Anger/Disappointment with God

I came across this article in my Redifine Bible magazine that I am reading and thought I would share it with you.

DEALING WITH ANGER/DISAPPOINTMENT WITH GOD
Why did you let this happen God?Why didn't you spare his life?Why did you let her leave me?Why this pain? Why?When we can't make sense of life, our natural response is to question God. we question his love- but Romans 8:38-39 assures us that nothing will take that from us. We say God has deserted us- but he promised never to leave (Hebrews 13:5) We question his wisdom. But God sees the bigger picture where we cannot. Romans 8:28 declares that he works ALL things for our good. Sometimes those questions intensify into anger toward God and ultimately reveal a deeper issue: do we trust him?
Trust requires time and experience-and God has given us both. We've seen him keep his promises through the ages; we've experienced it in our own lives. If we take a moment to be honest with ourselves, we must admit that God actually cares more for our loved ones than we ourselves do-that he is more loving, more just, and more outraged by the sin and suffering in the world than we ever will be. If he had not cared so much, Jesus Christ would not have come and experienced all the pain of life that we do and he would not have died, paying for our sin that caused all the pain. We have reason to trust!Being angry with God IS a sin to be repented of, but it is not unforgivable. Nor does it set God against you. Nothing you say or do will change how God feels about you and how he accepts you in Jesus Christ.
In our human relationships, outbursts of anger and even honest sharing of emotion can do irreparable damage. Not so in our relationship with God. We touch God's emotions-we can arouse him to anger or jealousy or sorrow when we love anyone or anything more than we love him-but we cannot move him from being his all-sufficient, all-powerful, loving self. So, tell him how you feel. Spare no emotion. But if you accuse him of not caring or if you demand your own way as if you were his master instead of his servant, do as the faithful men and women of old did. Get down on your knees and entrust yourself to Him again. Bring to mind his greatness and his power and his unfailing love for you. In the light of his presence, the heat of anger softens to the glow of peace.

Bump the walls!

The other day, my son kept asking my daughter to sing him "Bump the Walls" and she could not figure out what he was talking about. He said it was a Christmas song so when she named "Deck the halls" he said "Yes, that's what I said! Bump the Walls! HA HA
Kids are funny! You never know what they think!

SOOOO BUSY....

It's been awhile since I have blogged!
I have been so busy!
Of course we had Thanksgiving, and then on the 29th it was my sons 4th birthday!
Then on Dec.3rd, it was our 12th wedding anniversary!!! Whooo-hooo!
On Thanksgiving my daughter got poison Ivy on her face. Not fun.
Anyhow, I have been tired and exhausted!
Now I am getting ready for Christmas! Man, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that it is almost Christmas.
I tried to put up my tree today but found that we no longer have all the pieces, so I do not know what we are going to do.
Maybe we will get a real tree this year!
We really need to get back on a good school schedule, but it is hard during this time. I think it might be a good idea to take a break until the new year. We do school year round so it would be fine, but I do not know if we will be doing this or not.
My house is a disaster and I really need to clean it up but have been too tired today. Maybe tomorrow.
My sister-in-law and I are going to do Christmas together this year, so that is exciting!
I took some beautiful pictures of my kids for Christmas!!!
I colored my hair back blonde for my hubby for our anniversary!
He likes it blonde!!!!
I need to shampoo my carpets and am trying to decide if I should do it before Christmas or after.
Too much to do and so little time!!! I am sure we all feel that way.
Ok, well, I will try to blog more often now~ I will talk to you soon!
Rodna

The Moon, Jupiter and Venus!

Here is a pic. from tonights beautiful sky!

Jupiter and Venus and the Moon!!!!!!

28 free products from currclick... BLACK FRIDAY!

28 free products from currclick... BLACK FRIDAY!

Black Friday is about savings, this season is about being frugal and CurrClick is and always has been about helping you trim your education budget. That's why this year, beginning Friday the 28th at 10 AM EST, we're inviting you and your readership, egroups and co-ops, to our biggest Black Friday Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays! sales event yet, offering 28 COMPLETELY FREE TITLES from our most popular publishers and dozens of your favorite holiday education titles up to 85% OFF!This Friday, November 28th, put on your pajamas, put away your pocketbooks and "head over" to CurrClick's best ever Black Friday Freebie Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays Sale!

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Well Wishes!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY!!!

It's workout Wednesday!For those of you who do not know what workout Wednesday is, it is when we all comment to each other how we did for the week on getting healthier and/or losing weight! We encourage each other and help each other along during this journey. If you want to join us just jump right in and place your info in the comment box! Sooo, How did you do this week?

Know Your Authority!

Know Your Authority!

Posted using ShareThis

What Every Good Soldier Should Know…

What Every Good Soldier Should Know…

Posted using ShareThis

28 free products from currclick... BLACK FRIDAY!

Black Friday is about savings, this season is about being frugal and CurrClick is and always has been about helping you trim your education budget. That's why this year, beginning Friday the 28th at 10 AM EST, we're inviting you and your readership, egroups and co-ops, to our biggest Black Friday Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays! sales event yet, offering 28 COMPLETELY FREE TITLES from our most popular publishers and dozens of your favorite holiday education titles up to 85% OFF!

