I Am No Stranger to Grace

What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been~

2011-12-20T09:34:00.002-05:00

As I've spent some time this morning making some preparations for Christmas, my thoughts have wandered over the last year, and over the last 5 months in particular. Even now, as we are just coming out of a storm, so to speak, it is overwhelming to me to think of all that God has done.

Those who know us are familiar with some of what we have faced. My husband became ill in early July of this year. Within days, what had begun as one illness seemed to morph into several different conditions all at once. We do not know, and will probably never know for sure, whether the conditions my husband faced were all medically related to one another, or whether having them all occur so close together was simply a part of God's plan.

I think we must have felt, at some point during the last 5 months, every emotion that it is possible to feel~fear for his health, and a brief period of fear for his life.

There was frustration with our inability to "get a handle" on my husband's condition, weariness with the seemingly endless medical appointments, moments of fear over what the next medical test might reveal, concern over the financial fall out of all the time lost at work and the ever mounting medical bills, and I could go on and on.

However, what I really sat down here to write today was about all the GOOD things that have happened to us along the way, and the amazing God that we serve, Who gave us these gifts in the midst of our storm.

He led us to EXACTLY the right doctor for our family. I was SO upset a couple of years ago when our doctor, whom we liked very much and felt we could trust, decided to leave his private practice. I see God's hand in it now. He led us to a doctor who loves the Lord and is not shy about sharing that with his patients. Several times over the last five months, our doctor has stood in the esamination room and prayed with us, and let us know that he is praying for us. That has meant SO much to us.

There came a night during all of this when the onset of yet another medical conditon caused my husband to undergo a sudden and marked personality change. This was a VERY unsettling thing, but God was present through it all, and He allowed us to feel His presence in an almost tangible wasy. God also worked miracles the next morning by removing scheduling obstacles and other hindrances so we were able to find and begin treating the problem quickly.

God has been good, and merciful, and faithful to us. While my husband has been through a LOT in the last five months, we know that it could have been so much worse.
While we both have had moments of asking God why He allowed all of this to happen, we both take comfort in knowing that HE has a plan, whether we can clearly see it or not.

God has led us to not only the primary care doctor we needed, but every specialist to whom we have been referred, (all 6 of them!) have been caring and helpful. We have come in contact with some wonderful folks in the medical profession, many of them christians~from many of the nurses who cared for my husband during his six day hospitalization, to the nurses, assistants, technicians, and office staff of every doctor we have seen, I cannot think of a single time when we encountered anyone who seemed uncaring, unprofessional, or incompetent at their jobs. Given the number of medical professionals with whom we have come in contact, that is remarkable.

We have witnessed God's miracle of healing. It may have come slowly, but it came in God's time. We have witnessed financial miracles~income from completely unexpected sources, bills being paid when, in man's view, there was no way to pay them, but God made a way. My husband missed a solid three moths of work due to his illness, and more than that when you consider his hospitalization and the large number of days missed for medical appointments, and yet, our bills have been paid, there has always been more than enough food on the table, the money has been there for ALL of the seemingly endless co-pays and prescriptions, and our children have had everything they needed, and then some. ONLY our loving, all mighty Heavely Father can do that!!

Beyond the excellent medical care and the financial provisions, God has blessed us with so much more. All of the time out of work, while financially difficult, has allowed us time toghether as a family that we would not otherwise have had. Our children have been first hand witnesses to the power of prayer, the power of God, and what it feels like to truly have His peace that passes all understanding. To say that this is pricelss is an understatement.

I have come to beleive that sometimes God DOES let us have our cake and eat it too, as the saying goes. In addition to restoring my husband's health and meeting all of our needs, we have just come back from a wonderful weekend trip with family, we've been able to put more gifts under our tree than we thought would be possible this year, and I will be spending the next couple of days preparing for what I know will be a joyous and peaceful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior.

On that note, we want to say thanks, with all our heats, to everyone who helped us through these last five months~during the time that my husband was out of work, we had folks come by the house with groceries, others shared provisions to meet specific needs, some cared for our children during my husband's hospitalization and many, many medical appointments, and many more called, sent notes, and prayed. We are grateful to each and every one.

We don't believe that God is finished yet. We believe that some of God's purposes in all of this have yet to come to light, and that He has and is still using all that's happened in the last five moths for our good, and for His glory. Praise His Holy Name!

In His Love,
Vicki

So, Why Are YOU Weird?

2011-10-26T22:04:00.002-04:00

My kids are constantly telling me I'm weird. When I tell my 13 year old that I would never have been caught dead wearing jeans with holes in them at her age, she says "Mom, you're weird". When I tell my 11 year old daughter that her hair hanging in her face bugs me, she says "Mom, you're weird." When I turn up the radio and sing along, my 9 year old son says, "Mom, you're weird".

So, I've come to accept the fact that, for one reason or another, my kids are going to think I'm weird. That's okay. I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it :)) Tonight, as I watched one of the sessions of Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself study, she gave an illustration. She shared the fact that one of the ways she enjoys praising God is by applauding Him when He answers prayers or shows Himself in her life. One day, after finding something they really needed while out running errands, Beth asked her college aged daughter to join her in giving God a round of applause. Her daughter, with a grin, said "Mom, you are the weirdest person in the entire world!"

My first thought was that I am so glad that other people's children think they are weird too!! YAY! I feel so much better now! Then, I thought about this~my kids think I"m weird because of my opinion of the current fashions and hair styles, and my music, and my quirky likes and dislikes. Beth's daughter called her weird because of the way she chose to express praise to God. You know what? I think I"m a little jealous!!

Let's face it. If you have children above the age of 5, I'm almost positive that they think you are weird for SOME reason, so why not let it be for how you praise God, or how excited you get over church services on Sunday morning, or how happy you are to go to Bible study every week, or how you pray about EVERYTHING ?

So, why are YOU weird?
Blessings,
Vicki

The Best Laid Plans

2011-10-20T11:23:00.002-04:00

Listen to me. Hold close what you have. Your wives, husbands, and children. Every fantasy I had that what is precious to me is too good to be taken was destroyed last night. There are NO guarantees. Every moment we have here is a gift. Live that while you can.

What you read above are the words of Christian Hooker, who last night lost his wife and the mother of his 5 precious daughters to a massive heart attack. Christina was just 35 years old, and in apparent good health 2 days ago. She was a loving wife and adoring, homeschooling Mom to 5 girls, ages 3 to 15.

