Monday, November 30, 2009

Good Idea...

December Photo Project

Monday, November 23, 2009

I'm Thankful For...

1. The God who made me, saved me, blessed me, sustained me.
2. My wonderful husband, who has been my best friend for nearly 23 years, and who has been the best husband I could imagine for almost 19 years – I have been happy, secure, comforted, and loved!
3. The five covenant children God has given us to raise, and the joy that came with them.
4. Our parents, grandmothers, sisters, and brothers, who are always supportive and loving even though we moved far away.
5. My pastor and church family, who have been like family to us always.
6. Dear friends, provided by God for us everywhere we have gone.
7. The Bible, God’s word to us for every good use.
8. A warm house, big enough for all of us, and good food to eat in it.
9. A piano, now filling our house with music, and bringing out talents my kids didn’t know they had.
10. Contentment, a blessing that cannot be measured.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”- Psalm 100:4-5

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Improv Everywhere - I Love Lunch

Maybe you've heard of one of my favorite rainy day blogs, Improv Everywhere. I usually just watch their videos and skip the text, though it may be entertaining as well. I should say that not everything on their blog is acceptable to everyone, so preview before calling your kids down to watch with you! I found nothing to keep the kiddos from watching their latest installment, "I Love Lunch." Another favorite is "Food Court Musical."

I think I enjoy them so much because I would secretly love to do this myself!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Love Makes All the Difference

There have been more than a few angry “disputes and contests” in our home lately. That led Edwin into studying how we can teach the children how to be more loving to one another (Surely we adults will benefit from that as well!). The first place to look is the Bible, of course, and if you want to think about love you turn to I Corinthians 13. It is a straight-forward passage; though we did learn something (that perhaps should have been obvious) from consulting Calvin’s Commentary.

From John Calvin’s Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (dealing with I Corinthians 13):
“…love is also a bridle to repress quarrels, and this follows from the first two statements. For where there is gentleness and forbearance, persons in that case do not, on a sudden, become angry, and are not easily stirred up to disputes and contests.”

Basically, if we are behaving in love, that is being patient, kind, etc., we will by default not be easily angered. If we are easily angered and stirred up to quarrels, then we could not possibly be showing love to one another. Ouch! We’ve got some work to do!


I Corinthians 13:4-8,13
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. …
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Why Life is Different Here

1. My husband and I grew up in Alabama and now live in Minnesota. That really explains most of the differences.
2. Sometimes a summer day in Minnesota looks very much like a winter day in Alabama.
3. There are many people here who love cold weather and really, truly hate hot weather.
4. It always snows at Christmas. Now there is a positive difference!
5. Minnesota is different in many ways that are not weather-related, and these dissimilarities will surely be the topic of many-a post.
6. We have five children, considered by some to be a lot of kids. (We are very aware that our family is small next to many families, who have been even more richly blessed!) We are extremely thankful for them, for too many reasons to list!
7. There are seven years between the oldest and the youngest of our children, so at one time we were a baby parade. Now we’re just loud.
8. I am a stay at home mom by choice, and thankful for the opportunity. I hope that it is a choice we would have made even if our circumstances had made it much more difficult.
9. We home school our children. That is another way of saying that most of us are at home most of the time. This is more often than not a good thing, though sometimes I am tempted to complain about it. Then I remember reason # 6.
10. We are a family of sinners saved by the grace of God. Thank you, Jesus!


Ephesians 2:4-10
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Trouble with Blogs

I enjoy reading a few blogs, most of them written by Christian women who are similar to me in one way or another. They home school, home make, raise children, suffer losses, and strive to glorify God in the little and big things of life. The trouble is, most of them are much better at these things than I am! Or at least that is how it appears.

I have seen beautiful hand-made dish cloths, season-appropriate centerpieces, hot breakfasts for weekday mornings, successful home businesses, monthly grocery budgets of $400 for a large family, super-creative crafts made with their children, and the list goes on. Some days I come away inspired; other days I come away feeling completely inadequate. These women do not claim perfection. I am sure they have personal struggles, and they do mention some of the struggles in their blog posts. But herein lies the trouble with blogs: they are a mere glimpse into someone’s life. A blog usually shows the high points, and leaves out the lows.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hello, well, maybe...

I've wanted to start blogging for a while now, but I do not know if this is the time. I may begin by simply adding some things I have written in the past, and go from there.

I do want to keep a record of our life, funny things the kids say, and photos. I know I will want to read them, even if no one else does!

Stay tuned!