Vacation Nature Pictures

The Vacation Is Over

More fun with cousins.

Enjoying the train ride.

The vacation is over and we are into our third day of school. In order to take as much time as we need when the new baby arrives (sometime after Christmas) we have started school early this year. So far so good. We have had rain almost everyday which has made the temperature delightful. It has also caused us to be really ready for Autumn.

I am hoping that I will soon have time to post what we are doing this year in our little homeschool. This year I have a second grader and a kindergartener (not to mention their busy 3 year old little brother!)

Wordless Wednesday

Gone Fishing

Wordless Wednesday

The Cousins

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over! We have had a summer packed full of family. It has been good having the chance to spend time with family that we don't often see. The boys have absolutely loved their time with "the cousins." Next week we will be spending time with more cousins as we go on vacation together to Colorado!

Wordless Wednesday

Honey Glazed Chicken

This recipe is really easy and kids love it!

2T butter
¼ cup honey
3 T mustard
2 t curry
½ t salt

Melt butter in a 9x13 dish. Add remaining ingredients to butter. Coat chicken and bake. Uncovered. For 45 minutes at 375

THY JOHN

by Amy Carmichael

As John upon his dear Lord's breast,
So would I lean, so would I rest;
As empty shell in depths of sea,
So would I sink, be filled with Thee.

As water lily in her pool
Through long, hot hours is still and cool,
A thought of peace, so I would be
Thy water-flower, Lord, close by Thee.

As singing bird in high, blue air,
So would I soar, and sing Thee there;
No rain nor stormy wind can be
When all the air is full of Thee.

And so though daily duties crowd,
And dust of earth be like a cloud,
Through noise of words, O Lord, my Rest,
Thy John would lean upon Thy breast.

Wordless Wednesday

‘God never places us in any position in which we can not grow. We may fancy that He does. We may fear we are so impeded by fretting, petty cares that we are gaining nothing; but when we are not sending any branches upward, we may be sending roots downward. Perhaps in the time of our humiliation, when everything seems a failure, we are making the best kind of progress.’

-Elizabeth Prentiss

Texas Horned Lizard

Wordless Wednesday

UPDATE: Polyphemus Moth Eggs

I am sorry to say that our moth eggs had a bad end. A few days ago, Mark and I were surprised to find that the eggs had hatched and we had tiny little larva crawling all over the box they were in and all over the books and papers next to the box. We tried to round them all up and put them into an insect house that we previously used for hatching butterflies. Then we went around gathering leaves that were supposed to be their favorite. They seemed to like the leaves; so we had hopes that they would grow and eventually go into their cocoons and hatch as the beautiful Polyphemus moth.

Well, last night we had to go and pick up Mark at the airport. He was just returning from the Together For The Gospel conference. While we were waiting at the airport a huge storm blew through our city and neighborhood. When we arrived home our insect house was nowhere to be seen. We searched the yard with a flashlight, but found nothing. Today we will have to scout the neighborhood and see if we can find any clues about our missing larva.

Wordless Wednesday

For Sweet Lilly

HOMECALL
By Amy Carmichael

Out of the heat and out of the rain,
Never to know or sin or pain,
Never to fall and never to fear-
Could we wish better for one so dear?

What has she seen and what has she heard,
She who has flown away like a bird?
Eye has not seen, nor dream can show
All she has seen, all she may know,

For the pure powers of Calvary
Bathe little souls in innocency.
Tender, tender Thy love words be:
"Dear little child, come home to Me."

Polyphemus Moth

Mark is busy writing a paper for his Aramaic class. Therefore, to be a help we have gone to visit family. The boys are having a great time playing outdoors almost all day long. My mother lets them dig holes in her backyard, which she says will one day be a fish pond. I am not sure what it will be, but they are loving it.

Last night we were having dinner at my cousin's house and she showed us a moth that had made its way into her garage and was laying eggs on the cement! It was a beautiful Polyphemus Moth, like the one in the above picture. It was a very bad place to lay eggs (right in the driveway). So, we gently loaded them into a box and hope to see them hatch. I found that the usual host is "A wide variety of trees and shrubs including oak (Quercus), willow (Salix), maple (Acer), and birch (Betula)" I found the information and picture here .

This will be a fun way to tell the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus. I think the moth is much more beautiful than its namesake, don't you?

THE AGE-LONG MINUTE

By Amy Carmichael

Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow;

Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea;

What matter beating wind and tossing billow

If only we are in the boat with Thee?

Hold us in quiet through the age-long minute

While Thou art silent, and the wind is shrill.

Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it?

Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?

Paper Kite

Idea leuconoe

Wordless Wednesday

Spring Break Is Over

We had a lovely Spring Break. We spent it in the mountains with family. And now it is back to school and back to work. Therefore, I may not be posting very much until we get back into our routines (and I get all the laundry done!) But maybe I will post a few lovely photos that we took for our Nature notebooks.