It seems, as I look around me today, that there is SO much suffering everywhere! Last week, I learned that my friend Lisa had not survived a risky surgery. Just a few days later, antoher friend, Jim, died suddenly of a heart attack. Then, I got word that Christina, whose husband's words are quoted above, was in ICU fighting for her life. That same night, I learned that my friend Mary Ann's cancer has returned, and that the doctors are offering her no hope.

I sit here and comtemplate all of this, and my own problems, which seemed so large a few days ago, now seem insignificant. My husband became ill in mid-July. He spent 6 days in the hospital and the next 3 months unable to work, or even to drive. But, because of God's grace, there was never a point at which his life was in danger. The condition he had could have developed in to something dangerous, but it did not.

Certainly, we struggled with "cabin fever" at times, with neither of us being able to drive, and even now, we are feeling the financial effects of his having been out of work for so long. Yes, life has been something of a struggle for the last 3 months, but today, it matters not in the least.

Late last night, I found myself unable to sleep, and talking with God. I did what I think many of my friends were doing~I asked God WHY? Why take Lisa, when her family needed her? Why break the hearts of Jim's mother, wife, daughters, and all who loved him by taking him so suddenly? Why NOT grant full, immediate healing to Mary Ann, a mother of 3 who has all ready battled cancer twice? WHY take Christina from the husband, parents, and sister who loved her so much, and the 5 sweet girls who need her so much??

As you might have guessed, I didn't get a clear answer for any of my questions. What I DID get was the Holy Spirit repeatedly bringing 2 Scriptures to my mind:

Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)
For I knwo the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Isaiah 55:8,9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts than your thoughts.

That was the Holy Spirit reiterating to me that I cannot and will not always understand God's plan, but at the same time reassuring me that He HAS a plan.

As I thought on these Scriptures, I began to contemplate some other whys~ Why have I been spared so many things? I've dealt with illness at times, as has my husband but I have never suffered a devestating illness, or had a close family member suffer a catastrophic illness. We have financial hardships, but we've never lost our home, as some of my friends have. Why not?

I don't know. My first reaction is to say "because of the goodness and mercy of God", and in one way, that is true. But, that implies that God has been good and mreciful to ME, but not to Lisa, or Jim, or Mary Ann, or Christina, and that is certainly not true. Any one of them will testify to the goodness and mercy of God.
So, it's not that I have been spared a great deal because God loves me more, or has more mercy or grace for me. I beleive it is simply because His plan for me is not the same plan He has for others.

I am still praying today. I am praying for a miraculous peace and comfort for Lisa's family, for Jim's family, and for Christina's family. I"m praying for peace and a supernatural healing for Mary Ann. And for myself, I am praying that God won't let me forget how I feel today. I am praying that He will constantly remind me to stop complaining, to treasure the time He has given me with the people I love, and most of all, to embrace His plan for my life, trusting that it is for my good.

I fervently pray that each of you will do the same.
In His Love,
Vicki

They Have No Wine

2011-05-09T17:28:00.002-04:00

I heard some teaching from Beth Moore recenly, via the "Life Today with James and Betty Robison" television show. It stuck with me, but I wasn't really sure why~wich is to say that I wasn't sure how to apply it to myself, exactly. Then, I took a look back at my last blog post. After I recovered from my surprise at how long it's been since I posted anything on the blog, I re-read my last post.

In that post, I wrote about what Jesus can do with the little that we have, if we just bring it to Him. Then, the significance of what I heard Beth Moore speak about clicked for me. She spoke from John 2:1-10. This portion of Scripture tells the story of the wedding at Cana, during wich Jesus performed His first recorded miracle.
Beth placed particular emphasis on Mary's words to her Son. " They have no more wine".

Not "there's only a little wine left" but "They have NO MORE wine."

So, this thought came to me. I know that even when I only have a little, I can take it to Jesus and He can make it more than enough. But what about those times when there is just NO MORE? Not even a little~but really, truly, NO MORE.

I defintely have times of feeling like I have NO MORE, and I know I can't be the only one who feels this way. I think we all have moments when there is just no more~no more money to pay the bills, no more tolerance for aggravation, no more patience for the trials of life, no more love to show toward those around us, no more wisdom to figure anything out, no more energy to expend any effort, no more time to accomplish everything that needs to get done, no more....well, you fill in the blank.

So, what do we do then? Well, we do what Mary did. She went to Jesus, and said "There is no more wine". And what did Jesus do? He created wine where there wasn't any. You see, He's God. He can do that :)

He CAN create more resources, more tolerance, more patience, more love, more energy, more.....you fill in the blank.

Just as Jesus can take the little bit that you have and make it more than enough, he can create something from nothing. We need only to go to Him and say "Lord, there is no more_______. If we give it to Him, trusting Him completely, He will give us more than enough, even where there was no more.
Blessings,
Vicki

Bring it to Me

2010-08-02T12:31:00.000-04:00

Last night, I was reading my Bible and this verse just sort of jumped out at me, so I thought I"d share it.

Matthew 14:18~He said, Bring them hither to me.

This is Jesus speaking to his disciples. The multitudes following Jesus were hungry, so Jesus told his disciples to feed them. The disciples replied that the only food to be had was a little boy's lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fish. It is clear in this passage that the disciples were thinking "NO WAY can we feed all these people with those loaves and fish!"

Jesus' simple solution? Bring them hither to me.

When they brought Jesus the bit of food that they had, He not only fed the multitude that was there, but he had the disciples collect the 12 baskets full of leftovers!! He took their little bit and made it MORE than enough!

We often think we don't have enough~we feel like we don't have enough time, enough energy, enough strength, enough patience, enough money, enough talent, enough knowledge, and on and on the list could go. But what did Jesus say?
Bring them hither to me.

Take the little bit that you have~that little bit of time, money, faith, patience, strength, wisdom, etc, and bring it to Jesus. HE will make it MORE than enough. But ONLY if you bring it to Him.

In His Love,
Vicki

Dating, Courting, and Social Networking, Oh My!!

2010-06-26T09:47:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, a discussion took place among some friends of mine about the dangers that social networking webistes like Facebook and MySpace can bring to a marriage. People set up accounts and start spending time on these sites, then find themselves re-united, though perhaps only electronically so, with old friends and with old flames. Sadly, I've heard a handful of stories about marriages that have been broken or badly damaged by online "reuntions" that lead to affairs.

