Something New

I tried something new last week. I wanted to have turkey burgers, and wanted to make some buns for them. So I did! They turned out great (but huge!). That is a full sized dinner plate under those! :0)

Thankful to God!

My heart is just so full of thankfulness and praise tonight!
I found out only yesterday that a dear, sweet longtime friend had gone in for a routine test, and they found a mass near his kidney. This man's dear sister had suffered with cancer for many years before going home to glory at an early age....and so this was a real blow for them to discover this.
I heard from him this evening that he got the results of the MRI that they did to further explore this mass, and it looks like it is just a cyst that they will just keep an eye on.

As soon as I heard he had this mass, I was seriously taking this request before the Lord and laying it at His feet.
My family and I have been going to a revival at a nearby church this week to hear our friend Evangelist Tom Palmer speak. One of the nights he spoke on prayer. This was an excellent message for me, as it really reminded me of Who I was praying to--and what HE was capable of.

I just want to truly thank the Lord tonight for answering my prayers in such a wonderful way.
He's so awesome!

Thoughts on Homeschool

To be honest, I tend to get caught up in my own little world. Most of the people I am in contact with either already homeschool, or are at least familiar with why we homeschool...

I had a recent comment on a post, that expressed some curiosity about whether or not homeschooling is good for children or not.... and so I thought I would do a post on homeschooling.

I'm sure every family may have their own reasons to homeschool. But here are some reflections on ours.

It may surprise you to know that we do not homeschool for academic reasons. (although we do believe that children benefit academically from homeschooling).

We homeschool for spiritual reasons. We want to be the ones who teach and train our children, as is mandated by the Bible. God gave us our children, and He didn't give them to us to have someone else raise and train them. Psalm 127:3-5, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Psalm 78:1-11

We also believe that true wisdom and knowledge does not come outside of God.
Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7 “7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 2:6, 9:10 6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

(Which means we do not want them "schooled" by the public school system as they won't even allow God to be mentioned.)

We also do not want our children to learn from the world, or others that are governed by the world's standards. Romans 12:2 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

We believe that what we teach our children now, is the beginning (foundation) of their adulthood! 2 Timothy 3:15-17 15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

As far as being in peer groups with only children their own age. We don't see one single advantage to that. Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Personally, we believe that if children are limited to their own peer group, it stunts their growth!

Our children are comfortable and enjoy being in the company of elderly people, little babies, and everything in between! They know that they can learn from the experiences of the older people, and that they can learn from caring and nurturing the young ones. They do not "shun" younger children because it isn't "cool". They are friendly with all ages, and we had to admit, they are drawn to adults--they like to learn from them. :0)

And, shock of all shocks--they enjoy ( and prefer)the company of their parents! They do not look upon us as people that they are "embarrassed to be seen with" as many teens have a tendency to do... Exodus 20:12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

See the article below for more information on this issue.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000068.asp

(We would also like to note, that this is not because our children are so exceptional. This is something we see in many other Christian homeschool children that we are acquainted with-it is a norm among those we were at church with!)

As we prepare to graduate our first child, we can say with certainty that this has been the very best choice for our children. Our children also agree! We have no regrets, and neither do they. We look forward to the next generation of homeschooling, as our children are dedicated to homeschool their own children as well.

Sight and Sound

We had a lovely time at Sight and Sound in Lancaster, PA on Saturday. It is a very professional Christian theatre.

My sweet brother and family gave my family and mom, tickets to go and see the production of Daniel and the Lion's Den. We had a wonderful day! It was so excellent! They even gave a clear salvation message during the production!

Here we are above-in front of the theatre before the production.

On our way to the theatre, we drove through Amish country, where I buy alot of my staples. We stopped at one of my favorite stores, and this buggy was parked next to us. It was hysterical because inside of the buggy hung this key chain with fuzzy feather's on it...

See the fuzzy keychain? Hee hee hee!

Well, if that didn't make you smile....the triangle/hazard thing on the back had a big Cabela's sign on it! LOL

It was such a fun day! Another great memory!

Eagle Eye!

While driving to Lancaster, PA on Saturday to see a play, I spotted these 2 Bald Eagles near a stream as we were driving by!
Anyone who knows me, knows I am a great bird lover/watcher! This was a thrill! My lovely daughter snapped the pictures of them.

