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I LOVE autumn and I love doing themed lessons and unit studies when we homeschool. October's science was focused around skeletons so that we could learn about human anatomy AND use the projects for decorations. I've been wanting to incorporate a spelling list into our homeschool because my daughter loves to spell and it wasn't something we had been doing. So to start us off, I looked up some autumn spelling lists and created one of my own, and then, because I have way too much fun with Microsoft Publisher, I decided to make a printable to use for your own use, if you so desire.
I'm going to host another event for 24 hours of prayer since there is going to be another public hexing. Let's make this event bigger than the last! Please go to the event link and share and invite everyone you know.
PRAY FOR OUR NATION'S LEADERS Yesterday I lead a 24-hour campaign to pray for Brett Kavanaugh and our nation’s leaders, as a counter attack against a public hexing organized by a book store in New York. I wanted to thank each and every one of you who shared and posted and spread this event. I’m hoping to do more of these in the future, maybe a monthly rallying, about specific current events. I had a lot of fun planning and preparing the posts and dialoguing with people about the event.
As I was thinking and praying throughout yesterday, and explained to several people that this wasn’t supporting one person or another’s political issues, but it was about fighting back against blatantly evil attacks and spiritual warfare. I emphasized that this event could be about anyone, we should be praying for everyone, no matter what their political and/or religious views. So today I wanted us to take a moment and pray for those individuals who launched this attack yesterday. We need to pray for the souls of the witches and the pagans, the Wiccans and the warlocks, and anyone who felt the need to attend yesterday’s event in New York and take part in the hexing. Whether they are familiar and practiced in this particular brand of evil, or just along for the ride, doing something “fun”, or testing the waters of witchcraft, we need to PRAY. Pray without ceasing. Our prayers shouldn’t be discriminatory or have affiliations. We shouldn’t pray just for those we like or whose values match our own. First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NASB) Again, I ask that today, when you are doing your daily meditations, when you check your phone, when you change that load of laundry, think of those who have been tempted by the darkness. Those who are so broken that they feel that their only hope is to call on evil. They, too, need our prayers. JOIN ME SATURDAY as we pray for our nation's leaders!
A bookstore in New York is hosting a PUBLIC HEX on Brett Kavanaugh. This is absolutely and undoubtedly evil. As Christians, we are called to PRAY! PRAY for what troubles us, pray for guidance, pray for wisdom, PRAY. Please join and SHARE this event on FACEBOOK so that we can spread the word that this will not stand. Please pray for a hedge of protection around Brett Kavanaugh and his family, specifically, but also for our entire nation and its leadership. Jesus is the truth and the light and only through him can we lead this nation, and world, to a better future. Inviting evil only ends with darkness. Sitting in the library again and I’m trying to study for my church laity program. This proves difficult because the current text I’m reading is written by a great man who will soon be worshipping at the feet of our Creator.
I can’t help but hear his voice as I read about church polity. I see him gesturing at the pulpit, proclaiming that, “In this world we will have troubles.” I envision him sitting there as I walk through the front doors of the church, drinking his coffee and laughing in the bright, morning sunlight. I can feel the secureness of his big hugs. People that have impacted my life can be heard echoing in my mind. He is one of those voices that filters in and out. His wisdom and guidance are applied daily. His lessons are a legacy through memory and print. He is a character that has been permanently imprinted in my memories, such a prominent figure in my early adult years. His ministry has reached more people than can be counted and will continue for years to come. His teachings have helped form and shape my own spiritual walk. I cannot imagine this world without him, yet this new reality will soon be realized. The overwhelming emotions that roil inside me can only be assuaged by the confidence that this next step for him is the best step. The final step. He will be at the feet of Jesus. We will be left to mourn the passing of a legend. Great title, got your attention. Right away I can hear my friends and family saying, “No, that’s not true, we love your writing.” I love my friends and family. They’re also not wrong. I hate to toot my own horn but when you’ve been told something enough times, you start to believe it, so, yes, I do wholeheartedly believe that writing is that one true talent of mine that I cannot deny. However, writing and blogging are two different animals.
