Selective compassion

I was thinking today about the election. This led to other issues.
I realized I have selective compassion. I don't expect unbelievers to act like believers. That's asking far too much of them. I need to be compassionate towards those who do not know the grace and mercy for Jesus. How can they understand the evil around them if they don't understand the love of God?
I do tend to get passionately dissatisfied with believers who act like unbelievers. I am a sinner. I still sin. But I don't stick my head in the sand and pretend that alls good with the world. That grandpa God thinks we are all cute and funny. When I find believers who say that abortion is ok in some instances, that submission is antiquated, that brag about the number of children they did not allow God to bless them with, that children have to go to school to be salt and light.... the list goes on. I don't have a whole lot of tolerance for that.
(My friends that send their children to school, please hear I am not judging you. Each family has to make that decision for themselves, but to tell me that I am wrong in "sheltering" my children instead of allowing them to be witnesses at school makes me gag!)
When I look around the church and I see little difference between people there and people in my own neighborhood I get depressed. When a believer tells me that they just don't have time to read their Bible it makes me sad. When 8 and 9 year old children tell me about books, video games, and movies that are part of their lives that I could not even stomach I get annoyed.
"Well, we have to be like the people we are trying to reach!" Is the battle cry from some camps.
So, because Jesus was reaching out to sinners, He should have become a sinner? Um... not buying that so much!

I have a whole other post ready to go on the Christian Revolution. I typed it here but it was really long. Right now I am off to hang out with my kids. I will put that post up a little later......

Children helping

I have tried many, many, many different ways of getting my kids to do chores and help around the house. All have failed miserably and left me angry and frustrated and my kids crying and frustrated.

As I was reading Raising Godly Tomatoes I realized what was wrong. I would assign jobs and then go off to do something else while they worked. Two to a room. Well this did not work because they were left to their own ways. My oldest especially does not do well without supervision.

So last week I decided to switch things up a bit. I pulled out different colors of construction paper one for each room of the house. I pulled out baggies for each color. I wrote down what needed to be done in each room for the day and the week. On the back I wrote whether it needed to be done daily or weekly. Now we go one room at a time and everyone picks a job from the bag. If it can't be done right then, like mopping needs to be done last, they put it back and pick a different job.

We do our weekly jobs on Monday. It takes a really long time right now. :)

The kids love it. They keep telling me how happy they are to be all working together. I am there with them most of the time able to laugh and direct as needed.

I also came up with table chores to do after every meal. They draw for these jobs as well. Clean off the table, clean off the highchair, rinse off the dishes, put away the food, sweep and spot clean. While they do this I get everything ready for our family time.

This is our second week of doing this system. So far it's a real keeper!

Ch-ch-changes....

Roy and I spent a lot...A LOT, of time this past weekend just discussing where we are going. We have plan A and plan B. I love both plans! Both involve getting this house on the market sometime next year. During the next few months we will be painting, laying floors, fixing little bits and pieces of house that need fixing, cleaning really, really well, and decluttering to the max. All while building up a savings account and paying off as much debt as possible. Oh yeah, it's N0vember and December. HA!

Plan A is where Roy gets the career change he has been waiting for and we stay here. We find as much land as possible and start our little hobby farm. It won't be the land we want because that's just not available here. Dh will work this job while we save up and prepare for THE MOVE. I don't know how that will work out because DH is not a spring chicken anymore and trying to transfer this job would be really hard. We will still hold out though. :)

Plan B involves some cheap land. We were looking at Timber land and hunting tracts in other states. Those seem to be some of the more affordable options for the 20-40 acres we would really love to have. What in the world would we do with that much land?

Well first will be our little farm. Some cows, chickens, and MAYBE goats. We will also be growing a lot of our own food. I am reading books about how to be between 75% and 95% self sufficient. I also want to make sure we have enough to share with others.No I don't plan to accomplish all that in the first year, but we will plan to build up to it. I even had some ideas of the boys raising bees and the girls raising rabbits, but that's a long way off. :)

We also plan to build our dream home eventually. Big enough for entertaining and more children.