Of course, there are some obvious solutions to safegaurd your marriage from this kind of attack. First, you could just not use social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. Secondly, you could limit your online "friends" to family only, or persons of your own gender. A thrid option, and the one my husband and I employ, is to keep the computer in a central location in the house, and to allow each other ABSOLUTE access to ALL accounts~usernames, passwords, etc.

So, when this conversation took place, I started thinking. My husband and I have a wonderful marriage. It's not perfect, but it's pretty great :) So, I started to think about why it is that we have been spared a lot of the pain and anguish that others have gone through.

It most certainly is not because we are any better, or any smarter than any other married couple. I DO believe though, that we are very, very blessed.

Part of the reason that I don't fear "old flames" harming our marriage is because I don't have any :)) My husband is the only man I ever dated. Now, there is a popular concept among some christians called "courting". I am not sure I understand the concept completely, but from what I gather, in families that promote courting ( as opposed to traditional dating) young men and young ladies spend time together with groups of friends, or with each others family memebers. The young man and young lady do not spend time alone together until they become engaged, I guess. As I said, I"m not sure of the particulars of courting.

In any case, it was never my intention to only date the man I was going to marry. I simply never had any intrest in dating anyone until I met him.

I was blessed with a lot of good friends in high school, and many of them were guys. But I never had any intrest in dating any of them. I just didn't think of them that way. After high school, the first couple of jobs I had placed me in situations where I worked with other women, so I just didn't meet a lot of guys. I could go into a lot of long, boring details here, but I"ll spare you. My point is that even though it was not really a conscious decision on my part, I never went on a date with anyone other than my husband.

It may not have been MY design, but I believe that it was God's design. I was sparend the teen age trauma of break ups and all of the angst that goes along with typical teen dating relationships. My husband is spared any emotional baggage I might have brought into our marriage from relationships like that~and as an added bonus, he knows he has no reason to worry about anyone on my Facebook "friends" list. :))

I can't really see us encouraging our daughters or our son to "court" rather than "date". But you can be sure that we will teach them NOT to date for it's own sake, and I pray earnestly that they will never feel the need to have a "boyfriend" or a "girlfriend" simply because all their friends are "dating someone". My prayer is that they will take to heart what we have taught them~that God has all ready chosen a spouse for them, and that He will bring that person into their lives in His way and in His time, and that He doesn't need our help to do that.

You see, I believe with every fiber of my being that the man I am married to is the man that God chose for me to marry. Believing that with absolute certainty goes a long way toward curbing ANY behavior that could harm our marriage. I hope that each of my children will have that same rock solid belief about their spouse.

I'm not naive. I realize that no marriage is untouchable, and that satan can be very powerful in his attacks, and marriages and families are his favorite targets. I get that. I am just taking this opportunity to say that I believe God placed in my life some protections for my marriage long before I was actually married, and I am far more thankful for that than I feel able to express.

No marriage is perfect, but am more thankful every day for the one God gave me.
Blessings,
Vicki

What I Learned When I Read Twilight

2010-02-25T01:19:00.002-05:00

I had NO intention of reading Twilight. Ever.

I first became aware of it while playing with the "Flair" application on Facebook. I began to see a ridiculous amount of "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" flair. I had no clue what it meant, and frankly, didn't care.

I mentioned this to my 17 year old nephew, and he explained to me that these were characters in a series of books. He told me that the books were really good, and encouraged me to read them. I told him right away that I had no intrest in reading about vampires and werewolves, and that he shouldn't be reading that junk either. His reply was that there was nothing "wrong" with stories about vampires.

Not long after this conversation, my then 11 year old daughter began to hear about Twilight from her friends. She asked to be allowed to read the book, and I told her no. I told her that there were much better things that she could spend her time reading. When she asked me WHY I objected to the books, I told her that I didn't like the idea of her reading stories about vampires.

Now, please understand that when my daughter asked her next question, she wasn't trying to be a smart aleck. She certainly CAN be one of those, LOL! but in this instance, she simply wanted to understand. So, she asked, "Mom, if you don't want me to know about vampire stories, why did we go see the play "House of Frankenstein", and why did you let us watch that "Young Frankenstein' movie?"

A while back, my Dad played Dr Frankenstein in a local theater production of "House of Frankenstein". The play was a comedy, very light, very funny, but two of the characters WERE vampires. Just before seeing this play, we had also watched the old Gene Wilder movie "Young Frankenstein"~again, very light, very funny, but contained characters that were vampires, along with werewolves and various other 'monsters".

So, my daughter had a legitimate question. Why were vampires and werewolves okay in a play or movie, but a popular book was forbidden to her simply because it was about vampires and werewolves??

The answer is that I ASSUMED that because the book was about vampires and werewolves, that it would be violent and graphic, and that because it also involved a romance, it would contain inappropriate intimate scenes. I ASSUMED that because a few people that I know objected to the books, they must be bad. Then, my daughter asked another question "But Mom, have you actually READ the book?

So, I told my daughter that I would read the book myself, and THEN decide if she should be allowed to read it or not. MUCH to my surprise, this book did NOT contain gore, it was NOT violent, and it did not contain any inappropriate scenes of intimacy. Having read the book myself, and taking into account my daughters personality and maturity level, I chose to let her read the book. I made a point EVERY day of asking her where she was in the book, and talking with her about what was happening in the story. After about 3 days, she was coming to me on her own to tell me what part of the story she was reading. She was enjoying it, and was excited to be able to discuss it with me.

These conversations led to some WONDERFUL moments with my daughter. We had some great discussions, and I got some good, clear insights into my daughters character, and the kind of person that she is becoming. We followed the same patter with the 3 sequels to Twilight, with me reading each book first before allowing her to read it. Each book led to more really good discussions.

Now, having said all that, let me also say this....I'm not saying that you won't find ANYTHING to object to in these books. I'm not saying that they are appropriate for everyone. I would NOT allow my almost 10 year old daughter to read them. She has no intrest in them at all, but even if she did, I would not allow it for her right now.

I"m not suggesting that everyone run out and read the Twilight books, or allow their children to read them. I"m only saying that in this case, I almost missed out on some great talks with my daughter because I formed an opinion based on assumptions and the opinions of others. One of my goals in homeschooling our children is to teach them to THINK, and to form opinions based on what they learn, NOT on what they ASSUME, or on what they hear other people say.

