Sunday, September 30, 2007
Corps or Corpse?
While spending the evening with my brother-in-law and his family we all had a great laugh! We were playing Catch Phrase and one of my daughters was taking her turn. She had to try and get her teammates to guess "Marine Corps". She did really well only she read that last word phonetically instead of the way we actually pronounce it.Her turn went something like this:
Daughter: Uncle Mike is in the.....
Teammates: Oh the Marine Corps!!!!
Daughter: yes, now what do you call a dead body?????
Teammates: WHAT? Marine Corps and dead body..ummm..what on earth......ummmmm
BUZZER!!!
Daughter: It was Corpse!After a round or two of laughter we explained it to her and then laughed some more.
Aren't phonics great?!?!?!?!
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Saturday, September 29, 2007
A Blogging Star!
I have been extremely blessed by a great lady! Valerie over at Just4homeschoolfamilies just passed this award along to me. It is a privilege to receive this award from such a great lady, please go visit her site. Thank you Valerie for honoring me with this award and the great comments on your blog.We are unsure of where this award originated and the official rules. However, when I think of a star blogger...I'm picturing bloggers that put out a lot of entries a day, chuck full of information that will benefit others, people that make blogging so much fun. I glean from all of my blog friends....whether it be for laughs, encouragement, homeschooling advice, or just simply friendship.
Here are my Blogging Star nominees:
Cindy over at the Dominion Family: I have only recently started reading her blog but am really enjoying it! She is not afraid to talk about things in our society that sometimes just make us crazy!
Amy over at Amy's Humble Musings: This is another blog I have just recently begun reading. I do not think that I have laughed as hard at any other blog, but she has a serious side also and balances those two attributes very well.
She is another Reformed Classical Christian homeschooler to five boys and one girl. She has a lot of great links to share as well as some good reading in her posts.
Labels: Awards
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Types of Psalms
The Biblical Psalms can be divided into five different categories. The first category is the most frequent type of Psalm and that type is the psalm of lamenting. These are psalms in which the author cries out to God for help or rescue. The second category is the psalm of confession. A wonderful example of this would be Psalm 51 where David confesses his sin with Bathsheba. Two others are the psalms of praise and the psalms of thanksgiving. The last category includes what are called imprecatory psalms. These psalms call for the judgement of God upon His enemies.Often times people tend to focus primarily on the Psalms of praise and thanksgiving, I love these as well. We should also pay close attention to the other types of psalms. Those that give us the example and call of confession and repentance. Those that call for the judgement of God upon His enemies, that God's justice will be evident. The psalms of lamenting are also of great value. We live in a fallen world filled with sorrows and struggles. Knowing that there are psalms that can aid us in our crying out to God should be an amazing comfort.
This week I encourage you to look for each type of psalm as you meditate upon the Word of God.
To participate in the Saturday Psalm & Praise just follow the link.
Labels: Christianity, Encouragement, Saturday Psalm and Praise
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Friday, September 28, 2007
What is Family Reformation?
Family Reformation is something that is near to my heart. With the grace of God and His Word, our family continually strives to be formed anew each and everyday into the type of obedient family God desires. Here is a link to a great article on family reformation. This next paragraph is a snippet from that article.....
So, what is a family reformation? To reform something means to “form anew” or to “rescue from error and return to a rightful course.” Many Christian families are in error. We have churches full of “out of order” families where men are not leading, wives are disrespectful, children are rebellious, and everyone acts and reacts selfishly. Families need to be “formed anew” – reformed into the order God prescribes in His Word.
READ MORE.........
So, what is a family reformation? To reform something means to “form anew” or to “rescue from error and return to a rightful course.” Many Christian families are in error. We have churches full of “out of order” families where men are not leading, wives are disrespectful, children are rebellious, and everyone acts and reacts selfishly. Families need to be “formed anew” – reformed into the order God prescribes in His Word.
READ MORE.........
Labels: Christianity, Family, marriage, Train Up a Child
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
13 Things That Scream "Go To The Grocery Store!"
Thirteen Things That Scream "Go To The Grocery Store!"
- Last payday, 2 weeks ago, you only spent a fourth of your regular grocery budget.
- You are rationing toilet paper squares.
- Except for the soy sauce and balsamic vinaigrette, and the little mustard packets you swiped from Subway, ALL of your condiments are gone.
- You sliced your last 4 cheese sticks to stick in a casserole.
- You used cans of evaporated milk to make breakfast.
- You run out of the plastic grocery bags you usually save to line the bathroom trash cans.
- When asked what's for dinner, you say, I don't know, I just threw stuff in there!
- Celery is supposed to be rubbery, right?
