Cali the Prayer Warrior

Cali, better known as Cali Bug around these parts, is our goober girl. She lives to make other people laugh. She is constantly making funny faces (most frequently involving crossed eyes and her tongue out), doing funny dances, attempting to tell jokes (that actually aren't jokes at all but gotta love the effort), laughing and saying, "Get it?!?"

But don't let that spirited, spunky, silly exterior fool you. And don't be tempted to see the occasional rule pushing and look at the just-turned-four-baby-of-the-family-so-I-whine-to-get-attention personality trait (although Mommy and Daddy are working hard on that, as it recently has reared its oh so pleasant head again) and assume she doesn't have powerful spiritual insight to share. My little fireball has a huge spiritual gift of prayer!

Whenever she makes the wrong choice, she says an impromptu prayer asking for forgiveness almost immediately (or whenever she realizes it is the wrong choice). When she wants something really bad, she prays to God for it. When she sees someone hurting, she prays for them. Sometimes she prays for the silliest things that I know just makes God giggle (I tell my girls that the highest form of joy is a giggle and since God IS joy, that He giggles whenever He sees them doing something that really touches His heart!) -- such as her favorite famous prayer, "Dear God, I want to play a game. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

A sweet memory I think I will always carry with me is Ms. Kelly, the Preschool Director at our church, coming up to me a few weeks ago. Gregg and I serve there, so we know her pretty well. That day they were having a special time with the children, making cards and praying for Little Bekah who is a 3 year old who already lost an eye to cancer and is still battling for her life.

Ms. Kelly came up to me and told me that she had to hold back tears while praying with Cali. She said that she was able to pray with several of the children as she went around the rooms, and most of the children didn't really understand what they were doing, or it didn't really touch their hearts -- but that Cali GOT IT! She said her little prayer was so heartfelt and full of love, and that she could tell that Cali prays a lot. Ms. Kelly said that it really touched her heart, and as her Mama, I must say I beamed extra bright at the wonderful compliment she bestowed upon my "sweet potato girl".

Cali is a tough cookie who can be feisty and isn't afraid to let her desires known -- sometimes VERY strongly -- but that girl does have a soft heart full of gold, and better still, full of God's love. I try to remember to turn to prayer often in life's events, and I try as often as possible to model that out loud, but I must admit that she has taught me (and reminded me) to do it at times I hadn't thought about.

I love you, Cali girl!

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Jordan 12:20

This week has been so full - and exhausting! We have been doing a lot more spontaneous reading cuddled in various locations throughout the house, we have played a different game each day (I am really leaning towards relying heavily on games for math this coming year, so we have played Yahtzee, Uno and Battle so far), and we have had a lot of outdoor time.

With all of that going on, I have also started nap/quiet time again, where we gather in Mama's bed, read a chapter from a book -- currently Winnie the Pooh -- and then we all close our eyes. The rule is that you must be quiet, still and have your eyes closed for twenty minutes (Mama too!) and if after that time you aren't asleep, you can then play quietly in your room until the hour is up. Cali has fallen asleep everyday, and Jordan has even taken a nap half the time. Yesterday was not one of those days, however.

After the 20 minutes was up, and I could tell she was getting restless, I told her to go to her room and play quietly. She wasn't supposed to come out until 4:00, when the hour was up, unless it was to go to the bathroom. She came out after a few minutes, and I normally would have promptly reminded her of the rules (since this is a new thing we are starting) and sent her back in -- but for some reason I held my tongue.

She quickly asked for materials to make a Scripture Verse. See, early last year we used a curriculum for Preschool called Bright Beginnings and in it, we had a memory verse each week. We decided to make a big poster for each one and hang it on our wall in the Living Room. We ended up with around 13 huge posters around the room (no mistaking our beliefs the second you walked in the house!), and they stayed up until about 3-4 months ago when I finally took them down.

Well apparently, Jordan was either reading a book about an angel in her room, or she was playing pretend, but she came out saying that her and this angel were talking, and she wanted to make her own Scripture Verse. I helped her get out the large white paper and crayons, and she sat down on the other side of the room. She asked for help with the word "destroy" and then asked how to spell "Evil" to make sure she had it right. She was about to ask how to write the number 12 again (occasionally she writes the second number first like 21) but then she remembered our learning poster that has the numbers so she looked up instead. I was very curious which verse she could be writing -- she knows quite a lot at this point, but nothing that seemed to have all of those elements.

After adding a smiley face at the bottom of the paper (something her Daddy always did with the others. . . one to be cute, but mostly to cover up a dark spot that appeared at the bottom of all the papers) she announced that it was ready to be put on the wall. I walked over and just smiled.

The poster reads:

Jordan 12:20

SONGS OF GOD DESTROY EVIL

I knew she made it up herself, but that made me smile all the more. She didn't worry that her verse wasn't actually from the Bible. She believed she had a message about God and His power that was important to share -- and I agree.

We know that speaking the Word of God does destroy the darkness and evil, and that praising God by singing His Word is just one way of brandishing that 'Sword of the Spirit,' which is the word of God. We do a lot of singing around here -- me with my off-key self and all :-)

I have no idea where she got the "Address" part, and it might not technically be in the Bible, but I think this is one verse I may keep on my wall for awhile. . . and it is already one that I have memorized!

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"It isn't YOU speaking, it is God speaking in you"

WOW! These are the words that my five year old, Jordan, told me yesterday. We were cuddling on the sofa, reading Max Lucado's The Way Home. I was explaining to them how it symbolizes our relationship with God. How, like Anna in the story, we are His Princesses and how the King in the story symbolized Jesus, coming down to the Lowerlands to give up His life to save us.

Out of nowhere, Jordan interrupted me, saying, "God is speaking."

I was a little surprised by this interruption, so I muttered the very eloquent question, "Huh?"

