A verse of conviction today

James 4:6-10 (The Message)

4-6You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

7-10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

Speaking through me, to me!

God has graciously seriously kicked my rear today! Oh my gosh, I am in awe at how he works!! He's amazing. He's sly but in a good way, he's gentle, he's so loving in the way he trys to tell us things and bring us healing. I am feeling so awe struck by him right now.

Without getting into too much detail, I was sending someone else an email this morning. Someone who I care deeply about and love with all my heart. Someone who is hurting. I was trying to explain to them how they could be happier in Christ, by living for God, not for ourselves, by being selfless. How God allows things in our lives to draw us near him, how we have to give up things, have less of ourselves, to have more of him, which brings us peace and happiness and fruit. I did not write that letter. God wrote it. As I read that letter a few times before I sent it, I was convicted, over and over and over. God was speaking to me. Through me! How awesome is that?? He wrote a letter through me, to me! I hope it helps the other person that I wrote it to, but I know he was talking to me, and telling me how to be a happier person myself. Wow is all I can right now! Praise you dear Jesus for caring about me and my little life so much that you would do something like this because you love me so much!!

God speaks to me

Holy man I have abandoned my blog! lol. I was thinking about it the other day and thought, I really should be using that blog, even if it's to simple write how things are going in my life.
Well this morning God gave me reason to get off the chair and log on.
Alot of mornings when I go to read the bible, I forget to ask him to open my eyes, to give me wisdom, to speak to me. This morning I was reminded by a dear friend, to ask God about something that was going on in my life. So I prayed please teach me this morning as I read your word. He did.

I love it when God speaks to me. Some days his voice is quiet and I can't always hear him, or it's so faint I try to ignore it. But this morning I asked, and he obliged.

I was reading in Luke 2 this morning. A page I marked yesterday, (So he obviously had this all planned out, isn't he amazing?)
Here's what he told me~Sometimes we think (or know) we are being obedient to the Lord in something he's asking us to do but it's painful. We face discomfort going through the "being obedient" part and we don't like it. So we think that we have misread God's will or God has made a mistake. But when we do God's will, we are not guaranteed comfort and convenience. But we are promised that the comfort and inconvenience has meaning in God's plan, and we should just keep obeying, living in faith that God is in charge. There's a reason we are going through what we are and we will probably understand it someday.
It spoke to me today. I needed it, and I will just keep on obeying, even though it kinda stinks. lol.

The other thing was that we should not "limit" God.
I was reading about Jesus birth, and how the Jews expected the Messiah to be born in royal surroundings, not a dark, dirty stable. But that was God's plan all along to bring Jesus into our world in a humble way. Sometimes we expect him to do things a certain way, but he does it differently. In a way we wouldn't have expected. But he's God after all, why we he do things the way we expect him to? :)

Why I homeschool

Above all else, I love my kids and that is the biggest reason why I homeschool. They deserve the very best that I can give them. I enjoy them, and enjoy having them around, I want to watch them grow up and be a big part of shaping them, and of who they become as adults.

I want them to love eachother and love family more then peers. I want them to grow up watching people who are trying to live for the Lord, and teach them that HE is most important.

I don't want them spending 40 hours a week in a place that deny's Christianity.

I have to stand before God someday and will be judged how I took care of the gifts he gave me, how I discipled them to grow in a relationship with the Lord. If I caused them to sin or if I didn't. I'm responsible for their holiness.

God entrusted these kids to me, they are a gift. Do I know that God loves them more than I do? You bet, but that doesn't mean I can just say, "Oh, God will watch over them at school". I need to do my part in taking care of their faith, helping them grow in the Lord, giving them influences of people that are living for the Lord and not sending them out in a fallen world to find their way when they are young.

I compiled a list of verses to look back on, and some other thoughts, and some quotes from books that I've read to come back to on days when I forget why I am doing this. Days when no one wants to do school, or listen, or days that don't go like I would like them to. I know I will need to look at something that reminds me why I am homeschooling.

Romans 12:2
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Proverbs 13:20 (New International Version)
20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Ephesians 6:4 (King James Version)
4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
( Are a few hours a week sufficient?, when we give our children over to a public school that is constitutionally prohibited from being for Christ, we have made an anti-Christian institution our child's teacher. That is missing the mark- it is likely to cause our children to sin.)

Matthew 18:6 (New International Version)
6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

2 Corinthians 6:14 (New International Version)
Do Not Be Yoked With Unbelievers 14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

1 Corinthians 15:33 (New International Version)
33Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

Colossians 2:8 (New International Version)
8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ( youth are taught anti-God, anti-biblical, worldly beliefs all of which contradict the Word of God at public schools!)

John 17:15-16 (New International Version)
15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Romans 14:13 (New International Version)
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Psalm 127:3 (New International Version)
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.

Matthew 6:24 (Amplified Bible)
24No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be [a]against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ([b]deceitful riches, money, possessions, or [c]whatever is trusted in).

Matthew 12:30 (New Living Translation)
30 “Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.
( Christ tells us that we can't claim to be neutral with respect to him, we are either for him or against him. Education is no exception.)

2 Corinthians 10:5 (New International Version)
5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Galatians 6:9 (New International Version)
9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

John 15:18 (New International Version)
The World Hates the Disciples 18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.


Apart from working out our own salvation, we as Christian parents, have no more important task on this earth than raising our children as the bible commands us. If we are giving our children over to an anti-Christian school for their education, we are failing to be faithful and we are haring our children spiritually, morally, and intellectually.

All public schools teach the irrelevance of God as a fundamental doctrine. Every day for 12 years the content and context of public schooling says there is no God, and even if there is, He does not matter. Ultimately, children learn these lessons from their public school teachers ~ Faith is private, subjective, and compartmentalized. Truth is relative, situational, and individualized. They teach virtues of openness, tolerance of things God hates. public schools are actively and aggressively non-Christian. They are training Christian children to be secularist- unbelieving believers.

The reality that Godless teaching and inappropriate conduct occur daily in public schools across the nation is a fact that is widely known and well documented.
The public school system has implemented policies that require teachers to instruct students that all life and humanity resulted from a cosmic accident that began billions of years ago, this instruction is stated as "scientific fact". According to 2 Corinthians 10:5 this mandatory instruction by the public school which contradicts the word of God is evil and reflects the hatred of God.

