The Tea

By the way, the week of the tea was so busy that I never got around to posting about how well it went. The afternoon tea was wonderful! Lisa is so sweet and so full of a love for Jesus and her family. She had tons of great ideas and practical advice about sibling conflict, protecting the spirit's of your children, children's work, entertaining little ones while schooling older ones, etc... It was a real blessing to have her and the other ladies here.

Lisa had a great post on her blog last week about When Your Rules Are Different from others. Check out her perspective--which I agree with :) on her blog

http://thepenningtonpoint.com/blog/lisas-blog/

I think it's at the bottom (from March13th). And the part two was posted a few days ago (March 18th). Happy Reading!

Caden's 4th Birthday

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Caden's birthday with lots of family and a few neighbors. Caden wanted cake for breakfast and since it was his b-day and we weren't having it for the party I agreed. It's a delicious overnight coffee cake that I made with whole wheat pastry flour. I'll try to post the recipe later.

After breakfast we surprised Caden with a vintage (1969) Little People set that I found on Craigslist for $30. I like the old ones more than the new ones, b/c the old people are plain and you can use your imagination more. The new ones are always holding things for their "trade" which just limits them in my mind. Anyway, he absolutely loves the camper and boat and spent all morning pretending the family was going camping to Sequoia.

That afternoon we had over lots of relatives plus two families who are neighbors to celebrate Caden's birthday. The party included car racing games, an egg hunt, a birthday blessing, pizza, banana splits and a time of opening gifts.

When the neighbor asked what to get him we said he'd love a gun since he didn't own one (he's been using his imagination and just turning objects into guns). Well, imagine his delight when over half his presents were guns! Yes, Caden is now the proud owner of 7 guns!

My parents arrived a couple days before the party and they sure helped a lot with everything! As always, Mom is constantly helping cook and clean while also taking the boys on walks and reading them books.

My boys can't get enough of their Pa Pa and give him lots of exercise while he's here. Deacon begs to talk to Pa Pa on Skype every morning--it's so sweet.

Caden loves putting on Daddy's clothes. How he can walk around in size 12 shoes is a mystery to me!

Last night Braden put Deacon to bed so that I could rock Caden and put him to bed. It's a treat for the whole family--Braden loves putting Deacon down and it's such a sweet time for me to get to rock Caden since we only do so about once/month.

Me: So Caden, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Caden: A farmer. And guess how many children I want to have.

Me: How many?

Caden: 180.

Me: Wow, that's a lot. Maybe you'll be a farmer who runs an orphanage. What kind of person do you want to marry?

Caden: A RIGHTEOUS woman! (said very expressively)--not sure where he got that, but I liked his answer.

Me: That's right, Caden. A woman who loves the Lord with all her heart, mind, soul and strength.

Caden: Yep. Someone just like you, Mama.

Me: awwww :)

Caden: I love you, Mama!

Me: I love you, too!

I'll always treasure our bedtime talks!

Dad's Email

My Dad sends out emails often to encourage fellow believers as we seek the Lord. Just thought I'd share his email this week:

Dear Friends,

I love the story of the woman at the well from the fourth chapter of John. From this story we can learn so much including why we should love the Lord. We may often pray, read the Word, go to worship, even share our faith with another person out of a sense of duty. We should feel that sense of duty. Yet, there is a higher motivation. Jesus said to the woman, "A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." From that passage we could focus on the fact that our Father desires a sincere and honest heart. But what I want you to note is that Jesus informs the woman that "the Father seeks." The Father yearns for an honest, sincere, loving, heart relationship with us. Islam has nothing like it. Neither does Hinduism or Buddhism or any other religion. Christianity is truly unique. The Father longs for a loving relationship with us. Four times in Scripture the Lord repeats the longing of His heart: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Another passage also records the longing of His heart: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor 6:18). The Lord, through the psalmist, said that we should "seek His face always" (Psalm 105:4). That is what the Lord wants. He wants us to love Him. He wants us to see Him as our loving Father. He wants us to talk to Him all the time. The command to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) is primarily a passage in which the Lord says, "I want a relationship with you."

We do not have to go through a priest (we are priests). We do not have to enter into His presence only after we wash, put on special clothing, create a wall of smoke, etc (required before the Jewish high priest could approach God, Hebrews 11). We can now walk into His presence freely and He longs for us to do so. Is it possible to attend church faithfully, pray regularly, study the Bible daily, share your faith with others often and still not have a personal relationship with our Father? What kind of relationship do you have with the Lord? When you fail to pray, do you think of that fact as "I didn't do what I was supposed to do today?" or do you stop and say, "Father, I'm sorry. I have been distracted. I want to love you more and more. Please draw my heart more and more. Change my heart and make it yours." He clearly wants our hearts.

