring (optional)

8oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 8inch graham cracker crust

In a bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, lime juice, and food coloring. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into crust. Refrigerate at least 12 hours.

There you have it.

Be Blessed!

In themes...

Last year I noticed a theme in my life. God was teaching me about righteousness. There are two verses that really stood out to me during that time period.

Genesis 15:6, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Now, I'm no great Biblical scholar by any means, but I wanted to just focus on something God taught me with those verses.

The first verse was when Abram and God were talking and God was telling Abram to look toward the sky. To see all the stars. God was promising Abram that his descendants would compare in number to the stars in the sky. Abram was childless at this point. But he still believed that God would do what He said He would do. He believed in the LORD and it was counted to him for righteousness.

I have to believe that God is who He say He is, and will do what He says He will do. I have to believe in the Lord.

It's easy to say that as a Christian, of course I believe in God. But then I have to put that faith in action and let God be God in my life.

Which brings me to the next verse. Matt. 6:33.

This verse was an assurance that God has everything under control. He know our needs. He even knows our wants. The only thing we need to do is seek after God and His righteousness. That's brought me to my new theme for this year. Eyes on Jesus. Thoughts on Jesus. Heart on Jesus. I am reorganizing my WHOLE life to focus on Jesus.

Paul Washer has helped. My preacher has helped. I have already started questioning some of the shows and movies I watch. The thoughts I think. The way I respond to others. It's an amazing journey when you try to line up every minute of your life with Jesus.

Soon, I will post about guarding our minds. My next post will be some recipes I promised. I'm so excited about the journey God has me on right now. Journaling it here helps me to lock some of it down to track my growth and maturity. If a year from now I am still listening to the same bad advice or watching the same television programs I will know that I am not on the right track.

I am no theologian or Biblical scholar. Just someone hungering and thirsting for righteousness. :)

Be Blessed!

When the doubts creep in...

I have been listening to Paul Washer on Sermon Audio lately. I have enjoyed his straight forward style of preaching. I have also enjoyed the fact that he does not apologize for preaching God's word.

A while back I struggled with some doubts in my Christian life. Looking back it was during a time when I was living a lot like the world, focusing on things of the world. I always thought it was the enemy trying to destroy me. In some ways it probably was. But for the most part I now think I was having those doubts because I was not living a Christ like life. After hearing Paul Washer's shocking message I believe that to be true.

Matthew 7:13-24, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

If you have time. Go to Sermon Audio and listen to Paul Washer's shocking message on Matt 7. I will be blogging more on this subject in the coming days.

Be blessed.

Around the house...

We have had a busy time of it this weekend. My absolutely fabulous husband pulled up the carpet in our great room. Even though we are living on concrete right now it's just so nice to be rid of the yucky stained carpet. I cleared our hallway and dining room. How nice. We had all of our craft stuff in the dining room which really closed it up. Now I have a 4 drawer dresser to hold table linens and a shelf to hold homeschool paper and books. Its so comfortable in there now. Our hallway was packed with all the stuff from the great room from when we started pulling up carpet a few weeks ago. Now its all moved back into place and the craft cabinets are lined up neatly in the hallway.

Our Valentine's day was fantastic. My mom and brother came over and we had Surprise Stroganoff. The surprise? It was made with chicken with looked and tasted like beef. YUM! I will post the recipe sometime this week. We also had corn and Mile High Lime Pie. That was made with cool whip and food coloring and sweetened condensed milk. Roy made fun of me the whole time because I NEVER use those ingredients anymore. But I figure once every now and then won't kill us and it was so yummy.

Last night after the kids were in bed and Roy was paying some bills, I started cleaning out the cabinets. Due to a little bug problem we had I am rewashing all of my pans and serving bowls. I am almost done with that. I'm also organizing where we store them a little better. I have to do some more cleaning up around the Great Room and the Play Room, but all in all the main areas of my house are company ready. Did you hear that? I want to cry. I can't remember the last time the main areas of my house have been company ready. Just ignore the concrete and don't open the bedroom doors. :)]

Be Blessed.