When parents place their children in the public school and the door is closed, they relinquish their authority to a system that has expelled God and instead, has embraced the teaching of worldly philosophies that directly contradict the teachings of the bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. Col 2:8.

When we Christian parents send our kids off to public school, we can only attempt to counter the secular teaching and influence to which the children are exposed to daily. They must also work hard to oppose the negative peer pressures brought on by the unbelieving companions who the kids associate with each day. It's not only important for kids to learn what the bible teaches, but it is also important for them to witness a godly lifestyle lived out in front of them on a daily basis. No one leaves a new born baby on it's own, believing it can fend for itself, the same attitude should apply to spiritual babes in Christ. parents are called to disciple their children, we should strive to be living examples of Godly disciples.


It's the parents whom God addresses in the training up of their children . (Proverbs 1:8 and 6:20, and Psalm 78:5, and Ephesians 6:4)
Proverbs 1:8- Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching
Psalm 78:5- 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children
Ephesians 6:4-Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

The schools are deliberately de-christianizing, did you notice that Christmas isn't Christmas anymore? It's "winter break" or "winter party" Or there's no Easter party or Easter break anymore? Now it's "spring break" "spring party" .

Quotes from a book~
***" We are starting with the wrong question when we ask: Is it a sin to attend public schools? Better questions are- How will public schools disciple my children? How will public schools influence the lifestyle and worldview I am transferring to my kids? How will the content and context of public schools honor the Lordship of Christ in the education of my children?
Because the anti-Christian bias in public schooling is often subtle and implicit, many parents think it is also harmless. These moms and dad's may get concerned when teachers start handing out condoms, but they do not bat an eye when secularism saturates every book and class."

"Many concerned Christian parents are now "trying" Christian education with the caveat that they can always return to public school if it gets too hard or costly. This is similar to entering Christian marriage with the conscious thought that one will get a divorce if things do not work out. Christian parents should see choosing a public school as analogous to choosing a divorce, a grievous, heart breaking decision made only as a last resort. Public schooling is simply the wrong answer for Christian families. We should not line up at the public school trough just because the swill is familiar, convenient and free"

" We are to cast down every high thing exalting itself against the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10: 4-5) Therefore, we must recognize and treat public schooling for what it is- a modern day Tower of Babel."

"When Christians educate their children in the same manner as non-Christians, they send an undeniable message of agreement with non-Christian values, beliefs, and practices taught in public schools. Conformity does not witness to the lost, but falsely reinforces their unbelief.
Instead Christians should reflect God's grace and truth by demonstrating biblical alternatives to the bankrupt philosophies around us. "

"The biblical injunction to be "salt and light" in a dark unsavory world is not fulfilled by embracing the public school but by engaging the public square. We are responsible to give an account for the hope within us, and this includes being able to explain and demonstrate our principled rejection of public schools. Presenting a gracious antithesis to the secular confusion around us is a bold and necessary witness."

*** " The technicality of having no 11 th commandment explicitly prohibiting the use of public schooling is a sad defense for poor biblical exegesis. Notable passages such as Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6 clearly make Christian education a biblical imperative and parental responsibility."
Yet most Christian parents behave as if there are passages in the bible instructing them to give the education of their children over to anti-Christian government schools and telling them that exposing their children to Christianity tow or three hours a week is good enough.

Clearly there are many ways to lead a Christian child to sin, but none is surer then placing them under false teaching.
Every passage that mentions education of children makes it clear that parents are responsible. In Deut 6:6-7 the Lord tells PARENTS to teach their children. In Proverbs 22:6 PARENTS are told. Ephesians 6:4- FATHERS.
Proverbs 1:8-9 children are told to hear the instruction of their PARENTS.

When people say that my children should be "salt and light" in the schools, I think they are wrong. They can be salt and light in the neighborhood, or at the Y, or go to visit old people in a nursing home, anywhere in the community I take them.
Christ was not speaking to 5 year olds, 10 year olds or 15 year olds when he gave the Great commission, or when he described his disciples as "salt and light". Christian adults bear this responsibility, not children. In fact, the bible is quite clear that children require nurturing, training, and yes, even being "set apart" for a season. As Psalm 144:11-12 tells us.

Kids need time to grow and develop before facing a hostile and sinful world on their own. Child hood is a time of discipling.
Children don't have the experience to be evangelists for the Christian faith, given the onslaught of secular humanism, and demand for conformity in public schools.


Our God is a jealous God. We may not put other gods before him, and we cannot be double minded in the way we live our lives. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, "He who is not with me is against me." an education that attempts to distance itself from a commitment to Christianity, and to treat all religious beliefs as equal, is profoundly anti-Christian.


It's proven that homeschoolers outperform public school kids, hands down. Colleges seek out homeschool kids.

Desires

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.~ Philippians 2:13, NLT

This was my bible verse I got today in email. It hits home with me, mostly because God has put so many of HIS desires in my life this past year.
He constantly amazes me at how he changes me, to want things that he wants. Things that I would never imagine myself wanting or doing. He actually makes my heart ache for things that I wouldn't have dreamed of only a short year ago.
It reminds me of the verse, Psalm 37:4- Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I think people use that verse in the wrong way, (myself included in the past) thinking that if you delight in the Lord, that he will give you what YOU want, or the desires that you yourself have. Unless those desires are to please him in some way, you've probably got it wrong, but the funny thing is, when he gives me desires that please him, it in turn is something that pleases me too. Take home schooling for instance, granted this is my first year, and I might grow weary of it, ( I hope not) but this is something I never desired to do, wasn't one of my top 10 things to do before I die, I used to just think, when my kids are all in school, I can have time for me! I can attend bible studies, mom time, exercise, clean the house and not have to worry about kids! But now I think so much differently, he puts that desire in me to home school, opened my eyes to things that I was blind to before, and now I am passionate about it. How amazing is that? On days when I find myself being prideful about homeschooling, and wondering why more Christians don't homeschool, I have to remind myself that it was HIM, not ME, that changed my heart and opened my eyes, it was HIS doing. HE get's the credit, not me. He's the one that get's the glory, not me.
Or before last August I was desiring a bigger house, now I'm wondering if we should downsize and use some of that extra money to help someone else. I hardly think that desire came from me. How could a desire like that come from a selfish, sinful human like myself? I enjoy our house, and our yard and the neighbors, but I think, is this all so important? Do we have excess that we could be sharing? That is God putting his desires into my heart, I love that. He will have me be content, keep me joyful, doing things he wants me to do, and living like he wants me to live. God is so cool. He has given me a heart for others, to want to help other people instead of being selfish and fulfilling my own needs. He has given me a desire to disciple my own children so they can teach their children how to love the Lord with all their hearts, he has helped my marriage by helping me to not think about me and my needs all the time, but my husbands needs and my kids needs. All these thoughts out of one bible verse sent in my email. The phrase that God is love rings true, because all the desires that he puts in my heart are desires to love others, and that makes me a happier nicer person in return!

