Highlights from Paul & David's Party!

Happy Birthday to my Double Blessings!

Happy Birthday
to
Paul & David!!!

For breakfast we had chocolate chip muffins
with candles!

Paul blew his out quickly...
It took David a bit more time...

2 very excited little boys!!

One of their gifts was real big boy tools...
so they can help daddy with all his many projects!

Thankful Thursday

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in one body;
and be thankful."
Colossians 3:15

Today I am thankful for:

• The peacefulness that comes with homeschooling... yes, I said peacefulness! Our mornings are usually very peaceful, as we do not have to get up and rush to get ready to get out the door. The boys get to play for a bit before we start our day, and we all get to eat breakfast together before my husband goes to work...
• The warmer weather we have had this week! It has been wonderful to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!
• Answered prayers... how thankful I am that my Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers, big and small!
• A new homeschool group I have connected with! We have several fun field trips planned that we are all excited about... Blue Bell tour, tour of all the departments at a local Publix, Bud's Best Cookies factory tour, a day at the American Village...
• A new like-minded friend, in the same stage and season of life as me!! This is a huge, huge answer to prayer that I have been praying for years... my new friend loves Jesus, studies the Word diligently, and home schools her oldest of 3 boys, who are close to my boys ages. What a blessing her friendship and the friendship among our boys is!
• My health...
• Strawberries being reasonably priced again!
• New recipes tried that turned out yummy!
• My husband, his love for me and our boys, and for how well he provides for us and takes care os us!
• My double blessings, Paul & David, who will turn 6 years old tomorrow!

What are you thankful for? I encourage you to take some time to look over your week and give Him thanks for all the many things, big and small, that you have to be thankful for! For more TT posts visit here...

Wordless Wednesday

Lessons from the Gospel of John

I have been attending Bible Study Fellowship weekly since September, where we doing an in-depth study of the book of John. I have been so blessed by this Bible study, by what I am learning and by the friendships I have made with other moms...

I have so wanted to share here what I am learning, but time has not permitted me to do so. With homeschooling and just being a mom and a wife, time for blogging has been limited. However, today I have several hours to myself and thought I would take the time to share!

I want to share what we learned from John chapter 9...


In John chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man. This blind man received physical as well as spiritual sight. Once the blind man is healed, he begins to face difficulties and persecution. However, through these difficulties and persecution he begins to see even more clearly who Jesus is.

As this blind man received greater spiritual sight he became bolder in his witness. You see, he had come to know this Jesus personally, He had touched him, He had healed him... so he boldly stood up for Him.

As a result of this man's bold witness he is thrown out of the synagogue. Yet, Jesus found him and brought him to Himself! Isn't that just precious... Jesus knew what had happened due to his bold witness, He knew what a big deal it was to be thrown out of the synagogue, so He went searching and found the man whom He had given sight to, physical as well as spiritual. And in finding this man and bringing him to Himself, Jesus revealed even more of who He was to him.

(The following portion is from our notes and so spoke to my heart... I wanted to share it...)

The Jews had thrown the man out of God's temple, Jesus, the true Lord of the temple, found him and brought him to Himself. Jesus never leaves any person alone who witnesses for Him. If the witness leads to rejection by one's fellow men, it always brings Jesus nearer than ever before. Jesus says, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven" (Matthew 10:32). Jesus stood with the blind man and shared in the rejection that was really a rejection of Him.

To have the true approval and personal companionship of Christ is worth any loss. In fact, only after we have given up something for Christ's sake do we discover that what we have lost in order to belong to Christ seems only like waste or refuse in comparison with the intense joy and satisfaction - the excellency or supreme value - of knowing Jesus personally in a real way (see Philippians 3:8). The blind man lost earthly prestige, but he gained for all eternity. He is an example of bold, courageous testimony in face of difficulties, and of the experience of being found by the Lord and brought near to Him. This applies to us. Jesus says He will acknowledge before the angels of God those who truly acknowledge Him now (Luke 12:8).
(from notes on John, Chapter 9, Lesson 15, BSF, pages 6 and 7).