I just want to make sure that I teach by example.
Blessings,
Vicki
PS~For the record, I thought the books were okay~sort of light, fluff reading. I couldn't care less whether the heroine ended up with the vampire or the werewolf :))

I Can't Stop Singing.....

2009-12-07T12:44:00.002-05:00

Remember that little chorus many of us learned in Sunday School that goes "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me"?

I cannot get that song out of my head today. No one will ever be able to convince me that God doesn't care about "little" things, or that God is not involved in EVERY area of our lives.

For the last 15 years, my family has enjoyed the tradition of spending a weekend together in Pigeon Forge, TN in December. There have been times when it looked like we wouldn't be able to make this trip because one family member or another couldn't be there, or it might be financially impossible. But always, each and every year, God has made it possible for me, my husband, our kids, my sisters and their kids, and my parents all to be together for this weekend. He has always provided the finances to make this possible~every time.

This year, I started in September praying about our Pigeon Forge trip this year~praying that everyone would be able to go, praying that finances wouldn't be a problem for anyone, praying that everyone would be healthy and well enough to go, and that we would all be protected from illness, injury, accidents, etc during the trip. This year, I also had an added prayer request. I asked the Lord to show us the best arrangements to make for the care of our little dog, and to keep her healthy and safe while we were gone.

God answered each and every prayer. Everyone's schedule was clear for them to be able to go. That may not sound like much, but we are talking about 6 adults, 4 of which work full time jobs~2 teenagers, 1 of whom works 2 jobs and 4 younger children who are all involved in various activities. So yes, God was in the fact that everyone was able to go on this trip. God also worked out all the financial details. I was sick last week, but felt fine in time for the trip. My sister is fighting a sinus infection, but didn't really begin to feel ill until we were on our way home. My daughter slipped and fell in the pool area and scraped her back up. As cuts and scrapes go, this one was pretty bad, but considering that she fell on wet concrete, she could have been much more seriously injured. God is good.

God provided us with wonderful, dear friends who were willing to care for our dog for the weekend, and He was kind enough to give us complete peace throughout the weekend that our dearly loved pet would be fine. God is good.

On top of all of that, we spent Saturday strolling through Gatlinburg, TN. God blessed us with just enough snow to make it refreshing and beautiful, without causing terrible driving conditions or such extreme cold that we couldn't enjoy being outside. God is good.

When we got home last night, we found out that our dog had actually gotten away from our friends while we were gone, and for a while, they didn't know where she was. Then, our friends sweet little girl told me that as she was walking through the woods near thier home looking for our dog, everything became very quiet, and she heard the dog sneeze. She was able to find the dog, who was not harmed at all, and lead her back to their house. In that sweet, simple, child like faith, this child stated, quite matter of factly~ "I felt God leading me. He showed me where the dog was".

What amazed me was that this child was NOT amazed at all. It seemed completely natural to her that God would show her where to find that dog. The same is true of her little brother, who, as soon as he heard that the dog had gotten out, said "It's going to be okay. God is in control."

Out of the mouths of babes!!! Oh, that we, as adults, could grab on to the faith of children, and hang on to it like the life preserver that it is!! How sad that we so routinely let the cares and troubles of our adult world obscure or even destroy our child like faith!!

Just this morning, I heard a sermon on the miracles of Jesus. The speaker pointed out that Jesus never performed a miracle without a reason, and that often, that reason included faith building. He went on to say that many times, God allows or brings things into our lives in order to build our faith. Sometimes, they are big things. But not always. Sometimes, they are little things~things like a beautiful snowfall during a weekend in the mountains, a fun trip with your family, and God's hand of protection on your loved ones, even a pet.

In the big things, in the little things, in ALL things~GOD IS GOOD!!!

In His Love,
Vicki

Missing the Point

2009-07-07T13:59:00.002-04:00

I just read an online discussion regarding homeschooling. In response to the question "Do you think homeschooling is good for children? Would you homeschool your children? Why or why not?" one individual responded that while she (or he, I'm not sure) knows that homeschooled students do well academically, and she knows that there are opportunities for homeschooled children to socialize, she would not homeschool her child because "the experience is just not the same as going to school".

Okay, excuse me for sounding like an obnoxious kid here, but I can't help thinking "Well, DUH!"

The experience is NOT the same, and that is a BIG part of the reason that my husband and I have chosen to educate our children at home. Those who constantly scream that homeschooled kids need to go to school to learn social skills are ridiculous. Walking everywhere in a line, responding automatically to whistles or classroom lights being turned on and off, and being told that you must study only what 30 other children born within a year of you are studying is NOT learning social skills! If anything, it's learning SOCIALIST skills! LOL!

Lets think rationally here for a moment. People tell me all the time that I should send my kids to school so that they can experience "the real world'. That makes me laugh. Why? Because in the real world, every job I've ever held, I worked with people of various ages~NEVER did I work ONLY with people who were born within a year of me. In the real world, I"m expected to complete projects and accomplish tasks on my own, not with a "commander" standing over me every second. In the real world, I can eat lunch because I"m hungry, not because some bell sounded. I can go to the restroom when I need to go, and I don't have to ask permission, thereby sharing with everyone else in the room what I need permission for.

In the real world, if I am "bullied" by someone, I can leave that establishment and do business elsewhere, or I can begin looking for another job so that I can leave that one as soon as possible. I am not forced to continue to see the bully day after day, with my only option being to report the bullying to teachers who have little or no authority to put a stop to it. In the real world, I learned to get along with people of all ages, not to make fun of the "little kids" or pick on the "freshmen".

Homeschooling is not the same experience as attending traditional school? You're darn right it's not, and thank goodness for that!!

Family Circus

2009-05-14T23:42:00.002-04:00

I was treated to something very special today. Right outside, in my very own backyard, I saw a wonderful circus!

Ah, yes. The show began with a handsome little ringmaster, (my son Noah) who welcomed me to the show, and introduced Zora, (my daughter Alex) who astounded me with her magnificent feats of grace and balance on the high wire ( some boards in our backyard). I then had the opportunity to be awed by the lovely Zoe (my daughter Rachel) and her amazing tricks on the flying trapeze( the swingset).

Then, much to my surprise, the handsome little ringmaster suddenly became "Bob the Clown", and had us all in stitches with his hilarious antics. And, all of this was accompanied by extreme cuteness from "Dixie the Wonderdog"!

As I heartily applauded the grand finale, the ringmaster thanked me for coming to see "The Greatest Show on Earth".