Her beautiful blue eyes then turned to me and she said, "What you are saying is the Word of God. If it is the Word of God, then it isn't YOU speaking, it is God speaking in you."

" . . . . . " (blink blink)

After a moment, I was able to speak again and I told her how insightful and intelligent that was, and how she was right.

The interesting thing is that I have been raised hearing a version of this all my life. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and we are His vessel. Praying often that it is His words, not mine, that speak in times of comfort or discipline. That Jesus is the Word. That the Bible is His word, and He speaks to us through it. YES, I have heard all of that before, but I have NEVER had it put like that before.

I told my husband later that night and he had the same reaction. It is truth, but neither of us had thought of it that way. Isn't a child's faith amazing? They can see Biblical truths so simply, while we can over complicate things in an instant.

OH Jesus, give me the faith of a child!!

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Me - Renewed

I am just getting back online after an AMAZING weekend with Sally Clarkson. I went to her Dallas MomHeart Conference and it was a complete blessing!!

I have been to like 9 or so different homeschool conferences in the past three years (counting online conferences) and while they have all encouraged me in some way or gave me new information on the schooling aspect, NONE have touched my heart as a mother more. . . and none of them have renewed me, empowered me or rejuvenated me like this one.

Not only hearing Sally speak, but being able to see her wonderful, beautiful children -- the fruit of her homeschooling efforts, and living proof that the 'Wholehearted Child' educational philosophy works -- in person was a real treat!

I walked away with so many ideas of ways that I can grow in my relationship with Christ, infuse even more joy and laughter into our family, how to make even more memories, how to make reading aloud not only enjoyable but potentially life changing, how to discipline more effectively (and truly get to their heart), how to inspire them, how to pray more passionately and effectively. . . I could go on and on!

While the conference itself was amazing, equally wonderful was staying in the beautiful hotel room ALL. BY. MYSELF!!! It was so. . . clean. . . . and white. . . and quiet! :-) Right away I was able to put all of my belongings away and even laid out every piece of my makeup on the counter in the cute little tumblers they provided, and I did not have to worry about finding a child covered with lipstick. I did not touch the television remote the entire weekend either. I read, prayed, slept, listened to my own thoughts (sigh). It was heaven! And, getting a beautiful flower arrangement from my wonderful thoughtful husband was icing on the cake.

I also highly recommend Sarah Clarkson's new Book, Read For the Heart. I am about half way through this HUGE book and loving every word. After I finish that, I move onto finally reading The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson that I picked up this weekend. I can't believe it has taken this long to finally read these other books of hers, considering that my personal mission is to "Encourage Moms To Experience Joy in the Ministry of Motherhood." After I finish this book, I will move to reading her Mission of Motherhood book, and then Dancing With My Father, which is about living with joy.

I have also begun rereading Just Give Me Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz. I read this with a small group of women in our church a few years ago and it really blessed me then. It goes through the entire book of John. While I was on this mini-retreat of mine, I realized that while I have been watching Joyce Meyer everyday, and reading tons of devotionals, and watching Life Today, and all that, I was lacking in my personal relationship with Jesus. How can I possibly be the Christian, Wife and Mother that I want to be, need to be, without Him??

I am going to be playing around with my schedule a bit to find time to blog (not only to keep family updated on the girls, but also to try to start writing again) without being online during the day itself very often. I want to set the example of media time being a treat, not a time zapper like it can be and has been for all of us in the past.

Off to dance with my girls -- Have a BLESSED day!

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Oh, My!

I recently added the Follow Me feature on my blog so I can see the lovely faces of my readers, but also because I am trying out for the TOS Crew and thought they might like to see it.

Anyhoo, I tell you this because as people are being added to this feature, I am going in and following them as well. AND WOW AM I GLAD I AM!

Kimberly was just added, so I quickly went over to her site to see if I could follow her as well. Apparently Ms. Kimberly just started this blog, she only has two posts, but WOW what a second post. Here, go over and read it, comment and then come back. . . I'll wait.

Did you start crying like me??? This really hit me! If you notice the comment section, I gave a huge reply that basically let her know that I will be reflecting on this for quite some time.

If your and/or your family have creative ways you go out helping others in need that do not necessarily involve money, I would REALLY love to hear them. Please comment and leave your thoughts, ideas, or blog posts you have shared in regards to this topic and I will share them with everyone here. This is something that is near and dear to my heart and if you read read my comment on her blog, you know that I get caught up in thinking it has to be money which is hard for me to do right now.

How else can we truly be Jesus' hands and feet in this world of suffering? How can we get our children, even our little ones, involved? I know that my girl Candace always has wonderful ideas that I will probably be re-reading today as well (but if you are reading Candace, please leave me your favorite ideas here, too!).

In His Service. . . .

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And then it turned

Gregg and I both love watching movies. While I am more partial to the romantic chick flick, and he more partial to the action/suspense, we definitely meet in the middle with comedies and drama.

After Gregg got home at lunch time (we love his half day Friday schedule), we went out and did early voting and then decided to pick up a movie. After the girls were in bed, and our Olympic viewing was over for the night, we cuddled up in bed and put on what we expected to be a funny comedy called The Invention of Lying. I admit I had only seen a few commercials but they all seemed pretty funny and I could definitely see the humor in the idea.

The movie started out pretty good. Not laugh out loud but a movie that was definitely original and it had some humorous one liners, if you could suspend your disbelief and look past the inapprorpriate idea of lying, cheating and stealing for comedic value. Overall I was pretty much enjoying it . . . . until about half way in. At that point in the movie, the man's mother is on her death bed and she tells him how scared she is about dying, as there is nothing after death. Watching his mother so upset was too much for him, so he decided to tell another lie. What made this one different, and the cause of my angry/sad post this morning? His lie was basically that there was a heaven, and a God.

