Always Homeschooling

One thing I love about homeschooling is that we always seem to be in a perpetual state of learning. Even when we don’t think we’re learning and we don’t care to learn, we learn.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband found some eggs hidden in the soil of the garden our church has planted for the community we live in. He brought them home to hatch. Of course, I was sure that they were snake eggs and didn’t want anything to do with them. He placed them in a fish bowl, covered it with plastic wrap, poked a few holes for air, and then just watched them. Nothing happened. Until last night, that is. Suddenly, we discovered little skinks hatching out of them.  They were so cute!

This came on the coattails of the fish tank full of tadpoles my husband collected from our pond… 

Today, my daughter and I were releasing the little skinks at the edge of the woods by our house when she sat back on the ground onto a yellow jacket!!! We thought she had sat on a pinecone at first. Within minutes she was having an allergic reaction and it scared us to death. Her eyes swelled and she broke out in hives, etc. A few Benadryl did the trick, though.  She’s sore and drowzy, but okay.

Tonight while my husband was working in our garden, he found a shrew.  Of course, he captured it!  He brought it in and my son began playing with it.  Until it nipped at him. No blood drawn, so that’s good. We put the little booger in an old hamster cage and fed it some earth worms. It was really cute. When my daughter got in, my son proceeded to show it to her.  What an exciting event…until it escaped through the bars of the cage.  Praise the Lord we were able to get the cage outside and release the little guy before he turned his teeth on my son again.  ;)  Imagine if we had gotten up in the morning to find the cage empty!!!!

So, I guess we can just say this is a day in the life of a homeschooler, huh?  Even when your kids are 14, 17, and 43, I guess they never stop liking little creatures and exploring the great outdoors…yellow jacket stings and all.

Seeing God in Everything

Seeing God can seem hard to do at times, but not if we try to look for him with our spiritual eyes. 

This past week has been a whirlwind of emotions for me.  My mother-in-law left for her very first mission trip; she went to Romania.  That was frightening and exciting at the same time.  She had never left my father-in-law before, so we knew this would be difficult for the both of them, yet rewarding, at the same time.  She has watched our daughter be so passionate about her “homeland” Jamaica and wanted to catch that vision.  I think she did.

While she was in Romania, our daughter was at church camp.  My son didn’t go because many of his friends weren’t going.  Also, it was at the beach, and he doesn’t like to stay out all day, so he made the decision not to go.  Well, let me just say that he regretted that decision before the campers even left for camp (because most of his friends accepted last minute scholarships and went)…and I regretted not sending him.  This was a tough lesson for him to learn about the consequences of your decisions.  It was also a learning experience for me for several reasons.  First, I initially tried to find a way to send him to camp even after eveyone had already left. I tried to find someone he could ride with. Then, I realized that MOMMY didn’t need to fix this.  I can’t always rush in to save the day.  Also, I learned about not letting someone else’s bad mood bring you down.  Much quality time was lost this week because of grouchy behavior and because two second-born children (my son and I) each refused to bend.  We did spend some time playing Battleship and it was fun to beat him!!!

Also, we had a water pipe to burst and our air went out!  Praise the Lord the air was just something my husband had to work with when he got home from the office…but not before my son and I had to be in an 89 degree house all day.  The water pipe is being repaired today by my husband…ugh. 

A friend gave me an old laptop this week, and that was so sweet of her to think of me.  She knew that mine had crashed and died last year, leaving me without any way to get off by myself and work on my novels/Bible studies in quiet.  Well, that’s not entirely true…I can do it the old fashioned way and use a pad and pen.  I just don’t often have the time to write these days because I work from home and homeschool.  So I had come to the conclusion that even though I wanted a laptop, I didn’t really need one because I didn’t really have any current goals set for my writing these days.

THEN….I got a book contract!!!!!  Yes, you heard me!!!  A publisher accepted one of my novels this week.  I had just about lost all hope of ever seeing this happen.  I submitted my proposal to them last June!!  I’ve had so many rejections over the years, that after a while you just send proposals and forget about them.  That’s pretty much what I had done.