This Friday, November 28th, put on your pajamas, put away your pocketbooks and "head over" to CurrClick's best ever Black Friday Freebie Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays Sale! http://www.currclick.com/?affiliate_id=30707

Does God still heal today?

Look, I understand that there are people who believe in miraculous healing and that there are those who do not.
I have always believed that it is possible, but could not say that I had experienced it.
I have prayed for a lot of things, to feel better or for my kids to feel better or for my dad to be healed from cancer, etc...
Now, I never gave up hope that it was possible, but I couldn't help but wonder.
I have had people tell me that healing no longer exist today, that it was only for a specific time that was needed to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.
I could bot help but wonder; see, I have not ever really had a miraculous healing, so maybe that was true, but, the thing is, I am a born again christian, led by the Holy Spirit, and I just knew that couldn't be true, But, then why had God never healed me or my kids or my dad etc, when I had asked?
And it was not like I did not believe that he could do this or that he still did.
I heard of it happening to others.
I also have had things happen to me or my family before.
My son was saved from dying only by the grace of God after an accident.
Yes, I was told, but it could not be miraculous, maybe it wasn't as bad as you thought, or there had to be some medical reason for this.
No, I said, I knew it was God, or was it?
Doubt creeps in and if you are not careful, it will take over and you might find yourself doubting what God has actually done for you.
What about all the times that things did work out for the best, maybe it was not an immediate, miraculous healing on the spot, but didn't God still have a hand in it?
Well, maybe???
What about the time that you prayed, dear God, please take away my stomach pain, and it went right away, but why did it happen only once out of hundreds of other times?
Was it just a coincidence?
Well, I can tell you one thing for certain, and this is my main point... Here goes..
A couple of months ago, I was listening to a debt seminar, it had nothing to do with healing or anything close to it, it was just about getting out of debt.
Well, I started to get a pain in my breast again, I had been going through bouts of a bad breast infection, and I was getting very ill, very sick, I decided that I would send a little text into the chat box and ask my friends to pray for me about this, well, that was not enough, God kept poking at me to ask Cindy, (Cindy Rushton), to pray for me.
I can't do that I thought, this is a debt seminar, not even related at all.
I could not get it off my mind though that God really wanted me to ask her.
If you do not know me, that was very hard for me to do.
Well, I went ahead and did it, even though I really didn't want to, why, I don't know. I just felt stupid asking for prayer for this sickness in the middle of this debt seminar.
But, I listened...
She started praying for me, out loud, right there during the seminar, I wish I could tell you what she said or how she prayed, but I can't. I did not hear a word she said after the first word or two. I was overcome with sobbing, I am not sure why, except that I know it was the Holy Spirit, it was God, I was uncontrollably sobbing and there was an amazing feeling of heat and tingling, it is so hard to explain, but I FELT it, I felt my infection being healed. I knew I was healed. Immediately afterward, I was no longer sick, I was no longer in pain.
I have not had any problems since then either, of course. I had been dealing with this for a few months and, yes, miraculously, I was healed.
So, if you have ever really wondered whether God still heals today, but you may not know anyone who has been healed, or you may be misinterpreting a scripture to say that it is no longer for today, I can assure you that it is. That God still heals today, without the help of doctors, he still can perform a miracle.
No, I do not know why he does not always heal, or why he does sometimes and not others, I wish I knew, but I don't. But what I do know is that he is God and he knows why.
I really believe that I was healed that day because I actually listened to His prodding for me to ask and stepped out of my comfort zone, and obeyed Him.
I have not told this to too many people but I felt like, why on earth would I NOT want to share this, and I know there are those out there who are deceived into believing that miracles to not exist today, and so, I wanted to share this with all of my friends and anyone who has ever had this question... Does God still heal today? The answer is Yes..
Love, Rodna

Scarlatina

Nathan did have Scarlatina. So we have been dealing with that. He has been so itchy. But he is doing much better now. The rash is going away and he is not as itchy.
I did pray each time we went into the doctor that we would not catch anything and we have not so I am grateful for that.
Hopefully we will not need to go to the doctor again.

Update on Nathan and the doctor...

~ Well, they finally called me back and of course, they said to bring him in, BUT I could not see my doctor, of course, but the Practitioner I do like was not there, so I had to see the one I do NOT like. This is the one who tried to send me home before with Nathan's finger being all green and brown and very painful, but she did not know what it was so she tried to send him home and said, well, I don't know what it is so just go home and see if it gets better in a few days and if not, just call me back. AAARRRGGGGG.....Well, today, she says, I think it is strep. Well, I will admit that it does look like a strep rash, but his throat did not look like it. She said go get a lab done and see if it is strep, and then she said, No, we will just treat him, it is classic strep. I said I didn't want to give him antibiotics if he doesn't need them. So she said OK go get the test done and if it is strep, fill this prescription and if not it is probably just a virus and will go away! Arg, that is what she says for everything she doesn't know about. Needless to say, they never called me back with the results so I still do not know what is the matter with him. Tomorrow, I am calling and seeing what the results are and if it is not strep, and the rash is still there, I will demand to see the doctor and not the practitioner. I do not know but I am just so upset right now. Rodna

OOOHHHH, I am so frustrated with my doctor...