In the back we will have three cottages. One for my mom, one for Roy's parents, and one for people who need help. Maybe missionaries home on furlough, a traveling preacher, a family out of work though trying.. the list goes on. I want to be able to entertain the angels while making sure my family stays safe. We also would like enough land that our kids can have some land when they get married if they so choose. It will be completely optional.

These are just rough drafts of plans we have been working on for four years. Plan B is my favorite, but if God opens the rest of the doors and DH gets the new job then I will adjust. One thing is for sure. We are getting out of this two by four land in this subdivision. That's definitely something to rejoice over!

A cry for help....

As I read through this website today I was touched by this young man. I pray that there are those out there willing to help this family adopt him.

Please got to Help Misha to find out how!

The Simple Life: Yogurt

I have only made my own yogurt a few times, but man was it easy! It taste different than store bought but is that really a bad thing?
Here is a whole discussion on how to make yogurt.

This is how I made mine the few times I made it.
1. heat milk to 160 or so.
2. put 3 T. starter in qt. jars
3. let milk cool to 110
4. use funnel to pour milk into jars with the yogurt starter (2 c. per 3 T. of starter)
5. put jars in oven with light on.
6. leave 12-14 hours and remove. do NOT stir, put lids on and refrigerate.

I used raw milk and Dannon full fat plain yogurt. According to the discussion above you can use non-homogenized milk or organic whole milk as well. I have never done either one. I just used a candy thermometer to check the temps.
Next time I make it I will take pictures. If we ever get a battery for my camera. :)

Here is another neat way to make yogurt. I think I will try this soon.
Make yogurt in your crockpot.

If you don't want to make your own yogurt it's probably not that big a deal. Honestly, I usually just buy the Dannon full fat plain yogurt and use it for all my yogurt needs. Its really not that expensive and I love plain yogurt.
I can substitute it for sour cream, I can put it in smoothies, I can add fruit and honey and have a great snack, I can use it to bake with... so many uses.
Making my own yogurt just makes me feel good. Maybe I'm just weird. LOL

Be Blessed!

This week at home...

Monday: We have finished all of our chores. The kids are sitting down for lunch. We will read some books and then they will lay down. Adrian has a t-ball game tonight so we will head to that when daddy gets home. We are having chicken enchiladas tonight. When we come home we will read the Bible and the kids will go to bed.

Tuesday: No Bible study today. I don't think we are going to take daddy to work either. If he can get home in time for the girls to go to dance I won't take the car. Saves gas. :) If we stay home we will do some schooling, reading aloud, bread making, coloring, all the good stuff. For dinner we will have chili. The girls have dance practice tonight and we won't all be home until 8pm. We will probably read some about Martin Luther before bed.

Wednesday: Homeschool co-op. When we are done with that we will have lunch, do some cleaning, read some books aloud, color/craft and then rest. We will pick daddy up from work. We might go to the fair, but that's still undecided. If not we will come home have chicken and rice for dinner, do some history, read Dangerous Journey, do our family Bible study, pray and bed.

Thursday: Home sweet home! We will go for a walk. I am going to start on some sewing projects I have lined up. We will clean, homeschool, read, color, and rest. I need to get some bins of STUFF cleaned out so I will do that today. I also need to clean the fans around the house. We will have beans and rice for dinner. Tonight we will work on history, read Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends, do our family Bible study, and pray together.

Friday: Home again. More of what we did on Friday. I would like to get into my closet and do some cleaning though. For dinner we will have tomato soup and grilled cheese. Roy's parents and some of their friends are coming up at some point today. We will go trick or treating and my children will never want to go to bed. LOL

Saturday: We will take Roy's parents out to a beach with a great park near us. We will probably pack a picnic lunch to take. His mom especially will enjoy it. She loves the beach. There is a bench right on the board walk just for her. We will probably go pick up some paint for our house as well. We are going for a more neutral color since we are hoping to put it on the market next year.

