Some days...I'd love to live on a farm. Most days....I wish I could afford better quality local food.

 We just went to the fair and the kids had a great time. If it didn't involve all the work of having a cow....I'd love to have a cow. :-) It would be such a blessing to have fresh milk...and meat. 

 My mom has been talking about getting chickens at their house for a while now...

I called her and said, "Please get chickens." 

I want FRESH eggs!

This sickens me!

Food Inc - Official Trailer [HD]

Modern Family Ministry

I am trying very hard to formulate an understanding of where my heart says my head should go...or vis versa. 

Where my head is telling my heart to go? 

Where the Holy Spirit is guiding me....

I have heard Family Based Ministry for years....

but it hasn't really grasped my soul until resent days (months). 

Type in Family Based Ministry and thousands of articles pop up. Pros, cons, and everything in between. 

Tonight I learned three terms that seem to be very prevalent regarding the topic itself.

1) Family Integrated Ministry - Completely abandoning all segregated ministries and the family attending church together for every service/event. 

2) Family Based Ministry - Usually keeps ministry segments but offers intergenerational opportunities for parents during all services/events. 

3) Family Equipping Ministry - Segmented but includes parents. More emphasis is put on training the parents that necessarily involving them in ministry. 

All three have there place. 

I could easily fall into any one of the categories listed. 

Of course being the Children's Ministry Director at our church and my husband being the Youth Pastor....

our whole ministry/job is based on segregation! Family ministry could put us out of a job! 

But isn't that the point really?????? To equip family to train their children instead of us!

Isn't that what we long for, desire, complain doesn't happen? Yes. 

What does this mean? 

I'm not sure, but I'm really ready to be open to family ministry and what that could mean for our church. 

Now, the problem lies in the fact that others (leadership) doesn't always get this. 

Why? 

Because family ministry is messy!

Messy?

Yes, messy!

It makes parents take responsibility. 

It makes older ladies rise up and train young mothers. 

It makes elders step up and take care of the widows and single mothers and hold fathers accountable. 

It begs for us to put action to our deeds. 

To put legs to the gospel and not simply take care of our own needs but of those around us. 

Praying for this to become clear in my mind and for God's will and vision as I humbly try to lead our Children's Ministry. 

Any ideas/thoughts?

Living Each Moment

"Lord, please let me never forget how rich my wonderful life is right at this moment. Please let me never forget that all I have is all I need. Please let me never forget to give thanks." 

Phil 2:14 - Do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing. 

Phil 4:11 - For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 

"S" - The "s" on the end of circumstanceS changes everything. 

I can often be content in a singular circumstance. But when the circumstance becomes plural it becomes more difficult. Or when others are speaking into my life how tough my summer schedule is, I find myself agreeing. Although I love it. So why am I nodding my head in agreement that the eight weeks of non-stop crazy are difficult when I wouldn't want it any other way?

 Sure...a nice, slow, vacation filled or lounging around summer would also be nice, but that's not my life! 

So because my life right now consists of event after event and church camp after church camp with a wedding for my sister squeezed in the middle and a 9 day missions trip tagged on at the end....I want to fully embrace each moment and live knowing that I am so blessed to have the opportunity to do so much. 

Why do we so often look at blessings as burdens? I'm sure god questions our motives at times when we ask for a rich, full, and blessed life and when He gives it to us then we complain about doing the laundry on Saturday in between the life giving moments of the busy weeks. Or allow our minds to swell - worriedly - on the details of the weekend instead of enjoying the moments leading up to each weekend event. My desire is to embrace them (each busy event written on my calendar) as memory making opportunities instead of as a checklist of overwhelming tasks to complete. But I am well aware that this can only happen if I "have the same attitude as that of christ Jesus!" Phil 2:5

Worthy is the Lamb

"If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels." Revelations 3:5


By the graciousness of life I am being formed into so much more than I could engineer, either with a single decision or a multitude of them.  - Max Lucado

I am almost done reading through the New Testament and have really enjoyed being in the book of Revelations. I admit that it has not always been my favorite book of the Bible just because I feel there are so many analogies that I don't yet understand and probably won't in this life. BUT I have so enjoyed being reminded that we will ETERNALLY be praising our Lord and Savior. It thrills my heart to read that right now the angels are bowing down and crying HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!