So, this week, I’ve had ups and downs, crazy days and lazy days, joy and heartbreak.  But (in looking back) I found myself giving glory to God even in the rough times.  And, I think he keeps rewarding me for that faithfulness.  I feel truly rewarded because even though my husband is digging up the yard, I’m trying to pay big bills with a small pocketbook, and there’s so many things I want to do and can’t find the time to do them, I’m healthy, safe, blessed, and content.  So, I’m rewarded.

A Legacy

This week one of my aunts passed away; a younger sister to my mom.  I didn’t know her well, even though I have known her my entire life.  It’s weird how you can be related to someone and not really know a lot about that person.  This aunt was someone who I saw twice a year at Easter and Thanksgiving and someone to whom I exchanged the typical pleasantries. But that truly was about it.  When my cousin gave the eulogy, I realized that THE woman she spoke of was not a woman that I knew. 

 

My mother was the second born out of four girls.  She was closest to her older sister.  My aunt that passed was closest to the baby of the family.  Therefore, I was closest to my cousins who were the children of my mom’s older sister.  My aunt who passed also worked full time, so we did not get together with her much when I was a child.  I did not know about my aunt’s salvation experience or even if there was one. I didn’t know what her hobbies were. I didn’t know much about her except that she was a faithful employee of the same company for almost 40 years. I guess I could have tried harder to get to know her after mom died, but there were obstacles that I didn’t take the time to move out of the way.  My life was busy and so was hers.  I guess it just never occurred to either of us.  I realized at the funeral that often times we say we know someone, but we don’t really know them.  The people that do know them are the ones who are with them day in and day out. 

 

I have tried to be purposeful in getting to know my niece; she’s the only one I have. I want to make sure that she really knows me.  I want her to know I’m not perfect (it doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out) and I want her to know that I love her even though we don’t get to see each other more than a few times a year.  We do communicate through email and we talk on the phone every few weeks.  I want her to know my hobbies, my interests, my goals in life…I want her to know as much about me as she wants to know.  I want to remain friends with her even after my own children have left the nest.  I think it is important to pour ourselves into the lives of others and for others to pour themselves into us. 

 

I pray that when it is my time to go, the funeral home will be busting at the seams with people coming to remember what a crazy, funny, sweet, deep, and loving person I was.  I hope they will forget about my flaws, for they are many; or at least be able to laugh at them as I do.  Most of all, I pray that it is said of me that I lived my life in reckless abandon for the Lord, that I stood my ground on moral issues and didn’t lower my standards when it came to my values, and that people feel closer to Him because they knew me.  (I sure hope I have at least sixty more years to accomplish that goal because I’m a long way away from it.) 

Waiting for the baby

One of my dearest friends had a baby at 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning and I had the privilege of being there.  She has two elementary aged children already, so this wasn’t exactly her first birth, but it was her first baby as a Christian.  I have watched her blossom over the past five years and she is simply one of the most precious individuals I know.  She has truly given her life to the Lord and walks purely by faith every single day.  Several years ago, she and her husband decided that they probably wouldn’t have any more children because she had always had troubled pregnancies, miscarriage, bedrest, etc.  When she first became a Christian, she devoted one day a week to a ministry she started where she would go to the hospital and deliver care baskets to mothers on bedrest.  She offered her time as a gift to the Lord. 

 

Anyway, last year, she began to feel that God was not finished with her yet and that maybe she was supposed to have more children.  She left this matter completely up to the Lord and sure enough, she soon became pregnant.  Our prayers were that this pregnancy would be successful and that it would result in a perfectly healthy baby.  She called this her spiritual baby because he was a product of her walk with the Lord and the evidence that God had moved in her life and in the life of her husband. 