You know what? He was absolutely right. :)

Blessings,
Vicki

Genuine Faith

2009-05-04T10:13:00.002-04:00

Calvin was a young boy who was blessed with a talent to sing. He was raised in a little country baptist church~you know, the little white wooden church with creaky pews and ladies dressed in their Sunday best fanning themselves with paper fans from the funeral home.

The preacher was fiery sort who liked to shout and thump the pulpit to emphasize a point. The song leader was Calvin's Dad.

From time to time, singers would come and visist the church~families that traveled around singing together, or good old fashioned southern gospel quartets. When Calvin was 12 years old, he was invited to join a southern gospel quartet on the road. Calvin would have loved that, but his parents deemed him too young to travel so much, and would not allow him to go. Calvin remained with his family, ad grew up in that church.

Over the years, Calvin grew up, married, had 4 children, divorced, remarried many years later. There came a time in Calvin's life when he stopped going to church. He had been deeply hurt by some folks in a church, and simply chose to stay away.

But, even when he was not attending church, Calvin's love for the Lord never disappeared. He loved to talk about the Lord, loved gospel music, and even enjoyed sharing the true Word of God with the Mormons and Jehovah's witnesses who frequently knocked on his door.

In April, 2008, Calvin lost his wife of 18 years. She was truly the love of his life, and his family feared that he may not want, or be able, to go on without her. He sort of "holed up" in his house, and his family feared for his physical and mental well being. Then one day, a neighbor invited Calvin to church. Much to the surprise of his family, Calvin agreed to go. He seemed to get a bit of his "spark" back.

Soon afterwards, Calvin's daughter convinced him to move in with her. This move would bring him nearer to not just this daughter, but his entire family. Calvin began attending church regularly with his family.

Then one day, Calvin, who was by now 85 years of age, suffered a stroke. As often happens with stroke victims, Calvin lost much of his ability to speak. For several days, he would attempt to talk, but only the first word would come out clearly~everything else was garbled gibberish.

While Calvin was in the hospital, his pastor came to see him. The pastor told him "Calvin, you don't have to try to answer me, but I just want you to know that I really appreciate your coming to church faithfully since you've moved here. I know that the folks at our church would understand if a man of your age and health were not able to attend regularly, and no one would think any less of you if you didn't. But you do, and you are an encouragement to all of us, and I just want you to know that."

Calvin, with tears in his eyes, was able to speak clearly for the first time in days. He looked the pastor in the eye and said "I LOVE JESUS!"

Those simple words were meant to explain that Calvin comes to church regularly because he loves Jesus and wants to learn of Him and be around other people who love him. What wonderful places our churches would be if everyone who came to church came for that reason, and that reason alone!!!

Calvin is my grandfather. Several days after he spoke those words to his pastor, the Lord touched him, and he fully regained his speech. He is once again faithfully attending church, becuase he loves Jesus :)

I've learned a lot from my grandfather. There was a time when I thought that a person who did not attend church every sunday MUST be knee deep in sin. Now, please understand me, I am not "knocking' church. My husband and I attend faithfully, and we take our children with us. But, I saw in my grandfather's life that a person can worship God alone, or in small groups outside a traditional church building, and still grow in his relationship with the Lord.

I"m afraid I'm not being very clear in expressing my thoughts on this. Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and I am NOT disputing that. I am only saything that "assembling ourselves together" doesn't have to be in a large crowd, or in a big church. It might be in a remodeled basement, like the church I attend. It doesn't have to be with a huge crowd. It might be with just 5 or 6 other families, like our church. My point is that wherever we attend church, wherever we worship the Lord, it should be because we love Jesus, and for no other reason.

Don't Give Me That!!

2009-01-21T15:02:00.003-05:00

Today, I encountered someone who was lamenting the sad state of this country's public schools. The person then commented that they do not homeschool because they cannot afford to homeschool.

Okay. I GET that not every one is ever going to homeschool. I"m not even saying that everyone SHOULD homeschool. But, if you are going to give me a reason why you can't or won't homeschool, DON'T give me THAT ONE!

Yes, there are some families who spend several hundred dollars per school year, per child, to homeschool. But that is NOT the only way to educate your child.

If you can get to a library and fill out the card to obtain a FREE library card, then you CAN homeschool your children!! If you go to used book shops, yard sales, or swap meets with other homsechooling familes, you can homeschool your child for next to nothing! The sheer volume of free resources available on the internet is mind boggling!!

So, if you would never consider the thought of homeschooling, fine. Tell me that you think your children are better off in a traditional school. Tell me that you don't think you could do it. Tell me you don't want to do it. Best of all, tell me that God has not led you to homeschool your children, that it's not His will for your family. But to say that you don't homeschool because you can't afford it??

Don't give me that.

We Need A Little Christmas, Right This Very Minute!!

2008-11-11T11:20:00.003-05:00

I am taking this opportunity to thank God for giving me the perspective that I've needed over the last week or so.

There have been so many things that could have really left me "down in the dumps", but God is merciful, and He has instead allowed me to be encouraged, rather than discouraged, with recent circumstances.

I would have been really upset about the election results, but God graciously led me to a few Scriptures that encouraged me, including Jeremiah 29:11, reminding me that God has plans for me, and that His plans are for my good, not my harm, and Romans chapter 13, wich speaks of the fact that our leaders are placed in their positions BY GOD and can be used by Him as a minister for our good.

My husband has also been out of town for the last few days. He does not have to travel very often, and I HATE it when he does. The kids seem out of sorts, and everything just seems harder. It didn't help that he ended up having to stay one extra day all ready, and may have to stay even longer. But, God has used this time to remind me once again how much I appreciate my husband and all the things he does for me, for our kids, for our family. My husband is God's gift to me, and I will be SO glad when he is home!

I was even a little bummed about the holidays, and that is NOT like me at all. Then, God once again used His Word to encourage me~this time in the form of the Peanuts character Linus, who recites Luke chapter 2 during "A Charlie Brown Christmas'.

I had been wondering how in the world we could celebrate anything with finances being tight, and the country, in our opinion, going down the tubes. Then, as I sat and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas with my kids, it occured to me~this year, we have more to celebrate than ever!!

Of course, we have the "usual" things to be thankful for~my husband and I have a wonderful marriage that is the greatest treasure we possess, next to our salvation. We are blessed with 3 wonderful children, who are all healthy. I've been blessed with the calling to not only parent them, but also to homeschool them. We may not have everything we want, but we have everything we need.