You see, in this world they lived in, everyone always told the truth, and apparently that meant never mentioning anything as silly as religion because that, in the writer's opinion, is something that is made up to make people feel warm and fuzzy. I picked up immediately when he started talking that this was where he was going, but I started praying that it would end there (I know, like God would just change the ending of the movie for me!) But, it didn't. In fact, that became the new focus of the movie.

The next day people were swarming around his apartment, news reporters around the globe telling people that this man has new information on what happens after we die. He decides to then create a "story" where there is a man in the sky who controls our ups and our downs, and that if you are "good" you get to go to a nice place of eternal happiness where everyone gets a mansion, and if you are "bad" you go someplace else. That you get 3 strikes and then are out basically. He even wrote these 10 rules/statements of the "man in the sky" on the back of pizza boxes, basically to symbolize The Ten Commandments. The rest of the movie focused on this in one way or another, even having the man look like Jesus at one point.

Why did I keep watching? I kept hoping that it would turn out differently. Why am I so surprised? I mean, I know it is Hollywood and I should be used to how witty they think they are, and the total disrespect most seem to have for people of faith, but I think I was the most shocked at the people involved in this project.

People like Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey (ok, I wasn't too shocked about that one), and several other easily recognizable stars. I lost respect for them, for being involved with this movie, and that just made me sad.

As I lay there, tearing up and talking to God, I realized that I couldn't judge them for being involved in this project -- I know nothing about them, their reasons for doing the movie, their personal beliefs, or anything. But what I can certainly do is be a lot more knowledgeable about my movie selections and continue to realize that as much as we can feel we know how a certain actor or actress is by their many talk show appearances, interviews, books and prior movie selections, the only one who does truly know our hearts is God.

My prayer is that other people who watch this movie do not fall victim to the spiritual attack and start to doubt their beliefs because of the way it makes it all look so "ridiculous." I pray that it stirs a fire in our bellies to stand up and not sit quietly whenever we see the movie industry attempting to use its glamor, money, star appeal and witty writing to make us doubt the truth.

So, for anyone out there like me who may not know what this movie is really all about, I thought I would post this little warning. There are so many better choices out there then this one!

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Statement of Purpose

Over the last few months, Gregg and I have been having "Advisory Board" meetings for our homeschool. During preschool, he would meet with me once a month to help choose topics for the various weeks, and we did sit down together to plan out what curriculum we would use for Kindergarten, but apparently I was still presenting myself with a sense of fear in regards to our homeschool.

Although we have taken the last few weeks off due to various vacations and events, my mother comes over on most Friday nights to do a Bible Study with me and Gregg. Our last study was Too Busy Not To Pray. One of the lessons was on fear and how it can hold us back in our prayer life. After our study was over, Gregg and I ended up having a marathon discussion on fear in regards to homeschooling. Although I didn't feel as though I was fearful, it was coming across that way. After much discussion, we realized that it boiled down to not having a written down, agreed upon vision for our homeschool. Not a strict plan on what curriculum to use each year or books to read, but an overall goal for what we want for our girls by the time they graduate, and an idea of what time periods in history we wanted to cover and when.

We had discussed these things verbally through the years, but it was never put on paper, and never so formally. Gregg's MBA really paid off in helping us set attainable goals and narrowing it down to what we want. We used the model from Educating a Whole Hearted Child and added our own ideas to it. Along with our homeschool vision and mission statement, and overall homeschool objectives, we listed the subjects we wanted to cover and what our goals were for each of the subjects. This became the Keep the Way Christian Academy Statement of Purpose. We then came up with a basic K-12 plan for each of those subjects, a plan for when we would cover those areas (and things such as when we would cover what time period in history). Then, we planned out the next 3 years.

We believe that our statement of purpose is pretty much in "stone," while our K-12 plan is in "ink." The 3 year plan is in pencil, meaning we know that it can change, but it definitely helped me to know in detail what we want to cover, and for those 3 years, what curriculum we would like to pursue. A major advantage of this for me was that I was constantly reading about different curriculums that I thought all sounded great, and I worried about not only fitting them in but when. By doing the 3 year plan, and seeing what we wanted to cover, it all fell into place naturally! I can do Sonlight Language Arts for awhile, since the girls and I both enjoy it, and in 3rd grade when the SL LA program doesn't match wonderfully with our plans for history and literature, I can switch to Learning Language Arts Through Literature for a year. For history, Sonlight does the first part of world history in first grade, the second part in second grade, and moves to American History in third grade. Gregg and I would rather do a year overview of world history in first, an American history overview and intro to American geography in second, and then begin our four year History rotation in third. That means that we can use Sonlight (with my own modifications between SL 1 and 2 since I prefer the History in one and read alouds in the second lol) for first, get to try My Father's World for second with their "Adventures in My Father's World" program, and use Mystery of History for third grade along with some wonderful read alouds from The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach and the notebook supplement from Winter Promise!

I guess we really are eclectic after all, huh? I fought that label for awhile, wanting to be strictly unit studies as that seemed so freeing, then I wanted to be Charlotte Mason as that seemed so lovely, but in reality, we are just US. Jeans wearing, book loving, variety-is-the-spice-of-life believing, God worshipping, eclectic US. And I like that :-)

Now this post was supposed to be about our first week of Kindergarten. Somehow my fingers hijacked my plans, but maybe that is because someone out there was struggling with fear issues as well in regards to a certain aspect of their homeschool journey. I am not saying that my answer works for everyone -- in fact, I know many people who would balk at this approach -- but the peace it has given me has been wonderful. Now, when I read about a great book, curriculum, idea or unit study, I look to see if it fits with our plans for the next 3 years. If it does, I make a note to bring it up in our next "Advisory Board" meeting to discuss adding it to our plans, and if it doesn't, then I keep on moving. If I wouldn't be covering that topic for another 4 years or more, it is likely that there will be new products out at that time that may be even better or if it truly is right, it will come up in my research when I plan for those years. I am telling you, this has truly set me free!