 

She called me at 8:30 p.m. Monday and said they were on the way to the hospital and that things were moving along quickly.  So, my daughter and I rushed up there. The doctor said he’d be born around 11:00 p.m.  11:00 p.m. came and the baby wasn’t here yet.  My friend’s spirits were up, though.  She was tired, but still talking on her cell phone to friends and family.  Midnight came and then 1:00 a.m.  We were all getting a bit worried.  Then finally, her sister came in and said that it was time.  We still had to wait until 2:00 a.m. to get back in there to see her and the precious baby boy that God had brought into our lives.

 

I realized that night that whenever we have problems in our lives, issues that need to be resolved, prayers that we haven’t seen answered yet, etc., that it is much like having a baby.  There’s lots of waiting that goes on.  We are so impatient sometimes for God to answer our prayers quickly and maybe we can learn a lesson or two from my friend.  You see, when you are pregnant, there’s nothing you can do but wait.  You can’t have a full-term baby any quicker than nine months (actually ten months, if you count it by weeks).  You can’t rush delivery either, unless you have an elective c-section, but even then, you’re waiting.  You can’t rush the nurses either when you want to hold your baby.  They will give him or her to you when it’s safe to do so.  Wow!!! If we could all learn to wait upon the Lord like a pregnant woman waits for her baby. 

 

And when we do get that naswer to prayer (whether it’s what we wanted or not) do we look at it and into the eyes of God like a new mother looks into the eyes of her baby?  Not usually.  Most of the time we say a quick thanks and then move on to the next prayer request.

 

I just want to say thank you to God for all the blessings he’s given me in my life, including the blessing of seeing my sweet friend continue her walk with the Lord.

My Devotional Reviewed!

I started getting sales last week that I had no idea where they were coming from. I usually know how someone hears about me before I get an order.  So, I did some fishing and found out that Cindy with Homeschooling From the Heart had reviewed my Bible Study.  I was so excited.  Check it out.  She only gave me a B+ rating, but I’ll take it. 

Here is the direct link:

http://www.homeschoolingfromtheheart.com/hsreviews/teachme.html

http://www.homeschoolingfromtheheart.com/hsreviews.html

A Message from Proverbs today

I try to read a chapter of Proverbs everyday.  Some days I read something else and then go back and read several chapters at a time.  Today, I started over with Proverbs for the month…a day behind already.

Proverbs 1:8-9 says: Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

I’ve always read these verses and thought to myself, “Yeah, listen to your father. Don’t forsake your mother’s teaching!”  As a homeschooling mother, you know, I thought these verses were like a ball in my court.

Today, as I read this, I thought, “Hey, you know, that’s a lot of pressure on a parent.”  I mean, we have the responsibility of actually giving the children some instruction to listen to and some teaching that’s worth not forsaking, right?  Wow!  It really makes you stop and think about what you’re doing on a daily basis; how you’re walking with the Lord; is it something the kids would want to mimic?

I pray that as I seek the Lord daily, he’ll light the way for my kids to follow in my footsteps. Hopefully, my footsteps will be inside the footsteps of Jesus.

 

High prices and collection agencies

Last year I went to the local hospital to have the dreaded mammogram.  Ouch!  Well, as it turns out, the insurance we had at the time did not consider that a necessary expense, so I was billed for the entire mammo.  No problem, I thought. I’ll just make payments to the hospital.  So, I made my usual payments.  After so many days, it was turned over to a collection agency.  No problem, I thought. I’ll just keep making the payments.  So, in April, I sent in my payment as I had been doing. I received a letter back a week later with my check enclosed saying that my payment did not meet our agreement.  Okay, whatever. I didn’t make an agreement with them.  But, I decided to send them another check with a little bit more added.  It’s not like I don’t want to pay it. We just have many other bills, you know?

 

So, before I could even send an additional payment, I received another letter from them that, in my opinion, bordered on harassment. It contained multiple words in capital letters basically attacking my character for not sending in a payment.  Of course, I did send in a payment and they rejected it.

