Advent Season

OK, so I'm finding I'm not really impressed with the Advent / Jesse Tree Devotionals that are out there. I want more, something more substantial, something more in depth that is doctrinally based but simple enough for the kids to enjoy.

 After being somewhat frustrated, I did settle for this year on the Advent / Jesse Tree over at Truth in the Tinsel. You can get the link here. However, it is written to a much younger audience, so we are doing this along with the free devotional by Desiring God.

 Which leads me to my question...what would you want in an Advent or Jesse Tree Devotional? I ask because I believe I'm going to team up with my childhood friend, Holly, and we are going to write one together for next year! I'm so excited about this opportunity and have been putting some thoughts together. I'd love feedback on what you would want in a Devotional. Here are some of my humble ideas:

• Have Jesse Tree and Advent type ornaments.  I Love the Jesse Tree because it tells the gospel from the beginning and its awesome to trace the birth of Christ through Old Testament prophecy.  I think starting with the beginning in Genesis is so very important.  But why not include a specific part of the actual Christmas story along with it?  This is how the Truth in the Tinsel one is and while I miss doing the traditional Jesse Tree this year, this is also very good to go so in-depth into the actual New Testament telling of the birth of Christ!
• Quotes from people over the years - research strong doctrinal quotes about this season.
• Activities for families to do together - from baking a cookie, to writing a Christmas Card to someone you might not otherwise send on to.
• Christmas Carols and songs of Praise to listen to.

What other ideas would you like to see?  Please leave a comment so I can begin taking notes.  Trust me, if I don't start now, November 30th will be here before I know it!   How are you and your family celebrating the Advent season?

 

Christmas Season

Other than the outside lights, we are already decorated and ready for Christmas. I actually had this done before Thanksgiving because we were away for the holiday camping.

If you follow my blog much, you probably know I had my eye on a linen white Paula Deen TV ensemble. Well, I finally was able to convince my husband to go look at them with me as an anniversary present. Apparently, I didn't realize that every single piece was priced individually and the entire unit would've cost somewhere around $3,000.00. And to boot, the table on clearance that I wanted, would have run around $2,000.00 by time we purchased the matching chairs. $5,000 in new furniture is NOT in the budget, so time to move on and look for other alternatives.

Well, as you can see we chose a fireplace unit. I am excited to actually be able to hang stockings on a fireplace, something silly but something I have always wanted to do. Its a perfect Florida fireplace because the flame can run with or without heat.

My hubby also got us a new Christmas tree. When my youngest was 1, she pulled the tree over (yes, totally and completely over). The tree was never right and last year, most of the pre-lit lights wouldn't light up. So, we chose this 9 foot slim tree. This is the first year I have never had a multi color tree but the clear lights looked so pretty, I decided not to add any additional lights to it!

We are looking forward to Christmas. I think this year, instead of a lot of gifts, we are going to opt for theme park passes - probably Busch Gardens / Sea World. The kids haven't been to Busch Gardens in 6 years and only my oldest has been to Sea World. We have gotten them a few smaller things but this will be the main gift for us all!

Some of our favorite traditions are looking at Christmas lights, getting our Hallmark Ornaments and going to the church musicals.  Now to get those outside lights done!

What are some of your favorite traditions?


 

What you teach matters

Here is a great reminder and article from Desiring God about teaching. You can read it here.

Very sobering to think about really......

 

Interesting Stuff

Couple notes of interest here concerning the election. This is a really good video clip from Todd Friel about the outcome of the election. I love his thought - instead of trying to fix things by reclaiming America, lets reclaim our churches!!!

 


Then, Brannon Howse at Worldview Weekend tackles the popular Jesus Calling devotional.
 You can listen through the two links below as it is a two part series.


Part 1

Part 2

So Disappointed

This about sums it up! I couldn't write anything better as this describes exactly how I feel. Read it here.

Here is a quote from the blog post I totally agree with:

In Romans 1 Paul explained that sometimes God’s judgment comes in the form of allowing us to descend into greater wickedness. Complain about His manna and He will force-feed you quail until you are nauseated by it. Love evil, and God will give you your fill of it and more. What we are seeing is the judgment of the American populace. We have loved wickedness, and God has elevated a Degenerate to rule over us. The Lord is just, and we are about to discover exactly what that means.

How are you feeling after the election?

One more thing, I have to say I was impressed with how Mr. Romney handled himself after the loss. He really was a classy gentleman and would have made a wonderful leader. I am proud to have voted for him and I feel no shame in having supported Biblical values.

May God help our country!



 

Heavenly Tourism

There is a great blog post on the whole heavenly tourism thing that seems to be gripping the Christian community.

Where are the discerning readers who line this stuff up with Scripture!?!?

Anyway, here is the link to Phil Johnson's post. Can't wait for the revision by MacArthur on his book and his in depth critiques of these nonsense books!


 

The Every Morning War....

John Piper wages the same war I do. Every. Single. Morning.

 "That's how stupid sin is." Anyway, great 2 minute clip from one of Piper's recent sermons.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood Review

Rachel Held Evans has a new book on Biblical Womanhood coming out soon. There is an excellent review over at the Desiring God blog. You can read it here.


This is certainly something that will need discernment and why its so important for us women to study the Bible ourselves so we aren't deceived or fooled by nonsense.

Can't wait for Tim Challies to review as well!!



 

Fired Up!

I love to be excited about an exciting campaign season; when there is something to be excited about.  Unfortunately, this campaign season left little to be excited about.

I'll admit up front, I didn't vote for Mitt Romney in the primaries.  Our country is going in the wrong direction on all moral fronts and somehow Mitt Romney was not my idea of how to help fix things.  So as he began to pull ahead in the polls and become the Republican front runner, any excitement, hope, enthusiasm - well - died.

I had heard all the talking heads, discernment blogs, discernment talk shows - Mitt Romney is Mormon and Mormon Theology could have an agenda within the government. I'm not Mormon, so as I listened to concerns from former Mormons I began to worry that a Mormon president could be real trouble.

