Daniel: Lives of Intergrity, Words of Prophecy

Yesterday morning was the launch of the new bible study by Beth Moore Daniel: Lives of Intergrity, Words of Prophecy. I am excited at what the journey will bring. After much prayer I decided to switch for my Weds night womens group to a Thursday morning. It means new faces, new people to share and grow with. My desire is to connect with more stay at home moms, hopefully some homeschoolers. I love connecting with woman in general, regardless of home dynamics. I am not sure yet where my role in this Thursday morning bible study is, will I lead a table, will I assist or will it be a time to be just a participant? I will find out next week. With leadership happening on some many different fronts right now it would be nice to have a time of refreshing, adding to discussion but not being the point person.
I will also say this...this study is where my heart is right now. LIVES OF INTERGRITY!!! Standing up in a world where the mentality is "it is all about me." and the WORDS OF PROPHECY...gets me giddy.

For those in the area, it is not to late to sign up. For those out of the area; encourage your women's group at church to look into it. It is going to be one incredible ride.

Anybody Curious??

If you have not yet taken my little quiz from yesterday, go there now. You back? let's see how you did....

1 Where did Sarah meet her husband?
The correct answer C. A Niteclub Visions Christian niteclub where I am serving once again.

2. How old was Sarah when she got married?
A. 20 I had my birthday 3 weeks before so I was a young 20.

3. What was the first thing DH said to me?
D. Do you want to be my Foosball partner? I said yes. We played the whole night. After that night he kept coming back to see me. I was gone to family reunions and camping the next couple weeks. When I returned we were a force to be reckoned with on the foosball table.

4. Our first date was:
A An all nighter B At a baseball stadium C Talking at Denny's D All of the above
After Visions one Friday night, we went to the "guys house", we talked, we sang songs, it was already late. He walked me out to my car and we just kept talking and talking. Then he decided to take me to see where he worked. It was at the local minor league baseball, where he was an assistant clubhouse manager. He gave em the tour of the clubhouse (locker room), the dug out and let me run the bases. YEAH! After that we decided to go to Denny's and talk some more. After all, we didn't want to stop talking. So we talked until it was nearly sunrise, then decided to meet up together and with some of our friends to play frisbee golf a few hours (4) later. We went home, slept 3 hours then went on to spend most of saturday together as well.

5. He asked me to be his girlfriend:
B. While playing Putt- Putt
The top of this page says Will you be ...then the bottom you can see...my girl? Ok you can't see because blogger pictures is not working. Will try again later. I have more pics to share. So blogger...cooperate.

6. He asked me to be his wife:
A. In the church parking lot
Now that alone may not sound romantic but the whole story is. We were riding together to go to Visions on a January Friday night. He was talking very casually about things and decided to take a detour to show me what he meant. Well I thought we were heading to the mall. We ended up at the church parking lot. OK? It had just begun to snow. It was dark, so he turned on his high beams. Asked me to step out of the car. With butterfly kisses playing loudly in the Jeep, we danced in the light of the high beams with snow falling all around. While we danced he unhooked the ring from inside his sleeve. When the song was over he sat me down on the front bumper of the Jeep. Got down on one knee. And asked for my hand in marriage. Then we went to Visions and proclaimed the news to all our friends.

7. Our engagement lasted:
B. 8 months Long enough for me!

8. What one thing drove my mother crazy about my wedding plans?
B. Barefoot Bride


9. At our reception:
A. People fed the goldfish
Our centerpeices where globes with colored pebbles, goldfish and a candle. I know "ahem" that some people fed them peices of bread from dinner.

10. We honeymooned:
C. On an island in Florida
We had a beautiful honeymoon! Complete with our own private home, beach walking, deep sea fishing, Phantom of the Opera and more!

9 Years Ago Today....

I married my best friend!




So let's play a little game, shall we?

1 Where did Sarah meet her husband?
A. Church
B. School
C. A Niteclub
D. A Football Game

2. How old was Sarah when she got married?
A. 20
B. 22
C. 23
D. 25

3. What was the first thing DH said to me?
A. Who did you say you where?
B. How about those Spartans?
C. I don't think we have met.
D. Do you want to be my Foosball partner?