Before I continue, I do want to clarify that I’m speaking about blogging in the sense of those that do it for profit. There are those that, like me, get a thought in their head that can only be assuaged by busting out the keyboard and banging the torture away. We also do take a small delight in having that supportive network read what we write and tell us that they enjoyed it or took something away from our “profound” epitomes. I’m good at that type of blogging, as in, writing something and getting it out into the blogosphere. Blogging for profit is something else, something that I attempt, poorly, because I just, for the life of me, can’t bombard those who I wish to read my content with endless pop-ups and break up my flow of thought with an advertisement to sign up to sell essential oils. I just CAN’T DO IT! It was my downfall when I worked retail. As a consumer, I know what I want, I go find it, and I buy it, done. I’ll occasionally peruse, but for the most part, I prefer to be left alone. Nothing makes me want to leave a store faster than a hovering sales associate ready to pounce when I try on a lotion. Yes, I know it’s buy three get one free, I can read, and I did read the GIANT signs as I walked in the door that announced the promotion. So when I was forced to ask, contact, and speak with every person that crossed the threshold into whatever store I happened to work in that year, I felt like apologizing beforehand and disclaim that I was being forced to bother them relentlessly. Even now, when I’m hunting for a recipe, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to read the entire story that led to your inspiration for wanting to make delicious pumpkin cheesecake. I’m going to scroll past the pics of your children in a pumpkin patch, apple picking, and corn mazing to get to the recipe you lovingly prepared in your giant, clean kitchen. I want the recipe. I don’t want to buy or download your self-published e-book on how to make such and such amount of money by being a blogger while you juggle the many tasks of being a granola, oily, whole foods, keto, all-natural, gluten free, stay-at-home mom-boss, entrepreneur. This is why I’ve relegated Pinterest for homeschooling curriculum and leave the recipes to the professionals, like Better Homes and Betty Crocker. Which brings me to my point, while I would LOVE to make money by writing, it’s probably not going to happen until I write that elusive book. My blog to date has never made me money and I do have affiliate links on there, but I’m quite certain that I am not using them in the way that would be suggested in How to Become a Millionaire Blogger Overnight. To do that would be practically unbiblical, when you look at it from the “do unto others” standpoint. I’ll place them strategically on the sides or at the end of a blog, or hide a link in the text when speaking of something specific, but I just can’t bring myself to have a box pop-up at you when you’re trying to read something and make it impossible to hit the tiny “X” if you just happen to be reading it on your phone. I cannot devote the time to marketing a website when it’s hard enough to find time to dedicate to the actual content. So I have the problem, what’s the solution? Accept defeat? Accept the fact that I may never be a billionaire blogging sensation? Sure, I could do that, and I’d be fine. I can also look at what I CAN do. I’ve found that Instagram is an awesome resource for advertising. I love trying to figure out what unique hashtag is going to snag me that organic follower. I’m also a HUGE believer in quality over quantity. My husband has done online media for various companies and he would explain to me that he would just copy and paste links of other blog posts in his company’s blog and as long as the original poster is credited, it was all completely legitimate and above board. This constant activity served to draw more people to the site and bring in more business (in theory). He explains this to me once after I triumphantly proclaim that I completed two blog posts in one week. I reply that he’s cheating. I still maintain that stance. I understand the marketing philosophy behind the entire scheme, but I’m not trying to sell roofs. I’m literally (that pun works two ways) trying to sell my talent. Thus why it may take me an entire month to be able to fully process an idea and get the time to write it down or type it into my computer, even if it means I have to steal away to the library for an hour and trade the distractions of kiddos for the distractions of the guy laughing and talking to himself in the corner. Typing an entire blog post inside my house is pretty much impossible. Trying to type with two toddlers climbing over my lap is a talent I’ve yet to accomplish. Finally, I am my BIGGEST critic. I will read, reread, and read this again before I even copy and paste it into my blog platform. Then I will read it again, publish it, check the link, read it from the website, and then the next morning, I will reread it AGAIN. I’ll try and catch all the spelling errors, concrete grammatical mistakes, and still there will be something that I find two weeks down the road when I read this post AGAIN. Editing and proofreading can be time consuming in and of itself. If you’re doing research on a specific topic, it can take even longer because the worst thing you can do is publish incorrect facts. Nothing is more embarrassing than having someone point out that kind of a mistake. Knowing that others may be critiquing my work as harshly as I am known to critique others makes me especially diligent. Admittedly, I’m a pretty harsh critic on other peoples’ sites when I see spelling errors, less so on grammatical because there can be an artistic slant when it comes to usage, but there are also rules that cannot be ignored. My respect for them as a writer goes down just a teensy-weensy bit, but one spelling error I can ignore, IT HAPPENS. I do have a limit that after about three or more errors, I can no longer take that person’s message seriously, whatever idea they’re trying to convey. For me, if it was important enough to get onto paper and publish, it should be equally important to make sure that whatever medium you’re using is flawless so that your true point can be made known. I’m going to be distracted by mistakes because if you can’t take the time to proofread and spell the correct version of a word, how much time did you take to think out and process your point? It could be argued that the point is less important than the details and the cleanliness in which it’s displayed, but I disagree with this stance, and you can disagree with mine. I’m going to wrap this up because as I type, I realize that the entire point of this blog post is blurry. What did I seek to communicate in these 1500 words? Well, to be honest, I’m equally puzzled. This could be further affirmation that I’m seeking to advance my writing career (anyone have any ties to a literary agent?). This could easily be considered a writing exercise; a way to hone my craft, practice scales, get out of my house for a bit (unrelated). Every great writer says that the more you write, the easier it becomes. Make purposeful time for writing and the dreaded “writer’s block” will be less of a problem. For whatever reason I chose to sit in this comfy chair, drink my Starbucks, and clack away at these keys, I hope that I was able to express something that you can relate to, laugh at, ponder, or pass on. Keep an eye out for more of my writing. Let me know what you honestly think. |
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