Then came the Republican National Convention here in my hometown of Tampa, Florida.  We happened to be camping that week at the beach, but because of the hot buggy weather, we ended up spending most evenings inside the RV and watched a lot of the evening coverage of the convention.

First came Ann Romney's speech.  I began to see a man who isn't an uncaring money making machine robot that the media had done so hard of a job to portray.  I watched speech after speech portray Mitt Romney as a human being.  I remember watching video montages that people put together of Romney being with sick people from his church and being there for families who lost loved ones.  Then I remember the video of his children showing the light bulb change job he did over their stove.  The bulb he used stuck out further than it was supposed to because he used the wrong type of bulb.  In order to solve this dilemma, he simply duct taped a piece of Reynolds wrap in front of the blinding light.  His kids called him "cheap."  I, however, began to see a man, a non perfect human man who has a real life with a real family and someone who might possibly make a good president.  And suddenly, like my favorite warming wax scent, I slowly began to melt.

Then came the debate.  OK, whether your conservative, liberal, Republican or Democrat, you pretty much have to admit Romney Won!  His performance at the debate electrified the Republican party and the wax melted a bit more.  Now I saw a dynamic man who knows what he is talking.

So when we got the call to go see Mitt Romney at a Victory Rally in St. Petersburg, I went.  I had to move heaven and earth to get there  (well not really but some real sacrifices had to be made).  My oldest, Delena, and my friend Denise and two of her kids loaded up and headed to Pier Park to see Mr. Romney speak to an on fire, electrified crowd.  Excitement building.....

Then came the protesters.  I have to admit, I was NOT expecting that.  I was not expecting them to talk to my child!  My heart broke.

I was broken to think that this man, Mitt Romney, has to face this every single place he publicly goes.  People who take images of him and make them into absurd and disrespectful characitures.  People who constantly tell lies about you.  That every single word you say can be taken and turned into some agenda, some way to protest - yes Big Bird was protesting!  Now granted, I'm sure President Obama probably goes through the same thing and it is sad.  I'm not an Obama fan, but I would never want to intention hurt someones feelings or be rude.  Its one thing to protest, its another to be hateful.  To think what this does to someone, day after day, city after city.

I was broken for my children.  If we don't get this country turned around, it could very well be those protesters and their unbiblical ideas leading our country.  You know what?  My kids don't even know who Big Bird is.  And I think they are fine.  So, Big Bird may go away....so what?

I was broken for our country.  We are not a United States of America.  We really really are a Divided States of America.   That is very clear as the polls are running tight.

After passing through airport like security and getting a spot about 5 rows back right in front of where Mitt Romney would speak, the real excitement began to set it.  In the hot heat, people passing out from heat exhaustion around us, we listened to about 1 hour of local politicians speak about the upcoming local, state and national elections.  We listened to the importance of voting for Republicans in the upcoming election and the ultimate goal to take back the white house. Before Romney arrived, one of the speakers, and I honestly don't remember which one said it, but they made a point of saying this for Mitt Romney, to run for president was a sacrifice.  He doesn't need this.  He certainly isn't doing this for the money.  He is making a sacrifice to serve our country.  Wax continues to melt.

Finally, the motorcade arrived.  Mitt & Ann Romney arrived in a Romney/Ryan tour bus.  They walked down a narrow walkway where we were standing, shaking hands with supporters.  Ann Romney took the time to stop and shake Delena's hand.  Mitt Romney gave an inspiring speech.  When it was over, I was fired up!  Finally, I am excited about this election, I am excited about Mitt Romney, I am excited about Paul Ryan and it was a great day to be a Republican!

Is Mitt Romney perfect?  No.  Would I like him to be more Pro Life?  Yes!  Would I like him to be a Christian?  Yes!  But I am not voting for a pastor, I am voting for the most moral, most upright man who could lead our country.  You know, God isn't sitting up in Heaven thinking "wow, I really thought  Ron Paul would be the nominee."  No, under God's divine plan and sovereign guidance, Mitt Romney is the one who is running against the most Pro Abortion President to ever hold the office of President.  And Romney is the man going up against him.  Putting Obama and Romney next to each other, looking at their voting records, Romney has morals and values and a heart to bring positive progression for this country.

I am excited.  And I promise this will be my first, last and only political post.  I don't want to be a political blogger, but an honest one who struggled through this election process.

I want to share two links and then a couple of pictures from the Rally that my daughter took.

First, here is a link to Voddie Bauchman talking about Abortion and Obama.  Worth worth the listen!

Next, here is a link to John MacArthur, who never speaks about politics, speaking about the Democratic party's agenda.

And finally, a couple of pictures from the rally:

Better than a candle....

So apparently, I was behind with new smell good home products!

For my birthday, my mom bought me a Better Homes & Gardens Wax Warmer from Wal-Mart.  This decorative little thing has become my new favorite gadget!  You simply plug it in and a small light inside warms a wax cube that goes on top and makes the whole house smell wonderful!  This little neat wax warmer sells for $15 at Wal Mart.  There is a smaller version too that runs around $12.00

Then the endless supply of scented wax....tangerine, coconut, butterscotch, Sangria and berries, Berry Cheesecake....all smell amazing.  They even have them for various seasons.  Right now, the fall scents are around - lots of Pumpkin and Apple!  Even cider and spices and rain forests and fire embers!  All these would make a house smell like fall!  And the best part of all, a pack of 6 scented waxes are only $2 and last for a couple of weeks.  A big wax warmer burns 2 wax.  So in the end it is cheaper and smells much nicer than those Glad Plug Ins!

Then I bought one these plug ins for the Kid's bathroom.  It burns 1 wax cube at a time and works amazingly well.  This is a nice "hide" for kid bathrooms scents - LOL!