4. Our first date was:
A An all nighter
B At a baseball stadium
C Talking at Denny's
D All of the above

5. He asked me to be his girlfriend:
A. On a canoeing trip
B. While playing Putt- Putt
C. In the middle of a sermon
D. He didn't I asked him

6. He asked me to be his wife:
A. In the church parking lot
B. At the beach
C. On the big screen of the baseball stadium
D. At the close of our rafting trip

7. Our engagement lasted:
A. 5 months
B. 8 months
C. 12 months
D. 18 months

8. What one thing drove my mother crazy about my wedding plans?
A. The size of the wedding
B. Barefoot bride
C. That she could not be there
D. The menu

9. At our reception:
A. People fed the goldfish
B. People made us a mosiac
C. Some had a little too much too drink
D. My hubby threw up

10. We honeymooned:
A. In my grandparents cabin
B. In the mountains of Colorado
C. On an island in Florida
D. Traverse City

How did you do?
Find out tomorrow...hee hee

We had a great support system then and we still do today.

Love you honey, Happy Anniversary!

Who Knew??

Well I knew that my daughter can run circles around me when it comes to energy. She abounds in energy. Today we walked over to the track that is at the end of our street. My thought was a little PE. Run around the track, record their times for one lap around and use that to see if they improve over the year. I thought maybe stretch, then my son would do a lap, then maybe me. Little girl, if she wanted to. So we get there, we stretch. DS puts his toe on the line, ready set go, and he's off. 3:12. Next up, me. I did not have my running shoes as they were in the vehicle my husband took today, so in flip flops I run the lap. Time? Unknown, little ones messed with the stop watch 23 seconds into the lap. Oh well. Then the surprise, little girl puts her toe on the line and says "my turn." She takes off and runs her little heart out. She never stopped, she plugged away until she made it back around, her time? 3:19!!!!! 7 seconds off her brothers time. She stops for a second then says, I am going to go again. And she did. I went again with a time of 2:44. Little girl went a total of 4 times around, nearly back to back. She would get a drink and go again. She did a MILE!! Her brother I convinced to do one more lap so we both did a half mile. Little girl with a determination unseen before ran a mile. Running may just be her thing. I had a hard time getting her off the track. With the offer of lunch and a return trip later in the week, we left. Who knew? We have a little runner girl.

"little" Victories

As we plug along in 100 Easy lessons I am amazed! It really builds lesson to lesson on skills. DS really is reading. Amazing. As we go on some of the skills get harder. Some of the sounds can be tricky. Until last week I had not realized how much he still uses "w" instead of "l" Such as wuv you. Many times he uses the l and other times he says it as w. Take for example pill he says correctly while sometimes if the l is at the beginning of the word he subconsciencely says it with "w" as in wadder (ladder)
Now l is introduced into the lessons and we have been working REALLY hard to get the correct pronuciation of it. www.fallstar.com has helped. And now he is doing it...more and more!
Also with the lessons it is introducing reading a word the fast way. It has been a concept for a couple of weeks and now it is taking it to the next level. One time through sounding out a word, a whole list of them. Then it switched it to read the list the fast way. URG. Frustration. For him. When he could not do it we sounded them out again and then said them. Half way through the list, he was ready to give up. Many "l" words on the list, to be more specific "li" which are his hardest two sounds. He was near tears. We pressed through sounding them out. Going back over the ones that had tricked him. Then it happened. Something clicked. He said "little" the fast way. Pure delight. Childish giggles. He was so excited, he did it and he knew he did it. He finished the lesson encouraged and successful. The story he naturally read the fast way. Wow!
As follow up to our reading lesson, we got out the sight word cards. Words that he has learned so far in the program. 13 of them; can, run, it, is, in, little, the, me, see, and, I, a, not. For encouraement we brought in Lightning MacQueen and friends. If he said the word correctly the first time he got to send a car sailing off the table. If he got it wrong we sounded it out and went on to the next one. He did great and got little right on the first try. I am telling you "little" victories go along way!