May these truths from John encourage you to stand bold in your witness for Christ. And if you have experienced rejection and difficulties due to your stand for Christ, may these truths encourage and strengthen you as they have me...

Thankful Thursday

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in one body;
and be thankful."
Colossians 3:15

Today I am giving thanks for the following...

• I am thankful for our warm home, warm clothes to wear, and good food to eat...
• I am thankful for the love and care of my husband... God has blessed me with a wonderful man!
• I am thankful for friends and times of fellowship together...
• I am thankful for snuggles and laughter on these cold mornings with my family...
• I am thankful for God speaking to me and giving me clarification and guidance in some decisions I have been praying about...
• I am so very thankful for the 3 week break we have had from homeschooling! I have gotten my house pretty much back in order, feel rested and renewed, and am looking forward to starting back next week...
• I am thankful for the precious prayers of David for the family here in our neighborhood whose house burned to the ground...
• I am thankful for lots of fun times playing games with my family... it is so nice to play games other than Candy Land and Hi Ho Cherry-O!
• I am thankful for the life God has given me, for the health of my family, and the love we have for each other...
• I am thankful for sweet memories...

I encourage you to stop and take time to find things to be thankful for, and give thanks for them! It does your heart and your attitude good to focus on being thankful... so, what are you thankful for today?

For more TT posts you can visit here with Lynn...

10 Things in 2010...

Happy New Year!

I have been thinking about this new year, the year 2010... wondering what it may hold for me and my family. Whatever comes our way, I know this, our Lord is faithful and true... He is our strength and our hope, and in Him we have put our trust. So I start this new year with eager expectations of what my Lord has in store...

I thought it would be fun to think of 10 things I would like to do this year, some big, some small. Not really resolutions, just 10 things I would like to do or accomplish this year...

1. I want to know my Lord more, through His Word and through times spent in prayer... I want to hear His voice more frequently; and I want to be more obedient to what He speaks to me...
2. I desire to pray more... I desire to strive to pray daily without ceasing. I want to keep my mind and my heart focused on my Lord, and the best way to do that is to keep in constant communion with Him through my day.
3. I want to read more...
4. I would like to successfully complete our 1st year of homeschooling...
5. I would like to run a half marathon, hopefully in February... however, this frigid weather needs to leave so I can get out and run!
6. I want to have friends over for fellowship more often...
7. I want to find a ministry or outreach opportunity that our family can participate in together. One that is outside the walls of our home and our church, one that opens all of our eyes to how blessed we truly are and to the needs all around us...
8. I want us to have a missionary to pray for daily... one for each day of the week.
9. I desire to continue to strive to be a Godly wife and mother...
10. I really would like to get back to blogging consistently... I really want to share the wonderful truths I am learning from my study of the book of John, I want to share what the Lord is teaching me through my training for the half marathon, and I would love to share precious homeschool stories...

So we will see what our Lord has in store for us through the year 2010... and how much time He will give me to blog about it! May He bless you this year with much love, joy, and peace in your hearts and in your family!

Books I read in 2009

These are some of the books I read in 2009... I also started homeschooling in 2009, so I probably have left a few off of my list...

• Heaven by Randy Alcorn
• Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• Take One by Karen Kingsbury
• This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury
• Holiness, The Heart God Purifies by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
• What your doctor may not tell you about Menopause, the Breakthrough Book on Natural Progesterone by John R. Lee, M.D.
• The True Woman, The Beauty and Strength of a Godly Woman by Susan Hunt
• Searching for Spice by Megan DiMaria
• The Pursuit of God, The Human Thirst for the Divine by A.W. Tozer
• Surrender the Heart God Controls by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
• Every Now and Then by Karen Kingsbury
• The Valley of Vision
• Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman
• The Bible