There are plenty of designs to choose from as well.  Wal Mart carries another brand of Warmers as well, but I like the Better Homes & Gardens scents and warmers better.  They are all the same price.  And of course, Scentsy parties are becoming popular but they are a bit more pricey than Wal Mart!  My mom gave me a couple of Scentsy waxes and they smell good!  But Better Homes and Gardens smells just as well and is cheaper!

Happy Fall Scents :)  Have fun warming.....
 

Dreaming of This....

Yesterday, I took my mom furniture shopping. She has been wanting a new sofa and loveseat for well over a year. She came to visit us yesterday for our community garage sale, so I really had no original intention of going out furniture shopping with her.

Anyway, I've been talking about wanting a new dining room table. Our table is now going on 10 years old, been through 3 infant/toddler/children stages and it shows. I have waited to say to much about wanting a new one because there really was no point when I couldn't trust the kiddos to not gouge the table with their forks. I have no crossed that threshold and am really really wanting a new table. I go back and forth between wanting dark wood or light wood but I think I am settled on how I'm going to redecorate our family room and kitchen. I'm tired of the earth-tone browns. I'm thinking a beach country cottage look with whites and yellows and blues or palms trees with yellows and greens.


Well, I never set out to look at Paula Deen furniture but I fell in love with a dining set at a local furniture store. And here it is, I can dream for awhile anyway....

Wouldn't that be just beautiful in a beach cottage theme??

Now, if I was crafty, I would get the table because it was on a huge discount yesterday - but didn't include the chairs.  I could use my existing chairs and paint them beachy colors to go with the white table.  I did ask my husband about that but he said he isn't good at painting furniture and was afraid we would make a bigger mess in the end....

This would go along so well with it since our family room and kitchen is open to one another:

My house has been neglected for far too long, time to plan some re-painting and save for some new furniture. At least I have a vision now of what I want to do!



 

A Movie and A Post

Before the day gets past me, I have a devotion posted at Laced With Grace. You can read it here.

Second, my favorite blog, Challies.com has an interesting post up about Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival that happened several years ago.  We live about 45 minutes from Lakeland, so I remember this even quite well.  Several people I knew raved about the revival and went nightly to see Todd Bentley.  Despite pleas and warnings from various sources, many I knew continued to go.

At the bottom of Tim's post, the You Tube video of the documentary movie is posted.  I'm working through watching it now and I can resonate with many of the emotions Tim referred to in his post.  Anger.  Sadness.  Anyway, its worth watching - be aware and be on guard.

You can read that post and see the video here.

Thankful Thursday

After one last vacation, things are returning to normal and homeschooling is in full swing! I am honestly looking forward to cooler breezes and autumn air. Sometimes I stress that time is going by too quickly and while the upcoming school year has some exciting things ahead, it also makes me sad that it will go by quickly and the kids will be another year older and another grade higher in school. So, it is really important for me to focus on being thankful for what we do now, thankful for what is coming up and make the most of the time I have with the kids.

So with that,

• I am thankful for our vacation last week, the runs on the dog beach, the time paddling in my kayak, my paddle with the dolphin and watching Caleb catch fish from the back of our campsite!
• I am thankful to have celebrated my husband's 44th birthday doing what he loves to do best - camp and fish!
• I am thankful to have celebrated Taya's 6th birthday too while gone and for friends who camped with us so we could have a small birthday gathering for her.
• I am thankful for the joy in Taya's face when she got her Pepper Pillow!  All three kiddos were given Pepper Pillows from my Sister-in-law.  See them here (Taya), here (Delena) and here (Caleb).
• I am thankful for our Zechariah Precept study my friend Betsy and I are leading at our church.
• I am thankful for my mom who is keeping the kids for us so we can go to the marriage conference at our church with Kirk Cameron!
• I am thankful for upcoming field trips and clubs and co-op where the kids can have fun with friends.
• I am thankful for new friends at Sunday School who want to plan a camping trip with us!
• I am thankful for our Sunday School leader, he probably doesn't get the appreciation he deserves and I'm grateful that he faithfully serves our class each and every week with a genuine heart.  It really is a blessing to sit under his leading.

We have a lot planned this year!  It will fly by but today I am grateful for today.  School, social time with Paula at Homeschooling in PJs and her little one, karate and spin class (that I haven't been to in three weeks)!

What are you thankful for?  Stop in at By Grace Alone and share the thankfulness!

 

Kayaking with a Dolphin

We just returned for a somewhat "mini" vacation.  I say "mini" because my husband worked for a few days while the kids and I "vacationed."  We camped at one of our favorite spots near the beach and on the water.

It was hot!  It was buggy!  I am assuming the bugs were really bad the first few days from the rain from Isaac.  In fact, the first few days, we were among only 8 campers in the whole place.  The campground had been evacuated earlier in that week and only reopened the day we checked in.  I'm sure that contributed to the low turnout among campers.

Anyway, on to the highlight of the trip!  Because our campsite is located directly on the water, it makes fishing and kayaking really easy.  One of my favorite ways to spend the day is out paddling on the water.  There are so many beautiful and amazing fish all around and when the water is clear, you can see so much.

There is a sort of lagoon area near our campsite, with surrounding sea wall, just a short paddle away.  Starting Wednesday, a dolphin decided to spend the remainder of our trip hanging out in that lagoon.  So I loved to paddle out to the lagoon and just spend time watching him swim all around.  It became a challenge to get his picture or video.  Sometimes, he would love to surprise us and come up right next to the kayak!  Sometimes he would get adventurous and jump high chasing fish.  It really was a neat experience.  There were times I was just awed by this creator God created and how he attempts to interact with humans watching him.  He really was the highlight of the week!

I did get a few pictures and one really great video of him!

Now, I'm honestly glad to be home.  Today we pick up homeschooling in full swing!!

Thankful Thursday

It has been a REALLY long time since I have done a Thankful Thursday post! Maybe, I can finally establish a normal blogging routine and participate regularly! So with that:

I am thankful to meet new ladies through blogging who share a common interest in growing in God's word and developing friendships with a genuine love for Christ!