Warfare

I had a great conversation last night about warfare. It is showing up everywhere. I am seeing it my own life and in those around me. Discouragement, depression, frustration, misunderstanding, accusations; these are just some of the ways it has been showing up around me. It is real. It is hard. Satan's stradegy is different for everyone. Sometimes it is hard to identify what we are experiencing. It is easy to go into a mode of self-pity.
Two things were shared with me about turning this around.
1. Get the attention of self. Don't eat of the fruit of self-pity. Or play with selfish pride. Bless others.
2. Thankfulness- Be thankful in all things. For the joy of the Lord is your strength.

A few years ago I was going through something and I received a letter of encouragement in it the person spoke something that I will always remember. Most will know the verse from Ephesians 6:12
Ephesians 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Here is what my friend did, she said "For your struggle is not against (insert person's name) but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Our struggles are not against our husbands, our children, our places of employment, any organization we may participate in, it is not our neighbors, our friends or even our enemies! It is spiritual.

In addition to Blessing others and being thankful I think we can do one very important thing. Put on the armor. Check out the context of Ephesians chapter 6.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

So my friends, be strong in the Lord! Pray in the Spirit on all occasions! Be alert! Be thankful! Bless others!

More Heart Speak

Rising up
Accepting the call
Trembling inside from the power of it all
Curious
Encouraged
Full to overflowing
Ready
Able
Continuosly praising

O praise the Lord oh my soul
I lift up your name, Yushua, Jesus
Thank you for your loving kindness
Thank you for a new day
Praise you that your mercies are new every morning
Praise you the your love endures forever
You are the lover of my soul
You are the creator of all things
You are the same, yesterday, today and forever
Your name shall be praised
Bless you oh my God
You annoint my head with oil
You call me and raise me up
I shall keep my eyes on you
I will follow your ways
O praise the Lord oh my soul

What My Heart Speaks

Alive yet wounded
A cub called to be a lioness
A child yet mature
Feeling so torn
Equipped yet feeling so unequipped
Not wanting to go...almost whining

These were my thoughts as I entered in tonight. I went to Visions for the end of some teaching time and the beginning of an IHOP worship time. I was feeling weary. Knowing that God has annointed me. Knowing that He is with me. Yet I felt a break, somehow. Uncertain. Praise the Lord for He is good. There was a time of ministry, where I recieved some prophetic words. To say these Godly men and woman were right on, is an understatement. They were hearing from the Lord, very directly, words for me. Things that ministered to my very core. They prayed for hearing, freeing, joy...
I left that room and I found a quiet place and I began to weep. A realization that accusation had come against me. It had wounded my spirit. It had struck me in my innermost being. While I was aware of it, I was unaware of its depth. It caused a break. I knew things were being restored. I could feel the Spirit moving and healing. I desired prayer, so I went to the ones that had spoken the prophetic words and asked for prayer. They prayed, they blessed, I prayed, I released, forgave, I blessed. God worked.
As I went from that place of prayer I went back to the main worship area. The Spirit was moving. I entered into worship. I connected with my Lord. I danced at His throne. I rejoiced. I wept. I wept for I know He has annointed me to do much for His Kingdom. And I am left with a choice. For He has given me a choice. I can obey. Or I can walk away. I can enter into an unknown and new territory. He can use me. I can give Him control. I can let the Spirit flow through me. Or I can quench it. Most of me wants to live in the Spirit. Some of me wants to hold back and let things be as they are. Yet most of me knows that what He has is always going to be better than anything I could imagine. Some of me is content with the now. Most of me is excited about the possibilities. Some of me is fearful of how it will be perceived. Yet I will not claim that fear. I will hold onto the promise that He is with me, He will guide me.

I am alive, the wound is healed.
I am a lioness called to be bold.
I can be goofy as a child yet act with maturity
Feeling refreshed
Equipped yes I am equipped
Wanting to enter in

Some May Call It Child Labor...

I call it character building!

By the way, my new fire alarms came today!

