Here’s what’s happening in my kitchen…My big success is that I actually went grocery shopping and bought more than 2 days worth of food! I am considering making a “cooking schedule” so that the kids can help me with the cooking. Right now there’s a chicken roasting in the oven.

With the children…They are working hard on their schoolwork amidst colds and the fuzzy minds that come with it. We’re plugging along. More curriculum is on its way. They’re also working hard on their instruments. Rachel got a new devotional. I don’t think she’s overly thrilled with it. Many of the stories and activities seem a bit far fetched. Finally, we’re trying to enjoy our February days!!

What I’m reading…I am still working on “Get Out of That Pit” (last chapter) and “So Long Insecurity” (4th chapter). With the kids and Bible Reading, we read Revelation 6 today.

What I’ve been learning…I have been doing lots of thinking about “why” I do the things, think the things I don’t want to think or do. I am repenting even before I have really figured out how to walk in the “new way.” I wish I could just say I am learning how to knit socks or something…ya know? That just doesn’t seem to be where I at.

What I have been noticing…Maine can’t decide what season it’s in, homeschooling takes constant fortitude, fear is a monster that must be tamed.

On the back burner of my mind…Tyler is a senior in high school next year meaning I better figure out what else he needs before we shoot that arrow!

In the deepest darkest recesses…I am thinking that I am too old to put on airs; what you see is what you get. Hopefully what you got today won’t look as good as what you’ll get tomorrow. Also, life is short and my kids are growing up really, really fast!

But I got to thinking that as big and powerful as God is, aren’t our requests, no matter how big they seem to us, small to Him? And isn’t the child-sized anxiety still an anxiety?

“Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

In keeping with the verse, each Sunday in Sunday School we pray over big matters and small. I hope that the lesson the kids learn from that is that forever and ever they don’t need to wonder if a matter is big enough to mention to God. Have you heard adults speak untruths about prayer?
“I only bring the big stuff to God. He’s too busy to hear every little thing.” Didn’t the verse say “all”?
“I don’t ask for anything for myself. That would be selfish.” Didn’t the verse say “your” anxiety?

Perhaps when some of us were children, somebody mistakenly communicated that our concerns were too small for God. We need to know that nothing is too big for Him, but do we also realize that nothing is too small for Him either?

So, bring on the prayers for your kitty, the boo-boo that seems to be healing nicely, the little fight you got in this morning, the blinker light on the car that won’t work, the leaking washing machine. Perhaps this will remind us to pray for the sick neighbor, the unsaved loved one, the earthquake victims in another country, the cure to cancer, the translation of the Bible in every language, the devastated marriage, the dying child… Perhaps we’ll truly know for the first time how much our God really cares about everything that concerns us, whether we define it as big or small. “Cast. all. your. anxiety. on. him” …all…your…”for he cares for you.”

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” Psalm 68:19

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7

Now here is something really cool I have to share with you. It’s about what the prayers of God’s children, His saints, means to Him. When John had a vision of Heaven, here is one thing he saw:

“And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelation 5:8

Did you see that? The prayers of the saints were incense in golden bowls. How cool is that??

Guess what I suddenly want to do?? How about you? What are you waiting for?? PRAY!

In my kitchen…My sons made a birthday cake for their sister’s birthday (at my suggestion). She was thrilled and felt so blessed by it! It made her feel special; I hope they really noticed! I need to make a meal or meals for a friend. I am so glad to do it but I really hope I can think of something really good…any suggestions??

With the children…They’re off for February break from school. We’re keeping the Math rolling, but other than that, we’re free!! =) To celebrate I may get to the bottom of the laundry hamper (yeah, I am a party animal like that.) I am getting caught up on things and will get to visit people with no guilt and read books ’til I fall asleep! We’ve been battling colds so hopefully we’ll win the victory this week. Oh, and we went to see “The Tooth Fairy.” It was pretty good…a little far fetched even for fantasy, a little cheesy and immature considering the swearing they threw in. All in all, I like Chris Rock in kids movies.

What I am reading…I am reading “Get Out of that Pit” by Beth Moore. I have the print version and the audio and use both at once which is kinda cool. I am also reading “So Long, Insecurity” by Beth Moore and doing a little Bible Study with her on her blog at : http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com . It fascinates me to go through this book, all the while hearing from its author.

What I have been learning…I am learning to be more consistent in my prayer life and give more and more of my life and myself over to Him. Hopefully I am learning not to live in pits of my own making or pits of my past and hopefully I will be saying “so long” to insecurity. Tall order!! Really, it is learning to go deeper with God, clinging to Him more and more completely…more of him and less of me.

