See you in a bit!

I am beginning to do a short stint of work outside of our home, and I have a feeling that I won't be back on here for a little bit. I apologize in advance. I look forward to seeing you soon!! :)

Today

I'm really not a complete sheltering my kids kind of mom... I let them climb tall trees, play sports, watch the news (with me only though, so we can talk it through), have friends, just do lots of stuff. I look at homeschooling as a chance to prepare them rather than solely protect them. As they get older we shift more and more from protecting to preparing... But I do worry. I worry about the "today" that they're growing up in. I worry that they are growing up familiar with terms like "compromising photos", "school shootings","private drug rehab", and those much more intense. I applaud that we are talking about hard things, and not just brushing them under the carpet, but it makes me sad that some of the hard things have been trivialized to pop news....

Okay enough deep thinking for tonight :). My brain is ready to shift gears to the mindless activites that occur after kids' bedtimes: folding laundry, watching a non-animated tv show, balancing the checkbook (maybe I should save that one till the morning :).)

G'night!

Reclaiming school

Any other homeschoolers having a hard time getting back into it after the holidays? I JUST now feel like I'm starting to regain some semblance of a schedule... I stress about sometimes, but in my happier times I take a deep breath and remember that each sunrise holds a fresh start :).

Finding your way online

As you know if you've looked around, I've got a couple of kiddos here. I love having internet access for them, but it also comes with the responsibility of teaching them how to use it wisely. We have parental guards, locks, and filters in place. We have our computer located in a main area where there are no "secrets" online, but still, we need to teach them how to, little by little, make more of their own choices, good choices, online.

Even once you get through the moral choices of what to look at online, it can be challenging to find quality stuff online. Searching for good information, or for an ideal product or service on the net can be a real hassle. There are some new services to specifically help with this issue. Hottest Products is one of services designed to help with this. Their site is jam-packed with a ton of items that are conveniently categorized in an orderly fashion, from Wedding Planning Guides to television services to learning to play the piano. Good stuff! Check it out and let me know what you think....

No more hiding

I hope you enjoy me sharing these little blurbs. I figure that if they are helpful for me, they might hit upon someone else that could use this tidbit of wisdom today... What do think about it?

No more hiding Gen. 3:9-10: But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid" (NIV). After Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they realized they were naked. In response, they hid from God and sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. God's response to Adam's sin was a question: "Where are you?" Now, you can be certain that God had not misplaced Adam! He asked the question for Adam's benefit, not His. The legacy of Adam and Eve's act is that we are still hiding today. Shopping, food, drug and alcohol abuse, and sometimes even exercise represent our "fig leaves." Still, God continues to ask us, "Where are you?" He is calling for us to come out of hiding and into a relationship with Him. What an example for parents! Call your kids out of hiding by asking open-ended questions and listen to their answers with understanding, rather than meeting them with judgment and shame. If you need to give consequences for their disobedience, choose to give those consequences with empathy. Meeting your kids with empathy helps them come out of hiding and into relationship.

E-cards

It's amazing how quickly young minds learn! My ten year old, and even my eight year old, can navigate around the internet (with safeguards in place) so adeptly, and are able to figure out all kinds of things. They amaze me. I truly don't know how they learned this stuff, as we homeschool, and they are with me most all of the time. I've never really sat and taught them this stuff. It wasn't computer lab at school, just trial and error and watching me I guess. Anyway, my ten year old has this thing with e-cards. She loves sending them, and will even send them for me if I mention forgetting someone's birthday or something like that. She knows her way around several sites. I think I'm going to be able to impress her with finding one that she doesn't know about yet (always good to occasionally be able to look cool in front of your kids!! :)).

Cardfish is an exciting new personalized greeting card and messaging service that allows users to send innovative multi-media cards to their friends. You select a card, send it to a friend, and then when they open it and watch the video clip, Cardfish Phone call calls them at a specific point in the video, just when it makes it very funny. I like it.... There's even a free discount code for people to try the service out, using the word FREE as the coupon code. Fun, free, good stuff, right?