I am overjoyed that one day I will stand before my Lord...

so unworthy....

yet so loved. 

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!"

Revelation 5:12

Don't want to label....but

Homeschooling the ADHD Child

Homeschooling an ADHD child can be a real challenge. Here are some of the issues we deal with regularly in our home:

• Distractibility - cannot keep on task when given an assignment
• Frustration - low frustration levels when given an assignment that is confusing or repetitious
• Boredom - easily bored with repetitive tasks like spelling and handwriting, or math facts
• Clueless - unless you are working with a gifted child, you will reach times where the information just isn't understood
• Careless - sloppy work and careless mistakes
• Endless school days - unaware of the concept of time and prove this by taking 3 hours to complete 5 math problems
• Insanity - can drive even the sanest parent to question their sanity
• Noise - 3 or more children chattering away at the same time, tapping pencils, rolling desk chairs across the floor; child 2 distracts child 1 while child 3 has disappeared to who knows where
• Grace - God's grace is sufficient, for His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

Homeschooling an ADHD child will present you with a unique set of challenges. Because of the existence of learning disabilities in a large percentage of ADHD children, the parent's teaching style must match learning styles of these children as much as possible. Most ADHD children are just not good classroom learners, so attempting to recreate a classroom at home will not benefit the child, or you as the homeschooling parent.

Allowing your child to read standing on his head or in the frog position might work better than sitting at a desk or kitchen table. Some children do better reciting math facts while jumping on a mini-trampoline or hopping around the room. Allow your child to try different learning environments. The biggest challenge for parents who were classroom learners themselves is giving up the classroom paradigm.

Unit Studies and Hands-On Activities are a great choice for at least one or two of the child's subjects. We choose a topic, such as Inventors, and create a study based on this topic with activities in History, Science, Creative Writing, Vocabulary, Spelling, and sometimes Math.

It is possible that your ADD/ADHD child is a Kinesthetic Learner or Gifted Some children, especially the gifted ADD/ADHD child, may learn best with a modified form ofunschooling.

My boy....

Rough day on the home front. 

I love my son to death and he is a tremendous blessing from the Lord. 

He is also extremely stubborn and strong-willed. 

He has been from the day that he came into this world. 

Even as a tiny baby, he was very opinionated. 

We have worked with, prayed over, talked, yelled on occasions, disciplined, and more. 

With the beginning of each school year I think to myself that THIS is going to be the year that 

everything finally falls into place and he starts loving school....but with each year I am again 

reminded that his strong and stubborn will often prevent him from enjoying things because he 

gets so caught up in what HE wants to do which is usually not his school work. 

Again, I love him to death. 

He is the smartest little boy that I know. 

He is incredibly bright, likable, witty....and stubborn. 

He can do his work in no time flat once he finally starts. 

He's a dottler. 

He finds it easy to complain about the task set before him. 

I have tried so many different techniques to try to break this habit in his life, yet here we are 

approaching 9 years old and his natural tendencies continue to manifest. 

I try very hard to remember that his mind and activeness will one day be of great benefit to him and those around him. He's going to be an amazing adult with vision and purpose and brilliant ideas.....if he will just apply himself. 

There are days that I wonder if he were in a normal school setting how he would respond....(not that I would ever put him in a regular school setting because I know that God gave this little guy to me to train and love and develop). 

Would he fall behind the class because he simply wouldn't apply himself?

OR

Would he fly ahead of everyone because he LOVES competition? 

He doesn't have anyone to compete with at home. Which often leads to problems with his 2 1/2 year younger sister because he tries to compete with her.

Anyways, today has been a rough school day. It is now 5:30 and he just finished English which should have been done right after lunch. I had him go in his room which he hates because he doesn't like being alone. He dottled on his Math this morning as well. He does it as long as I'm sitting there pointing and working on each problem with him, but that isn't possible all the time for me nor do I believe that it's healthy for him because he has to learn to work independently. 

I know that isn't all his fault. I know that there are things that I have done wrong along this road of homeschool motherhood. Any one else out there struggle with a very strong-willed and stubborn child and their school work? 

My daughter is very much the opposite and very compliant and does school with no problem. I'm actually glad that my first child has been the challenging one.