What I’ve been noticing…People are hurting and often there are no easy answers and no easy fixes. The spiritual platitudes are long worn off. I know Jesus is enough for any and all of life’s circumstances. I know all I can do, at best, is cut a whole in the ceiling and lower the hurting one down to Him. How can I communicate that without feeling like/looking like I am giving the too easy answer?? But I digress…I notice people are HURTING and I feel HELPLESS!

On the back burner of my mind…Can I really give up long standing strongholds…for good? Am I teaching my kids what they really NEED for life? Is there a perfect cup of coffee?? (Had to throw a light one in there!)

In the deep dark recesses…Time to plan next year’s school curriculum…okay that’s not the deep dark recesses…I am pretty sure you don’t want to go there…but if I can figure out my deep dark recesses and make them company clean, maybe you’ll get an invite some day…

What’s happening in my home…We’re having one of those winters when it’s cold but fresh snow is rare. It’s very sad!! I haven’t gotten snowed in very often at all!! But God is good and I am thankful.

In my kitchen…I finally went GROCERY SHOPPING!! I tell ya, my kids were pretty desperate for a snack food or something!! I can easily procrastinate grocery shopping cause it’s not my favorite thing. But it is nice to have food in the house again!! My husband is on a low sodium diet so we’ll be moving further from packaged foods…that’s a good thing! After much label reading, I have discovered that organic packaged food can actually have MORE salt in it!!

With our marriage…There’s at least two sinners in the house…and they are the parents!! Don’t worry, your house is full of sinners too!! We continue to learn, love, laugh, struggle, mourn and rejoice. But as long as we’re in it together, I figure we’re good!

With the children…I’ve upped the homeschool challenges to the kids. We are working hard and I am accelerating…. Tyler is filling out paperwork for a summer missions trip with OnGoal, a soccer outreach. Christian is starting drum lessons next week!! God has answered my 2 year prayer for a Christian drum teacher and he is right in my church!! Praise the Lord!! Rachel is looking for some fun exercise so we’re praying on that. She’s thinking she might like private dance lessons. We’ll see what God will do.

In my “Inner Man”…I have been studying “trust” in my private times with God. While studying, old issues and angers have surfaced and I am trying to deal with it all based on God’s truth with a heart bent on repentance. It’s not easy, don’t be fooled by the easy words! I always battle myself and the way it’s so easy to use busyness to avoid what God wants to do in my heart. He and time with Him HAS to be my priority. Someone remarked as though I have it all together since I put Scripture in my Facebook status. I reminded them that the desperate, needy heart is the one that runs to God’s Truth!!! I know those verses because I NEED THEM! I am blessed in life, but I don’t have to hunt for trials…they hunt for me!! But I praise God! If I am clinging to Him, I am just fine and need not fear bad news. Bad news is a part of life but with Jesus I don’t have to be afraid. He’ll walk me through every valley.

Before I even realized it, I was already getting back in the groove and accelerating our days. I have a little method I use:

September-October: Get the cobwebs out of everyone’s mind from summer and get everybody working up to grade level. Review where needed and get everyone where they need to be.

November-January: Set the speed on cruise and try to maintain and not lose ground. Focus on keeping everyone on a schedule that completes our school year on time. Try to maintain a balance between enjoying the holidays and keeping our eye on our goals.

February-May: Start pulling everyone up to the next level so that by May they are technically functioning on the next grade level. This is the time of the year the kids are going to feel like I am pushing them because I am!! I am requiring more independence and harder work at this time of the year.

Here are some little tips I have learned over the years:

~Be a team in every way. The kids have to help me maintain the house. They have chores every day. At 16, 13 and 11 years old they could run this house if they had to. We could not do the things we do without them. They are a valuable part of this family and without each of them we could not function nearly as well. The blessing is, they will know how to maintain their own homes someday.

~Keep short accounts, correcting work daily and do not let them practice doing things wrong. I have learned this the hard way. If you go awhile not correcting, they can easily set up bad habits especially in subjects like Math and Foreign Language. There are times where I sit with them while they work. They do one problem, give me the answer, I verify if it is right or help if it is wrong and they go to the next problem. This helps them get on track and also gives confidence that they know what they are doing. Independence is good, but good habits are better. Success breeds success, failure breeds failure. Try to set them up for success.

~I actually stay at the table or close to it while homeschooling is happening. Even if they are independent in areas I am available to them and provide a very high level of accountability. Basically from 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. I do little else.

~Keep to a schedule. There are less arguments this way! If they know when they start and what is expected they work much better. If I fly by the seat of my pants they don’t know when the work will end. I have struggled in this area this year. I start at the same time every day but have been struggling to give them their list of work ahead of time.