I am thankful for God's provisions.

I am thankful for safety as my youngest daughter and I were in a small accident. Also thankful for no damage to my SUV.

I am thankful for a small overnight camping trip with our son and two of his friends - boys only! Filled with fishing and biking, creating memories special for him!

I am thankful for our church opening a nice space to the small co-op I lead.

I am very thankful for modern technology, especially when it comes to the weather. We here in Tampa have several days to prepare for a storm that could come our way early next week. Yes, it will mess things up with the Republican National Convention. Yes, it will really mess up our plans to spend the week at the beach camping next week. But nonetheless, thankful that we have plenty of time to prepare.

I am thankful, Lord willing, for one last chance to get away with the family for the fullness of homeschooling kicks in. Providing Isaac stays far enough away, we plan to head out to the beach for one last vacation of fishing and kayaking and beach combing!

I am thankful that we are off to a good pre start homeschooling!

I am thankful for my family. When I see marriages falling apart around me, it makes me realize just how blessed I truly am.

Share your thankfulness today over at Iris's site here.


 

Being Neighborly

There is a really great post at Raising Homemakers about Teaching Our Daughters to be Neighborly. You can read it here. I especially loved these thoughts:

We cannot know what form human need will take as it knocks at our door today. Perhaps a tired mom, a burned-out homeschooler, a hurting wife – a neighbor with hunger in her heart and not in her cupboard. That emptiness Jesus is willing to fill, and He may use you and I to be a part of His plan. As a young girl, I always wanted to be a missionary. My Mom would smile and gently remind me that the best place to start was in our own home. Our daughters don’t have to be sent off to a third-world country in order to advance the cause of the Gospel. Our neighbors are our mission field and with a little creativity, opportunity to interact and show them the love of Jesus will be abundant.

My oldest has a heart to be neighborly. So it was interesting to read this and then see how it applies to us. Funny thing I first noticed, I can tend to discourage being neighborly! Delena loves to bake. She certainly doesn't get that from me, I'm OK to bake a cake or a brownies or even a cheesecake once in a while. But this child loves to bake, from scratch. Lately our supplies of brown sugar, confectioners sugar, etc...has been running out weekly. In this post, Jacinda comments how in times past, neighbors would borrow food. Whenever we run out of something, the first thing Delena wants to do is go to a neighbor. Thinking more that it would be a nuisance, I discourage her! Now I need to re-think letting her borrow a cup of flour or sugar or whatever once in a while. I certainly don't mind when a neighbor asks me, so it shouldn't be a problem for Delena to ask them.

Second, I have seen Delena want to be welcoming and loving to our neighbors by baking them things. Our neighbor across the street had his father pass away. She made him homemade chocolate chips cookies. He was quite impressed that she thought to do that. Apparently we have had a missionary family move in behind us. Delena watches for them to be outside so she can go meet them and plan a time to take over a sweet treat. Even last night, a single mom just moved into our neighborhood - literally just as a renter was moving out, she pulled in from Oklahoma! My two girls went to meet them. The mom was unpacking some basic items just for sleeping and the girls helped them unload a few boxes. It went so fast I didn't even have a chance to get my husband to go down and help them unload!

Yes, I am encouraged! It is still very possible to be neighborly and I am thankful that my girls seem to want to love on our neighbors. It really isn't hard and they are encouraging me to do the same. After all, I should be setting the example to them, not the other way around - yet here I am learning from two girls who have a heart that only Jesus can cultivate and mature. Feeling blessed today :)

Have a great Monday!

 

Dear Stay at Home Mom

Trevin Wax, at the Gospel Coalition, wrote this incredible post to stay at home moms over at his blog. You can read the whole thing here. 

Here is just a little bit:

You scan blogs and read books about being a good mom. You find some helpful tidbits here and there, often from women who are grandmothers now. Women you can learn from but who seem to have forgotten the struggle. They seem to have it all together. In your heart, you want to be the kind of mom who trains up kids to make a difference for the kingdom. You know it’s an honor to be entrusted with these kids. You know you’ve only got one shot. You want to be the mom who teaches them the Bible, models how to pray, and trains them up in the fear of the Lord. But most of the time you feel like you’re barely holding it all together. Your house cleaning can’t keep up with your kids’ mess-making. The kids embarrass you by acting up right when your guests arrive. Your husband doesn’t get just how worn out you are by the end of the day. You come to the end of your patience. You lose your temper. Then you feel worse. The last thing you consider yourself to be is a “good mom.” And you think to yourself, It’ll be a miracle if my kids turn out okay. And – surprisingly – that’s right where God wants to meet you. The place where you admit your powerlessness and your need for Him. It’s only by God’s grace that any kid grows up to be a force for the kingdom.

And this:

It’s divine grace that will transform your parenting – not guilt. It’s grace that will keep you going and serving and scrubbing when you’re exhausted and worn out. It’s grace that will conquer your feelings of inadequacy and remind you of God’s love for you in Christ. It’s grace that goes for the heart of your kids, not just their behavior. God has demonstrated the fullness of His love for you through the cross of His Son, even while you were still a sinner.

Why Your Family Is So Important

Here is an awesome broadcast from Dannah Gresh. You can listen online or read the transcript. Here is a quote from Dannah:

In 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen. The captain of the guard turned the corner to find four posts where once she stood. He reasoned to himself, “They must have taken her for photographic purposes to market her.” He did nothing. He consulted with other guards on duty, and they did nothing. The greatest picture in the world is stolen and those entrusted to its care did nothing. That’s us, Church. The greatest picture of the gospel is our marriages and our families, and all too often we do nothing because we are lulled into complacency. It just seemed normal the way that our children are behaving today. The average marriage today has no yada—no mystery—no picture of the kingdom. I want to issue a simple challenge to you today for when you go home. We could talk about all kinds of ways where we strategize to protect this picture—this holy picture of Christ and the Church. But I want to just issue this challenge. I want you to go home and start marriage counseling for your children—whether they are three or thirteen or twenty-three. I want you to begin to plant a desire in them for family, and I want you to do anything at any cost to protect it.