Sunday: We are going to my mom's church. They are having something called Round Up Sunday. The preacher brings his horses, they have food and fun and games. The kids love it. I imagine we will spend the day doing that. Then of course family time. Probably end with some history, Martin Luther, Bible study, and prayer!

What's your week look like?

Be Blessed!

Ponder with me...

If Barak Obama wins... GOD is GOD!

If John McCain wins.... GOD is GOD!

If Chuck Baldwin wins.. GOD is GOD!

If Alan Keyes wins........ GOD is GOD!



It's ok to tell me why your candidate is the best. It's not ok to tell me that if I choose to vote third party I'm voting for Obama. Nope. If I choose to vote for Chuck Baldwin, I'm voting for Chuck Baldwin. If I choose to vote for John McCain, I'm voting for John McCain. To tell me I am throwing away my vote on someone is a slap in the face to every soldier who has ever died to give me the freedom to vote for who I think the best man for the job is.
If I vote for McCain even though I don't think he is the best man for the job just so Obama does not win, is that a vote of fear? What if I think God wants me to stand on my convictions and vote for someone other than McCain? Does that make me voting for Chuck Baldwin or someone else wrong? How do you know that Senator McCain is God's man for President? How do we know God even has a man for President? Is He not God? Can He not use whoever is in office? What if Senator Obama gets elected and then becomes convicted and changes his stance on issues? Could that not happen? What if Chuck Baldwin gets elected and it leads this nation to a revival? Could God not orchestrate that?
All I'm saying is that my GOD is so much bigger than this election. My God will be in control no matter who wins. I know this, Senator Obama as President Obama can't take away my salvation or love for Jesus. Same for Senator McCain. And Chuck Baldwin. And Alan Keyes. And fill in the blank. What's the worse that any of these men can do as President? Maybe they attack my rights as a parent. Is God still not going to be the God of my children? He created these kids. He loves them so much more than I ever could. Nothing that Obama, McCain, or anyone else can ever change that.

Just something I am pondering.....

Be Blessed!

Grumpy..

I am so grumpy today. I'm not 100 percent sure why. My kids have been very trying this past week. The older girls will work on corrections today and the younger ones will watch a video. I will probably crash on the couch...
Oh yeah, I will do some reading with the younger kids. I try to do phonics with them at least 3x a week. I can do that from the comfort of my couch. :) We are working on the Great room right now. The kids rooms may wait until tomorrow. I have some maintenance to do in the kitchen. I have learned to make myself get some simple cleaning done on days when I feel bad. They are not as frequent as they used to be, but because of some of my health problems I still have them.
Oh well, I hope you all are having a fantastic week!

Be Blessed!

This week at home...

Monday: Today we have implemented a new cleaning system. So far the kids are enjoying it and we have gotten a lot done. It's taken us most of the day to do five rooms but mostly because there was so much heavy duty stuff to be done. Right now my school room, dining room, kitchen, master bathroom and master bedroom are sparkly clean and smelly good. Yipee! We still have the great room, kids rooms, and kids bathroom to tackle. They might have to wait until Wednesday though. Adrian has a tball game tonight and they need to rest. I will probably work on the great room while they rest. There is still another load or two of dishes. I will probably do those while they rest as well. OR I might rest myself. I feel pretty good right now so I'm thinking I better get as much done as possible. If this system works the rest of the week I will blog about it next week. We will either have tacos or roast chicken tonight for dinner. I'm thinking tacos because Adrian's game is at 6:30 and tacos can be made quicker.
Not a lot of school today but we did talk about cleaning products, how to do certain things, and the big kids spelled words on the fridge for the little kids to read. Real life school. LOL