Gearing up for Spring....retiring the snowmen :0)

I decided that I must give up my dream of a big snow for this year.... and I helped face the reality when I had to put my snowman collection away....

We're officially ready for Spring!

At Calvary

Words by William R. Newell, Music by Daniel B. Towner
Luke 23:33

"And when they were come to the place,which is called Calvary, there they crucified him,"

Years I spent in vanity and pride,

Caring not my Lord was crucified,

Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.

Refrain

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

By God's Word at last my sin I learned;

Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned,

Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.

Refrain

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

Now I've given to Jesus everything,

Now I gladly own Him as my King,

Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary!

Refrain

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan!

Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!

Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!

Refrain

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

He died for you!

Like Father, Like Son!

My life has been quite full lately, and I haven't had time to post.

I did want to pop on however, and post a picture of my sweet husband, and son. My son has always-and still does-like to dress like his dad. I found them these shirts that match, and this was taken on a Sunday morning before church about 2 weeks ago. :0)

Father's Conference

A Conference to Train Fathers in Biblical Fatherhood--Check it out!

Quilt Giveaway!

http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/2008/03/giving-away-quilt.html

There is a quilt giveaway at the above link! Just be sure and tell them I sent you so I can get credit! :0)

Hurry though it ends March 19th at 7pm EDT!

Good luck! I hope one of us wins!

http://www.marmeedear.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15

If you get a chance--please don't miss the chance to go to the site above!

It is the neatest thing! It has all kinds of baking, mothering, and household

items to purchase. She has words of wisdom there too.

Check it out!

We certainly had a scare last night! Our beloved dog Maddie (alias the spoiled one) was running around the backyard (excited because I came home!) and collapsed.
Maddie is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and they have problem with Mitral Valve Disease. Hers has progressed, and she collapsed last night, flailing and gasping for breath.
We know her time is limited, and it makes us so, so, sad.
But oh the many happy memories, and happy hours we have spent with this loveable, loyal companion! She has been a great joy to us, and we hope that she doesn't suffer with this. That when the time comes, she will just pass quietly in her sleep.
She has been the best of the best! Here are some pictures of her for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of knowing her. I hope some of her sparkling personality peeks out of these pictures and you can glimpse a bit of her spirit!

may she have many happy days ahead of her yet!

http://maidensofvirtue.com/the_maidens_of_virtue_poetr.html

you can't click on the button--because I don't know how to link it back--but you can click on the url and get to the site to get the info for the young ladies poetry contest.
It looks great!
Oh, and did I mention the great prizes!!??

Free Shipping At CBD!

Christianbook.com is offering free shipping for a short time.
To take advantage of this offer, enter promotion code 274902 in checkout and choose standard shipping every time you place an order of $35 or more before midnight Eastern Time on Friday March 21, 2008.
Please use my CHRISTIANBOOK.COM button on the right side of my blog to access their site so I get credit! :0)

Surviving the Winter

My daughter and I love to grow herbs (among other things) in pots, and ours are surviving the winter-which makes us happy, happy!

This is a close up of the creeping thyme (my daughter's). I am secretly envious of this one!





The one pictured above is mine. It has garlic chives, parsley, and rosemary. I cook with these and just run outside the back door and snip off what I need!

In the close up of my rosemary above, you can see it is not only surviving--it's blooming!

My daughter's huge rosemary plant!




These pansies are among the survivors not in pots, these are in my front flower bed. A gift from my dear friend Lisa! Thanks Lisa!





This is some parsley I have growing in my front flowerbed. Sometimes I run out the front door and snip this for spaghetti sauce or something...

And, last but not least, my daffodils are coming up.

Hope these pictures put you in the mood for Spring!

This is an awesome video clip about public school, below is a link to get the whole cd set!




http://www.americanvision.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1790

Phil's Birthday!

Well, tomorrow is my true love's birthday! I made his cake today and we did a mini-celebration as tomorrow we will be busy with church--although we are going out to eat after church--that's what he wanted for his b-day. Eat at Cracker Barrel...(which is nice because it's not far from the church. :0)

And so, another year will begin in his life. My prayer for him is that it would be a happy year, full of wonderful memories! That God would find him faithful, and that we could show him how much he is loved and appreciated. He is one special man!

Happy Birthday Dear!

(Above is the 2 of us at Christmas--below is the birthday boy when he was 9 months)