Its only 24 minutes long...worth the listen. Start giving your kids marriage lessons!

 

Modest: Men and Women Clothed in the Gospel

This looks like a really good book from Tim Challies. Read about it here. I plan to get the Kindle edition!

 

Catching Up

It has been a while since I posted on here. So I thought as I try to get back to blogging it would be a good time to catch up the last couple of months.

• Homeschool promotion (check) 
• Homeschool evaluations (check) 
• Memorial Day trip camping (check) 
• VBS (check) 
• Tropical Storm Debbie (check) 
• Girls camping trip to plan for co-op (check) 
• Family vacation in the Florida Keys (check) 
• Family visit (check) 2012 Olympics (check) 
• New curriculum ordered (check) 
• School supplies bought (check) 
• New tile in kid's bathroom (check) 
• Visits to the beach with friends (check) 
• Set up My Well Planned Day software (quasi check, they are still in Beta).

And now, I am ready to start the summer! Ha!

Here, the summer is winding down. We actually started back to homeschool, three days a week through August. Bible Bee competition is coming on August 25th. And we are squeezing in one more camping trip before school starts full time!

Changes are coming....Delena is now a middle schooler. Of course, that means making adjustments in our schooling to teach dialectic classes. She will also be start youth group at church, which btw, has me very very very nervous. I'm not liking this whole youth group idea but we will try it for a bit and see. I know two parents who plan to be VERY involved. Taya will promote to first grade at church which for her means she has to start coming to big church with the family. This isn't too big of a change because she has come with us on occasion before.

Speaking of youth group, Wednesday night activities will be kicking up again soon and I will be leading a Precept Upon Precept class with my friend, Betsy. We are going to lead Zechariah. We are trying to work with our church to implement Precept's Family Discipleship plan, but couldn't get the details worked out before the start of fall semester. So, now we are aiming towards January and working through the book of John.  I am excited to work with our pastors and women's director to design this program for our church!  I pray parents will get excited about studying the Word of God together.

And, very exciting news to celebrate....my son, Caleb, was baptized July 29th at our church.  It was so neat to have my mom and Mark's dad both there to celebrate.  His best friend's family also celebrated with us!

That about sums it up!  Now that summer is over, when I thought I would have lots of time to work on my blog, maybe I can actually have more regular posts here!

Happy Monday!

 

Sunday Scripture

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1 ESV)

Competitive Mothering

Had to share this wonderful post from Tim Challies about Competitive Mothering. You can read it here.  I'm sure this is something all of us deal with, I know I do!

The Yoga Question....still going

We have a family vacation coming up - and coming up rather quickly. We will be taking our camper down to the Keys at the end of June for 1 week of fun, sun, kayaking and fishing heaven. Every vacation, I am prompted to do what most ladies do - loose weight. I guess the thought of soaking in a bathing suite all week in front of people is a bit frustrating with extra weight. Well, who am I kidding, I will probably hide behind my Columbia fishing pants and new Columbia fishing shirts I got for Mother's Day.

Well, in order to get in somewhat presentable shape, I have embarked on the Insanity journey. Don't know anything about insanity? Well, let me tell you - it is by far the HARDEST workout ever! Six days a week of pure, hard, intense, cardio interval training. I admit, I hate it. I hate the squats. I hate the jumps. I hate the suicide drills and pushups and every other hard exercise that I am attempting to accomplish. But I honestly WANT to fit in those Columbia shorts hanging in my closet with the tags still on them. They are so nice and I have had them as motivation to get in them - for 2 years! Its time, really time to finally make this happen. I was hating the Insanity still and then came the cardio recovery day. It was a bit slower but had several yoga poses embedded in it. Sigh. What to do. Do I do the poses? Not do the poses? For the day, I followed along. In all fairness, Shaun T wasn't guiding us in any type of breathing or meditating exercise. It was pure stretching and recovery that happened to be a yoga pose. Afterwards though, I felt bad - guilty almost defiled. How could I, in good conscience, participate in something that is so questionable, so controversial? Or is Yoga simply misunderstood? I really wasn't sure how to move forward with the program. On Saturday, Tim Challies linked an article entitled, Hindus Want To Take Back Yoga. You can read the article here. This particular quote caught my eye:

Shah is wary of these adaptations, noting that yoga teaches pluralism, “the idea that there are multiple paths to the Divine (or God.)” “I believe that at some point a person with an exclusivist mindset (i.e. the idea that my God is the only God, my way is the only way, those who don’t believe in my God cannot be ‘saved’, etc.), who is deepening his/her yoga practice will eventually realize there is an inherent contradiction between his/her belief and the path of yoga,” Shah said. “I have yet to understand how ‘Christian yoga’ reconciles that.”

So, as I read this I see Hindus, where Yoga originating telling me that Yoga cannot be separated like people try to make it....ie Christian Yoga. Now, I know Albert Mohler has been very outspoken against Christians participating in Yoga and I have tended to agree with him. I have read much on Sola Sisters website regarding the New Age and the issues with practicing yoga. I believe, unless he has recanted, that even Mark Driscoll has said No on the yoga thing. What are we to do with this? I have read that every yoga pose, every pose, is a sacrificial pose to a hindu god...an act of worship. I will tell you that I have tended to side with Dr. Mohler. I have chosen not to participate in yoga exercise classes. Let me go a step further here. My church, a Southern Baptist church (which isn't Reformed in nature), has a nice gym that we are members of. They offer several types of yoga and pilates classes. I have never taken one of them, and really have no intention on taking them. But am I being unreasonable? Philippians 4:8 ESV tells us:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I am having a hard time reconciling if yoga is honorable, just, pure, lovely, excellent. Can we take those characteristics and apply them to yoga? Well, the answer is no, not in a hindu form. Thus, in our minds, in order to make it these things, we just take out the eastern mysticism practices. Does that make it right? I mean, IF Hindus are telling us this can't be done....can it? I really would love to hear comments. I have debated this with good friends. I have plenty who see no issue with Yoga. Their excuse is "they can't make me worship a Hindu god." But if the very pose itself is an act, then can we do it? As for Insanity.....I continue to hate it. It is the hardest thing I have ever done. Hopefully, I will get my desired results before vacation. However, I will not be doing any yoga poses. I believe I can stretch without doing yoga and eliminate any question about it. Please share away!

