VBS Edition

This week has been VBS at our church, and I have been the Bible Storyteller for the 2K-5K classes. We have had a blast, and I have been so inspired by how eager these little ones are to drink up the stories from the Bible. We have been focusing on a different scripture each day, but the overall scripture for the week is:

Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

1 John 3:18

This verse has had such an impact on me in the context of VBS this week. It is so easy for me to talk the talk but not do such a great job walking the walk. I am very verbal and do not always find it easy to truly act on my lofty ideas. These young ones, though, haven't learned about hypocrisy yet. They want to really put into action what they have learned.

Our mission project for the week is collecting items for the Billy Hardee Home for Boys. It is amazing to see the joy they have in dropping soap, toothpaste, wash cloths, and money into giant tubs and knowing that what they are doing is making a difference for someone else.

These preschoolers have inspired me to put my love into action more often.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.

It Just Slipped My Mind

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Deuteronomy 4:9

These words were spoken to the Israelites before they went into Canaan to take possession of the Promised Land. What had they seen? They had seen God send ten plagues on Egypt to convince the hard-hearted Pharaoh to let His people go. They had seen the Red Sea parted to let them pass and then watched that same sea cover the Egyptian chariots. They had seen manna fall from heaven and water spring from rocks after they grumbled and complained about the lack of food in the wilderness. They saw God's glory reflected in Moses' face as he descended the mountain. They saw the Ten Commandments carved into stone. Still, were these scenes indelibly written on their minds? No, they eventually slipped from their hearts so that future generations were not taught the greatness of what God had done for His people. The result was a turning away from God and continued oppression for the Israelites.

Lest we be too judgmental of these ancient people, don't we do the same thing today? How often do we remind ourselves of what God has done for us? If we don't cherish these things in our hearts, how will we pass along what God has done for us to our children? How will we create a legacy of faith in God?

Today's verse has caused me to become more intentional in recording my thanks to God: for a church rich with the promise of transformation, for new Christian friends who are pilgrims on this homeschool journey with me, for healthy children, for a providential husband, for a God whose eye is upon me and will teach me the way I should go (Psalm 32:8).

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.

Watering the Plants

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

or stand in the way of sinners,

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on His law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

Whatever is the opposite of a green thumb, I have it. My four-year-old has grown sunflowers from seed this summer; they are blooming beautifully outside my kitchen window. I, on the other hand, have killed a promising pot of basil. Everyday I would check the soil on the surface of the pot. It would feel and look dry, so I would water it. By the time the leaves started looking limp, I figured out that I was overwatering and that the excess water was rotting the roots. I held back on the water, so much so that I succeeded in finishing the basil off (Of course, the stinky fumes in my house could have contributed to the basil's demise, too!).

Today's verses provide the image of a tree that always has just the right amount of water because of where it is planted, by a brook. Its leaves, unlike my basil, never grow limp or shrivel up and brown. It provides fruit in its proper season.

The analogy is drawn between this tree that draws upon the wellspring of the water near it and the person who draws upon the wellspring of God's Word. This person doesn't consider it a duty to read the Bible; he thinks about it day and night. As a result, he knows to keep away from the company of sinners and scoffers. He is able to recognize false or worldly advice from the Truth. Therefore, "whatever he does prospers." I could certainly handle having whatever I do to prosper. Of course, by immersing myself in God's Word, the "whatever I do" might change just a little bit so that the "whatever" is more reflective of God's will than my own selfish will.

I want the leaves of my life to be verdant and lush, not barely hanging on to the limbs. I want the spiritual fruit I produce to be a luscious, bountiful harvest, not a few shriveled up fruits. I want God's Word to nurture and refresh my soul.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.

Mama Said There'd Be Hours Like This . . . .

Don't you ever wonder why the last hour or so before Dad arrives home is the time when everything falls apart? I'd love to hear some theories on this phenomenon. We had one of those today, after a relatively idyllic morning filled with helping Mommy with her Sunday School bulletin board and a trip to the grocery store and an early afternoon of making homemade chocolate-chip cookies (from scratch, no less!). Here's the play-by-play:

4:10: Will awakes from his nap. Emily Anne automatically asks if he wants to play Hide-n-Go-Seek. Will nods his head and says, "Yes, Anne."