Wordless Wednesday

Pakistani Kima

This is one of our favorite meals. So, I thought I would pass it along!

Saute in skillet:
3T. butter
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Add:
1 lb. ground beef
1 1/2 t. salt
dash pepper
dash each cinnamon, ginger, and tumeric
2 c. cooked tomatoes
2 potatoes, diced
2 c. frozen green beans

Cover and simmer about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are done. Serve over rice. Just before serving sprinkle shredded coconut on top. Serves 5-6

FOR OUR CHILDREN

By Amy Carmichael

Father, Hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril,
From the whirlpool that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand pluck them.

From the worldling's hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Holy Father, save our children.

Through life's troubled water steer them,
Through life's bitter battle cheer them,
Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleadings thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

Homeschool Research/Reading

I really don't remember how we decided to homeschool. It seems like we just always planned on it. Regardless of how we got the idea, we were certain we wanted to do whatever it took to educate our children outside of government schools. When our oldest was just a baby I began to ask homeschooling mothers, "What is your favorite homeschooling book?" In this way I began to read about different methods and models. My goal was to read one book per year. I have found this to be very helpful and I continue this practice even today.





Here is the list that I was given before I began homeschooling (and I think this is the order I read them)-

1. Better Late Than Early, by Raymond Moore
2. The Christian Homeschool, by Gregg Harris
3. The Well-Trained Mind, by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
4. Educating the WholeHearted Child, by Clay and Sally Clarkson
5. Homeschooling for Excellence, by David and Micki Colfax
   Books I have read since beginning to Homeschool:
   
6. For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer MaCauley
7. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, by Douglas Wilson
8. Home Education, by Charlotte Mason
   

This has helped to both shape our homeschool and keep me inspired as a home educator.

Wordless Wednesday

Redeeming the Time

I would be surprised to find any shower that looks quite like ours. These are Mark's vocabulary words for Aramaic hanging on our shower walls.

This all began with one ziploc bag and one of those hooks with a suction cup. Originally we just had a really small ziploc with one memory verse inside, but that seemed to work so well that it has grown to giant ziplocs and a library of memory work!! So, if you are needing to find time to memorize Scripture- here is one way to use your time wisely.

Classical Music for Preschoolers

I am not a fan of television. Yet there are times that I am grateful to turn on a movie for the children. I am very particular about the content of a movie, and for young children I am pleased with the Baby Einstein movies. One of the best is, Meet the Orchestra.



As a result of using this movie the boys are pretty good at picking out different instruments when they hear them. Even while listening to music when riding in the car my 5 year old will say did you hear that violin? and even my 2 year old always informs me when he hears the guitar in a particular song. Baby Einstein not only uses classical music in all of their videos, but they have Baby Bach, Baby Beethoven, and Baby Mozart which focus on that particular composer.



Not only do we watch these movies, but we listen to their soundtracks. When my oldest son was a preschooler he called classical music, his music.

Composer Study

A performance of Handel's Messiah was a treat after studying him for 12 weeks.

Once a week we take time for Composer study/music appreciation. Our school year is divided up into three 12 week terms. The ideal is to study a new composer each term. This year we are only studying two composers because that is simply all we could manage. Our first half of the school year we studied Handel, and currently we are studying J.S. Bach.

Ambleside Online has compiled a huge list of composers and their works to be studied. They have plenty of helps to get you started. We use much of their information, but shape it to fit our family.



This is all new to me. In my college days, I took a music appreciation class and was quite overwhelmed. I had never before studied anything like it. I grew up on Seattle grunge and Rock music. Thankfully, I am not passing that legacy onto the children. Rather, I am attempting to train their taste from a young age. This, like Nature Study, is giving us wholesome pleasures to pursue.

Love through me, Love of God,

Make me like Thy clear air

Through which unhindered, colours pass

As though it were not there.

Powers of the love of God,

Depths of the heart Divine,

O Love that faileth not, break forth,

And flood this world of Thine.

by Amy Carmichael

Wordless Wednesday

Nature Study

Step One: Observation

The vast majority of our Nature Study is delight-directed. If something grabs their attention we study it. There are times when I choose the subject; for instance, we learned the names of the trees in our neighborhood. Yet more often than not, they are the ones who coming running to tell me what they have found.

Nature Study

Nature Study is my favorite subject and the boys love it as well. There are many positive reasons for doing Nature study in your home. Here are just a few:

1) We see the amazing creation as the work of His hands and give thanks to our Almighty Creator.

2) The creation is good and good for us. The boys love to run and explore. They love to find something for me to look at. It refreshes all of us to be in the great outdoors contemplating all He has made.