Tuesday: Bible study, play date, and dance. I am home for about an hour and a half in the afternoon to let the girls rest. During this time I try to get dinner ready, some laundry done, and general pickup. Tonight is probably going to be roast chicken and potatoes.
Wednesday: We have homeschool co-op today. We are out around 12:30 and it's home to eat lunch and do some cleaning. After that I think we will read some fall books I have and I will let the kids color some free sheets I got from Dover. Stained glass flowers. They are really pretty. For dinner we will probably have a greek casserole. It has spinach and olives and feta cheese. It's pretty yummy. I will try to remember to post the recipe. Tonight we will finish up the science we did not finish last week. We will label and color an animal cell. We will also read about Martin Luther. Something else we did not get to last week. And of course our family Bible study and prayer. We found a great resource for our family Bible study. I will try to post about it this week.
Thursday: Home sweet home. We will do some daily cleaning in the morning and then read the rest of the morning away. We might go for a walk as well. It's so nice out right now. In the afternoon we will do some school work and read some more. For dinner we will have tuna loaf, steamed broccoli and veggies cooked in coconut oil. If you've never tried it you really should! :)

We will work on History if we have finished science and read a chapter of Dangerous Journey before Bible study and bed.

Friday: A lot of the same things we did on Thursday. Probably head to the beach for another picnic for dinner. The kids loved that. Monte Cristos for dinner with chips and brownies. Yum.

Saturday: I am going with my mom's Sunday school class to Cumberland Island in GA. It's also her birthday so if she is not too tired we will probably take her out to eat that evening.

Sunday: Church and family time. :)

What does your week look like?

Be Blessed!

Ode to the zip tie!

This marvel has changed my life. Oh, the stories I have about the zip tie!

Once my former boss put one around his neck and almost choked to death. I tried to cut it off but it was so tight and I was laughing so hard I ended up cutting him a couple of times. He finally cut it off himself. His face was a little blue. Hey, Tim, are you out there? I still laugh at that. Thanks for the memory, buddy! Don't worry he laughed too when we told the story to others later.

Those little white strips are holding my life together...literally.

Mr. Fix it (or Mr. Awesome) has used them to hold mirrors on our mini van, to fix the hamper when the hooks disappeared, to fix the doo hickey on the washing machine that tells the washing machine when to drain. He used one to fix my kitchen drawer. The uses he comes up with are amazing. I am so proud of him.

What little thing has saved your household on more than one occasion?

Be Blessed!

So much....

To be thankful for! My posts here lately have been a little on the... well, opinionated side! ;) I just thought I would balance it all out.....
I was reading somewhere recently, I think at A Holy Experience, about a Thanksgiving tradition.
It involved picking a verse of thanksgiving for the year, decorating a box with that verse, and then filling the box throughout the year with thoughts of thanksgiving and gratitude. The family contributes to the box as well as any guests who feel led. Sometimes people drop an offering of thanksgiving into the pot. At the end of the year (or the following Thanksgiving) all of the words of thanks and read aloud by the family. The coins are collected and put in as an offering to some charity or the church. Then the notes are burned as a tangible offering to God. Or least that's how I understood it.
What a beautiful tradition.
When we think of what we have to be thankful for every day it completely blows my mind.
God does not have to give me times of laughter amidst the struggles, but he does.
He does not have to wake me up with the song Jesus Loves Me as preformed by my 2 year old at the top of his lungs, but he does.
He does not have to let me find a pack of meat in the back of the freezer just when I thought it was all gone, but he does.
It's the little things. The hugs of a child, the sweet moments when everyone is getting along, the secret smile of my husband that lets me know he still loves me, the email from a friend to encourage... the little things.
Be thankful.

Be Blessed!

This week at home...

