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?

 

Why I’m Not Blogging Anymore

Not really!!!  That was the question posted, so I thought I’d give a little cliffhanger title to freak you out.  (That one’s for you, Michele.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship.  What is it?  What its requirements are?  How much should a friend expect from us as a friend?  How much should we expect from that friend?

I’ve wondered why is it that we call someone a best friend and love all her quirks and faults and say that’s who she is and that’s why we love her, but then…when we need her to be “there” for us, or to apologize, or to be more intuitive, or something else that’s probably outside of her personality, and she’s not, we throw up our hands in the air and crush that friend with hurtful, hateful words? 

Why is it that what we need we don’t often express until we are in a desperate moment and then we hurt those whom we love because they don’t infer what our problems are or that we even have problems?  Why is it that we expect that friend to meet those needs?  These are the questions that have been flying around my house for the last few days.  Praise the Lord I haven’t been the object of the questions…this time around.

When you first make a friend, there is something about that person that attracts you.  You don’t look at the flaws that person has.  You simply love whatever THAT quality is that attracted you.  You make her your friend, for better or worse.  The flaws don’t matter.  You may have different friends that you have different things in common with and you call on that friend when you want to do that particular thing.

So, why is it that when we start to notice that our friend doesn’t listen enough and talks too much (I’ve never been accused of that), or doesn’t say thank you, or is late all the time, or doesn’t do any number of things we may want her to do, it then starts to bother us?  After all, we want that friend to do what we need her to do precisely when we need her to do it.

It’s selfishness that causes this. When we start focusing on our needs and how someone isn’t meeting them, we’re being selfish.  When we say she is selfish, we’re being selfish for saying how selfish that person is.  Isn’t that an oxymoron? I have been guilty of doing this numerous times.  Also, jealousy usually is a factor in the equation.  The things that we support our friend in is suddenly the thing we resent her for and we call her boastful, on a powertrip, and more.

So, I have figured out the true meaning of friendship.  Friendship is when you accept someone for her flaws. You don’t expect her to be your everything. You remember that her love is shown to you simply by the act of being a friend.  And, you try to be sensitive to her needs, while remembering that you’re not the one who can satisfy all needs and she can’t satisfy yours, and you’re not supposed to.  Only the Lord can do that.  If your friend gives you a quirky little gift that you don’t really like, what do you do with it?  You save it because it came from her, right?  So, why is it that when the disagreements come, you think about how she never shows love in your “love language”?  You can’t do that.  You can’t throw things like that up.  You take the token of friendship, no matter what it is, for what it is…love.

Remember, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of your life.  When making friends, remember not to be all-absorbed with that person.  It’s too much.  Remember that there is supposed to be equal give and take with friendship, but if your friend isn’t in a place to give right now, that’s okay.  Cut her some slack.  Show some grace.  AND…if you make a friend more to you than your Savior, then you’re setting that friendship up for failure.

Living Without Mom

Last night while I was reading another chapter in Robin McGraw’s book Inside My Heart, I was hit snack in the face with a moment of grief.  This chapter deals with the death of Robin’s mother.  It was a sudden death; a heart attack caused the death of this mid-fifties lady.  Her mother was at home in her own bed. Robin was a young mother of one child. She felt compelled to immediately take care of her Daddy and her siblings.

In 1993, I suddenly lost my mother to a heart attack. She was in her mid-fifties.  My mother was at home in her own bed.  I was a young mother of one child. I immediately felt compelled to take care of my Dad and my sister. 

You can imagine the tears that came to my eyes when I read the scene at the hospital when the nursing staff had to break the news of their loss.  It was as if I was reading my own story of that tragic morning. 

Robin’s words touched my heart because she expressed what I’ve never really been able to express.  She said that her mother had made her a pie and was bringing it over to her house to help her unpack from moving into their new house just the night before.  Although her mother was having chest pains, she continued to bake that pie and get it ready to bring over as a love gift to her daughter.  Robin said that she couldn’t eat that pie the next day.  She made Phillip throw it away.  She said that she couldn’t eat it because, even though it was a gift of love from her mother, it was also a symbol of the martyr her mother had allowed herself to become.  She had neglected herself, her health, her wants and needs for everyone in the family.  She had forgotten to take care of herself. 

My own mother did the same thing.  Because of medical expenses and my father’s complaints about healthcare costs, mom kept a lot of her pain to herself.  Even the doctors did not know what all she was going through.  That was the story of her life.  And we all allowed it to happen.  Then, in a flash, she was gone.  After the fact, I felt like I had to step in and be a superhero and save the day and pay the bills and clean the house and do whatever else I had to do to postpone the grieving process.  Robin said she was in a daze for days. I’ve been in that daze.  It’s not a fun place to be because everyone expects you to deal with everything they can’t deal with.