As for the state of the country and the world, I am hopeful, looking forward to watching God bless and prosper His children regardless of their circumstances or surroundings. I am more thankful than ever that we have a soon-returning Savior who is going to take us out of this wicked, sin cursed world, and then return to rule and reign with the truth and justice that we all long for.

Knowing that, how can I do anything else BUT celebrate Thanksgiving, basking in all that He has done for me, and then revel in the joy of Christmas, celebrating the birth of my Saviour, who is in ultimate control, and has GREAT plans for me.

Even if you feel that you have nothing else to celebrate, let's celebrate Our Savior!!

So, let me be the first to say,

Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year!

Vicki

They Just Didn't Know Any Better

2008-09-26T23:28:00.002-04:00

I have often said that I am thankful for the fact that I attended Chrsitian schools, and that's true. I attended various christian schools from grade 1 to grade 12. My only experience with public school was in Kindergarten. And I AM thankful for that.

I am thankful for it because it gave me knowledge of the Bible that I would not have gotten from a public school. I was also taught subjects like science, history, and even math from a perspective that included God. That would not have happened in a public school. I also had less exposure to drugs, alcohol, and the like than I would likely have had in a public school. The christian school from wich I graduated was not free of those things, but they were less common there than in ps.

Still, my husband and I chose NOT to send our children to christian school. Furthermore, my own parents tell me now that if they had it to do over again, they would have chosen to homeschool me and my sisters. But, as my Mom says, they "just didn't know any better." My parents never heard of homeschooling and did not realize that there was such a thing until after I had graduated from high school.

In all honesty, I could not financially afford to put my kids in a christian school even if I wanted to. But the fact is that even if money were no object, I still wouldn't do it.

WHY?

Because the label "Christian" doesn't mean that every student, or even every teacher in that school is necessarily going to behave like a christian.

Don't get me wrong. I know that no one is perfect, and that everyone makes mistakes, including christians. But, my dh and I chose to keep our kids out of the school environment because .....

I was repeatedly made fun of by another student for being overweight. . .in a CHRISTIAN school.

I witnessed one girl being teased, hurt, and made fun of ALL through Junior High and High School. . .in a CHRISTIAN school.

I was repeatedly belittled, insulted, and once flat out accused of lying by a TEACHER. . .in a CHRISTIAN school.

I went to the principal about this teacher, and was told that *I* should change my behavior so that the teacher would no longer have cause to speak to me as she did . . .by the PRINCIPAL, in a CHRITIAN school.

My parents wrote a letter to the principal regarding the situation with the teacher, and it was completely ignored. . . in a CHRISTIAN school.

Sadly, it wasn't just me. I saw it happen to friends too. I had friends who violated school policies (sometimes unintentionally) but even after sincere apologies, were not extended any grace or mercy, and others who were disciplined IN school for behavior that took place OUTSIDE school. . . in a CHRISTIAN school.

I'm afraid those reading this blog post are going to assume that I"m bitter. I can assure you, I"m not. I truly AM thankful for the education I received, for the good teachers I had ( and I did have SOME good ones!) and for the friends I made in school. But I thank God every day for introducing me and my husband to a homeschooling family, and for leading us to make the choice to homeschool our own children.

To any one considering educational choices for thier own children, I urge you to learn all you can, consider carefully, and pray about your decision. Don't just assume that because a school has the word CHRISTIAN in it's name that it's the best place for your children to spend the majority of their waking hours.

I know beyond any shadow of doubt that my parents made the best choice available to them at the time for my education. But now, my Dad is a pastor and a homeschooling advocate, and my Mom is homeschooling my nephew. They both will tell you now that they wish they had done the same for me. They just didn't know any better.

Blessings,
Vicki

Sometimes, That Still, Small Voice Is Really Loud!!

2008-09-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

I am having a tough week. This weekend, my husband in being sent out of town to work on a special project for his full time job. That means he's going to miss a day on his part time job. So, he's working EXTRA hours at his pt job this week, to cover the housrs that he'll miss there on Friday. On top of that, we found out that we will have to pay the travel expenses up front, and be re-imbursed by the company later. It's nice that we'll be re-imbursed, but that meant we had to do some "budget juggling" to come up with the cash dh will need for the trip. UGH!

And, the cherry on top of all of this is that dh has a new supervisor on his full time job. Dh currently works 6am to 2pm. The new manager is considering the possibility of changing their hours to 3am to 11am, or 5am to 1pm!! Ugh, Ugh, and UGH!!! But, that isn't definite yet, so we're praying the new guy will leave the 6am to 2pm thing alone.

I am not able to drive, so dh being gone more than usual this week, and the fact that he will be gone all weekend means I've been doing a lot of schedule juggling, and jumping through hoops to arrange transportation to places we needed to go. So, I've been a little tense. Not TERRIBLY so, but a little more tense than I would normally be. Yesterday morning, I was absolutely ready to hang my 6yo son from the ceiling fan by his toes!!!

He not only balked at EVERYTHING I asked him to do, but he was CONSTANTLY underfoot in the kitchen asking if he could help with the cooking that I was trying to get done. I let him pour and stir a couple of things, then tried to "shoo him off" again. It didn't work. Finally, in frustration, I said to my son "How come you're so eager to "help" me in the kitchen, but you won't do the things that I actually ASK you to do?!" He gave me his silly grin and mumbled something about helping in the kitchen being more fun, but I barely heard him, because as soon as my question left my mouth, I could hear the still, small voice of the Lord in my ear. But this time, it was more like a shout, saying, Yes, that's a GOOD question!! Why DO you want to help in the ways YOU want to help, but you balk at doing what I ASK you to do?"

Whoa. How right on is that? How often do I find myself thinking"Oh, sure, I don't mind going to church to worship the Lord, and I don't mind tithing, and I'll even sing in church, but Lord, I am so tired, and I sure wish it wasn't my trun to teach in Children's Church today!" Or, "Lord, I don't mind tithing, but I sure wish you'd give me liberty to work outside my home so we could have more money. Other people do it, Lord, why can't I?"

I am, put simply, a spiritual whiner. I WANT to serve the Lord, and I WANT to be faithful, and I WANT to bring glory to God, but the truth is, I want to do it the way *I* want to do it, not neccesarily the way God ASKS me to serve Him.