Cherish time with my kids....

Jake just left for school. The morning was the same as most, I get up, get coffee made, go wake him up, then come down and start listening to a sermon. He gets dressed, eats, and is ready to go. He comes in by me, says he's leaving, I give him a kiss, say, " I love you, have a good day Jake" and he says, "ok" and walks out the door. This morning I felt sadness. I have done this for years and today I felt sad when he left. I feel like I'm just sending my 12 year old out into the world, I have no idea what he's doing all day, what he's learning, who's talking to him, and I see him again in 9 hours. He comes home, does his homework, and usually has a little time with his friends, and we do a little bible study together and we go to bed. This is how much I see my son during the school year. It's sad to me. For all these years past, that just seemed "normal" to me. That's just "what we do" go to school. The thought of home schooling never occurred to me all those years, I just did what everyone else did and sent my child off to school for the day.
Maybe it's hitting me more now because he's reaching his teen years, time has gone SO fast, and now it's just 2 years of middle school, 4 years of high school and my boy is gone. I feel I am missing out on important years that I have left with my son. I feel I missed out on so many years of getting to know him and being closer to him. I wish the home schooling thing would have been on my heart 10 years ago so I wouldn't have wasted so much of my son's life sending him off to be with someone else all day. As I sit here, teary looking out the window at him at the bus stop, I can't help but wonder, is this really how God wanted it? That we send our children off to be with someone else for 8 hours a day, 10 months out of the year? I missed so much. He's going to be 13 next month, a teenager, and all those years he was gone for all those hours. Thankfully Jake is great kid, he's sweet, kind, has a great sense of humor, he loves his family, has lots of friends, God has blessed him, watched over him, nothing "bad" has come of him being gone, but the relationship that I could have had with him~ it's not what it could have been. Sure, he's only 12, I still have time to get to know him better, to enjoy him while he's still a kid, but now are the years he wants to be at school, wants to be with friends, because that is what I taught him was normal. He'd rather go play with friends then spend time at home. I wasted precious time. It reminds me of how when people see me at the grocery store with 4 kids, and they say, "oh, enjoy them when they are small, time goes so fast" and I always say, "I know." Because I've heard that so many times, and even my dad has said it, but did I really think about it? I enjoy the little ones, and I am thankful that I have the opportunity to home school the little 3, and be a stay at home mom, but some days, do I really cherish the time I have with them? Probably not. But I am going to be more intentional about that because it won't be long and they will be 12 going on 20. I am missing my Jake today. I wish the past was a bit different, wish I would have done things differently with him, but all I can do is love him as much as I can now, let him know how much I love him, and steal as much of his time as I can. I'm pretty sure God gave us these babies to enjoy, to spend time with them, to love them up and keep them home as long as we can. When I would get the "something's not right feeling" when I dropped him off at daycare when he was little, and the "world" would say, it's ok, he'll be fine......or when they'd cry in their cribs and the "world" would say, It's ok, let them cry, it's good for them, or leaving them in a nursery, and they'd cry, and someone would say, it's ok, they'll be fine....or watching my little 5 year old girl getting on a bus last year, and I got that feeling that something is just not "right" with this, she's only a 5 yr old baby girl! but the "world" said, that's what we do...... Maybe all along, that "feeling" I got was not just a motherly feeling, it was God saying, you don't have to do what the world tells you to do......

Giving it God

I am sitting here, just feeling numb about the past few weeks. It has been a whirlwind of emotion for Jake and I, God laying it on my heart to home school Jake, trying to talk to his dad about it, trying to let a 12 year old make a huge decision on whether he schools at home or at a public school. WAY to big of a decision for a 12 yr old, but that was my only choice. His biological dad said he was only ok with it if Jake was ok with it. Jake decided to try it out, he said God changed his heart and he thought he should home school. But then the first day of school came and he cried when he saw his two friends get on the bus to go to school. He seemed sad. I cried with him. Sometimes when God asks us to do things, it is not easy or pleasant at first. Monday night I just got on the floor and cried out to God for him to take this because I don't know what to do anymore. A few weeks of trying to explain to Jake why home schooling is good, praying tons about it, what to do, what curriculum to use, seeing my son crying, I just couldn't take it anymore, I handed it over to God, I threw up my arms and said please take this! His dad came over Tuesday and told Jake not to let Kevin and I influence his decision, so Jake decided he wanted to go to school. This morning I watched him get on that bus and sat here and cried. I had a friend that wrote something that I really liked, she said, Jake is taking a detour, and we don't know why it's happening, but God will get him back on track.
I also read a post by my friend Debbie this morning that touched me. She was talking about the different names of Jesus, and asked, "What is breaking your heart today? and have you taken it to your El-Shaddai, your all sufficient God?
She gave names of God, which I knew, but don't use enough, those are Jehovah-jireh: The Lord Will Provide ~ Jehovah-shalom: The Lord Is Peace ~ Jehovah-rapha: The Lord Who Heals, and ~ El-Shaddai: The All-Sufficient One.
I should probably paste these up on my board so I can see them everyday. Even though I sent Jake to school today, I gave this problem to my El-Shaddai on Monday night. God is sovereign and he will take care of what I couldn't take care of by myself. Because of Jake's biological dad, I couldn't just keep Jake at home, But God is able to do what he wants with Jake. HE will take care of Jake. Whether it be bringing him back home some day to school, or helping him not to conform to the world, he is sufficient to take care of this. He loves Jake more then I do, which seems impossible but I know it's true. That post she wrote came at a perfect time this morning. I need to trust God. I did what I could do, and I need to let God do what I can't. I will seek him, pray and let God be God.