Don't you love fall? I could just LIVE in this season! Even here in FL. I love to dream about the colors and smells and colors... *sigh*

Monday: Today has been.. weird! I don't know. It started out great. I read my Bible, emptied some more boxes in my bedroom, got the kids chores done, had our Bible and read aloud time and then *POOF* the day was gone. I know it's only like 4pm but seriously, where did the day go? We did not get any homeschooling done, there are still more boxes waiting to be unloaded and stuff put away from my bedroom declutter last week. To finish today I have to make some bread, start dinner, get my son to t-ball practice, get some food to a friend, and do some more laundry. Should I even be typing this? LOL
Tuesday: We usually have Bible study on Tuesday mornings but because some of our people are not going to be there tomorrow we are going to cancel. I plan to hit the zoo with another friend. Zoo passes are THE best Christmas present! It will probably be for a little while in the morning. I am hoping they have decorated for the fall festival (really a Halloween thing but you know I don't like Halloween so lets pretend, ok?) I will be on a recon mission to find spots for cute pictures. Then I will take the kids back in the coming weeks dressed all cute and snap some pictures. So much cheaper than where we usually go. LOL
We will try to sneak in some school work tomorrow since we did not get any done today. The girls have dance in the evening. My younger two go at 5pm. They are done at 5:45pm. My youngest and I leave then to get daddy while Kelsie and Karly practice in the older kids class until 6:45. By then I am back and I collect Kelsie. Karly stays for our Kids worship dance team practice until about 7:30.
We usually have crockpot meals on Tuesdays! LOL

Wednesday is co-op day. Afterwards we head to the park for our group's park day. We will picnic and fellowship. We probably won't get a lot done, but it's ok.
Thursday and Friday we are home. We will study the Bible, memorize, read, school, clean, organize, cook.. just be together and enjoy the thrill of being home.

Friday night we are going to a cook out at my friends house to celebrate her birthday. How exciting!

Saturday and Sunday are a whole lot of nothing. Some projects around the house. Maybe a beach trip. Just time spent enjoying family.

Be Blessed!

You must go...

and see what Mrs. Laura has up at her blog. It's fabulous! I am so excited.

It is worth the few minutes it will take to click over there... I promise! :)

Hint: What girl does not want her very own vanity to dress up and maker her own?

Parental Rights attacked...again

I just read this post over at Where the Kudzu Grows. It literally made me ill. This is ridiculous.
Seriously, I believe it's only a matter of time before vaccines become mandatory. So many people already think they are. My husband asked people at his work yesterday about vaccinating and the risks. They all looked at him dumbfounded. They did not know of risks nor did they even have a clue that you could opt out.
But really, this is not about vaccinating. It's about loosing our rights as parents one step at a time. Today it's vaccines tomorrow it's... ? Fill in the blank. California already wants to outlaw spanking. Apparently Senator Obama thinks parents who don't have health insurance for their children should be punished.
Social workers think they can just show up at your door with no proof and terrorize, oops, I mean question your children. Homeschooling is constantly under attack. Young girls can get abortions or birth control with no parental notification or consent.

Thank God that the perfect love of Christ casts out all fear, because, I think I would be very afraid.

PRAISE HIM!

This is what we listen to every morning during our PE time! :)
This can get you out of a funk quick. Turn it up and GO!

This week at home...

I missed doing this, it really helped me to be accountable! :)

Monday: Today we have already taken our friend to the Dr. I have done two loads of laundry, started some beans for dinner, finished half of my bedroom. The kids are finishing up thier weekly chores. We still have to go to the post office. I want to at least start the other half of my bedroom, do some more laundry, and sweep the front sidewalk. I also need to make some bread and try my hand at tortillas again. I need to get in some school. Proabably just Bible and some History today. Adrian has t-ball practice tonight and for the first time I am going to take him. So far daddy and grandma have done that. His first game is Saturday, I guess. I hope they get uniforms tonight.
Tuesday: We have Bible study then playdate, then dance. For the two hours I am home the kids rest and I start dinner prep. I should get some more laundry done and I might even get to work in my bedroom some more.
Wednesday: Co-op in the morning and then library. When we get home we will eat lunch and probably do some Bible and history. I printed off some pictures from Dover coloring and I will probably let the kids color some of those. I am going to try to finish my bedroom today.
Thursday: We are home! YAY! We will do all of our chores, Bible, circle time, schoolwork, and I will either finish my bedroom or start on my closet. I am practicing my knitting. I was doing so good on the cast on and then I got the knit stitch down and I was so excited. Well, all of a sudden I can not cast on to save my life. What's up with that?! I hope to have some time to practice that and work on my practice pot holder I am sewing by hand.