3) It gives us all an opportunity to think about something other than ourselves.

4) Learning to identify plants, animals, birds, insects, etc. gives the child (and mother) the skill of observation and the powers of description that will bring them joy in life. It teaches the ability to amuse themselves with beautiful living objects; rather than, being dependent on multimedia entertainment. Learning to describe what they see increases their imagination and vocabulary which will aid in future writing.

5) One of my favorite aspects of Nature study is how it draws the generations together. I have watched grandparents and great-grandparents find something in common with their grandchildren when they too begin to observe nature all around and share what they have seen with the children. It is like a spark of joy ignites in all of us as we share the intrigue and beauty of God's good creation with one another.

Chair Repair

This is the third time I have recovered our chair that we use for our computer desk. It is rather easy now that I have a staple gun. The only difficult part was deciding on the fabric. First, my 5 year old and I picked out a wild retro fabric that really would have looked great, but my 7 year old thought the fabric so ugly that he would not be able to look at it. Secretly I thought he would get used to it, but when my husband said that he did not really like it either...Well, I decided to be diplomatic and settle for my second choice! What do you think?

P.S. I bought the other fabric too! and I think I will make an apron out of it!

We Are Still Here

Well, graduation has come and gone and we are still here. Mark is busy working two jobs and he is also taking Aramaic. Many people don't realize that small portions of the Bible are written in Aramaic. Thus, the reason for his current study.

I am planning a post on what we are doing in homeschool, but until then...

Here is a recipe for some tasty Snowball cookies:

½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1/3 c granulated sugar
1tsp vanilla
2/3 c pecans finely grounded
1 2/3 c flour
pinch of salt
¼ c confectioner sugar

Preheat oven to 350

In large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 min. Add vanilla. Set aside.

In a medium bowl mix pecans, flour, and salt.

Mix flour mixture into butter mixture.

Roll dough into ¾ inch balls and place on cookie sheet.

Bake until just brown 20-25 minutes.

Roll in powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

GIANT GINGERBREAD MAN

Last year, the boys and I made this giant gingerbread man and had so much fun. They really enjoyed the fact that he tried to escape and can't wait to make another one this year! So, I thought I would pass the idea on to anyone interested. Enjoy!

Blogs

As you can tell blogging has been low on the list of priorities. It still is, but I am hoping that soon I will post some of what we have been doing in our homeschool. This past summer Mark took a turbo Hebrew class (which means two semesters of Hebrew squeezed into 10 weeks!) Then this fall he has taken two more Hebrew classes. He has been busy. Therefore, I have been busy. It has all been good and rewarding. No complaints here. Maybe the time to blog will soon appear!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Graduation

Believe it or not, graduation is almost upon us. Mark graduates December 14th. We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we make decisions regarding what's next. "Man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 19:21

Children Desiring God Conference

A few years ago my husband and I were at a wedding when a friend asked our 3 year old, "Do you love Jesus?" Afterward we both admitted how we didn't appreciate such a question posed to him. I thought it would have been better if she had said,"Jesus loves you!" Of course she didn't mean anything by it and probably had never thought about it. So what is the big deal? I think what my husband and I were against was the notion that children who are just beginning to learn about Jesus should first learn why his parents love Jesus. They should first be taught that while we were enemies Christ died for us. We don't first love God, then he decides to love us, but we love because He first loved us and sent his son to bear the wrath that was stored up against us. Do I want my children to love Jesus? Absolutely! But, I do want their love to spring from a response to His love for them. A proper love for God can only come from a proper understanding of God's love for us. And a proper understanding of God's love for us must include the cross and our desperate need for a Savior. All of these thoughts were stirred up because of something I read on the Desiring God blog. This comes from Session 1 at the Children Desiring God Conference: A provocative quote by Spurgeon. "Spurgeon is lamenting that some preachers, though they believe in justification by faith, unintentionally preach the very opposite. Spurgeon recounts: "Justification by faith must never be obscured, and yet all are not clear upon it…. Many do this when addressing children, and I notice that they generally speak to the little ones about loving Jesus, and not upon believing in Him. This must leave a mischievous impression upon youthful minds and take them off from the true way of peace. (Lectures to My Students, p. 340) "John noted that this quote is convicting, because many of us talk more to children about loving Jesus than believing in Jesus. We need to wrestle with why Spurgeon said this. " I would encourage anyone interested in teaching their children the truth about God to visit Children Desiring God and also the recent "live blog" from the conference.

Session 1- speaker, John Piper

Session 2- speaker, Wayne Grudem Title: Teaching the Richness of the Entire Gospel from Election to Glorification

Session 3- speaker, Wayne Grudem continues unpacking what he began in session 2.