Well, the girls quiet time is almost over. Hopefully I can hop on this weekend to begin journaling our Kindergarten Adventure. For now, I will just end with the first sentence I originally wrote for this post, before my fingers hijacked it. :-)

We began our journey into Kindergarten June 29th. . .

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Ok, let's try that again

Dare I say that I am back? :-)


I was already behind in posting things on this blog and all the events of the past month certainly haven't helped things! I will be posting throughout the coming weeks on the following:

• Our Hurricane Experience -- We lost power the Friday it hit and got it back Tuesday afternoon. Since then it has been interesting trying to get back into a groove. While I will go into a lot more detail on that post, I will tell you really quickly that both my home and my parent's home (they live behind us) were spared any damage! Besides a few minor scares and inconveniences, it was actually a pretty great experience for us personally in that it provided LOTS of family time full of talking, reading, and memory making. We watched minimal television (we did have a generator and watched some things, like Saints football of course), and taught our girls (and myself) how to wash clothes with a washboard and hang a clothes line!


• Our Camping Pictures, lapbook and recap -- Yes, I know dear family members/readers, that you are chomping at the bit to see ME camping, much less the girls delight in the whole experience, and it is coming I promise!
  
• Horse Week pictures -- We had so much fun with this unit! It lasted two weeks technically, but with Gustav hitting in the middle and having my brother and his adorable girlfriend here for one of those weeks, we still kept it pretty simple and fun. We have a lapbook, fun pictures of all the books we devoured and of course, our pictures of our family trip to the Race Track to see the horses up close!


• Trip to San Antonio -- Wow, that trip was awhile ago, huh? But it was fun, educational and definitely one I want to document. We visited the Alamo (which has a really cute treasure hunt for the kids to make it fun) and the Riverwalk.


• Butterflies -- Just because I am so upset with myself for not posting the pictures of that unit since it was one of the girls favorites, I will post the pictures from this unit that we did I think back in June?? Wow, talk about BEHIND!
  
• Olympics/China -- I have pictures of our Lapbooks and of course, our Harris Family Olympics! There are SO many pictures though, that I want to use one of those cool slideshow thingys but every time I try to upload pictures into it at photobucket, it doesn't work. Any experts out there willing to help a sister out, please let me know!
  
• Children's Museum -- Ok, this trip was back in May!!! But again it was a fun family event that needs to be documented!
  
• Anything else that comes up between now and then!
  

But for now, I am off to clean up a bit and then have fun with my girls :-) I will leave you with these pictures of the breakfast Jordan made for us last week! The day before, she had woken up REALLY REALLY early and had decided to feed herself Tootsie Rolls for breakfast (we have a Tupperware container in the pantry with a few treats leftover from potty training). That day, I put some pop tarts, cereal and raisins in Tupperware in an easy to reach cabinet for her to have easy access to in case she ever did it again. . . well the very next morning, she woke up like at 5am or some ridiculously early hour.

I heard her in the hall bathroom (which is right by our bedroom), telling herself that she had an idea -- Pop tarts and Raisins! I got up a little while later, unable to sleep, and was greeted by a wonderful surprise! She had placed 4 paper plates on the table, with a pop tart next to each plate, sprinkled with a few raisins and the grand finale, a solitary Marshmallow on each plate (left over from our camping trip)! She yelled "Surprise!" and was just so happy with herself! It looks like my 3 year old is a budding cheff-er (her words) after all :-)

Have a wonderful day and I will be back soon with my mountain of updates and posts!

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There Are No Words. . .

It has been a surreal 14 hours.

My dear friend Marsha called me last night around 8:00pm, living every parent's worst nightmare. She told me that her youngest son, little 3 year old Christian, was missing. I was at a loss for words then, and still am. As the night dragged on, she continued to call me with updates. For a small window of time, it appeared as though the worse case scenerio had been ruled out as a possibility, which alone was cause to give praise, and hold onto a little bit of hope.

Unfortunately, that glimmer of hope faded at 10pm when she called again to tell me that her youngest son, her baby, was gone. I was in shock -- still am. The entire night, while I was wanting to go there and hug her neck and offer my support, I also did not want to overwhelm her. . . many of us "Marthas" know that it is easy to fall into the role of taking care of others, and I wanted her to be concentrating on her family and the many friends already with her. However, after that last call, I couldn't stay home any longer.

I got in my van and drove the 45 minutes that felt like eternity. What would I say? What could I possibly do? The answer - - nothing. No words can help in situations like this. The only thing that matters is that we let our loved ones know how much we care for them, and that we are there whenever they need us. I pray that Marsha knows that.

Marsha is an amazing mom. She homeschools her two older boys and was excited for Christian to start preschool this year. She is the most hilarious person I have ever met, is beautiful inside and out, and has an amazing faith. I know that God is with this godly family, but additional prayers are certainly coveted at this time.

If you would like to read a lovely tribute to this ADORABLE little boy, and send any condolences, please visit our tribute at Heart of the Matter, Celebrating the Life of Little Christian "Dozer" Drews. My home address is listed there for any cards or well wishes you would like to send.

Go and hug your children

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God Directed Lessons

This summer, I began a much lighter and enjoyable approach to our homeschool preschool. I am taking wonderful unit studies, along with my children's delight directed topics, and using them as jumping off points to create a fun learning environment.