I am so frustrated with my doctors office right now. Ok, yesterday my son woke up with what I thought was hives, a pretty bad case. Well, I called the doctor because last time he had them this bad, they gave him a prescription for it, so I thought he might need that again. well, they said just give him Benadryl. They also said, that I should just go ahead and bring him in and get him checked out to see if it really was hives or something else, like maybe Poison Ivy.Well, it seems like every time we go to the doctor, the kids just get sick with something else, so I asked if we could give him the Benadryl and see if it went away and then if not call back and get him in. She said ok. Well, this morning it has spread and it seems to be worse in areas still itchy everywhere but less red in other areas. So, I called and asked to speak to a nurse. They took a message. Well, in the meantime, my son is really crying with his eyes hurting also and the rash is right under his eyes, so I called back and told them this to see if I can just get him in and they said they can not make appointments for rashes, they must be diagnosed over the phone first by a nurse.
Ok, well, what if it is something serious getting in his eyes?
They told me yesterday that if it wasn't better that I would have to get him in today.
When did they get to decide if my kids get to be seen or not? I mean, this is my child and don't "I" get to decide if he goes to the doctor or not?
I mean seriously, this is ridiculous. It makes me so mad.
Is there anything I can do?
This just frustrates me to no end.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY!!!

It's workout Wednesday!
For those of you who do not know what workout Wednesday is, it is when we all comment to each other how we did for the week on getting healthier and/or losing weight! We encourage each other and help each other along during this journey. If you want to join us just jump right in and place your info in the comment box!
Sooo, How did you do this week?

If you think you can't do nature study in the city...Check this out

If you were like me and thought you really couldn't do nature studies or a nature journal in the city, you would be wrong. I thought, hmm, there is nothing in our backyard that would be good enough for a nature study, I will have to go somehere eles, which I did not want to do. Well, I found out I was wrong, really wrong. If you think you can't do this in you own backyard, here are some photos of just some of the things we found in our front and backyard this year!

4 full moons in a row!

Isn't it beautiful? I have never seen a full moon 4 days in row before; At least I have never noticed before. Just thought i would share this photo I took with you!

Here is a smple work Out Chart to track your progress!

I made up this chart to help me keep on track! I thought you could use it also...

Monday…Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of Water ___ Vitamins __
Other drinks for the day ____________________
Food for the Day _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday…Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of water ___ Vitamins ___
Other drinks for the day ____________________
Food for the day
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday… Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of water ___ Vitamins ___
Other drinks for the day ____________________
Food for the day _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Weigh-In Today! _____ Pounds Lost _____ Pounds this week


Thursday… Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of water ___ Vitamins ___
Other drinks for the day ____________________Food for the day _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Friday… Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of water ___ Vitamins ___
Other drinks for the day ____________________
Food for the day _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday… Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of water ___ Vitamins ___
Other drinks for the day ____________________
Food for the day _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sunday… Work Out ___ 3-4 bottles of water ____ Vitamins ___
Other drinks for the day ____________________
Food for the day ______________________________________

My 3 year olds funny prayer!

We have been reading Leading little ones to God with my son and at the end of each days devotion/lesson there is a prayer. This is what it was...

God of Glory, brighter than the sun, Help us to praise thee. Make us pure and sinless, through Jesus our savior, so that we need not be afraid of thee. Amen

Here is what my son repeated...

God of girly, brighter than the son, help us to praise thee. make us poor and sinless, through Jesus our salior, so that we need not be afraid of thee. Amen.

Isn't that funny God of girly and make us poor? SOOO CUTE! SOOO FUNNY!
I just had to share with you all! HA

I finally got my car cleaned out! Tips for keeping your car clean???

Whew! I tell you, it was hard work! It took me all day but I finally got it all cleaned out! I have the hardest time keeping it clean, What are your tips for keeping you car clean and organized?

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY!!!

Ok, so this is our FIRST Workout Wed.! I am hoping to get motivated and to help motivate others also!
We can list our goals and what we hope to accomplish. Yo can list your weight if you like or just how much you lose each week! Or what ever your accomplishments were!
I will go ahead and start. We will put our personal info in the comments section so it is not just out there for everyone to see!
Ok, well, I really do hope we can all help each other in our journey to get healthy and fit!!!! Wednesday

HOAC Black November Sale!

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Our first time doing read alouds with snacks!

We tried today to have a read aloud with my two kids! I have tried before to do read alounds with both of them and it hasn't worked. I usually have to do them separate. I really want to be able to read to them at the same time. So, I took the advice of Cindy Rushton and decided to uses snacks and drinks during the time I read to them so that my little on would be quite and still during read aloud time! It worked for a short while, so that is better than nothing but I couldn't read for too long. I am hoping to be able to build up the time I can read to them. Does anyone else have any ideas of how to get little ones to cooperate during read aloud time? My littlest one is 3. Thanks!

Great Giveaway from Home School Freebie of the Day!!

I wanted to share with you about Home School Freebie of the Day!
They have a great resource this week! I am not sure if you can get it if you are not already signed up but if you are they are having Pilgrims Stories Book 1 today. Tomorrow and wed. there will be books 2 and 3!
If you are not signed up go ahead and sign up! They always have something great!