Camping Part 1

This years trip we took along our Tuesday night babysitter. She is also home schooled and had never been camping before. She is a jewel scout and was able to earn many badges on our trip. Since I didn't get permission to use her real name I will call her Jewel.

Hiking trails abound in Ludington State Park. Here is DS balancing on a down tree. He did this everytime we passed it.

DS and DD sharing GORP on the trail.

Jewel and DS in Lake Michigan. It was 69 degrees with high wind. I let them go in for 15 minutes. They were warmer in the water than out. hey had a blast jumping waves.

Minutes later in warm clothes. You can see the wind blowing through DD's hair.

DD proving she can climb. She kinda surprised me by how well she did.

Jewel had to build her own fire. She did it! YEAH.

The girls and my moms dogs. DD loves to walk them and cuddle with them in her lap. She takes this job very seriously.

One of the days we biked over to Big Sable light house. DS on a huge tree stump.

We all climbed the 130 steps to the tower. We are bundled as it was very windy this day.

Cheese...


More pictures in Camping Part 2

Camping Part 2

If you are reading this before part 1 go there now. Then continue.

Big Sable has a distinct black band that can be sen by day and a steady light pattern that can be seen by night. Usually closed to the public, we were given a tour of the keepers quarters. It was cool to see where the keepers of the light stay while on their two week stints. Quite beautiful

DD and I

Cobbler in the dutch oven. Yummy!

DS can now bait his own hook and take off any fish he catches. Lucky me, not that I would if he didn't.

On the boardwalk. The night before this shot DS caught a small perch and Jewel caught a 6" bass.

Jewels first motor boat ride. While out they fished a bit but didn't catch anything.

Out from the boradwalk was a shallow lake that Jewel and DS practiced canoeing.

On the last day we took a six mile hike. We went through some many different habitats. Island, march, sand dune, inland, ridges and forest.

Check out the crazy root system on these trees. Each tre had a very unique look to it on the ridge.

Wildflowers. Many different varieties so pretty.


Kasi, our dog was hilarious this week. She proved to be bird dog to the core. She swam after heron, duck and swans. Catching a swan and annoying it. If she saw the water she wanted to be IN the water. And if she saw a bird, she wanted the bird.

Hope you enjoyed the update from our trip.

Home

We are home! He had a lovely trip, I will post more about it later. We are getting back into our schedule. I am a bit behind today. Laundry, meeting prep and school all are calling.

A different perspective

I uploaded some pictures from the camara today. Most of them were taken by my daughter. The following is her perspective of school time. LOL






Isn't she the cutest!


Be sure to check out the post below. Both Fire Alarms and Search Engines.

Update: The flying ants are gone. I think they got my message loud and clear. Afterall, I was a bit of a kamikazi woman. LOL

I will be out for a few days. My hubby will be manning the fort while the kids and I go camping. Lucky me. He probably won't blog for me. Ha! So things may be quiet for a bit. If my daddio brings his laptop I may get a chance to blog. Have a great week.

Search Engines

This is a very interesting article about search engines. I recommend you read it.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/security/the-spy-in-your-computer/2006/09/03/1157222001292.html

Invasion

It had been a few weeks since we mowed the yard. A combination of schedule and weather left the grass to grow. It was overdue yesterday when the weather was dry enough to get it done. Unfortunately, as it grew it became ideal habitat for some nasty little pests. As I moved closer to the house on the rider I noticed I was stirring up some bugs. Each time as I passed by I had to shoo them away. What started out as a hundred turned out to be a thousand which then became tens of thousands of flying ants. I can't count to a gazillion but there may have been a gazillion. It was ridiculous. They had truly taken over my yard. At times I could hardly see through the swarm. It was like a Hitchcock movie. Invasion. Not of aliens. Flying ants. I decided to decalre war on the them. I got out a can of ant sprayer. Call me an ant bully. I went into the enemies camp and begin to spray like no other. They dived at, they flew into my hair and some stung me. Annoying. They were so thick I had to run in, head down, spray like mad, batting away with the other hand. I would retreat. Plan my attack, then go in again. I killed thousands, thousands lived. I hope I sent a message that will send them off to a far away land.