 

FREE Systematic Theology Class

I know this makes me a nerd, but I was so excited to see this: Mongergism Books is giving away Wayne Grudem's entire class on Systematic Theology. It is on 3 CDs in MP3 format. You can check out the entire deal here. The only thing you had to pay for was shipping, which for the very basic 7-14 day shipment was $4.99. What a deal!!!

 

Thoughts on Bible Study

In the last week, I have seen two really good blog posts on Bible Study - especially women's. The first was last week on Marinate Blog, called "Why That 'Verse of the Day' Is Not Changing Your Life.  It is an excellent post on why these so called church Bible studies don't really change you.  It is worth the read.

The second was posted over at The Gospel Coalition's blog and it was called "Why Bible Study Doesn't Transform Us."

Both of these are excellent articles on where the real life changing power comes from - the careful and diligent study of the Bible, alone.

This has really been a burden I have been pondering lately.  I see so many people go to Bible study after Bible study - which typically end up being a book discussion and not "real" Bible study - and there is no true change.  I know the drill, I have sat in on several "book" discussions disguised as Bible study.  Oh, I remember that study of being Mary in a Martha world.  Besides not enjoying it, the book had some horrible flaws to it and most of the class never noticed them.

Change.  Real life altering, life changing, victorious living change can come ONLY through real Bible study - the study of the Bible.

I would simply like to challenge women to take the summer and only study God's word.  I will list some resources below to aid you in that.  But really, how about picking a book of the Bible and working through it all summer?  Study it.  Memorize it.  Analyze it.  Use all those literary and English tools from days past and apply them.  Get your hands on a good concordance, look up the original language.  Ask yourselves who, what, when, where, why, how to every book, chapter, verse.  Remember that a devotion a day isn't going to bring life altering, God honoring change.  So can we all agree to put Jesus Calling away for the summer and see what God has to say to us??

Do you want to know the character of God?  Do you want to understand who God truly is and how He works in our lives?  While good intending authors can assist us in understanding, they cannot replace the very Word of God.  Hebrews tells us that the Word is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword.  1 Peter tells us that while the grass and flowers fade, the word of the Lord endures forever.  Chapter two tells us to long for pure milk of the word so we can grow in our salvation.  Ladies, its time to shelve that Bible study and spend some time drinking pure milk.

If anyone is interested in going through a book together, please email me at solamom@verizon.net and we will come up with a book to work through together.  Right now, besides preparing for the Daniel class I teach on Wednesday nights, I am working through 1 Peter.  But I would love to work through a book with a couple of ladies.

Now onto some resources:

First, get a good word for word translation.  The ESV is my preferred however, when I do book studies, I study typically out of the New American Standard Version - The New Inductive Study Bible from Precept Ministries.  I like this particular Bible because I keep all my markings in it and it also has various charts to help you keep track of your lists and answer questions.  There are NO study notes - so an excellent choice to really force you to study for yourselves.  I remember hearing in a Bible study class, from the leader of the class, "I read the study notes more than the Bible itself."  No, ladies, this should not be.  You can study the word for yourself!

Next, get some good resources:  commentaries, Greek/Hebrew dictionaries, Bible Dictionaries, etc.  These are aids only, not the meat.  You use them ONLY after you have analyzed the text.  My absolute favorite resource is Logos software.  Next would be MacArthur's commentary.  If you do a book on prophecy, check out Walvoord's books.

If the thought of Bible study on your own is scary, then get a study that doesn't focus on self examination more than the text.  I highly recommend Precept Upon Precept.  While there may be a self application question here and there, by far the bulk of these studies are of the text.  They give you just enough guidance to work through the text but you are doing most of the work.

I have also written a Bible study on 1 Samuel (2 Samuel is underway but not quite complete yet).  This is similar to Precept Upon Precept, however I do give you some journaling space.  It also has a prayer guidance for the day and the prayer portion is really where the practical application comes in.  If your interested, please email me at solamom@verizon.net and I will email you a PDF version of the study.

Memorize the Word!  If you have children, consider enrolling them in the summer Bible Bee and memorizing along with them.  Also, Desiring God has an app for the iPhone/iPad market (not sure about Android) called Fighter Verse.  It is an excellent app to help you memorize the Bible.

And I know I said put the books and studies away, but if you would like to breeze through an easy read on How To Study The Bible, then get your hands on Kay Arthur's book, "How to Study the Bible."  She teaches you the inductive method.  Personally, I have found the inductive method to be the best way to study!

To close, read this challenge here by Dan Phillips.  It goes along with exactly everything that the other two blogs and this post has said.

I hope to hear from some of you!  1 Peter 1:25, "But the Word of the Lord endures Forever."  And this is the word which is preached to you.

The Glory of Creation

I have a post up at Laced With Grace today. You can read it here.

I've switched to the dark side.....

In the world of computers that is.....

Well, the time had finally come. My beloved Dell 1520 Inspiron is on its last legs. To top that off, the accountant that handles all the business accounts wants me to "switch" to Quickbooks instead of my easy going, easy to use Quicken. My Dell said...."no more!"

So, while my boss was here last week I talked to him about getting a new computer and switching to Quickbooks. He gave me the go ahead --- new computer and switch to Quickbooks!

After dealing with a few issues with the Quickbooks working on different platforms, etc....I bought a MacBook Pro!

My hubby, who makes his living working on PCs, calls it the "dark side." But truthfully, I think he is quit impressed with all this little thing can do.