~They are allowed to get ahead in their studies, but they are not allowed to get behind! By working ahead, they can earn time off.

~Having said that, discern when the brain needs a break. Sometimes we just need to chuck the books and do something fun or at least different! Also a well timed break gives the brain a chance to process.

~Make the curriculum your slave. Do not be a slave to curriculum, no matter how good it is. Use it, don’t let it use you. Change it where you need to, ditch it if you have to!

~Keep your eyes on the prize. I want my kids to go to Heaven. The rest is gravy. Bible and prayer come first, in life and in our homeschool day! Then, they need to know how to think, how to learn, and how to research. This is way more important than memorizing facts.

Yes, it is February!! We DID it!! =)

It’s Thankful Thursday…and I am THANKFUL! I was thinking how God’s teaching this old dog (me!) new tricks! The picture above is our dog. Christian recently taught him to walk on the treadmill a little. He doesn’t love it but he’ll do it as he aimlessly chases the treat ahead of him. He’s 4, not quite an old dog but heading in that direction.

ANYWAY, God is teaching me new things. Actually, it’s old things but in a new way. Confused yet? I’ve really known the Lord my entire life. When I was little I remember asking him to keep me safe every night before I went to bed. I remember asking him to help me. I understood him at a child’s level.

Yes I grew over time but the year my dad was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer my understanding of what it meant to trust him took a HUGE jump! God truly showed me what it meant to trust him as my Good Shepherd. I learned that even if I hadn’t a clue as to how to walk through a certain trial, that I could cling close to him and he would see me through. Step by step we walked together through the valley of the shadow of death and came out on the other side to see the sun once more (though there was a time I couldn’t even imagine tolerating sunshine again!).

To be honest I thought I kinda had this “trusting thing” down. It was a lesson I had finally learned.

But isn’t it totally cool that know matter what lesson you THINK you’ve learned about God there is always waaay more to learn and keep learning? One lesson is never totally mastered. There is always a way to go deeper!!

So here I am again under God’s patient teachings, learning more about trust. This time the lesson is: Do I REALLY trust him with EVERYTHING? Even those things that would be my potential worst nightmare? Do I trust him no matter WHAT happens? Have I totally opened my hands and heart to him to do WHATEVER he wants?

And secondly, do I believe he WILL do what he CAN do? Or do I think, “Oh no, God won’t heal that…he won’t do this.” I believe he can, but do I believe he will? Not that I can control what he does, he is still in control and I have to trust that he has a reason for whatever he does or doesn’t do. But do I pray for those things that seem impossible with even an inkling that he will? Or do I just assume he won’t? Am I boldy approaching the throne with confidence or slinking in saying, “I know you won’t but if you don’t mind do you think you might consider…”

It’s an exciting journey. I can’t help but wonder what he is preparing me for…stay tuned!!

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4
“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he wil look in triumph on his foes.” Psalm 112:7-8

You can join in the Homekeeper’s Journal by simply visting this link: http://christianhomekeeper.org/blog/homekeepers-journal-12710/

This week Sylvia, creator of The Homekeeper’s Journal said:
“The Homekeeper’s Journal posts will offer some great writing prompts so that you can keep a record of your days. Writing down your thoughts about your days can help you get a better idea of who you are, where you have come from and what God has done in your life. I think the main idea of the Homekeeper’s Journal is to see progress. Progress always makes us eager for more progress.”

Here’s mine. Let me know if you did one on your blog too so I can visit!!

What’s happening in my home?…
Seems like we are always trying to figure out who to have over to the house and when! That’s a good thing. The weeks fly by though and I would like to be more deliberate in my inviting. Having friends over is not only fun but it gives us all a good reason to keep up with the chores. We’re slowly coming out of our January Homeschool slump and starting to pick up speed!! I am in hibernation mode and struggle to motivate myself to leave the house. I just have to make myself, there’s no other way!

In the kitchen…
Mostly I am fighting with myself here. I need to get the menu’s organized and rolling for more than a couple of days at a time. I struggle to stay organized with meals. We’re trying to cut out sodium too. Boy, you wouldn’t believe the sodium in food til you start looking at the labels!!

With our marriage…
We’re enjoying going out on Tuesday nights to a Bible Study. We get in the car, just the two of us and drive off. I am sure I’ve mentioned it before but after 16 years of NOT doing so, it is quite a shock, but a glorious shock!! Robin was in Indianapolis last week so it’s just good to have him home and get back into our normal schedule! We’ve also been trying to spend more time as a family in the evenings instead of going our separate ways in the house.

With the children…
I love seeing them hang out together and have fun together. Last night they were singing while they filled the dishwasher. Yesterday they were stuck in the car waiting on us and they were making funny videos! I just love that they’re older and spend more time getting along and having fun then they do annoyed with each other!