Fire Alarms

My sister-in-law sent me a download on a Hank Investigates. I watched it and was astounded.
Go to this link and if you are able WATCH THE VIDEO. The article that is there is the whole script from the video but I HIGHLY recommend you watch the video. Go now. Then read on.
http://www3.whdh.com/features/articles/hank/A94/

So we decided to test it out on our kids. 11 pm sound asleep. With the dog outside we blasted the alarm. No movement not an inch. No turning of the head. Nothing. Absolutely no response.

How about your family? Test it out and let me know your results.

Updated: DS fell asleep in our room last night. So after I posted I needed to move him from our room to his. I stood at the foot of the bed and in a loud clear voice said "Son, it's Mom. You need to get up." He immediately moved his head. Then I repeated "Son, It's Mom, I need you to get up." He opened his eyes. Then I repeated again. "Son, It's Mom, I need you to get up." And he sat up. Then moved to the edge of the bed. Then I asked him to walk to his room. Which he did. If that did not confirm their theory.

My dad found this link, which is a fact sheet.
And I found the product on Amazon. Kid Smart Vocal Alarm
Also now available at select Home Depot stores.
The best deals seem to be on ebay.
I just bought a pack of 8 for $30 plus $20 shipping.

Spread the word...it may save a life!

Today In the Word

90 days through the bible will be more like 180 days through the bible. It seems that I can easily do half day readings. Nevertheless, I am making my way through. Still plugging away. And very thankful for my friend that is joining me on the journey. Today I found myself in 2 Chronicles, history of kings, those that followed the ways of the Lord and those who turned Isreal away and did destestable things. Interesting. I especialy like seeing the conditions of the kings heart and how it affected their kingdom and reign. I found a very cool verse in chapter 30, before I share it I want to give a little history.
Hezekiah came into office after a Ahaz who did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, he offered sacrifices to idols, he sacrificed his sons, he did things God told them no to do. So he was defeated when the Lord handed him over to his enemies. Enter Hezekiah. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He ordered the priest to clean up the temple. They consecrated it, removing all that was evil and detestable, purified it and themselves. Then King Hezekiah called the people and made the proper sacrifices. The people worshipped with songs and music. On their knees, bowed before the Lord, dedicating themselves to the Lord. Then there was great celebrating and the Feast were recognized. As they had not since the days of David and Solomon. The king and his officials sent out letters to their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh, calling them back to the Lord.
And here is the verse I love.
2 Chronicles 30:12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.
The phrase unity of mind. The king had just purified things and made it right before God and then the hand of God was on the people and gave them unity of mind. I think this is cool. It made me think; what if our nation purified itself, lead by our leaders? What if our nation turned back to God? Would the hand of the Lord be with us? Would he give us unity of mind? Let it be so!

Stepping Up

The Lord calls and the Lord equips. It is true. Yet when thrust into ministry I am left calling out wait, I don't feel ready. Hey, can we slow down a bit. I can't do this. To which the Holy Spirit replies, "You're right, you can't but I can." I feel right now I have to step up to the plate. There is no room for lagging behind. I must be in fellowship with God daily. I must listen to His voice. I must press on toward the goal of Christ Jesus.

Lord, help me daily yield to you. Give me wisdom and understanding. Show me your way. Help me to walk in your ways. Guide my path. Lead. I desire to follow you in all things. Give me the strength to do all that you call me to do. In Jesus name. Amen

You've Been Doing What??