Your brother,

Tim

A Man (or Woman) After God's Own Heart

	A Man After God's Own Heart by Russell Kelfer If someone were simply to ask you, "What's the greatest thing you can do To leave your mark for eternity When all of your life is through?" What would be your answer? What tribute could there be? What thought would honor God the most When He your name would see? I believe the greatest thing God could yet impart, Would be the words, "This child became A man after My own heart." "This, My son or daughter, Found a touch of the divine, Because within that life there beats A heart shaped just like Mine." "A heart that grew to stand in awe At what His God had done; A heart that lived for just one thing: To glorify My Son. "A heart that did not need acclaim, A heart that just believed. A heart that would but rather die Than see My Spirit grieved. "He may not have found greatness, Nor heard this world's acclaim; The greatest thing to him was just To bear his Master's name." Would you like to please the heart of God? Beloved, here is where you start: Quietly ask God to make you A man after His own heart! ©Russell Kelfer. All rights reserved.
	Check out http://www.dtm.org/ and click on Mp3- Listen/Download to hear my absolute favorite Bible teacher. His Fruit of the Spirit set is excellent! Right now he's teaching through the Sermon on the Mount which is also very good. Click on the lesson's number to hear it or the title to print a manuscript. Blessings on your weekend!

Lisa's Goal of Education

Here's something that was written by Lisa, the speaker who I'm hosting the tea for next week. Braden and I really liked the way she sums up their goal of education. The article is taken from the Texas Homeschool Coalition's magazine.

http://www.thsc.org/Categories.aspx?Id=Pennington

Our home schooling adventure began before we were even married, twenty-four years ago. James had the conviction to homeschool our children before we met. While we were still dating, he told me that he wanted a wife who would homeschool his children; I thought he was crazy! It took some convincing, but by the time we married and had children four years later, I was completely on board.

Now we have nine children ranging in age from twenty to two years old. Our goal has always been character over curriculum. We believe that the Bible teaches that God's wisdom is more important than knowledge.

Proverbs 4:6-7 says, “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”

We never got involved in heavy curriculum or workbooks. We have done a lot of unit studies and “make-your-own” type of school. We discovered early that if we train the children to be disciplined and help them turn their heart to the Lord, they will thirst for wisdom and understanding. I have been constantly amazed at how much the children know that I did not teach them!

We also believe that relationships are a vital part of who we are in Christ. It is important to us that our children learn to love one another and to sacrifice for others. Therefore we spend much of our time practicing good habits and setting our own desires aside for one another. If you were a fly on the wall, you would often observe us sitting around the school table, sharing our thoughts on how to treat others or how to overcome our struggles.

Romans 12: 9-10 commands, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

It has been a delight to watch our children treat each other with kindness and courtesy. The words, “That's not fair!” or “Me first!” are not permitted in our home. Even though children do not have the maturity to respond in a biblical way, they can still be held to those standards as they learn. They can practice serving as they learn. In our school being a servant is held in a place of honor.

Once that foundation is there, we can relax and enjoy school. We mostly use unit studies. We have learned about spiders, world geography, the “Little House on the Prairie” series, weather, and much more! Unit studies offer me, a mom of children of many ages, the opportunity to have all of the children in the same class. I simply adjust the load for each age level. Then they each do their own math individually.

While I would consider myself a very structured person, I am relaxed about where the day takes us. We may start out learning about Egyptian architecture and end up digging tunnels in the yard. We are confident that those two subjects are equally important; it depends on what the children need each day. As long as we get back to Egypt at some point, it is okay.

We make our home schooling decisions based on Scripture. It is a little like the desert island challenge. If you were stranded on a desert island with nothing but the Bible as your guide, how different would your life look? We know that we are not on an island and that our kids have to live out in the world someday. However, if we have prepared them to live with God's Word as their guide, they are better prepared than if we follow the world?or the government schools.

Our oldest graduated from our home school two years ago, and our second child graduated this spring. It has been a joy to watch them grow, learn, and become godly examples for their younger siblings. Teaching them at home has allowed us to know their strengths and weaknesses. We are right there with them through their successes and their failures. Our goal is to grow warriors for the kingdom of God. History, science, and music are all secondary to that end.

We still have many years of home schooling left to go. We delight in each year we get to spend with each child. To God be the glory!

The Lord has changed my heart from anxiety/discontentment to joy and excitement. I'm looking forward to meeting Lisa and gleaning from her years of experience and wisdom at our tea!

My Anxious Heart

Next week I'm hosting a tea for a homeschool mother of 9 who will be speaking to our area homeschool Mom's group that evening. Her name is Lisa, but I've never met her. She and her husband were awarded the 2010 Leaders of the Year by the Texas Home School Coalition--quite the honor. I volunteered to host the tea only if nobody else signed up to do so.

Well, nobody else volunteered :)

I must confess that I'm just a bit intimidated. I know I shouldn't be, but I started thinking about how I don't have a "tea party" type of home. My house isn't cute or quaint. It has all white walls and very few "homey" decorations. I don't even own any pretty tea cups. Maybe you can't relate to the "everyone else's house is so much prettier/homier than mine!" syndrome. Now don't get me wrong, we LOVE having people over for dinner, and I don't have a problem with my home then, but a ladies' tea--for some reason, it's making me anxious. It probably doesn't help matters that my guest is coming to speak on "creating a peaceful home."