- Children open the refrigerator door and stand there longingly with the look of death by starvation on their faces.
- There is water or water or water to drink.
- The only thing in your freezer is ice and that old box of baking soda.
- Sugar, what is sugar?
- When your children ask, "uh mom, when are you going shopping again? I'M STARVING!!!!"
Labels: Laughter, Thursday Thirteen
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Bears In Camp
POSTED ABOVE THE TRASH CAN IS THIS SIGN (like this trash can would keep a bear out!):
Labels: Washington State, Wordless Wednesday
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Homeschool Weblink Wednesday
Homeschool Weblink Wednesday
Here is another great homeschooling link. I am currently using this as a fun supplement for my kindergartner and my preschooler. They have such a great time playing and learning at the same time! Take some time and play around on the StarFall website.
Weblink Wednesday Sponsored by: Valerie @ Just4homeschoolfamilies
Labels: Homeschooling, Learning Disabilities, Preschoolers, Weblink Wednesday
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Wednesday Heroes
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Personal Security Detachment, Headquarters and Support Company, Task Force 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, attached to Regimental Combat Team 2
Hippocrates once said, "Art is long, life is short".
Cpl. Jeremy David Allbaugh lived a short life. But, he was immortalized recently in acrylics by a Lance Cpl. Jamieson who painted a mural in his honor.
"I feel sad because it is for him, but it makes me happy because I can still do something for him," said Lance Cpl. Jamieson. "I thought about it during the ceremony in the chapel. I looked up at the stained glass windows and I thought 'I should do something like that'".
Along with help from family, a fellow Marine and a Morale, Wefare and Recreation manager, Jamieson had the paint and tools needed.
"I would paint eight or nine hours in the gym and time would fly by," Jamieson said.
Cpl. Jeremy David Allbaugh, 21 years old from Luther, Oklahoma, was killed by a roadside bomb on July 5, 2007 while conducting combat operations in Qaim, Iraq.
"He believed very strongly in what our country's doing," said his mother, Jenifer Allbaugh. "They were doing good things over there, and we don't see that in the news or media. There's a lot of progress being made. I wish more people would talk to our boys who are in it and not our politicians because they see it firsthand".
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.
Labels: Military, Wednesday Heroes
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Big Giveaway: A Full Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library
My friend Kim over at Life in a Shoe is hosting a giveaway of Vision Forum's exciting new adventure series, Ballantyne books.
Inside sources say these books are everything you would expect from Vision Forum. They are well written, fast paced, with a rich vocabulary and exciting storylines. The characters are strong, courageous, virtuous, principled - except for the bad guys, of course. :)
And the Christian worldview is inextricably woven into the book, from cover to cover. I am a firm believer that one's worldview shines through in all that one does, and Mr. Ballantyne was a Scottish covenanter of the 1800's. You will know that when you read his books.
Inside sources say these books are everything you would expect from Vision Forum. They are well written, fast paced, with a rich vocabulary and exciting storylines. The characters are strong, courageous, virtuous, principled - except for the bad guys, of course. :)
And the Christian worldview is inextricably woven into the book, from cover to cover. I am a firm believer that one's worldview shines through in all that one does, and Mr. Ballantyne was a Scottish covenanter of the 1800's. You will know that when you read his books.
Labels: Giveaways, What to Read
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Monday, September 24, 2007
Does Disciplined Living Equal Legalism?
This past Lord's Day I was speaking with a friend about the struggles we have with those who seem to have great difficulty accepting our family standards. We agreed this is such a difficult position for anyone to be in. As a person grows in Christ their standards begin to change to be more and more in line with scripture. As we grow (the process of sanctification - becoming more Christlike) in godliness, holiness, and obedience our standards become more developed and identified with disciplined living (1 Timothy 4:7b-16); higher moral and spiritual goals to strive toward. To some this may seems to be legalistic but really it is simply that more and more of the world is being cut out of our lives. Typically, those individuals do not yet have as deep of an understanding and conviction or see the need for change because they see this as being contrary to having freedom in Christ. But the more of the world that is cut out of our lives, the more defined we become. Some see this defining process as legalism, but it is not, unless personal piety and self righteousness replaces God's grace for salvation and becomes an outward standard of judgment rather than a pruning of the heart. Some will see this change and be challenged to growth; others however, will be threatened or offended and fight against it. I strive to be one who is challenged and growing. Self evaluation is vital. As Christians, we are all at different stages of development in our walk with Christ, but it is the same walk because He is the same Savior and we are all to grow up in Him (Romans 8:29). Let me encourage you with the words found in 1 Peter 2:9-12, so that we may all strive to look less and less like the world and more and more like Christ.
