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.
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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.
Christianbook.com is having a Bible sale and I LOVE buying new Bibles. I love the smell of the new pages and going through and separating the thin, onion paper. I love the pretty bindings. Most of all, I love the CONTENT! The Bible has EVERYTHING we need. Man cannot live on bread alone (although, I'll admit I've tried) and a daily diet of the Living Word definitely does your body and THE body good. We can only strengthen ourselves as believers by immersing ourselves in the most complete guidebook ever written.
“You have your hands full!” “Are they all yours?” “You do know how that happens, right?” “Are you starting a daycare?” “Are you done?” These and many other questions have been asked of me and other mothers who have been blessed with more than the national average of 2.5 kids. While many people are genuinely curious, there are enough people out there that ask with the intent to shame, or their words are laced with bitterness. They sneer or chuckle at us, ask inappropriate questions in front of our children, and why do they think this is OK? Why, because we have more than they think they could handle, do they believe that we can’t handle our children? WHY, because we have almost outgrown a normal minivan, do people believe they can talk about our intimate lives as if it’s a joke? No, really, what is it about having three or more children that baffles people into believing we are open for ridicule or speculation as to how we could even fathom caring for so many children?
My husband and I have four children when so many of our peers are just now having their first or considering a second child. So often, when I’m out and about with just the baby, I’m asked if she’s my first. When I clarify she’s my fourth, the looks range from amusement to horror. Many of my friends are stopping at two as my husband and I are still on the fence about number five. I tell you this with the risk of backlash and snide comments about how I have enough, but how is it anyone’s business but God’s on how many children he gives one family? So maybe you make one comment to one family, one mother, a mother that has probably heard that comment in some form or another every time she goes to the grocery store. What if someone commented on your hairstyle, whether it was a compliment or critical remark, EVERY TIME they saw you, don’t you think that would wear you down a bit? It’s exhausting to have to explain to everyone, while trying to show God’s grace and be respectful, kind, and polite, when what you really want to do is scream, “How is this any of your business?!” Some women are better at it than others, I’m not one of those women. I try and just smile and walk away because I don’t trust what may come out of my mouth. “But aren’t you tired?” Yes, of course I’m tired, but that makes me no less of a mother and no less able to handle my brood. If I wasn’t tired, I probably wouldn’t be doing my job correctly. Being a mother is HARD WORK! Does your job make you tired? Is anyone asking you to quit because it might be challenging? If your job was harmful to your health, yes, then you can expect people would be concerned with your continuing to work in said field, but just because a job wears you out, wouldn’t you continue to work in that field and overcome obstacles only to become better at that job? Motherhood is the same way! If my innards were falling out and my children were born with multiple problems and the pregnancies were fraught with complications, I would probably pause and consider why and decide to shut down the baby factory. However, if I’m enjoying my children, they are thriving, they are loved, housed, fed, clothed, and being cared for, heck, what’s one more to add to the fun?! “Isn’t it expensive?” It can be, yes, but we believe God provides. No, not in the, “We’re going to live off the system and handouts and become a burden on everyone we know,” type of provision, but we work, we save, we are frugal, we provide what our children need. Our children are not deprived BY ANY MEANS. There are many times when money is tight, especially since my husband is currently unemployed due to a circumstance completely out of his control. We are praying and seeking God’s guidance, we are looking for work for him, he is doing freelance jobs, he is making plans to go back to school, we do receive unemployment, we have other sources of income, and yet, we are often surprised by unsolicited gifts that help make our lives THAT MUCH easier. Just this week I was reading a post by a fellow large family mother that detailed the friendliness of a stranger by slipping her $20. That story was followed by many more comments and stories of blessings from strangers. That is God’s provision. Psalm 127:3-5 is a popular verse for those with large families, it is also used for a movement that I don’t myself align, but I will post it here because it is God’s Word, no matter how you interpret it, and it does spell out exactly how we should feel about our children. 3 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. (NIV) “They will not be put to shame when they contend to their opponents in court,” is a particularly interesting part to me, considering how often those with large families receive such shame, even from those who claim to be Christ’s followers. We can’t expect those who don’t know the scriptures to understand the Word and how it details numerous times God’s love for children, and so often how he blessed so many families with not riches, but children. Then why so often am I seeing Christian family members of large families exasperated at baby announcements, or mothers hesitant and scared to share their joyous news of pregnancy because of what their family or friends might say? Maybe you don’t feel that God’s plan for your family is to have a lot of children, that is TOTALLY FINE! Maybe you don’t feel you don’t want ANY children, again, that’s between YOU and GOD. So just as a single person gets tired of being asked if they’re dating someone, or a dating couple when they’re getting engaged, or a married couple gets questioned about when they’re planning to have children, so do large families get tired of being asked if they're done having children, or if they're all theirs, or if they know how babies are made. Personally, I look at my children and I think they're gorgeous and awesome and smart and adorable and how could I just stop producing such wonderful human beings? Plus, have y'all seen my handsome husband? It's a wonder we don't already have more! Just a quick update about what's going on over here in my world.
We're surviving a busy month of VBS, cheer camp and practice, various YMCA activities, and just trying to get through a few gloomy, PNW days. I wanted to write a quick note about some stuff swirling around in my head and what my hopes and dreams are for this blog. If you watch my Instagram account you'll see that we have started some light homeschooling to prevent that summer slide but we'll be amping up more later in August. I'm hoping on here I can share what we're doing and our plans, frustrations, delights, etc. I'm still gathering curriculum, making plans, numerous library visits and reading everything I see on the homeschool FB groups (that's a whole lotta crazy but sooo inspiring!) I've been getting quite the heart makeover, as well. I've been really convicted in a lot of areas and hopefully the change will be seen in my posts and activities. I'm hoping I can write more about journeys that I'm taking and garner support from those who are like-minded. I'm not going to guarantee that people will agree with everything that I say but I've been feeling that I'm being led to make some waves in light of what's going on today's world. Well, I have to make this post quick because I'm typing with kiddos awake and around and I don't know what I was thinking trying to do anything but attending to my many/mini monsters. My hope is to start setting aside writing times to get some stuff out on a regular basis, but until then... STAY CRAZY! |
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