I'm trying to combat this spirit of discontentment and intimidation by meditating on a few Scriptures. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."-Php. 4:6-7

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."-1 Tim. 6:6-7

I'm trying to remember that Christ has set me free from the need to have other's approval. So what if my home doesn't look like pictures out of Southern Living--is the Lord honored here? Is my home filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and with those who show self-control? Can people sense the Spirit's presence when they enter? Do I need to spend more time making my home beautiful or making my heart beautiful this week? Will I chose to be like Martha and busy myself with all the stressful preparations or will I take extra time to sit a Jesus' feet and drink deep from the Living Water? Maybe now is a good time to quit blogging so that I can do just that :)

Charlotte Mason on Parenting

“It is a great thing to be a parent: there is no promotion, no

dignity, to compare with it." ~ Charlotte Mason

When it comes to homeschooling there are many different philosophies upon which to build. We really love the thoughts and ideas of Charlotte Mason, a British educator who lived from 1842-1923. My mother-in-law loaned me a book, titled Play about a year ago and it seemed like it was a modern-day book for preschool teachers based off this same philosophy. Basically the ideas is to let little ones spend LOTS of time outdoors, and let them have access to the best literature, art, music, etc. Don't just study and apple drawing--let them touch, smell, taste a REAL apple....visit a real orchard where they can see the trees growing, visit with a farmer and actually pick the fruit.

“The parents’ chief care is, that that which they supply shall be wholesome and nourishing, whether in the way of picture-books, lessons, playmates, bread and milk, or mother’s love.” ~ Charlotte Mason

Yesterday Caden attended his first orchestra (with a short ballet included), and we both really enjoyed it. The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter & Peter and the Wolf were both performed. He loves all the works of Beatrix Potter so that was a treat, but his favorite was hearing the story and listening to the orchestra perform Peter and the Wolf. I'll try to post the video of his explanation later :)

I just started reading A Thinking Love by Sonya Shafer. It's a FREE e-book; just click the link from the title! Here's a quick excerpt from the introduction:

The chapters in this book are designed to keep you thinking, evaluating, and learning in your assignment as a mother. They are here to encourage you to have a thinking love for your child. We will laugh together, ponder together, and be challenged together by concepts that Charlotte considered important. You may encounter days when you want to quit on your job;

other days you may want to shout from the rooftops how great motherhood is! (Just don’t let your child see you on the roof; he’ll want to come up too.)

But through it all we will think and we will love. We will think about the best way to fulfill our assignment from God. And we will increase in our love for our children and for each other.

And we will remember that motherhood is the greatest profession on earth. Let’s do it to the glory of God.

This 73-page book also contains more than seventy Charlotte Mason quotes on parenting. Just visit http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/a-thinking-love/ to download a copy if you'd like to read along.

I'm Back

Last weekend I went to Sally Clarkson's conference with some friends (thanks, Liz!) and was inspired to start blogging again. This time focused more on what the Lord is teaching me. I'll try and share info from great books I've read, videos we've watched or lessons I've heard. This morning in my quiet time I was in Titus. As I began chapter 2 I was again reminded that God calls older woman to "urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." I know I don't qualify as an "older woman" to most, but hopefully I can still encourage other woman in these pursuits. After all, we are to encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Heb. 3:13).

I know I've been so encouraged by reading many of your blogs! I love reading about your bright ideas, difficult days, mommy moments and of course seeing many of your precious littles. This calling of motherhood is so wonderful (though not always easy!) and I so desire to be a mother that is a blessing to other mama's in this worthy call. May we all embrace God's desire for our days as we seek Him wholeheartedly!

Fall in Review 2010

September 2010

September in Review:

Labor Day in Longview is always a blast!

Caden loved getting to wrestle with cousins...

...but I think Deacon decided to move away from the action and find a calmer "pool."

Putting up a tent inside is just so much fun!

Mom and Dad came up for my birthday, and Caden just basked in his "PaPa time!"

For our family devotion Braden decided we'd act out the story of Noah and the flood...complete with building an ark.

Deacon had fun making sure all the animals in the ark were comfortable and cared for :)

We love being part of homeschooling groups--one through our church and one through our area (which happens to also have a few of our friends from church). Field trips are just some of the fun things we can do as a group. In Sept. our church hs group took a trip to Henrietta Creek Orchard for a farm tour and apple picking.

We read lots of books about apples and orchards before the trip. Our favorite: Apple Tree Christmas--such a sweet story!

We were only allowed to pick one apple per person for our tour which I was a little bummed about, but Caden and Deacon didn't seem to mind. There were so many other neat things to see.

Learning all about cotton.