1 Peter 2:9-12
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
1 Peter 2:9-12
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Labels: Christianity
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Birthday With A Beluga!
Hannah, our preemie, isn't so little any more. Today she turned 15! For her birthday she had a dream fulfilled! She was able to spend part of the afternoon in the water with a Beluga whale. She was able to feed it and learned training techniques and commands. I think she had a great birthday!
Labels: journal
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God Knows My Heart
Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt as if no one really knew who you were? Maybe even someone close to you? There is One who knows my heart and this brings great comfort in times of trial. I am glad that the Lord Jesus knows my heart and that it belongs to Him.John 10:1-4, 14
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his
voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
1 Samuel 16:7b
God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
1 Kings 8:39
then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind)
2 Chronicles 6:30-31
then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of men), so that they will fear you and walk in your ways all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.
Labels: Christianity, Forgiveness
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Saturday, September 22, 2007
Saturday Psalm and Praise
2 Chronicles 5:13
and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever"
Labels: Saturday Psalm and Praise
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Paper Castle
Peter Callesen, a sculptor, works in paper and is able to create paper masterpieces.
Big Paper Castle, 2004
7,20 x 7,15 x 3,75 m
Cut and folded from one sheet of 350 gsm paper
Charlottenborg Udstillingsbygning’s Autumn exhibition, Copenhagen
Big Paper Castle, 2004
7,20 x 7,15 x 3,75 m
Cut and folded from one sheet of 350 gsm paper
Charlottenborg Udstillingsbygning’s Autumn exhibition, Copenhagen
Labels: PhotoHunt
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Friday, September 21, 2007
What's Your Story? How I Got Engaged.
I was tagged this week from my friend Rebecca. This is a fairly new meme asking “What’s Your Story”– How you got engaged.I met my dear husband one summer while he was working with a summer missions program as the youth minister at my church. He recalls being told by his mother before he left for the summer, that he was going to find his wife. Apparently, she was correct.
He was the youth guy and I was the "not involved youth member with attitude".
Hubby says he knew he was going to marry me, but at the time, I hated him! Who was he to come and tell us how to live our lives? He gets to go home after the summer and live however he wants!
However, as the summer progressed, I softened. I noticed that he saw past where I was at the time to the potential in me and I am ever so thankful. We had a lot of heart to heart talks, but never officially dated.
The summer ended, he went home and our long months of letter writing began. In a way it was more of a courtship (only without parental involvement). He did end up moving closer when his parents returned to the states, making him only 3 hours away. There were many week-ends when he would drive out just to go to a movie or a walk in the park and then head home.
At dinner before my senior prom(photo) he asked me to marry him. Apparently, I sat there dumbfounded and didn't respond. I am not very good at those great dramatic and romantic responses, sorry honey! We had a terrific evening at prom and then went back to being apart, divided by the miles. Less than 6 months later we eloped.
Here we are today, 17 years and 8 children later; he is still the love of my life.
So...What is your story?
Here are the three bloggers I’d like to nominate:
1. Kim at Life in a Shoe
2. Valerie at Just4homeschoolfamilies
3. Michele at Life Under the Sun
If you want to share your story and I didn't tag you, please put your stories in the comments here. I would love to read them! In fact, if I get enough people who leave their stories in the comments section, I will write another post linking to all of your sites.
For those who were tagged, here is how it works:
* Copy the link to this image (hot - linking is fine by me!)
* Write your story of how you got engaged.
* Select 3 bloggers that are married or have gotten engaged and let them know that you want to know their story.
* Make sure you link back to this How Did You Get Engaged post.
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Thursday, September 20, 2007
T13--Books in Our Library
Thirteen Books in our Library
- Reformed Expository Commentary Series
- Josephus, The Complete Works
- The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations
- America's God & Country Encyclopedia of Quotations
- Spirit Warriors by Weber
- American Soldier by General Tommy Franks
- Dust to Glory, Overview of the Bible Video Course by R.C. Sproul
- Love & Respect by Eggerichs
- The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
- The Worship of the English Puritans by Horton Davies
- Redemption Accomplished a & Applied by John Murray
- Christian Apologetics by Van Til
- Backyard Balistics by William Gurstelle
Labels: Christianity, Military, Thursday Thirteen, What to Read
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
WW_ God's Color Scheme
Brief Explanation: I think God is such a God of creativity, just look at our world! I see His creativity every day! This stuck out very clearly one evening when we snapped these photos of two of our children. Before anyone asks, yes, they are both biologically full siblings, both have same mom and dad! Just look at the difference in their skin coloring!!