Again, I want to reintegrate that I love him to death and know that God has a very bright future for him. 

I simply want to be the best mother for him that I can possibly be. 

Prayer. 

That has to be the key. 

I have failed to pray sufficiently for him. 

I have failed to pray sufficiently for me. 

I have failed to pray for wisdom with him like I should. 

I think I shall go pray. 

Any advice?

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." Abraham Lincoln

Order

I feel as though today I pulled my boot straps up and got some order back in my life!

We've been gone the majority of the summer....

No really!

We've been gone the majority of the summer....

Camping with our family kicked it all off July 4th weekend.

Then....

Kent Cornucopia Days advertising for Vacation Bible Adventure and selling crosses for missions trip.

Then.....

Jr. High Camp

Then....

Sr. High Camp

Then....

Vacation Bible Adventure (home; but not really home)

Then....

Kids' Camp

Then....

My sister's wedding

Then.....

Missions Trip

Then....

Church Campout

Then....

SCHOOL!

So needless to say, I've felt a bit out of order. Add a few bridal showers, blueberry picking days, park trips, and you can pretty much conclude it was a very busy (good) summer.
Nothing that I couldn't keep up with, but my laundry was getting just enough done to make it.
My bills were getting paid at the last minute.
My "extra" chores list hadn't been looked at in multiple weeks. Well, it had been LOOKED at but nothing done with it.

We started light school last week and full blown school this week....
which put the housework on hold except the necessities and I forgot how fast school papers piles up!

So today, I have been working from 8 AM to 1 AM doing school, cooking meals, putting away laundry, scrubbing the tub, having neighbor kids over for science experiments, and I finally tackled the bills/paperwork pile. It feels very gratifying. Of course, there is always more....
but for tonight....I feel like I accomplished some major things today.
That's a good feeling. Summers around here are always full of fun and adventure, but they also leave me a bit frazzled without a schedule and ready to step back into my world of lists and to do charts.

Thank you Lord for my family, my home, Your Word, other ladies on the internet who give encouragement to total strangers, and a million other blessings!

http://youtu.be/oyPBtExE4W0

Godly vs. Smart

We've had a great first week of school so far. 

We actually began last week but it wasn't official until today. :-)

 I'm taking a big leap of faith and stepping into unknown waters with our science and history this year....

 Much more hands on.

 I've always feared "randomness"....

 ...but for the sake of my children,

I have got to make learning fun!

Ultimately, I'm more interested in raising Godly children than smart children anyways. 

Although both would be nice! I'm trying to remember thought that head/book knowledge is 

not my ultimate goal. 

My ultimate goal is raising children who love, serve, respect, fear, worship, and adore Jesus!

Grace - 

What is grace? 

The elusive word....

As I read "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp

I'm in awe, amazement and wonderment at what that really means.

I was meeting a friend at The City Church to see Kari Jobe lead in worship...

but I got lost...was late....had a high rate due the lostness of myself....

missed all but one song by Kari Jobe

BUT 

I heard the message by Judah Smith which was obviously why God wanted me to go.

It was on....drum-roll please

GRACE

the word that has been ever present before me.

He spoke of how grace must come before Faith

because faith is actually something that I do.

He spoke of how often we put Works in front of everything because it's the seen.

He spoke of how Grace is not an understand word...even by him.

What does it mean?

How does it relate to my life?

The question remained unanswered. 

I will embark on a new search...

What is grace?

Ann says that "all is grace". 

Is that true?

Is ALL truly God's grace.

Don't we make decisions and do actions and say words that alters 

the course of history?

Does God's grace really cover all our mistakes?

Yes, of course.

But how much better could our life be if we hadn't made those stupid decisions 

or done that immature thing

or said that unkind/untrue word?

How does God's grace really function?

Thankful today for:

• A smooth school day (for the most part)
• Learning to be flexible in my homeschool journey
• My husband - learning to love through illness.
• A strong willed son - Lord, help me understand him. 
• A daughter that is so much like me - the good and bad.
• Ice-cream on the first day of school. 
• You tube for looking up videos about the American flag. 
• Worship music
• Sore fingers from playing my guitar.
• Aprons for cutting vegetable. 
• A dishwasher. 
• Late summer days. 
• My piano that both teaches and brings joy to our family.
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