What this has meant for us is not following the traditional FIAR approach of Monday - Social Studies, Tuesday - Language Arts, Wednesday - Art/Music, Thursday - Math, and Friday - Science. Instead, I am pulling together TONS of books and fun videos, reading whatever books they ask for (attempting to read each book at least once), and going over lessons as they come. There are several topics I go into the unit wanting to cover, and there are several topics that come as a complete surprise -- either resulting from something the girls ask me, or coming from a God-inspired moment. Often, this has also led to multiple units happening simultaneously!!

An example would be a few weeks ago. I believe at the time we were learning about Kangaroos. One day, after reading our books, we decided that for our movie time (this summer, we started a tradition of cuddling on the sofa together after lunch for movie time several days a week) we would watch The Land Before Time: The Time of the Great Giving. We had never seen this movie before, but really enjoyed it. The story is about a bunch of dinosaurs who are struggling because their water supply had been cut off. As a result, there is a water shortage and the trees in the valley were dying. Toward the end of the movie, lightening struck one of the dry trees and started a fire.

As the movie was ending, it started to rain at our house. We turned off the television, pulled up all of the blinds, and sat next to the windows, watching the rain. We talked about how that fire was started and talked about our trees and plants that had plenty of water and weren't dry at all. That led to conversations about what plants need to survive and various weather topics.

The next morning, we looked out our back window and saw a man climbing my parents' tree. . . I had totally forgotten that they were having it cut down! The week before that, we noticed that the needles were all very orange and brown, in comparison to the neighbors' trees that were lush and green. It continued to get worse throughout the week and it was obvious that the tree was dead. So that it wouldn't become a hazard (like the dead trees in the movie!), they had arranged to have it cut down. . . it was just a total coincidence that this happened the day after our big discussions about this type of thing! So lessons were scrapped for the morning as we sat next to the window and watched the tree being cut down.

Watching the process led to more conversations on what plants and trees need to survive, why that tree was dangerous and needed to be cut down, the observational differences between that tree and surrounding ones, how the man was being safe while climbing the tree (an intricate system of straps and rope), the tools he was using, and the process of cutting down the tree itself! We were just amazed by the entire thing, capturing it all in pictures -- much to the amusement of the workers!

That was just a two day mini-unit, but I just love how these things come together. . . and this is just one of several mini-units that have resulted the past few months. Being open to the world around me, my environment, the girls interests and questions, events that are happening and divine inspiration has led to exciting moments in our homeschool, and I pray that I can continue to be as open to His gentle leading throughout this journey!

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Lessons from my girls

I thought I would share some of the lessons that I am learning from my beautiful daughters :-)

• I taught the girls a little sing-song, "When I fall down, I get back up again." This is always SUNG, by the way! This is normally sung after falling down, which seems to happen a lot around here LOL. They are still so young and, as can be common with toddlers and even preschoolers, they used to get emotional pretty easily when they fell down. It seemed to be out of embarrassment many times, so I taught them this song -- I guess about 6 months ago -- and they sing it at least once a day without fail! Even when I think they should be hurt from the particular fall they took, they always pop up with a smile and sing "When I fall down, I get back up again."

What is this teaching me? The fact that they have totally embraced this song as a mantra, and the fact that I hear it on a daily basis, has me learning to apply this saying to my life as well. "Falling down" can mean so many things -- falling off the exercise bandwagon, the organization bandwagon, the spiritual bandwagon or anything else that is important to you and you set your mind to do. Most recently for me, it has definitely been the exercise bandwagon. I was obsessed this time last year and working out ALL the time. That was not a lifestyle I could maintain, and because of that I ended up stopping all together. I tried again at the beginning of the year and that lasted for a couple weeks... then I fell off again. I tried again a few months ago... then I fell off again. I have been "gearing up" to get back on the bandwagon for a month now -- gearing up yet not doing anything! This week, I am starting again. And this lovely song my girls sing to me has me realizing that it is OK. Because, "When I fall down, I get back up again." Even if I end up getting "back up" every week . . the point is, to get back up!

• Jordan has started to say the cutest thing! Whenever she gets hurt -- whether it is from "falling down" or if her and Cali get into a sibling squabble, or whatever it may be -- she looks at us, sometimes even with tears in her eyes, smiles and says, "Accidents happen. . . But I'm STILL Happy!"

What is this teaching me? Isn't it obvious? :-) We can CHOOSE to still be happy -- still experience JOY -- even in the midst of heartache, life troubles, hurts, disappointments, etc; What a powerful message! I pray that she continues to see life this way! I do want to make sure she knows it is OK to be sad sometimes and that she doesn't always have to be so "tough," and I really think she knows that. It is just her choice to still smile. . . and I LOVE THAT!

• Cali has also started to say the cutest thing! :-) Whenever she does something really good -- like help us when we haven't asked her to, answers a question correctly, throws a ball, whatever it may be -- she literally BEAMS and says, "I'm AWESOME!"

What is this teaching me? Again, I think it is pretty obvious! As long as this is kept in check -- which it is, because she only does it when she is expressing happiness with something she has done well, not in a "I am better than you way" -- it is such an AWESOME Mantra to have! How many of us have negative tapes in our heads, telling us: "You're not good enough," "You're not pretty enough," or "You're stupid?" I know I have many negative tapes myself and I can only imagine how different my self-concept would be and how many stupid actions I would have spared myself from (trying to gain approval from others) if I would have told myself and BELIEVED such a wonderful mental tape! Cali. . . You are AWESOME! :-)

So. . . What are your children teaching you?

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Visit me at Proverbs 31 Ministries Blog!

Please visit the Proverbs 31 Ministries Everyday Life section. . . scroll to the bottom and you will see my tribute post to my amazing father Crawling into the lap of Love, A Tribute to Fathers!

I am married to a devoted father, was raised by a wonderful father and am the daughter of the ultimate Father. . . I am truly, truly blessed! Please visit Proverbs31, read my contribution and be blessed by the MANY MANY other contributions there. . . they are such an amazing Ministry!