Skit guys

I think this is such a neat skit about God changing us once we are believers, sometimes it hurts, and sometimes we resist and don't' want to change, but once we give in, life is SO much sweeter!! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42llBU2LHmc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog%2Ebirthblessed%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=137

From the mouth of the middle school principle

Well, today I reluctantly took Jake to the middle school to register. I pretty much had to until we figure out what we are doing with him. It was a stressful day for me.The parents went in a room and listened to the principle and assistant principle talk for an hour, (which proved to be very interesting with my other three little ones there but anyway....) The kids all went in a different room to get their schedules and find their lockers etc....Here are some of the things that I wrote down that the principle said ~Remember, this is middle school."

You brought them into the world, take care of them- even good kids make bad mistakes."

"Parties become more boy/girl, make sure it's a supervised party, kids are exploring in these grades, make sure you know what you are sending your son/daugther to"

" Stay involved in their life, be nosy, these are the years they start "dabbling" with alcohol, smoking and such" such???( He said that twice during the talk)

He also talked about the school dances, and that no "grinding" is aloud at the dances. GRINDING!! This is 7th grade. Wow, what a great introduction I had to middle school. I felt sick to my stomach when I left that school today. :( It's JUST the place I want to send my Christian 12 yr old son to try and hold his own and not give in to any of these pressures. NOT.

Homeschooling/Obedience to God

I feel the need to write about this, partly for myself, just to reiterate why I am home schooling and also for my Christian friends to read and think and pray about this.
I have been called by God to home school recently. Within the past year, God has put families in my path that home school, parents of homeschoolers, and also children of homeschoolers. He put me in a place, where I was volunteering with middle school kids at church, where I could see huge differences in kids that were home schooled and kids that went to public schools. Also, opening my eyes to all the scary things going on in middle school these days, by the prayer requests of the middle school students that I was working with. prayers about friends having sex with more then one person, doing drugs, drinking, cutting etc.......Being the parent of a son who is going into middle school I was appalled at what I was hearing was going on in the schools at this age.
Until recently I hadn't thought much about home schooling that son. I knew God was calling me to home school my 6 yr old , and the younger ones when they were school age, but didn't think about my 12 yr old son. When he did hear me talking about home school, he'd say, "not me!" " I don't want to home school" I guess in my mind, I thought, that's ok, I'll just let him go to school, he's a good kid, he does well in school, doesn't get in trouble, etc... But lately, my heart is aching about sending him to public school. I pray for intervention from God because I don't know what to do. I know he doesn't want to, but at the same time, I know what's best for him, and I trust God that being at home is best.
Besides just having God lay in on my heart that I should home school my kids, I have been doing lots and lots of reading on home schooling and public schools.
As I knew I would, I have to explain to people why I think it's necessary to home school my kids. The simple reason is because I love them, and God loves them, and God told me to. I could just leave it at that, but that's not enough for everyone who feels they need to argue with me about it. The bible says that we are not supposed to cause other Christians to sin, especially our kids, ( Matthew 18:6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea) if I put my kids in a secular school, that they can't even talk about God in, how am I NOT causing them to sin? They have to deal with more temptations when I put them into the public school. Temptations to be worldly ~ The need to have everything that everyone else does, to dress the way everyone else does, the peer pressure to date, pressure to have sex, try drugs, try drinking, to sin. I am putting them right into temptation. Another verse is Romans 14:13~ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. If I put my children in a place where they will be tempted, when they could be home where they are not, isn't that placing a stumbling block in front of them to sin? People argue, well they will have to go out into the "real world" someday. Well, yes they will, but I'd rather have someday be a day when they have a foundation built on Jesus Christ and they are mature enough to deal with secular pressures.
If we send our kids to school and try to tell them they don't have to be like everyone else, that Christians are supposed to be "set apart", then what happens? They get teased for being different and it crushes their self esteem. They get teased for not doing what everyone else does, Or the pressure is too much and they just give in, to "fit in" with everyone else.
Why don't more Christians don't feel this way? That they would rather their children be taught in a secular world then at home where they can have living examples of how we are supposed to live as Christians, and they can talk about God during the day, and they can pray before their meals, and they can learn to love their family. I know part of the reason is selfishness. Most people don't want to have to give up their time to invest it in their children. They want their time to themselves, to do their own thing, for "me time" or to do other ministries. Today, we received a devotional in the mail from Charles Stanley ministries, called In touch.
There were some interesting articles in there today, there was one called Surprise child. The article itself was talking about women becoming pregnant when they thought they were done having babies. But one woman said something that struck me, she had to give up her teaching position to be a stay at home mom again, and she said this " I realized I had subconsciously absorbed our culture's values" another thing she wrote was this- "through my pregnancies, God often literally brought me to my knees. I realized we never graduate from the call to live the life of love that Christ exemplified. There is no "promotion" beyond loving and serving others, especially the weak and needy among us". Those weak and needy are our children! They should be our first ministry before others.
(except our husbands of course!) Seriously, what other ministry could be more important then the children that God entrusted to you?? How can anything be more important then how your children are brought up and how they will live their lives? We are instructed to raise up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord. When we send our kids to public schools, we have made an anti-Christian institution our child's teacher. Isn't that a sin? We are handing our kids over to a secular school that prohibits our children from talking about God ~ won't that cause our children to sin? Our children are shaped by who they hang around and where they spend their time. To me, 2 hours a week at church is not enough. If you send them to public school to hang around all their non Christian friends, you have to work even harder to help them "unlearn" all the things they've learned from their "worldly" friends all day long. My son can go to a friends house and come home with an attitude and speak to me in a way he hadn't before, what does 8 hours a day do for him?
How does any Christian parent protect their children from learning the ways of the world, how to be in the world but not of it, when they send them to learn from non Christian's all day long?
What about the bible verse in 2nd Corinthians 6:14 that says Do not be yoked together with unbelievers, for what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? or what fellowship can light have with darkness? By putting our kids in public schools where they are taught to deny God, isn't that being yoked with Unbelievers? How do we teach our children to be Christ centered and morally pure in their behavior when they are with kids all day who live for the world? Our kids will learn to do whatever is necessary in order to gain approval by their peers, and I'm sure that is not going to be talking about God on their lunch hour! Proverbs 13:20 says, He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
What about 1 Corinthians 15:33 Don't be misled, bad company corrupts good character. I think it's pretty clear that if my kids spend their days with kids that are ungodly, that's what my kids are going to behave like.
My children are so small and weak in their faith and understanding of our Lord, how will they be able to resist what is "normal" for everyone else to be doing and acting like? Last night Kevin and I talked about things, I told him I didn't want to send Jake to school this year and he said, "so don't" but it doesn't seem quite that easy to me, because he is resistant, and I also have his biological dad to deal with, who I haven't talked to at all yet. This morning in the shower I prayed for God to help me know what to do, to somehow make this all work out. Later in the morning I went to meet with another home school mom, a new friend, that I had met once before. One of the first questions she asked me when we sat down was, "So, have you decided what to do with Jake? I've been praying for you, and I think if God called you to home school your children, he meant all of them" Honestly, she's probably right about that, but I still feel like I'm resisting because Jake is resistant. So this afternoon I'm reading the In touch devotional that I mentioned before and one of the devotionals says ~ God speaks through a friend. ( oh perfect) It says, Read 1 Samuel 3:1-10 and this~ When we're not listening for the Lord's voice, He will often send a message through someone else. It also says at the bottom, When we're going off course, the Lord will sometimes speak through other believers to reach us. Therefore, it is vital to maintain a close network of godly men and women we can trust. So, was what she said God speaking to me? I am not totally sure, but it sure could be. Sometimes I pray to God that he just knocks me with a billboard because I can't hear what he wants me to do! It's either that or I don't want to hear it? Because it's going to be hard! Maybe that's it, I don't want to hear what he's saying because It will be hard to try and talk his biological dad into this idea, and it will be hard to home school a middle school child who is going to have an attitude about it.