Around the homestead…
We’ve stalled out with decluttering the basement. I need to find motivation to get us back down there. We learned the hard way you make no money trading in PS3 games. Outside is snow, ice and cold weather though we did have a day of rain. That helped clean off the roof!! We haven’t had many snow days but there’s still plenty of winter left.

In my inner man…
I am mostly working on my prayer life. I set up a private blog and I just type away to the Lord! I find this is helping me keep my focus and I can type really fast so I just pour out my heart to Him. I am trying to wake up and not even give myself the option of not spending that time with him. I really want to get some podcasts of sermons on my IPOD. I have been watching Beth Moore online and I also have been gleaning from the book of Isaiah and “Get Out of that Pit,” by Beth Moore. I am going to 2 Bible Studies each week, one with Robin in an evening and one on Weds. mornings for Ladies. Good stuff!!!!

Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying;
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril;
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them;
Father, hear us for our children.

From the wordling’s hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life’s troubles waters steer them;
Through life’s bitter battle cheer them;
Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleadings thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them Home at eventide.

I’m grounded. Well, maybe not grounded. But I am hanging out in green pastures. I pinched a nerve or something and my knee and foot decided to swell way up. So, I have been icing and elevating, moving slowly and asking for help.

I knew in September I needed rest. God has given me a season to focus on being home and giving my attention to getting into the Bible and homeschooling/taking care of my family. I have been trying to give it that attention. But this week I have reached a new *level of rest*.

When I rest the pain is so very mild. If I am up and around to much I swell up and the pain escalates. Okay, I get the message!!

With my rest I can read my Bible, pray, listen to online sermons, and read those awesome books I got for Christmas, and just generally reflect. And can I just confess that with the unhurried time, I am a more pleasant person more minutes of the day than I might be when I am rushing around?

God is always in control. If Jesus is your Savior, nothing is wasted. He is your good Shepherd and has a reason for everything. He can bring good out of everything even things others meant for evil. Letting him be the Shepherd and accepting the fact I am a sheep is so freeing, so stress free. Cling to the Shepherd. He knows when you need quiet waters. Don’t resist. Trust me, I’ve done that too and it only causes more exhaustion. When the Shepherd decides you need to rest you can obey the quiet voice or the not so quiet voice (that usually leaves you flat on your back with the only direction possible for looking being *UP*!) This is not to say that I refrain from praying for healing. I surely do pray. I know everything is possible with God. It just means that I submit to the answer, even when it is “no” or “not right now.”

“Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.” Psalm 112:6-8

If you would like to participate in the Homekeeper’s Journal, simply visit http://christianhomekeeper.org/blog/homekeepers-journal-11210/ .

Here is a message from Sylvia:
“I am enjoying the Homekeeper’s Journal, I hope you are too! It is a way to keep your thoughts about life together in one place online. Please join me each Wednesday to jot down your thoughts. Its so encouraging to read what others are encountering in life and how they are leaning on God!”

What’s happening in my home…

In my kitchen… I’ve been slowly deep cleaning, kids of spring cleaning the kitchen. Robin (dh) is trying to really limit his sodium intake so we are doing alot of counting! With the time of year there are countless cups of hot cocoa and for movie nights, popcorn cooked on the stove.

With our marriage…Robin and I have had alot of health issues lately. He’s struggling with his blood pressure and some dental issues. Hopefully he’s coming to the resolution of it all. I’ve been feeling achey and old! We put our treadmill smack in the living room…hint, hint… Other than that, we’re in this together!! I am so thankful for that! We started attending a Bible Study together. It felt weird to get in the van ALONE and go. It was fun!!

With the children…I was just telling a friend that we are much less busy than we used to be. It is so true. The kids have given up almost all of their outside activities except those church related. Outside of church related activities, I have one child playing an hour per week of soccer. That’s it!! They are enjoying focusing more on relationships. I am trying to constantly remind them that we have the time to invite their friends over!!

Around the homestead…It’s c-c-c-cold! The snow is old and icy! It’s suppose to be in the 40’s F. tomorrow though! YAY!! The kids and I are slowly decluttering and I hope they can help me soon with some painting projects around the house. I’ve kind of stopped knitting for now because of some neck pain issues. But I doubt I’ll stop for long!

In my “Inner Man”…A lighter schedule means more time to read, to study my Bible, to pray. It feels goooooood, no awesome!! I started reading Beth Moore’s “Get Out of That Pit.” It’s great! I listened to the related sermons online. I want to do my own little study on “God my Deliverer” and “God my Stronghold”.