I have been roofing! Yup, it's true. And you know what? I love it! Yup, I do. A long time ago, before I had children, I worked in barn restoration. We did steel roofs, structure stability, siding repair, complete take downs with barn raisings on new locations. Construction in many different ways. My favorite being, roofs! I love being up high, I was born to climb. So when a friend announced that he was raising his roof and completely redoing it. I wanted in. I am not so sure anyone took me seriously at first. Except my hubby, who knows my love for heights and has seen me in action. He knew. The others would discover.
Friday was demo day #1, deshingling. In four hours a friend and I had all the shingles off and in the dumpster. With rain forecasted for Friday night we stopped there. The owner of the home got all the siding stripped down three feet from the roof for the new supports.
Saturday, I had an all day meeting. So no roof for me. But most of the guys from our small group and a few friends of the owner made it out. They pulled off the boards, took down the old trusses and took out the ceiling. Demo day #2 complete.
After church yesterday, we ate a quick lunch (McDonalds,) changed our clothes and dropped off the kids to my sister-in-laws. Then it was off to work. With demo complete it was time to build up the new walls. My first assignment was to move a pile of wood. Done. Then I was asked to get a board. Then nails. As the middle wall support was coming in, there were some old nails in the way. Matabo time. I cut those babies off. Then as the wall came in who was there to nail it in, me, baby! Hammer in hand, I toed in the wall. It had been a very long time since I had truely nailed something in. I was a bit rusty. Oh well, it happens when you walk away from something for years. Yet things do come back to you. After that I was on the wall. Raising the roof. I think my feet hit the ground only two times after that for the remainder of the day. I hit too many nails to count. I drilled holes. With the new wall raised, it was time for the trusses. With the pros on the outside I took the center and in went the trusses. Progress. I think that is what I love about construction. Seeing things come together, progress. While we finished with the last of the trusses, my man, braced the roof with 16 footers. I love seeing my hubby in action. WooHoo. With trusses in place it was time to tarp it off. The sun was going down and rain was predicted. Imminent really, the sprinkling had already begun. We nailed down the tarp and I taped off noticable holes. Then it was off the roof.
With a sense of accomplishment. There was a roof there that had not been there in the beginning of the day. Everyone had a part of it. The work of many hands.
Today, I come back to my world. Stay-at-home mom. Teacher of my children. Yet I hope to escape away again sometime this week and get my feet back on that roof. Because I truely do love it.
Sorry, no pictures. I forgot the camara. Just imagine me with my hair pulled back and black stocking cap on and grubby clothes. Boots and a tool belt. Not so pretty folks.

Pen Pals

As to not lose the art of handwriting in this generation, my son now has a pen pal. Wendy's son and DS are the same age. They are both homeschooled. They live states apart. What better mix could we get? The kids get to share their lives with one another. They get mail in the mail box addressed to them. They get to learn about another state. Another family. We, the mothers, get co-operation in hand writing. WooHoo!
Since writing is still pretty new to my son, I thought we would do a sentence a day and mail it on Friday. He was so excited he wanted to do them all today and get it sent. He wrote four simple sentences, even helping with what he wanted to say. We included some surprises and off it went.
It's so exciting!

Our School Today

We have had different people ask us what our school day looks like. So today we took pictures as we went.
We always start the day with praise and worship, prayer and putting on the armor. After that it is off to the table. And goes something like this:


Red+Blue=Purple

Cut and paste all things purple

DD playing with blocks

Inside, outside, left and right

Caps For Sale- sequencing

100 Easy Lessons- Reading and writing.

Recess- Play and snack. Smooties. Yummy

Impromptu music

Calendar- We say date. Count to date. Sing days of the week. Spell various words.

Sequencing- Drawing pictures of things he did today.
Ordering pictures.

Hide and seek. Find using position words. Inside, outside, beside, on.

We also did Science. Using your senses.

Sunday Afternoon

We spent the afternoon with family at my dad's cousins pond. In the morning it was 50 degrees and when we got out of church it was in the 70's perfect for an afternoon outdoors. While we were there my dog ran in between the fishing pole and got snagged on the hook. We got it out with some wire cutters and she was off again like nothing ever happened.

She would swim way out to retrieve her ball.

Fun in the sun.

DS enjoyed running off the dock and jumping in.

DD enjoyed plauing in the sand.

After dinner, DS and I took the canoe out. Kasi our dog decided to tag along. She swam the whole way across the pond. Then we let her ride back with us. DS paddled the whole way back as I held onto Kasi so she didn't jump overboard. DS was so pleased with himself that he guided us all the way back. Not to mention good practice for left and right.