Pilgrim Stories, Book I: From Old Homes to New (PDF ebook) - This week we are featuring this absolutely delightful three part serialization of “Pilgrim Stories”, originally published in 1910. This is a wonderful “read aloud” resource that you can share with the kids over the next couple of weeks, to make Thanksgiving not only a family celebration, but a learning time as well.
In Part One, we meet the Pilgrims and learn why they were forced to leave their homes in search of a place they could freely worship… a journey which had many false starts, and which eventually led to a hazardous journey across the ocean in hopes of reaching the “New World” and a place they could make their own.

Sign up at www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com

Anyone interested in starting an accountability/support group for losing weight/getting healthier?

Hi everyone! Well, I was thinking that I REALLY do need to get myself in shape and get healthy. I have tried before and lost a lot of weight but have gained it back. I really am so tired of being overweight. I would like though to have some other ladies to do this with!!! I was thinking we could start workout Wednesdays! We could let eachother know how we have done throughout the week! We could either tell our weights or if we don't want to say, we could just post if we went up or down or stayed the same and how much. We can give eachother encouragement and tell how we have been progressing that week! If we are needing help we can get support from eachother!
I would really like others to help me be accountable. Even if you don't have much or any to lose but just want to get healthier you can participate! Ok, let me know if this is something you would like to do and we will start this tuesday! We can set goals for that week, etc... I think it will be fun!!!! Love, Rodna

YouTube - Obama Youth Brigade March in Formation

Seriously, this is scary. My kids are not going to ever participate in any Obama "youth" community service or any other program he can think of. No Way...

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=wOtGr1JFCnE&feature=related__._,_.___

Obama's Plan for our Youth...

This was sent to me and I think it is something we really do need to keep an eye on as my friend said.

----------WorldNetDaily
The official website of President-Elect Barack Obama, Change.gov, originally announced that Obama would "require" all middle school through college students to participate in community service programs; but after a flurry of blogs protested children being drafted into Obama's proposed youth corps, the website's wording was softened.Originally, under the tab "America Serves" Change.gov read, "President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in under served schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps."Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year," the site announced.The language of requiring students to serve and the creation of a "Classroom Corps" sparked a surge of criticism from bloggers for bringing back memories of the much-publicized video of marching Obama youth and Obama's "civilian national security force," which the candidate said in July would be just as powerful and well-funded as the U.S. military.Get the book that started it all – Jerome Corsi's "The Obama Nation," personally autographedGateway Pundit called the Obama's plan the "creation of his Marxist youth corps," and DBKP commented, "'Choosing' to serve should be approved by parents – not required by the government. No amount of good intentions can sugar-coat words like 'mandatory,' 'compulsory' or 'required.'"Following the furor raised by bloggers, however, the website's wording was changed.(Story continues below)The word "require" was stricken from the website yesterday, replaced with the phrase "setting a goal" and now also listing tax credits toward college tuition.The original wording is captured below:The current website's content now reads:The new wording is consistent with Obama's campaign website, which also described the college tuition tax credit and detailed "enabling" Americans to serve, rather than "requiring" them to serve.Elsewhere on the Change.gov site, however, it still describes the plan under the heading, "Require 100 hours of service in college."J.D. Tuccille of the Civil Liberties Examiner also points out, "Most public schools depend on federal dollars. As Obama elaborated in a speech last December, 'At the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities'"So, it won't be the nasty federal government forcing your kids to donate their time to government-approved service, it'll be the local schools – but that requirement will be among the strings attached to federal money," Tuccille writes.Obama's selection of an advocate for mandatory civil service, Rahm Emanuel, as his chief of staff has further worried bloggers that Obama's plans may be more "requirement" than "encouragement."In his book, "The Plan: Big Ideas for America," Emanuel writes: "It's time for a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us. We propose universal civilian service for every young American. Under this plan, all Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 will be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic training, civil defense preparation and community service."Tuccille comments, "Emanuel and co-author Bruce Reed insist 'this is not a draft,' but go on to write of young men and women, 'the nation will enlist them for three months of civilian service.' They also warn, 'Some Republicans will squeal about individual freedom,' ruling out any likelihood that they would let people opt out of universal citizen service."Obama has also yet to clarify what he meant during his July "Call to Service" speech in Colorado Springs, in which he insisted the U.S. "cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set" and needs a "civilian national security force."A video of his comments is here:Obama spokesmen have declined to return WND calls requesting an explanation of what this security force would be or whether this force would be "required" or "encouraged."Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WND, used his daily column first to raise the issue and then to elevate it with a call to all reporters to start asking questions about it."If we're going to create some kind of national police force as big, powerful and well-funded as our combined U.S. military forces, isn't this rather a big deal?" Farah wrote. "I thought Democrats generally believed the U.S. spent too much on the military. How is it possible their candidate is seeking to create some kind of massive but secret national police force that will be even bigger than the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force put together?"Is Obama serious about creating some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than that? If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?" Farah wrote.His call generated intense Internet discussions.The Blue Collar Muse blog commented, "The questions are legion and the implications of such an organization are staggering! What would it do? According to the title, it's a civilian force so how would it go about discharging 'national security' issues? What are the Constitutional implications for such a group? How is this to be paid. … The statement was made in the context of youth service. Is this an organization for just the youth or are adults going to participate? How does one get away from the specter of other such 'youth' organizations from Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union when talking about it?"Michael Kinsley also commented generally on plans for enlisting America's youth in voluntary versus required volunteerism on Time's website: "Problem number one with grand schemes for universal voluntary public service is that they can't be both universal and voluntary. If everybody has to do it, then it's not voluntary, is it? And if it's truly up to the individual, then it won't be universal."