4:12: After Will has "hidden," Emily Anne says that it is his turn to count. I hear, ". . . nine, ten. Heah I come!"

4:13: I call Joel at the office to fill him in on this endearing experience. Joel talks with Will briefly, and we hang up.

4:15: The Hide-n-Seek-Game is now defunct. Will asks, "Mama, where my pirate puzz (puzzle)?" I look in his puzzle drawer, but it's not there. As I make my way to their stairs to see if it's in his room, he says, "Mama, I want popcorn."

4:18: I take a bag of popcorn out of the brand-new box and put it in the microwave. I haven't made popcorn in so long that I can't remember how long it takes. I know that it doesn't take as long as it says on the box, so I press the timer for five minutes and figure that I'll listen for the popping to slow down (You see where this is going, right?).

4:18:30: I hear hysterical screams from the playroom and run in to see what is the matter. Addie, our Goldendoodle, has chewed up a plastic tupperware container (one of her favorite pasttimes), which contained Emily Anne's newest pet, a cricket she caught herself in the yard. I grab another plastic container and set about to catch this varmint, which is still alive and hoppin'.
4:21: I take the cricket and its new habitat to the kitchen, which is enveloped in a choking haze of smoke. I open the door to the microwave and, with teary eyes, remove the hot, charred remains of the popcorn bag. I ensconce it in a plastic garbage bag and run it out to the outside garbage can.

4:24: I remove the glass carousel from the microwave and scrub it, stopping to turn on the exhaust fan (a little late). Once I get that cleaned off, I start to attack the browned inside of the microwave, but the fumes are too strong. I open the doors to the screened porch and plop myself down on the wicker loveseat.

4:32: Will comes out to the porch and says, "Mama, I hungy." I ask him if he wants a cookie (I know, I know--it was too close to dinnertime, but I was desperate). He says, "No, Will don like cookies" with a pout.

4:32:15: Will says, "Mama, I want cookie." We go inside to get a cookie and some milk. I try to coax him onto the porch so that his lungs won't be damaged by smoke inhalation while I tackle the inside of the microwave.

4:38: I've gotten the microwave as clean as I can get it. I vacillate on the idea of getting started on my ironing. Will my clothes all smell like they were dried over a campfire?

4:40: I decide to start on the ironing and get everything set up.

4:42: Emily Anne comes in to the laundry room and announces that she thinks she has sprained her ankle. I stop ironing my first item, turn the iron off so that no one will get burned and examine the ankle. There is nothing wrong with her ankle. I iron three items of clothing.

4:54: Emily Anne comes into the laundry room and announces, "Addie pooped in the playroom." I go in to investigate and discover that EA's announcement was, in fact, an understatement. Our huge dog must have an upset stomach because she has created a trail of diarrhea through our playroom.

4:55: Muttering under my breath a word very appropriate to the situation, I clean up the mess. I follow through with carpet cleaner and a feeble attempt at freshening the air with Febreeze. Can you just imagine what my house smells like now?

5:20: Joel walks in from work and says, "What is that horrible smell?"

It is times like this when I feel ill-equipped to handle the myriad demands of raising children and keeping a home, which I know to be His will for me at this season of my life. I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 9:8:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you,

so that in all things at all times,

having all that you need,

you will abound in every good work.

So, in acrid popcorn smoke amidst escaped hopping crickets at the last hour before the reinforcements arrive, God will provide. Through his grace He will equip me with the patience, endurance, forbearance, compassion, and olfactory powers to deal with any situation that should come up in my good work for His glory.

Tomes for Totes--Father's Day Edition

Are you looking for a great book for Father's Day? One that celebrates the bonds between fathers and sons? Look no further than You Can Do Anything, Daddy by Michael Rex.