I also have an article that I was reading today called Are public schools an option for Christian kids, a few things that stuck out to me were this~
"Christians are accountable for knowing and obeying the word of God, and they should not have given up their children to be educated by unbelieving strangers- not to mention placing them in the company of unbelievers companions for twelve years."
" Christians have such a dependence on government schools that they remain in denial about how bad they really are. Indeed waking up to reality would entail personal accountability and necessitate change, which seems to be more then most parents can bear to handle. Of course, God neither recognizes dependency as an excuse nor excuses denial of reality. He sees this dependency as sin and sees denial as hardened heart.
Ouch.
If your reading this- please pray. For me, and for you, to hear God, and to be obedient.

The "church", greed, love

I couldn't think of one specific good title for this post. I am so moved this morning from church, God was speaking something big from our Pastor Tommy this morning.

The sermon was called The Rock, Strength for the struggle. It will be online here, soon, please go listen to it.

God spoke to me in so many ways this morning it brought me to tears at church. The sermon itself was from 1 Peter, teaching that first and foremost I live for Christ, that I live in holiness, preparing myself for struggle.

He explained how we are saved through Christ's blood, but that we live for Christ, in Christ because we love God so much, not because of a set of rules. We don't do certain things because we don't want to break God's heart, because of love, not fear.

Tommy spoke about the "church" being the people, not the place. How the church (people) should love each other and care for each other. He said caring for one another is NOT optional, it's biblical. He referred to the verse in 1 Corinthians 11:17 and explaining it's meaning.

What hit my heart were several points that Tommy made. One of them, was talking about how we should be taking care of other believers, others in the church. He talked about how some of us are sitting here with everything we need, and other believers are struggling and dying and we are doing nothing about it. Maybe he meant dying in a physical sense, maybe he meant dying in an emotional sense, or both, but it brought tears, for me, thinking of my brother and his family, and a family at church who is struggling. My brother and sister in law have been part of a church for years, 8 years ago, my sister in law Debbie was in a car accident and has been paralyzed to a wheel chair ever since. Through the years, my brother has given his entire life to his wife. He is her sole caretaker, doing everything for her. I have watched my brother's faith in Christians fade away. He has called the Christians hypocrites. He has lost some of his faith in God, and I know is bitter at times and feels alone and deserted. I have watched him turn to other things for relief, rather then turning to Christ or the people of the church. ( In a sense, I see him dying, the person he was, is not the person he is today, he is physically and mentally exhausted) Today, I felt that tug at my heart, and understood why my brother feels this way. No one in the church has helped him in the last 8 years to take care of his wife. He was left alone by the church to do it all on his own. I am one of those people. Sure I visit when she's sick in the hospital, or visit at home when it's convenient for me, but I haven't helped with his burden. I haven't showed Christ in me to my brother. I can now understand where his bitterness came from.

Pastor Tommy mentioned in general the "people" with their big back yards, and three car garages, coming home and shutting the garage, and not reaching out to people and helping others, or spending time with others, Pastor Tommy has never been to my house. I am embarrassed to say, I AM one of those people. I have the big back yard and the three car garage. We don't keep our garage closed per say, but we sure don't invite neighbors over to shine our lights to. I was convicted beyond words today about how we live in our own little worlds, doing our own thing, and just being busy with our own "stuff". My family is not going to like what I got out of the sermon today. I feel greedy. I am humbled. I feel that we should sell our big house, or share it. I feel we can do more then tithe our 10% to the church. I feel greedy for having this house and not opening it up to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that wasn't Tommy's objective, to make me feel convicted of greed, but maybe it was God's objective. We are so programmed from childhood on to want bigger and better, and keep up with the people next door. Make as much money as you can , and get the bigger house and more stuff to put in it and you'll be happy. What a messed up world this is. A few years ago we lived in a smaller house, and I wasn't happy with it, I wanted more space for our family of 6. That was greed. We had "enough" but I wanted more. Sure we love it here, and it's nice to have the space we have, and the beautiful backyard we have, but is this what Christ wants for us? I feel God leading us somewhere. I'm not sure where, but there's definitely something coming. My poor husband. He was perfectly happy in the place we were before and I persisted that we needed something bigger. Now I am convicted I was being greedy. I pray that God shows us how we can glorify him with what we have. I pray that when people look at me, they don't see a greedy worldly person that calls them self a Christian. In the last year God has changed my heart, and convicted me of being greedy with my time, I used to think that I should have time to myself, that my kids were more of a burden to me when I wanted something for myself, he turned that into a mom that wants to homeschool and worries more about bringing her kids up to love God than time to myself. I am so thankful for everything we have been blessed with, but most of all, for a God that can give us happiness without all the things of this world. We are here to glorify him, to live for him, to love each other and take care of each other, not for ourselves. What has happened to this world? Us Christians need to show the world God's love, not love ourselves so much. Thank you Lord for helping me to understand, and to see who you are and who you want us to be.