So, we'll see. I think I'll send one to my daughter, placing my phone right near her when I know she's checking email... Maybe, for a brief moment anyway, I will be "cool mom". Here's hoping, right? :)

Successful children

This is a good read. It grabbed my attention especially because it's not what I thought the article would be about, looking at the title. Successful children... It was a good reminder about what I really should be searching for my children to succeed in! Read on...

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

--Luke 10:27

I know you want your family to be successful. Whether you're a parent or grandparent, you want your children to be healthy, successful, and productive.

But what is true success? Jesus addressed this in Luke 10 when he was confronted by a lawyer asking, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus replied with a question, "What is written in the Law?" The answer is our verse today: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus said, "Do this, and you will live" (Luke 10:28). If you want your children to really live, a successful life comes from a strong faith.

You may be asking, "So how do I instill that faith into my children?"

It's not as hard as society likes to pretend. You see, God wants your children to know and love Him even more than you do.

That is why He has provided you with an instruction manual, His Word. If you and I simply apply the Scriptures to our lives and homes, we will raise godly children!

IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING IN A PARTICULAR AREA AT HOME, SEE WHAT GOD'S WORD HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT.

The Seduction of Covetousness

I received these thoughts in an email today and thought that they would be appropriate to share at this time of year. If you're like most of us, you spent a little bit more than you planned on your Christmas shopping, and now you are left with an envelope full of receipts, a few memories of smiles, and well, bills to pay. Why do we do this? Why are we always after more? What are we teaching our kids about contentedness and covetousness? Here are a few thoughts from someone smarter than me on this....

One of the verses we read in our last devotional was Luke 12:15, which says,

And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

Jesus begins His teaching regarding prosperity in this passage by saying, "Beware of covetousness." In our society, even in the Church, there are a lot of people whose lives are tied up in "things." The focus of their life is their stuff, and doing whatever they can to acquire even more things.

It is what the Bible calls covetousness.

I want to ask you today, is your heart filled with covetousness? Do you find yourself thinking, "I know the missing ingredient in my life, I just need a little more. If I could just get a little more, I would be happy. If I could just build a bigger house and fill it with a little more stuff...if I could get a nicer car...if I could upgrade...then I would be happy, and then I would be successful."?

A little more, a little more, a little more.

The problem is, however, that desire for more never stops. In fact, as we will see in our next devotional, God called a man a fool because he never realized that riches are only temporary.

If you find your life driven by the need for more things, if you are consumed with stuff, if you define your success by what you have (or do not have), then you have been seduced by covetousness, and you will never find the happiness you are looking for.

Do not be a fool seeking after things. Instead, make the passion of your life seeking after God.

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God

The Real Santa

The Real St. Nicholas
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

Many families choose not to include Santa Claus as a part of their Christmas celebrations. The legend of Santa, the North Pole, flying reindeer, keeping naughty and nice lists, and coming down the chimney can seem as just too much distraction from the true meaning of Christmas for many Christian families. But, whatever your family chooses to do with Santa Claus, it may be worthwhile to consider the historical St. Nicholas.

"Nicholas lived long ago, in the third century, in a place called Asia Minor, what is now the country of Turkey. His parents died from an illness while Nicholas was a teenager and left him a large inheritance of money. Nicholas' parents taught him about Jesus. As he grew older, he followed the teachings of Jesus and sold all his possessions, secretly giving money to those in need.

"Nicholas became well-loved by the people and later became the Bishop of Myra. He died on December 6, 343 A.D. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration in his honor, called St. Nicholas Day. On this day, children would give and receive small gifts of candy, chocolate initial letters, or riddles hidden in baked goods or in elaborate packaging. Children also hung stockings by the fire or placed shoes filled with carrots and hay for the horse, eagerly awaiting gifts from St. Nicholas. Gold balls or oranges were given to represent the gifts of gold once given by St. Nicholas."[1]

Influenced by St. Nicholas' popularity in Europe, immigrants brought his story and tradition to America. Over the years, legend was wedded to historical elements and developed into our modern day Santa Claus.