My husband came back with this book on a trip to the library with the kids, and it has been my two-year-old son's favorite book for about a month now. He calls it his "pirate" book and asks for it to be read first at everytime bedtime reading session.

The simple story deals with a young boy who asks his father if he would rescue him if a band of pirates snatched him away. The father answers confidently that he would. The scenarios become increasingly dire (in the imagination of a young boy), and the father successfully meets each challenge with the reassurance that he would dare anything for his son. The ending turns on this situation with the young boy taking care of his father.

The pirates, gorillas, and robots from Mars hold the attention of any of the most adventurous boy, and the illustrations are humorous. My son identifies the young boy as himself and the father as "Daddy," a most heartwarming scenario for Father's Day.

Happy Reading!

How We Schedule

Today's Heart of the Matter meme asks us to explain how we schedule. Back in March when I ordered curriculum, I came up with a great plan of how we would organize our school year and our school days.

First off, I decided we would do a year-round schedule, "doing" school for three weeks and then taking a week off. I tweaked the schedule here and there so that the weeks off would coincide with the two weely vacations we would take (one with my familly and one with Joel's) and major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter). With this schedule we would be beginning our school year next week.

My reasons for coming up with a year-round schedule were that Emily Anne was so excited about learning right now (and I was so excited about homeschooling) that I hated to wait just because traditional schedules start in the fall. I've had a couple of misgivings since March, which include the fact that the vast majority of people in my local homeschool group follow a traditional schedule and my worry that breaks so often might seem arbitrary to EA when those breaks don't coincide with a vacation or holiday (and they would be, wouldn't they?). Also, I'm not sure how the Saxon math curriculum I'm using will work with year-round scheduling, but I'm sure we can adapt it. I also forgot to include Vacation Bible School in my planning, and it occurs the third week into our schedule.

Since next year will just be 5K for EA, and SC doesn't require reporting during that year, I think that it will be a time for experimentation for us. We'll go ahead and try out our year-round schedule and see how it works for us.

Back in March I also came up with a schedule for each day, complete with times for each subject. Knowing that children complete some assignments that we had thought might take more time quickly, and vice versa, I think I'll go with a more relaxed agenda approach. A white board would be like our To-Do List, with each subject and/or activity written on the board, along with a magnetized picture of each one. We'll start each day around 9am, which will give us some down time and chore time before the school day begins.

How do you schedule your homeschool days? Share your schedule and check out other schedules at The Heart of the Matter.

Sipping with a Hole in My Straw

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37b)

Feeling a bit parched? Searching to quench that thirst with an iced tea or Diet Coke? Dive into the Word for real refreshment!I try to be diligent in my Bible reading and am often rewarded by God's speaking to my heart through particular scriptures. I pause and sometimes even write them down. The reflection usually ends there, however. This year, I would like to pursue the verses that God lays on my heart by pondering how He wants me to apply these verses in my life.

Here is what spoke to me this week:

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law."

Psalm 119:18

Despite my best intentions this year really to glean application from my Bible reading, I don't always do so. Sometimes I just feel that there is nothing to glean from a passage. I feel as dry and parched after my reading as I did before. Does this ever happen to you?

Thinking about this situation, I realized that the amount of wisdom I receive from a passage usually coincides with my attitude as I begin reading. Lately, I've felt that my Bible reading is a duty, and my attentnion to it has been perfunctory. Consequently, it hasn't been easy to figure out what God wants me to do with these words in my life.

I contrasted this with a particularly fruitful time in my life spiritually. I was waking up early and spending time with God, reading His word and writing in my prayer journal. Also, before I began reading, I would pray Psalm 119:18. These words gave me an expectation that the verses I would read would speak to my particular condition on that day and would lead me to a truth that God wanted me to discover. It awakened me to Hebrews 4:12!

I realize that simply reading the Bible for the sake of reading is like trying to sip water through a straw with a hole in it. Little of the life-giving water makes it to my parched mouth. By acknowledging that God will speak to me through His Word, I am able to drink down this life-giving water.

So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.