Self Control- The platform

Our pastor Tommy gave the an amazing sermon this morning on self control.
He referenced a point in Ecclesiates 2 where Solomon says, " I denied myself nothing my eyes desired", that's how the world lives today, we don't deny ourselves of anything, we want what we want and we seek to get it, there's no self control. We consume ourselves with with wanting more and more, the things we desire begin to control our lives.

We've been going through a series on fruit of the spirit , and he explained how you can't just "make yourself" have more fruit. Like you can't just say, "I need to make myself more patient!" Or "I need to get more peace in my life", but that we get those things by living in the spirit. The closer your relationship with God and the more you live in the spirit the more fruit you'll grow. Today with self control, he explained that self control is the platform for all the other fruit. You have to have self control to live in the spirit, then in return get more self control and more fruit! We have to learn to say no to our flesh, and yes to the spirit. If we live for the flesh, we are rejecting the spirit of God! Living in the flesh is living for ourselves, it always comes back to satisfying "ME", instead of God.
This made sense to me. The world is all about , me, me, me. You hear it everywhere from everyone, it's so hard to get yourself out of that way of fleshy thinking and think and act in the spirit. The Christian life is not easy, Tommy reminded us of this verse~ Luke 13:24 (New King James Version)
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
An interesting point about the word "strive" is that if you look it up in the bible dictionary it comes up "agony", so we are to be in agony to enter through the narrow gate! Self control is hard! But it's so important to kill the flesh as a Christian. Quit worrying about yourself so much, live in the spirit and be fruitful!! I want this so badly. When I don't feel like being self controlled I have to keep in mind how much sweeter my life will be when I'm a tree bearing lots of fruit. How much better God is than anything else. :)

Born again

I just love this song, it touches my heart everytime I listen to it. I do feel this way about having a relationship with Jesus, and it just keeps getting better and better. :)

God leads us

The other day I saw a post from a friend about her life and having 4 kids in 5 years and she commented how she loves having a full plate.
It really made me think this morning. I really wouldn't want it any other way either. I am busy, I don't have much time to myself, I do have piles of laundry every day, a messy house, kids constantly needing something, always other little people to worry about, feed, change, referee, play with, read to, drive around, council,wipe butts, take kids to the doctor, it's never ending.

I have days when I feel too exhausted for my husband, and days when I'm so stressed I want to run away for awhile, but when I really think about it, I wouldn't have it any other way. I absolutely love being a mommy.

My kids bring so many smiles to day, and warmth to my heart. I learn things from my kids daily. They love me unconditionally no matter what, they depend on me for everything. My life would be so boring without these children. I honestly feel so blessed to have these little people in my life.

The closer my relationship with the Lord, the more I love these kids and want what is best for them, the more I think about their needs instead of mine.
Recently God put in on my heart to home school my kids. For various reasons, but they are all about the kids and what they need to have a life centered on Christ, so they can grow up having real relationships with the Lord and not being influenced by silly worldly things that they shouldn't have to deal with until they are mature enough to deal with them. (Great sermon on educating our children) My thoughts about myself, and having free time, or time to clean the house, or read a book or just be alone are gone. (at least for the most part!) God has changed my heart to be less focused on Amy and her needs. I am thankful for that. He has made me more grateful for my children, and helped me to understand my role in their life as their mother. ( I think this must be some fruit of the spirit!)
It amazes me how God orchestrates things to work together before I even know what's coming. He put it in my heart/mind about home schooling months ago, around that same time I was going through months of discipleship with a friend at church, learning tons from her, but at the same time becoming discontent with my church. I know I blogged about it, that I was angry I went to church for 6 years and hadn't learned the things this women was teaching me in less then six months. My husband thought I was crazy. He wasn't really for the home school idea, and didn't think there was a thing wrong with our church. Again, around the same time, we both started listening to sermons online from Mars hill church in Seattle. The Pastor is Mark Driscoll. Kevin and I both really enjoyed his sermons, he tells it like it is, and nothing is watered down. One day I was scanning through the Mars hill web site and found a link to Acts 29. Something Mark Driscoll started for church plants. There happen to be a church called Mercy Hill. We decided to go check it out, I know God led us to that church, the address on the website was not only wrong, but it also said it was at a grade school. We drove around, found the address, and it was NOT a school. Kevin said, "oh, maybe we should go back to the other church", I said, "let's just drive a little farther." We found a middle school with cars parked in the parking lot and decided to go in. It WAS the church. People said, "how did you find us??" Good question! It's a very small new church plant, but when we found our seat, and I started singing along with the one man that was doing worship the tears starting falling. I had this peace in my heart, and I just knew it was where we were supposed to be. Then I heard the sermon, it was fabulous. The people, are so friendly, I just knew it was where we belong. So more things start coming together. So far every mom I've met there home schools. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so.
I was trying to find a home team at our old church for the summer, no luck. This church family gets together 3 weeks out of the month. My kids are going in the makeshift nursery, all of them, together, and no tears. We didn't have that before either. Oh, and my husband is on board with the home schooling now. Huh, what just happened?? This last month has been amazing, watching what God is doing in our lives. This is a time that I don't want to forget, God is so visible to me right now, directing our family, but he took it slow, one curve, one idea at a time and just led us right where we are now.
I am excited to see where this takes us, excited to see what home schooling will be like, excited to be a part of a brand new church plant. Who would have thought? A year ago I wouldn't have believed I'd be doing any of these things. God is amazing!

Just one thing I want to add to my friends at my first home church, I love you guys! I have made some wonderful friendships with beautiful God fearing people and i'm so grateful for each and every one of you! I was saved through that church, and if it wasn't for that church and it's misson for new beleivers, I wouldn't have been saved. I credit that church for my salvation and getting me on the right track to having a relationship with Christ. Had the sermons been as deep as what I need now, I probably wouldn't have understood it or liked it. I am thankful for both churches. I guess sometimes we have to move on to new and different things, different times in our life God leads us to new things, but Fox River will always have a place in my heart!! :)

God confirms

Could this be any more appropriate?? I am telling you, there are days that I think God is speaking to me, and he knows how to confirm it to me that yes it was HIM.

I finished posting my last entry, went to read my email and found this devotional for the day from proverbs 31 in my mailbox. I'm just going to copy the entire thing. These type of things are just NOT a coincidence! :) Here it is......