Session 4- speaker, C.J. Mahaney Title: Extravagant Devotioin

Session 5- speaker, David Michael Title: John Angell James – Pursuing the Souls of the Next Generation

Bluebonnets and Mercy

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come,and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

Song of Solomon 2:12

We had a lovely time walking through the beautiful Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes. We saw some beautiful butterflies and even a hummingbird! It was truly breath-taking.

Let us worship our glorious God who did not abandon creation because of our sin, but continues to fill the earth with beauty. And let Spring remind us of the far surpassing beauty of God's mercy and grace put on display in the face of Christ!

Favorite Song

It has been about a year since I first heard Before the Throne of God Above, and it has remained my favorite song ever since. Here are the lyrics and a sample.

Before The Throne of God Above
Music and additional lyrics by Vikki Cook
Lyrics by Charitie Bancroft
As recorded on Songs for the Cross Centered Life

Lyrics
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of Glory and of Grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God


© 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

To hear a sample click here.

Biblical Womanhood and the Pharisees?

Jesus warned the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Jesus said that the Pharisees tied up heavy burdens and placed them on men’s backs and didn’t lift a finger to help them. Jesus had some very harsh words for them. The reason is because they were hypocrites. They cleaned up their appearance, but their hearts were still wicked. We see in Romans that the purpose of the law was to teach us what is right and it was to be like a school master leading us to Christ. It is to help us see that we are in desperate need of a Savior.

The above warning is precisely why I do not commend the book, Created to be His Help-Meet, by Debi Pearl. Mrs. Pearl takes the beautiful passages on womanhood and turns them into the measuring stick. It may not have been her intent, but the book sets her up as the perfect model that all should bow down before. Ladies we must never bow before other women’s design for woman even if they are using Scripture. We must only bow before Christ.

When I began the book my initial response was gratitude that someone was proclaiming the truths of Scripture so boldly. Yet it did not take long before I began to feel something was wrong. Biblical Womanhood is not complete unless the whole of Scripture is taken into account. Mrs. Pearl seems as though she has only read a few passages that pertain to women specifically when in reality there are numerous passages that are also addressed to women and men alike. The first one that I would encourage Mrs. Pearl to look at would be Ephesians 4:29-30, which reads as follows,

29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.


God’s will for men and women is that they be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and the Scripture does not record Jesus calling women "hussies," "ugly," "stupid,"etc. The people who he had the strongest words for were people like the Pharisees, who neither showed grace nor mercy. We must remember that being a Titus 2 woman does not make us acceptable to God. Christ alone makes us acceptable.

The womanhood passages in the bible are beautiful passages to me, and I am grieved when women take such beautiful instructions and turn them into a rod used to crush women. I believe as women we should hold fast to these passages. We should memorize them and never stray from them, but we should bear with the weak, especially those who are humble and desiring to change.

Is it possible to be saying the right things, but the way in which we say it makes it wrong or even sinful? Yes, I believe when we speak without grace and humility we are denying Christ. As Christian women we must seek to speak the truth in a way that does not destroy. The Bible calls it speaking the truth in love. Gentleness would be another word that is commonly associated with the way believers are to treat others. The apostle Peter says that our gentleness and respect gives unbelievers no room to speak maliciously about us. I would say it is impossible for us to teach Biblical womanhood with harsh demeaning words and be right. For if we teach womanhood without the spirit of Christ our words have betrayed the reality of our hearts.

So, what happens to us as women if we measure up in our Titus 2 lists, but fail to be changed on the inside. I believe when our outward lives gain us the approval of men, but our hearts are unchanged we end up like the Pharisees, we have received our reward- the approval of man. Let us set our eyes on things above, the eternal things, and let us pursue the reward that comes from God- not man.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

Good morning -

In my Systematic Theology class, we have been discussing the biblical doctrines of "justification" and "adoption," and I wanted to pass along several items from this morning's discussion that were encouraging in light of our current memory verse:

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”Galatians 4:4-5

As Tim explained Sunday, we stand condemned under God's holiness and law - but in Christ we are declared righteous on His account. Though we were criminals before God, Christ bore the death penalty that was ours - as 1 Peter 3:18 says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God."

While forgiveness and pardon are definitely good news, the incredible news is that it involves far more than that. This holy and infinite judge could have acquitted us and then had nothing more to do with us, but He did not. He instead looked favorably upon us, adopted us into his family, and now lavishes the blessings and privileges of sonship upon us.

In light of our memory verses this week, Galatians 4:4-5, reflect on the following passages and rejoice in your salvation and in the love of our Gracious "Abba" Father!

Romans 5:8-10 - But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

John 1:12 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

Ephesians 1:2-14 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,... In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

1 John 3:1 - See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

By His infinite grace!
Mark