He he, this is fun!

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My own Cinderellas

I have been sitting here blessed beyond measure while the girls watch their favorite show Word Girl. I checked the FIAR boards to catch up on the latest posts and saw a comment about Steven Curtis Chapman's family.

As many of you know, this gifted artist and his family is suffering an unspeakable tragedy as they try to make sense of the death of their five year old Maria. Maria was one of two inspirations behind his popular song Cinderella and while I have been reading stories of this family, I have been blessed -- blessed to see how this family loves their Lord and how they are handling this tragedy in light of their intense faith, and blessed because tragedies like these only help you to realize how fragile life really is, and how possible it is for one of my own Cinderellas to be taken from me in an instant.

Since these posts have blessed me the last thirty minutes, I wanted to link to them here for anyone else who might be interested in learning more about this amazing family and to send their condolences.

The first is a blog by Kerry Hasenbalg, who is in ministry at Shaohannah's Hope with the Chapman family. She has several posts about her own tragic loss in January, how the Chapman family comforted her then and how she was able to use her suffering and the words of healing they gave her then to attempt to comfort them now. Warning -- get out your Kleenex. . .the post entitled A Weekend Remembering Maria, and reading about the whole "shoeless" thing really got me.

The second is the Shaohannah's Hope website, where you can learn more about Maria, whom they adopted from China four years ago, the same birth country of Shaohannah and Stevey Joy, whom the Chapman family had adopted previously. The mission of Shaohannah's Hope is listed on the top of the page, "mobilizing the Body of Christ to care for orphans." On the site, they have an entire section called "Remembering Maria" that shows pictures from the memorial service, tells her story, and has a link to donate to Maria's Miracle Fund, which is what the family is asking for in lieu of flowers.

And finally, from that site they link you to a blog that was set up for condolences for the family and shows an adorable video of Steven singing and washing dishes with Maria. She was truly a beautiful little girl!

May you all be blessed and hug your own little ones a little tighter! They are the most amazing gifts from God, aren't they?

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Honoring My Mom

Yesterday was Mother's Day. I was blessed to attend church in the morning with my loving husband and amazing Mom, and we were all blessed to hear a message from our guest speaker Dr. Gary Chapman. He spoke about the Five Signs of a Loving Family, which was based on Ephesians 5:21-6:4.

The Five Signs he gave us were:
1) an attitude of service
2) Intimacy between Husband and Wife
3) Parents who Teach and Train
4) Husbands who are Loving Leaders
5) Children who obey and Honor their parents.

He told us that the best parents bring their children up in the Nurture (Actions) and Admonition (Words) of the Lord, and that these two must always go together, in the context of love.

I have been thinking on these five signs, ways to make sure that I raise my children in a home with a loving family, and thinking on how I know I was raised in one. Love was something that I was never short on growing up. I always knew that I was loved by my parents. They both expressed their love in different ways, but today I want to focus on my amazing Mama.

My Mom was my Matron of Honor at my wedding and is my Best Friend. Growing up, I did not have the best of luck with friendships. I was hurt or betrayed by just about every friend I had growing up, and I allowed those experiences to shape my self esteem as a teenager and as a woman. It wasn't until last year doing Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study, that I was able to understand God's hand in it all. I was able to see through all of those experiences that I wasn't alone like I had thought, but that my Mom had been my rock. Of course, God was with me, too, but He blessed me with amazing parents and in particular, my amazing Mom.

Growing up, it was through the gift of my Mom that I learned: what it meant to love, what a friend truly was, the meaning of loyalty, how to truly accept others for who they are, to openly and honestly communicate with others, how to truly be happy for others, how to be silly, how to find JOY in life, the importance of family, the importance of celebrating little things, a love of reading, and how to be a good Mom. I know I learned so much more from her, but these immediately come to mind.

The lessons I learned from my Mom didn't stop in childhood. Late last year, I was blessed to have my parents move into the house behind me. As a result, I have spent more time with each of them in the last five months then I did in the last five years! Most recently, my mom has inspired me to continue in the Word. Gregg and I had committed ourselves to reading the entire Bible last year. I ended the year almost on schedule, with only the 4 Gospels remaining. That should be a breeze, right? Well, maybe not! Life happened and my good diligent reading ended. Up until last week, I STILL had the 4 Gospels remaining. But my Mom? Since last August, she has read the entire NIV Bible and the books in the Catholic Bible that aren't in the NIV! I have been watching her spiritual growth and insights in awe, and last week I finally allowed that to inspire me to get back on my own plan again. So far, so good, and it is because of my Mom's example and model that got me back on track.

She also continues to teach me how to be a better Mom. I love watching her with my girls! It brings wonderful memories to mind of my own childhood, of the silly songs and my Mama's beautiful laughter and smile. When I was the reason for that laughter and smile, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.... and still do :-) I LOVE that my children will be able to grow up with both of my parents so close -- not only will they learn so much from having different generations to look to, but they will be blessed by the unconditional love and support that I was blessed with through my parents.

Mom, I want you to know that I love you so much, that I have so much respect and admiration for you, and that you have truly been a blessing to me. You have taught me so much about life, marriage, womanhood, and motherhood. I may not get to say it as often as I would like, but THANK YOU!

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Get Up!

I am starting again. . . I have not been as faithful as I would like in reading the Bible, getting up early, exercising, eating right, or balancing life. But I am starting again. I guess you can really only take it a day at a time, know that you will make mistakes, but that you need to pick yourself up and begin again.

I am feeling positive about the changes I am making, and my understanding that it won't all happen at once. That is me and my personality, an all or nothing approach, but I am truly trying to take it a step at a time, really trying to take action and see results.