I expect my children to help me by doing ALL that I ask of them, not just the things they WANT to do. God expects NOTHING LESS of me. Wow. That still, small voice really shouted this time. I need to take stock and be sure that I'm doing all that He asks of me, and not just picking and choosing how I serve Him. I want to OBEY, not just pick and choose how I will serve the Lord.
In Him,
Vicki

Goats, Horses, and Donkeys, Oh My!!

2008-09-11T13:57:00.002-04:00

I was going through old post on my blog, from before the time I started importing them to Facebook, and I thought I'd repost a few of my favorites. I'm reposting this one for my friend John, who loves my goat stories, but wanted some new material~so, here ya go, John, I"ll throw in some donkeys and horses for you :)

When I was 17 or 18 years old and moved with my parents from the city to the small town in wich we now live, I used to say that it felt like living in Mayberry, like the Andy Griffith Show. Lately, it feels more like Green Acres! Or the Beverly Hillbillies!!

Yesterday morning, around 11 or so, I am talking to a friend on the phone. I actually had to interrupt the conversation to say to my friend "I'm sorry, I"ll have to call you back. I need to call our neighbor around the corner and let him know that HIS DONKEYS ARE IN MY YARD!!

Now, you must understand that growing up a "sophisticated city kid" as I did, I NEVER thought I would EVER be saying to ANYONE "I'll have to call you back, there are donkeys in my yard!!"

This was around 11am. Around noon, the 2 donkeys wandered up our neighbor's driveway and disappeared behind thier house. I don't know WHAT was back there, but we didn't see those donkeys again until about 3:30 or so. Then, there they were again, across the road in our neighbor's driveway.

At this point, Fred, our pet goat, is having an absolute FIT, either because of the donkeys wandering around, or maybe because my kids were out in the yard keeping watch to see what would happen, and proceeded to yell and carry on every time the donkey's wandered to a new spot.

These donkeys belong to a man who lives behind us, but he keeps them on his grandfather's property, wich is right behind my parents house. When my kids are at my parents, or at my sister's hosue (sis lives next door to Mom and Dad) they would often go the fence and pet the donkeys, feed them, etc,. so they feel rather attatched to these donkeys, and my 8yo was scared that one of them was going to get in the road and get hit. So, I spend my afternoon dealing with excitable, hyped up children, and an agitated goat. Then, around 4 or so, the REAL entertainment began when several guys showed up to try to wrangle these donkeys and get them back where they belong.

I swear, it was just like an episode of the old Gree Acres tv show! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!! There were 2 men, a woman, and at one point, a teen aged boy all out there with ropes, trying to corral these donkeys. I think they also had a bag of carrots, with wich to entice the donkey's to come to them.

I was trying to make dinner, so I couldn't just stand there and watch the whole thing. But, I watched when I could, through the picture window in my living room. At one point, I look out the window and I see a man leading one of the donkeys by a rope, so I'm thinking, "Good, they finally caught one of them!" The next time I look out the window, that same man is once again chasing that SAME donkey up the road!! ROFLOL!! The next time I look out, there are NO people in my sight, but in the neighbors driveway stand the 2 donkey's AND A HORSE!! LOL!! I STILL have no clue where that horse came from!!LOL!

When I left my house at 6:25 or so to go to a Bible study that meets at my sister's house, I think one donkey was still loose. When the Bible study ended about 8:30 or so, my nephew reported that both donkeys were FINALLY back inside the fence where they belong.

I tell you, I"m still not sure if I live in Mayberrry or Hooterville ( or whatever the name of the town on Green Acres is) but whatever you call this place, it's certainly never dull!!!

Btw, if you find yourself entertained by this story, take a look through my blog archives for "Our First Goat Adventure" and I"m sure you'll laugh yourself silly!
Vicki

Good Grief, Christians, GROW UP!!

2008-09-04T11:43:00.001-04:00

2 Peter 20, 21 ( KJV)~Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in the old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Why, oh, WHY dont' more christians read, and GET these verses?

About 2 years ago, I discovered an online forum composed largely of christian homeschooling Moms. Since I am a christian homeschooling Mom, I was thrilled to find this forum, and to be able to go there with and get advice on various questions and concerns. I visited the foum quite a bit and read a lot of the messages, though I didn't post very often.

Then, I messed up. I had the NERVE ( please note the sarcasm here :)) to say that while God has called me to be a full time home maker and homeschooling Mom and I am thrilled with that calling, perhaps He has not called EVERY Mom to that same thing. This statement caused a bit of a firestorm on the board, and I see this morning that the entire thread has been removed. Whatever!

Let me be clear here. I think EVERY mother's priorities should be God, Family, Church Family, then Job or Activities, or whatever God has called her to~in that order. I just happen to believe that it IS posible for a woman to have her priorites in that order and STILL work outside her home. I"m sure it's hard, but it IS possible! I , personally, don't think that *I* could do it, but I know that if God calls a woman to a job outside her home, HE is much more than capable of equipping her to do that job along with all the other things He has called her to do.

Sadly, the "tone" on the board I used to visit was one of "Mom's who work outside their home can't possibly be the Moms they should be" and "Mom's with outside jobs can't possibly be in the center of God's will". There were only a couple of instances in which things like this were actually said, but the whole tone of the board supports this view.

I'm sorry, but these people need cut some spiritual teeth, and do some growing up!!

Yes, Titus 2 tells women to be "keepers of the home"~but why insist that one can't work ouside the home and still keep her home as a haven for her family? Why sell God short and say that He can't enable a Mom to do this? Yes, it's HARD, but who are we to say that God can't give a Mom the strength to do it?

Since this discussion began online 2 or 3 days ago, I have read and re-read Proverbs 31 many times. I believe the Proverbs 31 woman worked outside her home. The King James says that she "considereth a field and buyeth it"~ well, she can't very well consider a field if she doesn't go see it!! It also says that she "bringeth her food from afar" and that she "sells girdles in the marketplace" so she must be going somewhere to get her food, and she must be going to the marketplace, and spending time there selling her wares.

The comment was made on the discussion board that buying and selling fields, making and selling girdles and gathering food were all things that this woman could do at home. I just don't see that. How can she "consider a field" at home? How can she sell in the marketplace if she's at home? That just doesn't make sense.

I"m just going to be blunt, since I'm here on my own blog, and say that what happened is this~a few ladies who feel that the call God has placed on THEIR lives MUST be the same call that He has placed on EVERY mother's life have fallen into condemning working mothers.