That chapter taught me the importance of being real. Letting people see your weaknesses. Not worrying about whether or not they respect you for them. So, do I still miss my mom? After reading that chapter, yes, I do.  And I’m not afraid to admit it.  But, I am able to press on because the Lord is by my side and mom is by His.

In the Strangest Places

I am currently reading a book written by Dr. Phil’s wife Robin.  It’s called Inside My Heart.  I picked it up at the library while searching through the Christian non-fiction section. I have often wondered about their family and what their views are on Christianity.  You know, I like to get inside someone’s head about as much as Dr. Phil does. 

Well, I never thought this book would be such a little treasure.  Robin is a spitfire, and I guess she would have to be to live with Dr. Phil.  I am not through with the book yet, so I will likely have an update to this.  But, I find it to be quite empowering.  She talks a lot about how we cannot just sit back and let life happen to us.  We do have some control over our circumstances.  Many of us just sit back and say “Woe is me,” and just let life happen.  Robin says that although God is in control, he can only (or will only) do with us what we allow him to do with us. So true.  She says that God has so much for us if we would only grab it.  She is a believer that there is much happiness out there for each of us if we would only look for it.

I totally agree with her.  I have had many a day where I just sat here wallowing in my self-pity or my disatisfaction with whatever was going on in my life at that particular moment.  I am sure I will have many more of those days.  But, this book has confirmed to me that “you are what you eat” to a big degree.  I mean if we believe that God has the best in store for us (his best for us, not for someone else) then we should be able to rise up out of our current circumstances and accept his gifts to us. If you only eat junk, you’ll be junk.  If you eat good stuff, you get good results.

Good Old America

Today I watched an interview with Bill O’Reilly who just wrote a book called Culture Warrior.  I really liked what he had to say.  He said that we so often complain about the world we live in but we never do anything to change it. 

My pastor just spoke about that same issue Sunday.  He talked about how we all either tend to conform to or to attack the culture instead of trying to change it and shed some light upon it. 

Bill O’Reilly said that we sit back and talk about how there are no good candidates to vote for and we just feel helpless and let it all happen.  Well, we can’t do that.

As Christians, we HAVE to fight secularism.  The best way to fight is to pray for our leaders.  Even a non-Christian leader can become a Christian while in office, so let’s not limit what God can do there. But, we also need to get involved at the local level.  Bill O’Reilly said that if we see something happening in our community that we don’t like, we need to fight it. We need to inform our leaders that we are not going to stand for such things. If it’s a TV show or something on the Internet we don’t like, send an email and let the producers or whoever is in charge know that we do not like it.  Bill said we can even cancel newspaper subscriptions and such. That sends a big message and hits them in the pocketbook. 

We cannot let the world take over. America is a great country because it was founded on Christian beliefs. Let’s not sit idly by and let the world have control.  We have a God-given right to live in a God-led country!

Mom’s Beef Hash Recipe

My mom used to make this dish when I was little. I have adapted it a throughout the years. It’s great. The fam loves it.

Brown 2 lbs. ground beef
While browning, season with dried onion flakes, pepper, and LOTS of California style garlic salt. (Yummy) You can also add paprika if you want to.
Drain grease

Peel and cut eight potatoes and six carrots. Cut them into the size of your thumb. Cover with water and cook them until tender. (About 30 minutes). I use my pressure cooker and they are done in just a few minutes. You can also leave them cooking in the crock pot all day.

After the carrots and potatoes are tender, add the ground beef. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until a gravy develops. You may have to add a little water here and there. Sometimes I mash up the potatoes a little to help with the gravy.

Pour over toast and eat. It is a great winter dish.

Hello world!

Hello!  My name is Sherri Wilson Johnson.  I am a Christian first, a wife and mother second, a sister, daughter-in-law, writer, speaker, and homeschooler next.  I am a playful otter on somedays, a reflective melancholy on others, and a busy beaver on the rest of the days. I enjoy being home, but love to be with friends, too.  I love to talk…and even though God gave me more ears than mouths, I tend to talk more than I listen.  I love to spend time with the people I love and hate to rushed.  I would rather sit and chat over a cup of coffee than to clean house or pay the bills. 

I believe that in the end all you need is love and if you don’t have love then nothing else matters anyway.  I recently learned that men would rather have respect than love.  Women would rather have love than respect and find it hard to love someone they don’t respect.  Isn’t that hilarious?  What a cruel joke. 

I consider myself to be a work in progress and hopefully am improving everyday.

Check out my website:  www.sherrijohnsonministries.com