Power to Overcome22 Jun 2009Rachel Olsen

"By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence." 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)

Do you find yourself doing what you know you should not? Do you find it hard to stop? Yeah, I know.

I've had several discussions lately with people stuck in patterns of behavior they want to quit. They're stuck in sin. What's more, they feel completely awful about it. Guilty. Shameful. Some to the point of hating themselves. And yet they feel powerless to stop – powerless to resist.

The Bible says when we return to our vices again and again, we are like dogs returning to our vomit (Prov. 26:11).

Ick!
So why do we do this? According to the Bible, Christ has conquered sin on our behalf and we have the capacity to be free from its power. Yet that is far from the reality of many Christians' lives. Why?

Why does sin have any power over us? Why does it have any dominion in our lives? The answer is the same reason a dog returns to her vomit. She likes the taste.

Sin has power because we enjoy it. It promises something we want … pleasure, escape, esteem, wealth, etc. Sure it always has consequences we don't want, but in many cases those don't over power its feel-good moments or perceived benefits. In short, sin has power because we love it.

Earlier this year I quit drinking my favorite drink, a particular diet cola. Now, I'm not saying diet colas are evil or sinful, just go with me here! The first time I tasted this diet drink I didn't think it was all that yummy. BUT it promised to save me calories so I decided it was wo rth the slightly strange chemical taste. In short time, as it grew familiar, I began to like the taste.

Wasn't long before I was flat out addicted – wanting, even needing to have my beloved drink daily or I grew headachy and irritable. Sad thing is, it didn't help me lose weight at all. But that didn't matter because now I loved the diet drink. Furthermore, I was convinced if I gave it up, I'd not only get headaches but I'd gain more weight. I was enslaved in a way.
It was my drink of choice: I smiled when I had it and frowned when I ran out, or if a restaurant didn't serve it. And I'd get worried anytime a health report questioned the safety of aspartame, a main ingredient in my diet cola. But loving it so, I returned to it day after day. Even though I'd begun to feel guilty about that.

What helped me give up the diet cola? I found a different, healthier beverage I really liked and developed my taste for it. I was willing to give up that because I now had this. It's the same way with sin.

What can help us overcome the sins we love, but hate loving? A surpassing love. A greater love that carries with it no hate, no guilt, and no shame. A love that actually delivers the many, many benefits it promises. A love that is full of wisdom and compassion, not vomit. A love more attractive and powerful than the allure of sin. It is the love of God displayed in Christ.

When we catch hold of that love - when we read of it regularly, drink it in, and see it at work in our lives and in its glory - we cannot help but love Him back with all our heart, soul and mind. And in that state of all encompassing love, sin pales in comparison. Its power grows feeble. It no longer tastes as good.

When we immerse ourselves in the everlasting love of God that has made us its object, we're more than willing to walk away from the vomit. We can give up that because we have this.

Dear Lord, forgive me for the sins I return to. Cleanse me with Your majestic love and grace. Reveal to me the depth of Your love, the extent of Your sacrifice, and the beauty of the mercy You grant me daily. Open my eyes to see Your love afresh and may I be empowered to walk away from sin towards Your heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Mars Hill church

I have a new addiction but I think it's a good one. Listening to Sermons from Mars Hill Church. Pastor Mark Driscoll is an awesome speaker.

A friend of mine from a message board led me to watch some sermons on marriage from this church. That is where it all started. He has SO many great sermons!! I would be switching Church's in a min if he weren't in Seattle! No offense to my church but this is the kind of speaking I need in my Christian walk. The one I listened to this morning was this~ On Self Indulgence. Unfortunately that is one of my big sins. I have a hard time with self control when it comes to pleasure and indulging myself. Kevin and I were just talking about it this weekend, how I can get off my food addiction and put Jesus first. Mark pretty much nailed it for me this morning.You either love Jesus or you don't. If you DO then your life should show change. If there's no change, you don't know Jesus and you are not saved. Plain and simple. Get to the changing Amy. Exactly what I needed this morning. God is faithful because he has been convicting me of my sin, and he brought me to a sermon this morning to put it very black and white for me. You love me? You give up your idols. Period. Wow. Thanks God.

I think I've been looking for excuses not to do it. I don't know why, but it just seems to hard to give up self. It IS hard. But is Jesus worth it? I'm quite sure he is.

If you want to grow in your walk with Christ go listen to some sermons from this church.

The one on marriage is the Peasant Princess and it is a pretty awesome series too! Kevin and are currently listening to those too! :)

Family Update

I am seriously overdue on a family update on here! When I started this blog I wanted to write down things that I didn't want to forget, no matter what it pertained to. It has kind of turned into a blog about my journey with Christ, which is ok, but I'd still like to have some family stuff in here too!
So I'll start with our "new addition" to our family, Henry. He's the brown dog in the pictures. We got him as a puppy in Jan of this year, next month he will be one already! The white dog is Brutus, he's been with us now for 5 years. He is loving being the "big brother" of Henry.


The dogs.
Henry after a haircut.

Henry before his first haircut. So stinkin cute, but was hard to take care of all that hair! :)

The kids together.... I tried SO hard to get a picture of these kids all smiling, but that just never happens!! This is in our front yard.....

Ben and Gracie on the front porch......

Ben, Autumn and Jake, I think this was around Easter.

Jake...

Jake is almost a teenager. I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday he was a baby, time really does go as fast as people say it does! When I'm out somewhere and someone says, "enjoy them while they are small, they grow up fast!" They are not kidding. They sure do. This was Jake's last year in grade school. Next year he'll be in 7th grade. Here's a picture of him at school on the last day of grade school with friends....

The Eve of the last day of school at the dinner......

He is just so cute. lol. I think he was actually a little sad about leaving grade school, he had an enjoyable 6 years there so it was bittersweet for him to say good bye to that school and move on to bigger and better things.
When I talk about home schooling Jake says, "no, not ME! Only the other kids" I guess it's a good thing he likes school.
Jake is a good kid. I am proud of who is he becoming. There were a few instances he made me really proud as a Christian mother, when he had an MRI done and they asked him what station he'd like on the radio and he said K-love! Or in his time capsule for school, on the sheet for 2009 he put as his favorite book~ The bible! :) That's my boy! He also made a shield when they were studying Medieval Times and he put a cross on his shield and wrote on the back that the cross stands for Jesus and he's a Christian. I cried when I read that!
He loves to play Halo, loves sports, right now he's only in baseball which is fine with me! He spends a lot of time now swimming in neighbors pools and playing kick ball outside.
Something else that Jake has surprised me with in the past 6 months is that mess drives him crazy. He would get up at 6 am before school, come downstairs and start cleaning! Or come home from school and start cleaning the house. He even tells me when I need to clean the kitchen floor! How many 12 years olds do this? lol. Hopefully that will be a good thing when he gets older and not something he gets upset with his wife for. :) Speaking of a wife, Jake is officially now interested in girls. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, I think it was easier when he wasn't very interested but I guess this time was going to come sooner or later. Let's pray he keeps his head on straight and remembers what God expects of him.