Friday: Home all day again! Chores, circle time, Bible, school, FUN! Probably some more history. I might pack up dinner and we will eat at the beach. We found the greatest little park with picnic tables. The kids love it. Maybe we will take our read aloud book and read at the beach if it's not dark yet. That would be fun.

Saturday: Filled with Bible study and the ball park. Maybe let the kids swim in the kiddie pool out back. Grill some burgers. Lazy Saturday evening.

Sunday: Church, Lead Team meeting after church, come home for our Sunday nap, movies or games in the evening. Lazy Sunday evening. :)

Our Kids, Our Decision

About a year ago I had a conversation with some ladies that resulted in me being defensive and flustered. I realized then that I'd better convince myself that what we have planned for our children is the best. Thankfully I'd gotten my husband a book for Christmas called Family Driven Faith. By now most of you should have figured out my deep respect and admiration for Voddie Baucham the author of that book. The book really helped me get a handle on the "why" of our convictions.
You see, we have decided that no matter how mainstream it is our kids will not be in the youth group. It was not an easy decision. It is one we prayed over and researched to the end. Youth groups just don't line up with the values and visions we have chosen for our family.
One of our goals is to raise our children to be biblical men and women. When my son is an adult I want him to act like an adult. We tell our kids that when they hit thirteen they become young ladies and young men. Implying that they are turning into ladies and men, not just overgrown teenagers.

I have heard all of the reasons why this is a dumb decision. Surely, my kids are going to rebel. Yeah. I can count on one, maybe almost two hands all the kids still in church and faithful to their walk with Christ that were in my youth group. Somehow I don't really think kids not being in youth group is why they rebel.

I think that when we neglect teaching kids straight from God's word right from wrong, the law seasoned with grace that we start the downward spiral. When we teach our kids that they have to be entertained every time they learn about God we err. Learning about God can be fun, but life serving God may not always be fun. Joyful and abundant, sure. But not always fun.

But it's our decision. I brought it to Dh and he prayed over it and read all the research I accumulated. We read Family Driven Faith with tears in our eyes. Yes, it can be done and needs to be according to Rev. Baucham. Just because someone does not agree with our decision does not make it wrong.

I have a friend who did not let her child eat anything with sugar as a baby. People disagreed with that decision, but it did not make it wrong. Some people don't let their kids watch certain movies or television programs. Others might not agree with that decision, but it does not make it wrong.

Proverbs is full of admonitions to listen to your mother and father and heed their wise council. If we put them under someone else's authority then we give that person the right to change our values and goals for our family.

My oldest is in fourth grade. In just two short years we will have to face the music. We will have to stand up and answer the tough questions. It's ok. Dh is strong. Whoever comes against us will have to have good biblical doctrine for why we HAVE to put our kids in the youth group. I don't think it's there.

If we are going to believe the Bible is God's infallible word to man then we have to accept the whole Bible. We can't pick and choose which part we think is good and toss the rest out as being cultural.

Still Playing...

I am still playing with categories. I had so many posts.
I will tell you that reading back through my older posts has really given me a sense of where I have grown and where I have trailed off the path. I guess that's one reason I love blogging so much. Who I was in 2005 is so different from who I am now. THANK GOD!! :)

For those of you who have blogs, how have you changed since you started blogging? I am very interested to know.