Maybe this is why this particular verse from my reading in Matthew this morning is sticking with me. I love how in Matthew 2:13, when an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph, he says, "Get up. ." and we read in verse 14, "So he got up." The same thing happens in verse 2:20 when the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph again, "Get up" and again we see in verse 21, "So he got up." I put a note in my Bible that it is interesting to note that there was an immediate call to action when God spoke, and Joseph obeyed immediately. Similarly, when we feel God's prompting in our lives, we are called to not just sit there, wait and plan --- but to Get up and DO Something!

I am not sure if what the Spirit is prompting me to DO is to make these lifestyle changes and stick with it (I am really only on day 2 of these changes, ha!) , or if He is preparing me for something else that is to come. But I pray for the discernment to know when He is calling me to action and the strength and courage to take that immediate step of obedience.

What is God calling you to DO? Do you have any stories to share of when you felt His leading you in a certain direction, to make choices or changes? Did you obey? What was the outcome? I would truly LOVE to hear from you!

Have a wonderful Tuesday and may you feel His presence and hear His gentle whisper guiding you in all your decisions today :-)

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Experiencing Joy in the Ministry of Motherhood. . .

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote
itself to making you happy." - George Bernard Shaw

Do you view your role as a Mother to be a “mighty one?” I do. I believe with all my heart that Motherhood is a Ministry, and that we have been called and equipped by God to raise up the next generation. I must admit, I didn’t always feel this way.

About a year and a half ago, I was really struggling with what I felt was a calling to homeschool my two beautiful girls. I knew that I loved being a mother, and that the more I thought about homeschooling, the more I fell in love with the idea, but I wondered if it was enough. I had just gotten done reading The Purpose Driven Life and I was trying to find what it was that I was uniquely shaped to do. In my mind, I somehow assumed the only way I could truly be used by God was within the church, so I looked into Youth Ministry. I found some great programs and it all sounded wonderful, but it truly was not where my heart was . . . My heart was with my family and with homeschooling.

I continued this internal struggle until last April when I attended a Walk to Emmaus retreat with my church. I didn’t know what to expect from the retreat, but I went into the weekend prayerfully, asking God to clearly show me what He wanted for my life. Why do I continue to be surprised when He answers above and beyond my expectations?!? Our God is so good! Imagine my shock when . . .

To read the rest of this post, please visit The Heart of the Matter Online.

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Encouragement for the day

I have a couple posts I am putting up later (I need to download pictures first!) but I just saw this poem in one of my devotionals this morning and I had to post it here as a reminder to myself and hopefully as encouragement to others. May you be blessed this morning!

"I'm too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed.

I refuse to be discouraged, to be sad or to cry.

I refuse to be down hearted and here's the reason why:

I have a God who is almighty; who is sovereign and supreme.

I have a God who loves me -- and I am on His team.

He is all wise and powerful; Jesus is His name.

Though everything else is changeable, My God remains the same.

I refuse to be beaten or defeated. My eyes are on my God.

He has promised to be with me, as through this life I trod.

I am looking past my circumstances, to heaven's throne above.

My prayers have reached the heart of God and I am resting in His love.

I give thanks to Him in everything.

My eyes are on His face.

The battle is His; the victory is mine; He will help me win the race.

I repeat! I'm too blessed to be stressed!"

(Author unknown)

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Praying with your Children

Good Morning!

I am finishing up my morning wake up routine of breakfast, caffeine and email catch up, and wanted to share with you a new-to-me way of praying with my girls that I read about this morning, in the hopes that it gives you encouragement to try something similar!

We have a fun and full day ahead of us today, and it is so tempting to get started with it all and somehow skip our devotional time (although we almost never miss our morning wake up songs of Rise and Shine and This is the day that the Lord has made!). It is horrible and sad to admit that we sometimes skip circle time, but when they are this age (3 and 2), that is how the day goes sometimes. But, when we do it "right," it is such a blessing!

Last week, we had several morning devotionals/circle times that were awesome. What we have been doing is to begin with a few fun Christian songs. We have no shortage of Christian kids songs but our current favorites are Wee Sing Bible Songs, and a new 3 CD set with over 102 fun upbeat songs. We get out our huge basket of musical instruments and we play along and dance, while singing with the music. After we sing, we gather together and hold hands and pray. This has been a short prayer asking for guidance during the day and for Him to unite us in love with Him and with each other. Then we read a bible story, a devotion from my Kenneth Taylor children's devotional book and a Christian Nursery Rhyme. One time last week we read about 8 bible stories because Jordan kept saying, "I want to read the BIBLE!!!!" and I was NOT about to argue!

I am going to add a new element to our morning devotional time now. I had read earlier this week on Preschoolers and Peace about the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication) popcorn prayer, and then again today on Candace's site. I loved reading her post because she gave a very humorous example of how it goes in her home with three young ones, but this gave me inspiration. It will look very different in our home with the ages of our children, but it will be fun to start and if nothing else, it will help me to pray outside my box a bit.

So this morning we will try this out! We will sit in a circle and hold hands and I will begin by quickly explaining the different prayer types. I will then praise God for His holiness and His majesty. I will then most likely confess for my lack of patience this morning, and thank Him for blessing me with such an amazing family. I will ask Him to fill me with His love for my beautiful family, so that they can see and feel how truly special and loved they are. After each of these, I will pause to see if the girls jump in, but can pretty much expect them not to. After a few mornings of this, I might then ask them questions to help them formulate their thoughts and ideas.

I will keep you posted on how this goes!!

Have a blessed day, loving and enjoying your children and husband!

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Heart of the Matter Article - Easter Unit Study for Littles

(I must give credit where credit is due -- the BEAUTIFUL girls in the picture below are not mine :-) They are Candace's beautiful girls! She was kind to let me use pictures from when they "rowed" this book last year for their Easter study! Thanks Candace!)