30% OFF MEMBERSHIPS TO HANDS OF A CHILD LAPBOOKS!

Only until November 10th, you can get a membership to Hands of a Child Lapbooks! Hurry and get it now if you have ever wanted a membership. It is a good savings. We (actually my mother-in-law) had to pay $250. 00 for a lifetime and now it is $175.00. All of the memberships are also on sale though also!!!! Check it out. www.handsofachild.com

Welcome Guest Blogger Tiffany Davis! After the Election, Now what Lord?

Tiffany is a dear friend of mine and she had some beautiful words to say after the election, they were so inspiring to me and I just had to share them with you all...So I asked her if she would be a guest blogger and she said Yes. Thank you Tiffany! Here are her words...

After initially being slightly freaked about the election results, I felt that God was showing me some things. In response to an email I read that said something to the effect of “There are consequences for the choice in President that American has made. I think what is in store for our country is going to be hell. Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” I put what I felt God showing me into words. As I wrote them, I really felt like, yes, absolutely, this is what we are called to next! So I thought I would forward my thoughts onto you. Love, Tif

So the questions to ask ourselves are: Is my worry (fear) based on a lack of faith that God can handle this? Have circumstances and the free-will that God gave people taken this out of even His hands?
Even our “free will” cannot go against the will of God!
John 19:10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" 11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above…”

As I watched the election results come in, my stomach began to hurt and kept hurting all evening. “No, Lord, no,” I kept thinking. And “You can still turn this around, Lord.” And yes, He could, if He chose to, but He has chosen, as someone else said, not to impose His will on us.
HOWEVER, and this is the most awesomest “however” ever! Consider the story of Joseph, whose brothers sold him with completely malicious intent. But his brothers played right into God’s plan. What did Joseph say to his brothers later? This just makes me laugh with joy and anticipation ...
Genesis 50:19-21 Joseph replied, "Don't be afraid. Do I act for God? Don't you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people." (The Message)
What man meant for evil, God meant for good.

What came to mind on Tuesday night as I thought “Now what, Lord?” is a reminder that:
For 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. Ephesians 6:12

And I thought, Ah! We Christians need to pray for this man, for God to bring about a conversion such as Paul had!!!!!!! What GREATER witness and evidence of a REAL and HOLY GOD, not only to our nation, but to the world watching our nation. If Barack Obama became a REAL believer, he would become a new creation! His heart would completely change in so many ways, including towards the unborn, for just one example; he would surely begin to do everything in his power to protect the unborn rather than fighting to remove every shred of protection. WHAT THEN?
REMEMBER PAUL! Prior to his conversion, Paul was a Pharisee and a persecutor of Christians. Luke tells us in Acts 9 that Paul was on the road to Damascus when he saw a light from heaven and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Paul responded, “Who are you, Lord?” and the reply came, “I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting.” Paul was blind for three days, and then his site was restored when Ananias laid hands on him. Christ’s revelation completely changed Paul's life, and he went from being a persecutor of Christians to the greatest missionary of the early church.

We tend to think of Paul the way he was AFTER his conversion -- take a moment to REMIND yourself of this incredible story:
Paul's conversion:
Paul said in Acts 26:9 “I myself thought that I should do everything I could against the cause of Jesus of Nazareth. That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the chief priests and put many of God’s people in prison; and when they were sentenced to death, I also voted against them. Many times I had them punished in the synagogues and tried to make them deny their faith. I was so furious with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.”
About Stephen when he was stoned: Acts 7:57 With a loud cry the members of the Council covered their ears with their hands. Then they all rushed at him at once, 58 threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses left their cloaks in the care of a young man named Saul. 59 They kept on stoning Stephen as he called out to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!” He said this and died. Acts 8:1(Amplified) AND SAUL was [not only] consenting to [Stephen's] death [he was [a]pleased and [b]entirely approving].
Acts 8:1 That very day the church in Jerusalem began to suffer cruel persecution. All the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the provinces of Judea and Samaria. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, mourning for him with loud cries. 3 But Saul tried to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged out the believers, both men and women, and threw them into jail.
Acts 9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Acts 9:3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (skipping a lot . . . you know the story . . . )
Acts 9:17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, . . . 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” 22 Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

What man meant for evil, God meant for good!

Paul said later in 1 Ti 1:12 “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.”

Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you! (Jeremiah 32:17)

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20)
For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)
Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” (Isaiah 35:4-5)
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith. . . . And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5: 7-10)
Jeremiah 29:11-1311For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
12Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.
13Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

And finally: Psalms 46:10 Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.
Love, Tiffany

Combining A History Timeline with Notebooking...

I found it much easier to combine our timeline with notebooking instead of doing them separate.

We use The Mystery of History for our world History. We read the lessons and then there is an activity that follows. Then we add something to our timeline!

I then have her write about the person on the timeline and their story!

Here are some pictures so you can see what I am talking about!

You could do this with any program or timeline that you have made yourself!

I think it makes for a more informational timeline!

Curriculum verses Living Books...