 

What really cracked me up was a question they posed that said: Where would we be in today’s economy without the privilege of saying “Bill Me”?  In answer to their question, here is what I said to them… ”I think this entire country would be much better off if we had never accepted credit extended to any of us.  We would be living debt-free and probably would not have to deal with exorbitant prices from healthcare providers, grocery stores and retailers. But, of course, creditors like you would be out of business.  I must also add that I do not feel like hospitals and doctors should be lumped into the category of credit.  If their prices were not so inflated and health insurance not so poor, people would be able to pay their bills.”

 

So that’s what I said. That’s how I feel. 

Why does Sam’s Club use those milk jugs?

I went to Sam’s Club the other day to buy milk and a few other items. I haven’t been in there in a while.  At first, I thought they were out of milk and then I realized that the jugs were just shaped differently than usual.  They are stackable.  That’s a cool feature.  But we are having the hardest time pouring milk out of those things. We’re losing milk down the side every time we pour.  Dollars are dribbling away.

I like the stackable nature of the jug, but the lid takes too many turns to get it off and the pouring is really difficult because the mouth is so wide. I’m almost 42 years old so I should be able to operate a milk jug correctly, but every time I pour milk all over the place.  What’s the deal?  Has anyone else had this problem?

So, this problem really has nothing to do with anything, except that it irritates me when I go to the frig to get milk. I can’t wait until those four gallons are gone so I can go buy normal milk jugs.

I guess this could be compared to our spiritual walks, somehow.  Like, when God wants us to do something for him and we spread ourselves all over the place…everywhere except for where he intended us to be?  Maybe that’s it.  Well, that’s a waste.  We need to be determined to hit the mark God wants us to; the perverbial glass so to speak.  Don’t spill yourself all over the counter. 

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine 2008 Promo includes 25 gifts!!!

If you haven’t heard about the Old Schoolhouse Magazine, it’s a great one.  There are always plenty of encouraging articles to help homeschooling moms throughout the year. 

They are gearing up for their Spring promo and asked me to share the below link with you.  I thought some of you might enjoy the magazine.  Click the link below to find out more about it. 

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_60&products_id=1542

 The above link will show you the pictures of your free gifts plus give you all the details. 

 

 

Stewardship

I’ve been trying hard to be a good steward of everything God has given me:  time, talents, money, etc.  Sometimes it’s so easy to fall into the trap of expending all of your energy and resources on things that aren’t best for you.  Sometimes it takes a while for you to recognize that you’re not using everything to the best that it could be.I was recently invited to speak at a convention that I spoke at last year.  Although this was a growing experience for me and quite enjoyable, it was not a financially profitable experience.  This was a small conference with only a few known exhibitors.  The turnout was low due to various factors.  I hesitated returning to this conference without first knowing what other exhibitors would be there, who the other speakers were, and how much advertising had been done.  This year it seemed the coordinators had done more advertising, but there would still be no guarantee of a big turn out.  I know it’s not all about the money, but I began weighing the costs (literally) to determine if it was something I could do again.  I have deliberated and prayed and sought advice.  I know it shouldn’t be such a hard decision, but it is.  You see, I do not want to cause any further debt on my family where launching the ministry is concerned.  I do not feel it is right to spend money that we really do not have on lodging, gas, food, and the exhibit booth and risk not even breaking even.  Forgive me if that sounds selfish.

Today, I resolved that I would not participate this year.  I’m okay with the fact that this may not be the right time for such a thing. Possibly I’m not even supposed to be working exclusively with the homeschool world.  I feel it is time to rest in the Lord, continue to write what he gives me, and watch him move.

Well……….This afternoon, I received an email that a popular homeschool catalog wants to carry three of my items.  Imagine my shock!  I couldn’t help but laugh inside because God’s timing is so funny.  I feel like he was waiting on me to make the decision about whether or not I would bring further debt on my family (just so I could go speak at a convention and promote myself) before opening up another door.  Isn’t God good?