I LOVE Unit Studies! Discovering literature based unit studies has made all the difference in our homeschool . . . in my belief that I can “do” this homeschooling thing, in the fun and memories I am creating with my girls, and in being able to learn right alongside them!

We began our unit study journey with Before Five in a Row, and over the last year have added in an amazing resource, Homeschool Share! As their website states, HSS is an “on-line cooperative effort of several homeschooling moms to provide free but quality literature-based unit studies and resources.”

You may be saying to yourself, “That’s great, Rachel, but why are you telling us all of this?” Well, it is because Easter is approaching, and it is through this site that I found a unit study that I am SO excited about that I just had to share it with all of you!! It is based on The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs, and was written by Candace Crabtree. It is listed under the Level A Unit studies, which means it should be perfect for ages 2-6!

If you have not read this book before, I URGE you to go out and get this book to share with your children! It is one of those books that you can get out every year and your children will just learn more and more about the true love and meaning behind the Easter story. Liz uses scripture verses throughout the book, pulling from both the Old and New Testament, to really paint the picture and point towards the Cross. The Bible verses alone in this story make it an excellent choice for inclusion in your Easter studies, but adding in the rest of the Biblical application lessons listed will really bless your socks off!

Both Candace and Ami Brainerd, the genius behind HSS, have consented to allow us to post some of the lessons from this unit for you to use, and to get a glimpse of what you can find (FOR FREE!) at the site! This story has so many “bunny trails” you can go on and the lessons included at the site include dealing with your emotions, learning about farming, flowers (in particular the lily and its many varieties), seeds and planting. The lessons cover all the major subjects including Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Science and Art/Music, as well as some “Just for Fun” activities and of course, Biblical Application. This is the area I will focus on for our glimpse into this wonderful unit!

Bible Verses in Story
There are so many wonderful Scriptures that are throughout this book to help tell the story. Perhaps choose one to really focus on with your child this week. For handwriting, you can practice writing the verse. And, this could be your verse to memorize as well!

James 1:17 – “Every perfect gift is from God.”
Matthew 24:44 – “So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect Him.” Isaiah 53:2d – “There was nothing in his appearance to make us desire him.”
Isaiah 53:2a, b – “HE grew up like a small plant before the Lord. He was like a root growing in a dry land.”
John 3:16 – “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son.”
Isaiah 53:2c – “He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him.”
1 Corinthians 4:5 – “Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light things that are now hidden in darkness.”
Isaiah 61:11 -- "In the same way the Lord God will make grow what is right.”
John 12:24 – “I tell you the truth, a seed must fall to the ground and die. Then it makes many seeds.”
Isaiah 53:3 – “He was hated and rejected by people. People would not even look at him.”
Luke 24:1 – “Very early on the first day of the week, the women came.”
2 Corinthians 9:15 – “Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful to explain.”
Matthew 6:29 – “But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.”
Matthew 28:8 – “They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell…what had happened.” Isaiah 33:17 – “Your eyes will see the king in his beauty.”
Isaiah 53:4 - “But he took our suffering on him and felt our pain for us.”
1 John 4:9 – “This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him.”

Forgiveness
At the end of the story Maggie asks her father for forgiveness. Why does she do this? Can you recall a time you’ve had to ask for forgiveness? What about our heavenly Father…when should we go to Him and say we are sorry? Maggie’s father says that forgiveness is what Easter is all about…discuss this with your child.

Word Study: Lily
Look up verses in the Bible that have the word “lily” in it. Discuss these verses. 1. Luke 12:27 – “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field…how much more will he clothe you?” (oh how our wonderful Father in heaven provides for us!) 2. Song of Solomon 2:1 – “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” (the lily is used to describe something or someone beautiful!)

Parable of the SowerRead the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 and discuss with your child.

I hope you enjoyed this brief look into The Parable of the Lily, and even if you decide not to do this unit, I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration to find a story that will fit your needs and homeschool! If you are looking for further ideas, HSS also has The Legend of the Easter Egg by Lori Walburg listed under Level B (ages 4-8) Unit Studies!

May your family be blessed this Easter season and be filled with His love, grace and forgiveness, for as the farmer in the story says, it truly “is what Easter is all about!”

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Update on Homeschool Family Needing Your Prayers...

I wanted to update everyone on the status of this family, as I have received several emails and comments about it. I do not know this family personally, but like you, can only imagine the pain they are going through. I haven't gotten an update through my co-op, so I went to this blog, which is posting updated information quite frequently... since I am only going to restate here what she has on her blog, I encourage you to visit this blog from now on to be able to pray more specifically.

There is good news! Erika (12) was released from the hospital and is staying in a hotel with relatives! It was said that she knows God is in control and is doing very well.... what an amazing testimony to the way these parents have raised their children!! Also, Cristy is doing much better as well!!! She is breathing better, talking and laughing with family and ate solid foods yesterday! The doctors plan to do the surgery next week when she has had time to gain some strength. She is definitely not out of the woods and is in need of much prayer, but this is wonderful news!

Both of the older children, Winston and Hannah, seem to be on the mend as well. Winston was able to have his tubes taken out and they believe he has now been able to eat. Hannah is in a room now and is able to walk a little. She is in high spirits and is resting in her strong faith and personal relationship with Christ (as is the rest of the family), but she has not been able to have her tubes taken out yet, so she has been unable to eat solid food and drink.... prayers are asked for her, as she is really hungry and thirsty!

Finally, the posting mentioned what shining lights the family is in that hospital. The way they are handling this whole situation and pulling together has been a tremendous witness for the entire hospital staff! I am in awe of this family and the amazing job the parents have done in raising such godly children who know they can turn to Him in all of life's worries and tragedies, as well as life's joys!

Blessed be the name of the Lord!!!

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