I am really starting to understand that some of my problems are because I am using some curriculum's instead of good Books. I am realizing that the reason why I feel like we never get anything done or it takes sooo long to get through things is because I am using a curriculum that is supposed to take a year to complete, where as I could read a book or two on the same topic and learn pretty much the same thing.
The biggest problem comes in because my daughter LOVES some of her curriculum and won't give it up. She absolutely loves Apologia, which I do to but it takes so long to read the lessons ad notebook them. Although, I guess we would be notebook anything we read.
The History takes a long time also. BUT we do like them so it is a big toss up. BUT on things like Oklahoma History, I had bought an Oklahoma History curriculum and later bought an Oklahoma History Book, and the book had everything in it that the curriculum did! And states! I bought a curriculum for states that takes a year to do! Man, it is ridiculous to have so many things that take soo long to finish. If we learned from books it would be much faster and we could get through more in a shorter period of time. If you get the right books, they learn the same amount! I think besides math you do not need any curriculum unless the ones you use, you really enjoy and they are fun!
If you are looking for a BIG way to simplify, try substituting Living Books for curriculum and see what happens! I don't know if I can pry my daughters precious apologia from her though! But I will be eliminating most of the other stuff!!!
Good luck! Let me know how this works for you!

The Morning After...

Sullen, sadness, shock, Scared.
I really don't even know what to say about this election. I am still in shock that it could end up this way. It says something about the state of this world. It really makes me think that we are even closer to the end times than we may have thought.
I can only say that our country needs our prayers even more now.

Please Pray Tonight...

Please pray that some of these close polls that they are calling already will change overnight for the good. We need a miracle...

Watching and Waiting...

I am watching this election and really fearing for this country.
Just keep praying that a miracle will happen. Please...

What happens to the bond after weaning?

For those of you who don't know, I just recently quit nursing my son. He was 3 1/2 years old.
I thought it would be really hard to stop nursing, and in a way it was, but it is a good thing. We cuddle more and he is so loving but the biggest benefit is that his relationship with his dad had grown so much. It is amazing to see there bond grow. He is such a daddy's boy now!
It is important to have that bond with them but they also really need that bond with their dad.
He used to go to sleep with me and now he cuddles up with his dad and goes to sleep. It is so precious.
Besides, I can get a little more sleep now, huh?LOL!
It is amazing how much the bond with the fathers grow once weaning happens and it is a really good thing. (No I am not Martha Stewart! HA)
As the mom you do not lose the bond that you had either. It is just a little different but just as sweet.
They grow up so fast and the bonds stay, they just grow sweeter!

I have not yelled at my kids in 2 days!

I know, this sounds both good and bad, doesn't it.
But I have been trying really hard not to lose my patience with my kids and it is hard to do, especially after the tenth time of saying the same thing. I get frustrated when they will not listen right away. I know, I can't expect them to be perfect. They are 11 and 3. It is hard though for me to do. It is like, I know what I am supposed to do and I also know that how I react really sets the tone for how they will act also.
When I react in a calm patient way, they do not get all up in a roar and make things worse. I know this, yet, I still lose my patience. Why? I don't know but it always reminds me of the verse that says I know what I should do , yet I don't do it. I know what I shouldn't do, yet, I do it..
That may not be the exact words but I feel like that every day.
Probably most of us do. But I am so, so tired of being stressed out.
The last two days i have tried my hardest. MY TRICK IS TO NOT RAISE MY VOICE! It works because if you don't raise your voice, you do not get as upset. There have been a few times where it was harder and my voice may have went up an octave or two (LOL) but not yelling!!
It really is important to work really hard to not yell and lose your temper.
If you do keep on yelling and arguing with your kids all the time, you will never be able to have the relationship that you could otherwise.
I really thing that this is what make our kids rebel.
When you go about things in a way that makes them angry, they do not think, "oh, I upset my mom and I really do need to work on that", NO, they will not do that; But if you go about things more calmly and patiently, they will see things more clearly. they can't think of the situation when they are just as upset and angry as you are.
Plus, it makes it difficult to really see the best in your kids when you are always yelling and arguing and you have the mindset that says, they "always" do that or they "never" listen. It puts thoughts into your mind that need not be there. We need to not hold things against our kids.
We are supposed to be forgiving and if we are always saying they never listen, etc.. we are not truly forgiving them and we are labeling them.
If, instead, we say something like, Honey, I know you are upset at the moment but I also know that you do not want to yell at your brother, or I know that you do not want to be rude to me, so go ahead and take a deep breath and calmly tell me what is going on, it will go much smoother.
Trust me, it works and I also know it is very hard, but I can not stop thinking that this is NOT how God wants me to raise his children, by yelling at them.
He gave me these kids to train them up for him and he would not approve.
I will just keep praying and keep on working on this because I don't want to lose my kids and I will if things keep on going badly. We can not live well if we are always arguing with each other. It is hard to love one another when you are always yelling and arguing, ya know?
So, if you are having this same problem, just know that you are not alone and that you can do this. Just try not to raise your voice and focus on that and it will get easier!
I pray that we all can overcome this together.
God Bless you all.
Love, Rodna

Wisdom Kids free this week!

Wisdom Kids! Thanks and Giving is free this week at Currclik. I just downloaded it and it looks really good! It is or ages 4-15. It has copywork, scripture and coloring pages.
You can get it at www.currclick.com

Warning about delsym Cough Syrup...