Jake is my first "momma's boy" , he will always be my baby even when he's taller then me. It's kinda funny how the boys like mom more and the girls like dad more.

and on to Autumn....... (aka, daddy's sweetie pie girl)

Our sweet Autumn just had a Birthday a few days ago. She's now a big 6 year old. She survived her first year in school, and is VERY glad it's summer.She's enjoying not having to be woken up in the morning for school. She is NOT a morning person and was giving me a seriously hard time getting her up for school in the mornings. So that takes some stress out of my life now.
She's still a daddy's girl but has decided this year that she loves me too. ha. It must have been me helping in her classroom that changed her tune. who knows. She is starting to become better friends with the neighbor girl who is almost a year older then her, which is nice to have someone so close for her to play with. Autumn also recently started sleeping in her own bed, in her own room by herself. That is a big accomplishment in our co-sleeping family. Hooray for Autumn!! We are SO very proud of her. She's usually a pretty loving little girl, but went through a phase not too long ago where she said she liked having the devil in her heart. It was not pretty but we are back to the sweet girl again, thank you God. lol.

Autumn loves to do art, she likes to write, color, paint, and make messes with her artsy stuff.

She also likes to play with babydolls, play house with her siblings, draw with chalk outside, play dress up.
Here's a recent pic of Autumn in the yard....

Now for Benjamin.....(aka, Ben, Baloozee)

Ben has recently taken it upon himself to change his name to Baloozee. I don't even know how we started calling him that, It just started as a fun nickname, and now he doesn't' want to be called Ben anymore. He says, "my name is Baloozee" lol. How funny is that. I wonder how many years that will stick. I am thinking he might not like that name in his teen or adult years but for now it fits him well.

Ben is our sweet "big" guy. He's almost at the same weight as his sister Autumn and he's darn proud of it too. He does NOT like to be called little.

His favorite thing to do is hang out with his big brother Jake. There's nothing that Ben loves more then to be with Jake. I think it's so sweet how much he loves Jake, and at times I wish they were a little closer in age. Obviously because Jake is almost 13, hanging out with his 4 yr old brother isn't his top priority, but he does make time for him and Ben soaks it all in.

I am proud to say that Ben is a "momma's boy". I am not complaining!

Somethings I love about Ben is when he prays at night. He prays for the sweetest things, like, fans, nightlights, xbox, his teddy bear. He really appreciates the little things in life and is thankful for them. It was ironic the other night our power was out during the night and 3 of my kids couldn't sleep without their fans or nightlights. lol. Guess Ben is right in thanking God for them when they do work!

Ben loves to be at home. When we need to go somewhere he always argues that he is staying home. I'm pretty sure if I let him, he'd stay home alone. :)

Last month Ben was in a cast for 10 days. He fell in the driveway and refused to stand on his left leg for 3 days before I took him to the doctor. He was just getting heavy! They had to error on the side of caution so they put him in a cast. By that night, he was running around with it. We were so thankful to get that thing off!

Here's a picture of the cast..... He picked blue.....

One of his other favorite things to do....swinging in the backyard....

Last but not least, Gracie. (Aka- peanut, twirp, spitfire)

Gracie, Grace. She's something else I tell you. It must be that she's the youngest, I can't come up with any other excuse. She has daddy wrapped around her finger. She LOVES daddy and wants to spend every waking min with him, but when he has to go to work, mom is "good enough". lol.

she's VERY bossy, and when she doesn't get her own way she says, "Naughty mommy!!" or Naughty whoever or whatever is making her upset. :)

She hold her own with her bigger siblings, and when they make her mad she lets them know by pinching or hitting them. ( I Know, not good, we try to tell her that's not acceptable!)

Grace is still pulling her hair out with her NUK. Not sure why she enjoys doing this but its so very annoying to me. We shaved her head once trying to get her to stop, and it did work for awhile till the hair grew back. I know, we need to take the NUK away, but the daddy that is wrapped doesn't want to do that. lol. Grace loves to be outside, and has mastered riding the battery operated 4 wheeler and thinks it is "HERS".

Gracie in the backyard....

Eating "I keam"

I'm sure there's many things I forgot and maybe I can come back and edit it later, but the kids need treats and to be taken to bed......
I'm so thankful for these kids. They are such a great blessing in my life..Thank you God.

God is in control.

I realized this morning that I was not letting God take control of a situation in our family.
Recently I felt the pull on my heart that God was leading me to home school my younger kids.
I think it came upon slowly, by God putting families, and children in my path that were home schooled and slowly changing my heart and opening me up to the idea.
Since I came to the conclusion that this is what God wants for us I have been pushing my husband to jump on board. Granted we are in different places in our walk with God, and maybe that has something to do with it, ,maybe not. Regardless, I have been asking Kevin to read articles and books on home schooling. He did read some yesterday but wasn't exactly what I would call willing and happy to do it.
This morning he told me that my approach was backfiring on me. I was pushing him to read or listen to things he didn't want to. It made me think about it. I am trying to control the situation. I am trying to change Kevin's heart and get him to agree to something. I have to keep in mind that if God wants this, he is going to change Kevin's heart about it. God can do that. Did I forget that? That GOD is in control? That God loves our kids more then we do? That I can just give this to God and let him take care of it? I guess I was thinking that if God wants me to do this, then I have to help Kevin want it to, I have to make it happen! That was wrong thinking. God is God and if he wants it, he'll make it happen. I need to give the controls to him and stop stressing myself out over it. I have been wondering why I've had a headache for the past two weeks. Maybe, just maybe this has something to do with it. Maybe if I hand the controls over to God my stress headache will go away. As Carrie Underwood would say, "Jesus take the wheel!"