I have lots to work on to get this going. First, had to order Quickbooks from Amazon. But because my accountant wants me to run the accountant's copy, my hubby has to install Windows on the Mac. So I bought Fusion software to have a virtual windows machine on the Mac and can run Quickbooks.

I spent time researching Word versus Pages---Numbers versus Excel. I think I am going to stick with Office products but get the Mac version. Hopefully this will make sharing documents between my boss and I (and anyone else) easy.

The Mac is a learning curve but I keep playing with it and am starting to get used to its ways. So far I love it! I even loaded my Logos 4 software today on it.....huge difference from the Dell. It actually works!!!

So, I am very excited with my new Mac. Had to share....

Good Advice

There are some great tips on Kids in Worship service at Kevin DeYoung's blog. You can read them here.

Kirk Cameron

Great article from Denny Burk about the Kirk Cameron interview with Piers Morgan. By the way, be sure to follow the links to read how the media is reporting this. Hollywood always has to get it's two cents in, right?

Way to go, Kirk!!

Secret Keeper Girl

I have followed Dannah Gresh and her Secret Keeper Girl ministry now for a few years and have been blessed greatly by her efforts to preserve little girls purity and promote modesty.

Her book, Six Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl was wonderful. I have wanted to take Delena to a Secret Keeper Girl Live event now for a while. Last night, I finally got the chance! We went to the Secret Keeper Girl Pajama Party tour in Lakeland, FL at the First Baptist Church @ The Mall.

We had a wonderful time! We laughed, cried a little, shopped and learned so much about what God's word says about beauty and modesty. This is a perfect event for girls 8-12.

It is funny, though, how much I learned. Huge lesson for me.....see back in January, Delena turned 11. So I allowed her to have a sleepover of about 10 girls. My idea: bring home the RV, park it on the street, and let the girls camp in the front yard. The RV is so cozy with a/c (or heat), beds, a TV, etc. We could light the fire pit, roast marshmallows, etc.... Even watch a movie.

Her idea....a sleepover with 10 girls in tents in the backyard! Really??? I'm offering an RV and she wants to sleep in tents?? Surely ---- alllllll those girls coming will want to sleep in the RV. A part of me may have been, ahhh, embarrassed to invite kids over to tent camp.

In any case, after much discussion, I gave in. And you know what? The girls all loved it! Which brings me back to the SKG event....Suzie, who was leading the 2 hours, shared her most memorable pajama party. You know what it was?? Yep, sleeping in tents in the backyard of a friend's house. I thought Delena was going to run up on stage and tell the world---she was right. I was wrong. At that moment, I was so glad I caved in and let them sleep in the tents. The funny thing, now all her friends are having sleep overs in the tents!! So the RV is great for family get aways but tents still rule when it comes to pajama parties!

Anyway, I can't say enough about how wonderful the evening was. What a blessing to have been a part of something so special. Now to plan some "dates" I think I just might take both girls to get pedicures. How fun is that???!!

Our little group that went.

Pictures on stage after the event. We ran into another little girl from our co-op :)

All the girls with Suzie.

Me and Delena waiting for it to start!

Daniel 2 and the US

As some of you may know, I am leading a ladies Bible study at my church on Wednesday nights. We are working through Daniel Part 1, Precept Upon Precept. This coming Wednesday, we will be going over Daniel Chapter 2 - the statue.

To prepare for the discussion, I pulled out of the Grace to You archives John MacArthur's sermon on a portion of the passage. While this sermon was recorded in 1979, it sounded like he had just recorded it. Especially, considering in the United States, we are in the throngs of a political drag out party as the Republican party is going through the process of selecting its candidate to face off against Barack Obama in the general election.

I wanted to share a few passages from his sermon.

First, MacArthur says we are watching the downfall of the United States:

We're all watching rather sadly - we who know Christ - the fall of the United States of America. As sad as it is, it shouldn't really shock us. The reason is because it has always been and always will be the lot of nations, nations of the world, that the kingdoms of men will go the way of all flesh and ultimately end in collapse and ruin.

Anything based on the might of man, anything established on the wisdom of man will suffer the same kind of deterioration that man himself suffers since the fall. Dissipation is man's history. It is a devolutionary process not an evolutionary process. Man is not ascending, man is descending. In 1 Timothy 3:13, God says, "Evil men shall grow worse and worse." Things don't get better, they get worse.

We see decay working in our society everywhere - nationally, socially, domestically, individually, organically. All things in this world are caught in a process of deterioration that began when man fell into sin in the garden. And each new combination of forces or nations that has tried to achieve a lasting kingdom invariably meets the same inevitable overthrow. No matter what the intentions are, no matter what the safeguards are, the dissolution of manmade effort in inevitable.

So that history as studied becomes a succession of defeat. An empire begins, reaches a peak and fades and dies and another one is built out of its ashes. We are looking at America. America in the past reached its apex. We're on the down side, the back slope. We are watching a defeat taking place.

Next, Pastor MacArthur outlines some of those reasons why. Keep in mind, this was in 1979! How much more so NOW do these things apply??

We see the dissolution of our country on every hand. Political humanism ruin the government. A government once established on the principles on the word of God. Godless atheism dominates our education. International blackmail threatens us all over the world. A lack of conviction and a lack of courage changes the way we approach problems.

The destruction of the family is causing a loss of all orientation among people and a rise of psychological and psychiatric problems. The deterioration of the family contributed by immorality, living together without marriage, working women, women's lib, passive fathers, homosexuality, etc. We've seen a steady decline in authority to the point where in many cases there is absence of authority.

In parts of our society we have lost the ability to control behavior. There's an ever-increasing rise of crime, lax criminal justice. We are constantly being corrupted at a faster rate through materialism, alcohol, drugs, sex, total selfishness. And we can go on and on.

We are deteriorating just like every other nation ever deteriorated. Because built into America is the same basic problem. We have feet of clay like the image in Daniel. And clay says Daniel represents the seed of men. And wherever anything is built on men, it is built for dissolution.