The active ingredient in Delsym, dextromethorphan, can cause hallucinations. At the very least, in it's proper doses can also, like it did my son, cause MAJOR night terrors. i am not sure if it was night terrors or hallucinations or both but the doctors said that this is what the highschoolers are now using to get high and make themselves have hallucinations.
It was really scary what hapened to my son.
I did not know that this was the new drug kids were using either! Man, it sure keeps changing, huh?
Ok, well, I though you might like to know.
it also has put a renewed vision in my mind of making sure anything that they could possibly get into, is put away.
Stay safe with our kids and meds.

The best book on homeschooling I have ever read!

The Heart of Homeschooling is the best book on homeschooling I have ever read. It is written by a home school father in the HSLDA, Christopher Klicka.
This book really gets to the heart of what parenting and homeschooling is really all about.
If you have ever wondered what the bible says about how our children should be taught, it is in here.
It teaches from every viewpoint. What the bible says about homeschooling, The husband, the father, the mother the home school teenager, the biblical worldview, understanding suffering in the midst of homeschooling, evangelism and homeschooling, etc..
This book is sooo good, I just can't tell you enough how much I love it. I have so many corners turned down so I can go back and read it again.
It will really help you to understand what the bible says about homeschooling and better equip you to tell others what the bible says and why you believe this way.
I have read a LOT of home school books and this is at the very top of my list!
Check it out, you will love it!

Scary Public School statistics...

These statistics are scary...

National Crime survey...
Shows that almost 3 million violent crimes and thefts occur on public school campuses each year.
This equals approximately 16,000 incidents per school day or 1 every 6 seconds.
The survey indicated that about 67 students of every thousand teenagers or 1.9 million are victims of violent crime, including rape, robbery, assault and murder each year.
The survey estimated that 1/3 of these crimes are not reported, making the actual figures much higher.

The Surgeon General...
expressed shock at the findings of a surveyof highschool students that revealed that nearly 20% of all girls and 40% of all boys that it was OK to force sex if a girl was runk.
Another survey showed around 500,000 U.S. teenagers in grades 7-12 habitually do binge drinking and that nearly 14% of the nations 8th graders are already binge drinkers.

In a federally funded study by the Guttmacher Institute, it was discovered that among 15 year olds, 33% of boys and 27% of girls were sexually active; among 16 year olds, 50% of the boys and 34% of girls were sexually active.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
did a school-based survey of risk behaviors of students in grades 9-12.
The study found that 18.3% carried a weapon and 7.4% were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.
32.9% had property stolen or deliberatley damaged one or more times. They also found that the numbers of multiple homicide victims in public schools had tripled in the last few years.

A recent survey found that 1/3 of students entering college need significant remidial help in reading, writing and math.

And perhaps scariest of all is the fact that approximately 50% of christian youth walk away from Christ after they graduate from college.

I will leave you to think what you will of these statistics, but to me they are very frightening.

(This was taken from "The Heart of Homeschooling" by Christopher Klicka)

Want to know how to get your little boys to help around the house?

If you have little boys and want them to help around the house, try making them feel REALLY BIG to be able to do this job! LOL
If I ask my son to do a job he usually won't want to do it. But if I say something like" Do you think you are big enough to do a big, helpful job for Mommy?" He will usually say yes, and I will say "Are you sure you are big enough to do it?, Can you do it all by yourself?" "Wow, I didn't know you were big enough to do that big of a job!" LOL
But it works!
Flattery for men at any age works! Besides it make them feel good and important and helpful!
Try it! Good Luck!

Do you let others influnce your decisions?

Do you ever go against how you really feel because of how others make you feel about it?
Do you let the views of all your friends influence the decisions that you make for your own children?
I know that it is very hard to stand up in this world and take a stand for what is right.
It is really hard to say that your kids can't watch a certain t.v. show when you are at someone elses house and they want to watch something that you feel is inappropriate or to say sorry, no they may not play video games with your children or No, we do not do sleepovers.
You will probably be met with the enevitable, 'why not?"
Then you have to explain your position, meanwhile trying to make sure that what you say does not make the other person feel like you are judging them.
It really stinks to have to always be defending your choices but it is worth it.
You are the only one who knows your child and what is best.
I have had to make a LOT of hard decisions in my life, (and I am only 28) I feel like I am constantly having to defend my decisions or explain why I feel the way I do, and unfortunately this has ended up in the loss of friends and family sometimes.
It is so hard when others will not understand where you are coming from and that you have to protect your children.
In trying to protect my children, I have lost a lot, but nothing is more important than protecting your kids. You have to be very careful in what you allow in your childs life and who they make friends with.
Many times you make friends and then start hanging out and then find out you don't have much in common or you really don't want your kids influencd in a certain way that they be if they hang around that person.
It is better to take it slow in our friendships and get to know one another than have to end a friendship or live our lives trying to make excuses to not see them. This is not only stressful for you but it is unfair and dishonest.
Sometimes it is your own family that you are having problems with. You can't control how others raise their families and you can only teach your children what your family believes is right and wrong.
If it is a serious problem, you may have to remove your family from the situation. It is hard and no one really wants to stir things up in their family and if you have to, do try to be as loving as possible and not make it worse.
But do know that you have the resposibility to raise your children up for God, no one else.