While we celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus, we can have an appropriate appreciation for the lives He has touched. This includes those whose lives demonstrated compassion and selflessness out of their love for Jesus. St. Nicholas was such a person.

Money matters

I'm very excited about one of the classes that one of my kids will be taking through our homeschool co-op: a twelve week class called "Money Matters" aimed at teaching the kiddos a bit about managing their money responsibly. I wish I had spent a little more time learning about that kind of stuff when I was growing up. Perhaps it would have spared me some costly mistakes.

My husband and I had a nasty brush with getting over our heads in debt a few years back, and we had to do a lot of research into the options that were available to dig out from under. It is such an overwhelming spot to be in, until you realize that there are helps available. One of the things that we checked into was debt settlement, a process where you get help negotiating with lenders to reduce interest rates and even amounts of debt, to make getting out of debt a little bit easier. There are even more options out there now than there were then, thankfully.

I've come across a company recently called NetDebt. They've revolutionized the debt industry by creating the nation’s only completely online enrollment solution. Their entire process is online. They have representatives standing by if you need them, but don't require monthly counseling sessions and such, that can be tricky to fit in if you're trying to work extra hours to get out of debt! I haven't used their services personally, but it looks like it merits checking into. Let me know what you think!

1 Corinthians 13 - Christmas Style

I came across this neat interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13. It's full of good reminders for all of us this holiday season. I think I should print this out and stick it on my fridge, or maybe on my forehead :). Have you read this before?

1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style
©By Sharon Jaynes

If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family - I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family - I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family - It profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.

An Obesity Epidemic

I was reading some back magazine issues today and found an article in a Ladies' Home Journal Magazine that gave these statistics:

• 16% of 6 to 19 year olds are overweight, triple the proportion in 1980
• 43% of adolescents watch more than 2 hours of tv each day, with additional time spent on computer and video games
• Only 31% of parents of obese children are aware that their children are very overweight
• 71% of ninth graders take physical education , compared with 40% of 12th graders
• Being overweight increases a teen's chance of heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and depression

Scary stuff. I have no idea how those numbers compare to adult statistics, but I'm sure that that those are high too. In our culture it's so easy to be sedentary, and so hard to change once you're there...

Boys being boys?

As my girls get older, and interact more with other kids, I'm noticing that there are definitely differences between boys and girls. Shocking, eh? Really, I went through public schools in the 70s and 80s, and I was kind of fed a unisex ideology. Girls can do anything boys can, and boys can do anything girls can, and there really is no difference between the two. Even when I got married, I didn't fully acknowledge that we were different, just figured I was right and my husband was not quite there with me.... Nice, right? Well, with age comes a little wisdom I guess. Adding a little boy to our home through foster care has been an eye opener too. We've had this little guy since he was a year and a half, little, so we know all that he's been exposed do for a good chunk of his memorable life. We've been careful to not expose him to a lot of violence and junk, just like we were with our girls. Yet, you know what, his plastic golf club has still become a gun. He "shoots" trees with sticks and chases the dog around the house going "pow pow" with a dull pencil. He just naturally, truly on his own, has developed an interest in weapon type stuff. Obviously we're not rushing out to buy him a real gun, but it's got me thinking. Just because there are some kids who have lost it and done horrible things with weapons in recent years, does that mean that it can't be okay for boys to have beebee guns and do target practice? I certainly want to keep my kids and those around us safe, but if my child is interested at looking at Blackhawk CQC Holsters and other "guy things" in catalogs, might that just be a good opportunity to sit with him and look with him, talking about the responsibility of weapon ownership, and of the dangers of not exercising that responsibility and good judgement? I am a firm believer in teachable moments, and think that so often we miss them in being careful to do what we are "supposed" to be doing.
Anyway, that's my random rambling for the day....

Walking in the light

If you're like me, you don't always have, or take opportunities to back up and reflect too much. I mean, the kids are around you pretty much non-stop. The to-do list is ever present. You know what, though, even a few minutes can make a big difference. Sneak away for a moment and recharge with this little devotional...