Does that not speak of the US now? Our love affair with materialism is what has caused this economic crash to begin with --- borrowing money for things we cannot afford to keep up with people we don't even like, right?

Further, Pastor MacArthur shares an article he read by a professor about the rise and fall of empires. Take a read here for yourself:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until he voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship.

"The average age," says Tyler, "of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years." For us, that was 1976. "These nations have progressed through the following sequence:" - now listen to this - "from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency and from dependency back into bondage."

Every nation follows the same cycle. And democracy seems to follow it just as fast or in some cases faster than any other form of government. By the way, it might shock you to know that democracy is not God's form of government. God's form is theocracy where one person rules, and that person is God.

The interesting thing is this, this article was written over 200 years ago by Professor Alexander Tyler. It was written while the 13 original colonies were still a part of Great Britain. He was actually writing about the Atheanian Republic that existed over 2,000 years ago.

Have we not as a nation realized we can vote ourselves money from the Treasury? Or worse yet, vote money we don't have or have to borrow from other countries?

It really is sad, but every empire follows the same cycle - throughout history. Reading the cycle above, where would you place the United States? I see us somewhere between apathy and dependency. Our reliance on the government to do everything for us is evident.

Just like the clay in Daniel...brittle.

I hear people ask a lot about the end times and the United States. The US isn't specifically mentioned in the Bible. Some people try to say certain images may apply to it, but that is for the most part, speculation. The simple answer is we may not be mentioned because we may not be around.

I love to study Daniel. It is an incredible book - my personal favorite - in the Bible. It is full of historical prophecy and future prophecy. And reading it in such a time as we are in now is encouraging. It helps me prepare for what may be ahead. We discuss as a family and in home school what could happen. I want the kids to be prepared when they see things begin to take place.

There is so much more too, I'll save that for another post. I would love feedback on the what John MacArthur said.

Mother Son Date Knight

Last night, I had the fun opportunity to take my little guy, Caleb, on a date - thanks in part of Chick Fil A. Our local Chick Fil A sponsored the Mother Son Date Knight - complete with sword fighting and chivalry training.

The event was free, minus the cost of food. Our Chick Fil A was decorated to resemble a medieval castle. The employees were dressed in medieval attire. The dining hall was set up like a typical medieval feats with King Cow heading the banquet table.

Everything was nicely done. We were waited on, our food brought to us on plates, the staff did everything. It was a very nice evening.

It is wonderful to see Chick Fil A do something to encourage family bonding time. I've done dates with Caleb before but he loved this date night just as much as all the others. And we try to do this with all the kids. Mark is taking Caleb to a sportsman feast at our church in a few weeks. I took the girls to the mother-daughter banquet. Mark took the girls out to eat last night. And as a family, we are all going to see Toby Mac real soon.

Date nights with the kids are so fun and creates memories they will not ever forget. We really try to do this with them several times a year.

Thank you Caleb for the wonderful date night and for being my Knight for the date!

Caleb posing with a Knight. He made the cool sword balloon, taught him some sword fighting and manners on escorting a lady.

Caleb enjoying his Chick Fil A sandwich, fries and chocolate milk. They even provided dessert for free!

In Love With Thirty-One

Ok, I caved. I gave in.

My love affair with purses goes back to high school when I discovered Liz Claiborne. Remember those cute little triangle purses? I was a Liz freak! I would give up clothes to have one of those cute little purses.

These days, I am more of a Coach girl (the coach from the Factory stores that are always last year's design). I don't care though, say what you will, I'll carry a year or two old design purse. My daughter loves Vera Bradley purses....again the ones on sale.

So, when those spiffy little Thirty-One bags started popping up everyone, I resisted. I don't need "another" bag. I have plenty: free ones from Disney (when we spent way too much money buying silly souvenirs that the kids don't even have anymore), free ones the hubby has brought home displaying the logo of every community his company can build. I even have one from Lazy Days (where we purchased our RV). Really, I don't need a Thirty One bag - even though they are much cuter than a brown old Lazy Days bag.

But they kept showing up ---- everywhere!!! The more I see them, I more I like them. I could imagine needing one to carry all my Bible study stuff in as I head to church for class. Or one to carry all my co-op stuff in as I head to homeschoool co-op. Or one to carry all our beach supplies in as we go to the beach. The possibilities are endless.

So, I caved. I wanted one - starting with the organizing tote with side pockets. I was ready to order one from a friend who is a consultant when we found out my husband would be loosing his job in a few months. So, Thirty-One had to go on hold.

Last Friday night, my daughter had a sleepover with some friends to celebrate her 11th birthday. One of those girls was a neighbor girl. Her mom is on my Facebook friend's list and I had noticed her status update saying she was going to a party Friday night. So, when she dropped her daughter off at our house for the sleepover, I asked her what party she was going to. As cruel fate would have it, it was a.....you guessed it, Thirty-One!

I proceeded to tell her my new found love and how I so wanted one of those organizing totes. She, of course, offered to get one for me. When I explained our new financial predicament and how I needed to resist the urge to buy, she understood.

The next morning, well before she was supposed to retrieve her child from the sleepover, my neighbor showed up our front door carrying an organizing tote. When she handed me the tote, she explained that it was a give away at the party because the pattern was being discontinued and she won it! And immediately she thought to give it to me because it was the exact one I wanted!

So, yes, now I am the proud owner of a Thirty-One bag. I loved taking it to Bible study Wednesday night. My Precept binders, Precept Bible and colored pencils fit so nicely in it.

And that is my new found love story with Thirty-One. Now, if I could only figure out Pinterest. I am the only one who doesn't "get it?"

Voddie Bauchman Explains Weekend Events

You can read Voddie Bauchman's response here about his not speaking at the Men's Conference this past weekend.

Really, really sad when a sound teacher is asked not to participate in something because he stands for truth.