Labels: journal, Wordless Wednesday
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Classical Christian Homeschooling
Homeschool Weblink Wednesday
Here is another great homeschooling website. It is the Classical Christian Homeschooling website.
If you ever wanted to know about the Classical method of homeschooling or about the Trivium, this is a great resource! Our family follows the Trivium and the Classical Christian homeschooling method. It is often challenging and we do not accomplish everything but we have seen the fruit of teaching in this manner.
Weblink Wednesday Sponsored by: Valerie @ Just4homeschoolfamilies
Labels: Homeschooling, Weblink Wednesday
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Wednesday Hero
26 years old from Tonasket, Washington
1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
June 16, 2006
The love of Megan Ewens's life arrived at Arlington National Cemetery on July 7, 2006. His ashes inside a small wooden box, the box inside a coffin, the coffin draped with an American flag and carried on a caisson pulled by six black horses.
Lt. Forrest P. Ewens had shipped out for Afghanistan in March of that same year. His wife, being the same rank in the Army, understood the risks, telling a colonel at Fort Drum, N.Y., that if anything happened to her husband, she didn't want to hear about it from a stranger.
On June 6, 2006 Lt. Ewens and Sgt. Ian T. Sanchez were killed when ATV struck an IED while on combat operation in Pech River Valley, Afghanistan.
A few weeks before his death, Lt. Ewens called his wife from an Afghan mountain to inform her that his unit had been subsisting on melted snow and rations and that he had been writing his impressions down in a notebook he carried.
"This was the love of her life," Megan Ewens's mother said. "They were so well-matched and made such a good team. We couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.
Labels: Military, Wednesday Heroes
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Training Children & A Good Book
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you may see a recurring theme. The theme is that of teaching to the heart of a matter. This as mentioned before is not something that we have always done. It is, however, something we strive to be consistent in and have been working on for a very long time. We have also seen the fruit of this type of parenting.
Many of my posts, I hope, reflect that, whether we are teaching about music, modesty, hitting a sibling, or the terrible twos. This is also applicable to our position as parents. As parents, are we disciplining ourselves to be the example of godliness? Are we confessing and asking forgiveness when we fail, not only from the Lord but from our children as well?
As I said, these are things we have incorporated into our parenting on a consistent basis over the years. I just recently read a book which reinforced many of these things and it pushed me to address many of the issues listed in this post and throughout the Training a Child section of this blog. There were several things in the book that I did not totally agree with, but that seems to be the case with just about anything one reads. There are several great points made in the book and I would highly recommend it!
As I continue to learn more from the Lord on how to parent these children He has entrusted to me and share them here, my prayer is that it will be beneficial to others who seek, as we do, to raise a godly heritage unto the Lord.
The book recommended is: Standing on the Promises: A Handbook on Biblical Child Rearing by Douglas Wilson
Here is a snippet from a summary at Canon Press:
God has designed each family to be a culture—with a language, customs, traditions, and countless unspoken assumptions. The culture of the family intimately shapes the children who grow up in it. It is the duty of parents to ensure that the shaping takes place according to biblical wisdom.
Read a excerpt from the book: HERE
Many of my posts, I hope, reflect that, whether we are teaching about music, modesty, hitting a sibling, or the terrible twos. This is also applicable to our position as parents. As parents, are we disciplining ourselves to be the example of godliness? Are we confessing and asking forgiveness when we fail, not only from the Lord but from our children as well?
As I said, these are things we have incorporated into our parenting on a consistent basis over the years. I just recently read a book which reinforced many of these things and it pushed me to address many of the issues listed in this post and throughout the Training a Child section of this blog. There were several things in the book that I did not totally agree with, but that seems to be the case with just about anything one reads. There are several great points made in the book and I would highly recommend it!
As I continue to learn more from the Lord on how to parent these children He has entrusted to me and share them here, my prayer is that it will be beneficial to others who seek, as we do, to raise a godly heritage unto the Lord.
The book recommended is: Standing on the Promises: A Handbook on Biblical Child Rearing by Douglas Wilson
Here is a snippet from a summary at Canon Press:
God has designed each family to be a culture—with a language, customs, traditions, and countless unspoken assumptions. The culture of the family intimately shapes the children who grow up in it. It is the duty of parents to ensure that the shaping takes place according to biblical wisdom.
Read a excerpt from the book: HERE
Labels: Train Up a Child, What to Read
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10 Tips to Read More and Read Better
While reading through my daily blog subscriptions, I came across this article. I think it is well worth everyone's time to visit. Tim Challies has a short blog post on 10 Tips for reading, many that I have incorporated into my own life. Please take a few minutes and visit his blog.
10 Tips to Read More and Read Better
10 Tips to Read More and Read Better
Labels: What to Read