Isa. 50:10: Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God (NIV).
In a world of darkness, it's easy to lose sight of our path. At times, we may feel like we are stumbling through life, trying to feel our way in the dark. But the hope for believers is that there is light, and it is found in the Lord!

Don't get discouraged living in a world of darkness. We will experience God's full glory in heaven soon enough. Until then, obey the Lord. He promises to light your way. By living in obedience to Him and following His leading, we can be an example of hope to our children as they go through life.

Try not to get discouraged by the things of this world. Rely on God as the lamp unto your feet.
Parenting by Design (http://www.crosswalkmail.com/ohbbvtnff_qsmymwyqrtm.html) was created by Chris & Michelle Groff with Lee Long, MA, LPC to help parents understand the Biblical model for parenting their children. It is a faith-based parenting series that compares current parenting paradigms to the ageless parenting principles in the Bible.

Click here to sign up for your free "Designs for Parenting" newsletter!

Vacation time?

I grew up in western New York state, and as a kiddo we vacationed in southern New Jersey quite a bit. It was far enough away to feel like a real trip, but close enough to not be crazy to drive with kids. Even though we've been near this area in recent years, and even driven pretty much through it, I've never taken my kids on a Jersey Shore beach vacation. I really think that I'd like to, to show them where I went and what I did with their aunts when I was a child. I still remember playing in the sand, diving in the waves, and visiting all of the souvenir shops. We have beaches near us now, but swimming in a lake isn't the same as swimming in the Atlantic ocean. It's definitely a different and memorable experience.

I found a neat resource online in Morey’s Piers. They are a great place for a “New Jersey Vacation” and their website is a great place to find hotels & motels in Wildwood. Morey's Piers is a staple among New Jersey attractions, with its amusement park rides and many other boardwalk attractions. They're even having an annual holiday sale right now, from December 1 through January 9. There are specials discounting nearly 40% on a Season Pass to both waterparks. Wow!! That could make a family vacation a lot more affordable.

I'll have to do a little more digging and a little more planning, but maybe I'll see you at the boardwalk before too long!!

Detour

"When you come to a roadblock, take a detour."

-Mary Kay Ash

One of the very cool things about homeschooling is the flexibility that we have to make detours when we need to. If our children are having a hard time learning in a certain way, we can change the way of teaching it. If our children are interested in a certain topic, we can detour from our planned studies and dive into it for a bit. If we need to place more emphasis on something at certain times, even non academic things like character training, we can do that. Our roadblocks don't need to be a source of frustration, but a source of guidance and an opportunity for thinking through our path...

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

I'm not super up to date on lots of political stuff, but I received this blurb today... Read through it and let me know what you think. Our children definitely need to be safe, but should it be at the expense of every family? It seems as though it's a slippery slope we're heading down. Anyway, what are your thoughts?


"Imagine If..."
The Reality of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Imagine an Air Force mom, serving her country on a month-long deployment, who learns that her daughter has been secretly removed by local authorities, claiming the child has been "abandoned." Children begin mandatory sex-education at the age of four, regardless of their family's opinions, beliefs, or convictions, and parents are imprisoned if their children fail to receive any of their mandatory vaccinations. Parents live in a state of constant supervision and suspicion.

Imagine if your national government had the audacity to appoint a "guardian" to monitor your child from birth, charged with the legal responsibility to evaluate your decisions as a parent and armed with the legal authority to "intervene, prevent or rectify" any violations of your child's rights. Public and private schools alike are policed by the national government, and classes begin with singing about the principles of peace, tolerance, and the United Nations. Your child's confidential medical records, stored in a nation-wide electronic register from birth until age twenty, can be accessed at any time, without your knowledge, by any physician, teacher, or government social worker in the nation.

Now stop imagining, because for parents in the 193 countries that have ratified the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, each of these scenarios is true. Read the rest of this article.

Marriage, what's that?