THE JOYS OF COPYWORK!

Does that sound like an oxymoron?
Yes, it does, but it is true!
I used to think that copywork was pointless. Even when I was reading all about Charlotte Mason, I didn't really see the point of copywork.
But as I go along in homeschooling I am seeing why this is necessary.
It is especially useful to the little ones who are just learning to write and spell. When they copy something they see it written perfectly and they will see how each word is spelled.
I have noticed with my 11 year old that she repeatedly spells some of the most simple words wrong, no matter how many times I tell her the correct way. But this is because she had seen it spelled wrong in the first place.
If she had been doing copy work from the beginning, then she would not have seen words spelled incorrectly.
It is so very hard to get over those mistakes.
Also, it is hard for children to think of things to write on their own until they get older. This is where narration really comes into play. I will write on narration another time.
When your little ones draw a picture, give them a sentence or two to copy onto the picture.
Did you know that you probably do copywork yourself?
Well, hmmm, let's see, Do you ever copy scriptures or poems or a quote that someone else has said that you found helpful? SEE??? LOL
Scripture is perfect copywork.
Start small. If you or your children want to copy a longer Scripture, just do a few sentences a day and add to it until it is completed.
The copy work will get longer as they get older.
When you do copy work though, you are not just copying. You learn grammar, spelling, punctuation, everything!
Copywork is the perfect way to learn language arts.
There is no need for grammar or writing books.
When the children get older, then you can teach all the grammar that they need to know one time. Yes, just one time. There is no need to teach grammar every day every year. Just wait until they are a little older and teach it once! teach it when they are old enough to remember it!
You can have copywork be a separate subject each day OR you can intertwine it into whatever you are already doing. If you are note booking in your history notebooks, have them copy a famous quote or speech or just something that they are learning about. Same goes for lapbooking!
We incorporate it into what we are already doing but we do also have scripture copy work daily also.
Just think how wonderful it will be when your children end up having a handwritten book of scripture?
It will be priceless.
I am doing this also. I do it along with my daughter in the mornings and add more to it in my free time.
We write on paper and then put it into page protectors and into binders.
When they get full enough, we will go and get them bound into books that we will be able to keep forever.
Make sure you store their copywork where it will be protected so that it doesn't end up ruined.
You could have them make a copywork notebook on any topic. What about a copywork book on famous speeches or quotes? What about a copywork book on any topic that they are really interested in?
make it special and make it into a book that they and you can treasure.
Let them make a handwritten book of scripture for grandparents or friends for christmas! They will treasure it.
Copywork eliminates spelling tests and grammar workbooks and writing lessons, etc..
This really simplifies your school day.
The time for these things are when your children are older. Don't rush them. They will get it and they will be better off.
If you have any questions on copywork, just leave a comment and I will try to answer it.
Have FUN!!

When Satan attack turn it around on him...

Wow, I sure am having a hard week.
I don't really understand what is going on.
I have really been working on my kids behavior and they had really improved and then all of a sudden BOOM, they are driving me crazy with their fighting ALL the time.
I don't even know what to do about it. I hear it and just close my eyes and ignore. it. I know that is not going to help, I just have had it.
The funny thing is, the more I read, the more I pray, the more I KNOW what I should do and how to handle it, the worse it gets. I know that my children are So precious, they are gifts from the Lord. I know what really matters, I know what is most important.
The harder I try to be a better mom it seems like the more Satan tries to hit me.
I feel like I am under attack.
I didn't even realize this until I started typing that this is Satan hitting me and trying to mess everything up so that we don't have the kid of family that God wants us to have.
Satan is really working hard right now in the world. he wants us all to be miserable or depressed or to feel like we just can't do it all or we are not good enough. Man, he is a LIAR.
He will try as hard as he can and we need to realize that and be on the defense of him. We need to be able to see that , hey, this is Satan here, this is not me. I am good enough, qualified enough, whatever it may be. God does not give us responsibilities and then hang us out to dry.
He does not leave us alone, but we do have to come to HIM. we can't just keep trying to do it by ourselves or we WILL fail. if we rely on Him though, we will make it through and we can make it through happily!
I was feeling so overwhelmed and even though I know how I truly feel, and it is not defeat, I was falling for the lie.
The more you understand what is really important and what you really need to do and how to parent your children or how to be a godly wife, the more Satan will hit you and say You can't do that. It is too hard. You will fail. He just wants you to crawl up in a ball and be depressed and leave the children to themselves, b/c he doesn't want your children to be raised up in a godly home.
We have to stand strong and do not allow him in our homes or lives. We need to get to he point to where he can't do this to us.
I will rebuke his lies and not let him get me down because if he does that affects my children and my husband and he loves it. But it is detrimental to my children if I am not being fully there and helping them to grow into godly children.
When these time come, just rely on God and what he says in scripture and we will make it through. Take these times to be learning opportunities to grow in whatever situation may arise. Come out of it stronger in faith and Spirit.
I will NOT let Satan get me down. I will rise up and rebuke him and grow stronger in whatever he is trying to bring me down in.
If he tries to attack me again, I will just grow stronger. Eventually he will want to give up because he will see that he is only making me stronger and that will defeat his purpose.
HA- Hows that ? Sounds good to me! LOL