I heard a blurb from Mike Huckabee on a news talk show last night, and he was talking about how our country was designed by our founding fathers to operate within a moral framework, within a certain structure. When parts of that structure start crumbling, we start having problems reverberate throughout our country. One of the most basic parts of our country's framework is the family, and we know that families are having a harder time than ever staying together in recent years. Please take a moment to read this press release from the National Institute of Marriage. It's important, to you, to someone you know, to our country. Thanks....



With the national divorce rate around 50%, there is no doubt that many marriages run into communication problems at some point. There is a communication epidemic. The National Institute of Marriage has created marriage counseling programs and resources utilizing a structure that is the most powerful format they have found for helping couples who feel stuck and hopeless. They have designed several programs to help couples move past the barriers and experience the marriage of their dreams.
NIM's Intensive Marriage Counseling Programs are unique from weekly marriage counseling in three distinctive ways:

· Intensive Marriage Counseling Format: Committing to an extended amount of concentrated time like the 2 or 4 day Marriage Intensive allows people to get to the root of the problem and stick with it in order to work through it. If you’ve been in traditional marriage counseling before, you may have experienced how you spend the first half catching up from the week before, the second half getting into the real issues, and then the time is gone. The Intensive format is designed so that people have the chance to go deeper without many of the other distractions of daily life and have enough discuss to consider solutions.

· Efficiency: One of the first steps in the process is an extensive assessment with some questionnaires. This allows the therapists to gather background information and can get an idea of the best strategy to proceed before you arrive for your session.

· Marriage Counselors: The counselors at the National Institute of Marriage are specialists in this area. One analogy we like to use is that of the Mayo Clinic: people go to their regular physician but may be sent to a specialist to work with specific areas. The NIM marriage therapists have been trained in this format to maximize its effectiveness. Also, the NIM marriage counseling programs provide the perspectives and insight of two professionals rather than one.
If you are considering divorce, you must try the National Institute of Marriage before giving up. They have developed a continuum of care that meets couples wherever they may be in their relationship. Regardless of the health of their marriage they have a service that can help couples improve their marital satisfaction. Visit their website at http://www.nationalmarriage.com. Read the incredible testimonies from the couples that saved their marriages by attending a Marriage Intensive at the National Institute of Marriage.

Saying No

I received this in an email from Parenting by Design, and just wanted to share... It's no fun to say no, but we know that it's necessary sometimes. It's even less fun to hear no as an answer, but we will. Take a quiet moment and read and think on it... Let me know what you think.

Matt. 7:9-11: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (NIV).

Sometimes our kids ask for things that are not good for them. We say "no" out of love even though they may accuse us of being mean. We are able to handle their disappointment and anger because we see the bigger picture. Some parents, however, are so anxious to avoid conflict they say "yes" to things that are against their better judgment. They can't bear to let their kids down or they fear their kids' angry reaction.

Parenting provides a wonderful window into the Father's love for us. We may feel as if God is punishing us when He doesn't say "yes" to our prayer requests. But how many times have you prayed for something you later realized would not have been in your best interest? Without realizing it, we sometimes pray for "snakes," but God loves us enough to say "no."

Demonstrate your love by being strong enough to tell your kids "no."

Tough stuff

As I've jabbered on about before, one of the things I really like about homeschooling is that we can grab up the teachable moments and really run with them. One thing that I wasn't really prepared to talk to my daughters about yet was the issue of drug and alcohol addiction. I'd like to pretend that this kind of tough stuff isn't an issue for kids their age, but I know that it is. I know that there are kids in middle and junior high schools all across our country having to tap into alcohol rehabilitation services in order to deal with problems that they already have! We have had to hit this topic recently because of someone somewhat near to us having a struggle... Unfortunately they are resistant to help. There are so many great resources out there that it's sad to not use any of them!! I found a place called Promises Treatment Center that does look to offer what it's name says: a promise of treatment. They treat addiction to a variety of drugs and substances, including: Alcohol, Cocaine, Codeine, Heroin, Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and many others. If you find yourself in a place where any of these are an issue, please do check it out. Don't make life harder for you and for your family than it already is. Take the hands reaching out to you!