I am not a working mother, at least in the sense that I don't work outside my home. A good many of my friends are NOT working mothers. But some of them are, and you know what? They have handled their need to work skillfully, and with much prayer, and God IS enabling them to work and still be great Moms! Some of them are even working Moms who homeschool! Both my sisters are working mothers~one because she is a single Mom and has no choice, and the other because her dh insists that she work, so she also has no choice. They are NOT out of the will of God, and they ARE great Moms.

I choose to be a stay at home Mom. I WISH that all Moms could be stay at home Moms. But atht is NOT God's calling for EVERY woman, and I hope and pray that I never fall into the lifestyle of condemning other christians because they make choices that are different from my own. I wish that every christian could see that God doesn't lead every one of His children down the same path.

Believing that everyone is supposed to do everything YOUR way is a sign of spiritual toddler-hood. It's time for a lot of Christians to put down their bottle of milk, take a few bites of some meat, and start growing up!

Vicki

So Long, Skip~

2008-08-05T01:36:00.002-04:00

There are many things that I considered blogging about tonight, but since I've devoted other posts here to some of my baseball heroes, I couldn't let the night pass without paying homage to a genuine "character", Atlanta Braves broadcaster Skip Caray.

The soundtrack of my childhood includes the sounds of many, many Atlanta Braves games on television. My grandfather was a huge fan, and he passed that love of baseball along to, not his son, as most would assume, but to his daughter in law, my Mom. Some of my very earliest memories include the sound of a ball thumping into a cathchers glove, the crack of a bat connecting with a ball, and the voices of Pete Van Wieren and Skip Caray on TBS, and on Braves radio.

Those two voices, so very familiar to me, were a comfort to me the way a lullabye or a familiar song is a comfort to some children. In the "old days" when the Braves team of broadcasters would call half a game in the tv booth and the other half from the radio booth, my Mom and I used to watch half the game on tv, then, for the second half, mute the sound on the tv and turn on the radio so that we could hear Skip and Pete for the whole game.

Skip's sarcastic humor and dry wit could make even a rain delay, or a Braves loss, fun to listen to. When the Braves weren 't playing, I could always flip over the WGN and listen to Skip's Dad, Harry Caray, calling the games for the Cubs as only he could do. I loved listening to Harry and to Skip because I knew that they would make me smile.

I was surprised and saddened to learn that Skp Caray passed away in his sleep on Sunday afternoon, leaving behind a wife, four adult children, sevem grandchildren, and thousands upon thousands of fans.

I am not generally an "emotional" person, and I'm definitely not one to put my emotions on display. I am not a person to whom tears come easily. Even so, I couldn't help having to wipe my eyes when the Braves broadcast of tonights game, during wich they did a fine job of paying
tribute to Skip, ended with Skip's smiling face on the screen, and his deeply familiar voice giving his trademark sign off of "So long, everybody."

So long, Skip.

Vicki

This was originally written 2 years ago, when Skip Caray passed away, but I see on Facebook this morning that many folks are responding to Chip Caray's Fathers Day tribute to his Dad, so I thought I'd repost this :)

My Turning The Tables Fantasy

2008-07-25T20:05:00.001-04:00

I would never do this to anyone in real life. It just wouldn't be nice. But, in recent weeks, I have had the misfortune to be around people who think it's okay to give me flack about the fact that we homeschool our kids.

If you've ever homeschooled, you know what I"m talking about. The questions and comments like "Don't they want to make friends?" "What about socialization?" "I couldn't stand being with my kids all day." "How can you teach high school courses?" "Are you STILL homeschooling?" and on and on it goes.

Just once, just ONE time, I would LOVE to be able to walk up to a person whose kids are in traditional school and say "Oh, you're kids can ONLY make friends at school? What a shame!" Or, "Oh, my, how difficult it must be for your children, since they only know age-segregated, artificial socialization! I don't know how you cope with that!" Or, "Oh, you don't enjoy being around your children? How very sad!" Or, "Oh, you mean you DON'T learn along WITH your children?!! Really?! Imagine that!" Or, "Oh, your children are STILL in school? Aren't you going to homeschool this year?"

I won't ever do it. But it surely would be fun!! LOL
Vicki

Masterpiece in Progress

2008-07-15T09:49:00.001-04:00

The young man was a hometown hero. He had a passion for the game of baseball, and was blessed with athletic talent to go along with it. In high school, he was the "wonder boy"~an amazing athlete, destined for the Big Leagues. His family, his coaches, and indeed his whole hometown celebrated when the young man was chosen in the first round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft.

But, the young man had a secret that no one knew. By 2001, his promising career had fizzled, and he had dropped out of baseball all together. Why? The stronghold of drug and alcohol addiction had squeezed everything else out of his life.

By 2003, the young man had given rehab a try, more than once. He even met a girl, and got married. But there was something important missing from those rehab programs, and they didn't "take". In 2004, his wife left him. The couple did not divorce, but the young man was forbidden to see his wife, step daugther, and his own young daughter until he could "get his act together."

Then, in 2005, an amazing and wonderful thing happened. The young man finally found that "missing piece"~he met the Lord, and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He has been clean and sober since that day, has re-united with his wife and children.

Fast forward to July 14, 2008. The young man's baseball career is not only back on track, but flourishing. He is a full fledged memeber of a Major League Baseball team. He's having a GREAT season, and has been chosen by the fans to represent his team in the All Star Game. He has also accepted an invitation to participate in the 2008 Home Run Derby, a home run hitting contest that raises money for charity.

The young man is Josh Hamilton, rookie outfielder for the Texas Rangers. Last night, he set a new Home Run Derby record by hitting 28 home runs in the first round of the Home Run Derby. He will have the honor of being a starter for the American League All Star team, and has a good shot at being the 2008 Rookie of the Year.

When asked by a reporter if he had any parting thoughts after last night's derby, Josh replied, "I just want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for making it possible for me to even be here tonight. I am amzed at the work that God has done, and is doing, in my life, and I hope that I have brought some honor and glory to Him tonight."

How much easier my own life would be if I simply lived in light of the realization that I am a work in progress. God is the ulimate artist, so I can rest assured that when He is done, His work will be a Masterpeice.

My job is to bring honor and glory to Him from down here on His potter's wheel.

Dont give up. Don't throw up your hands and quit. You are a work of art. You are being molded and formed into His Masterpiece. Praise His Holy Name!

Vicki

What Is Your Parental Batting Average?

2008-06-17T11:54:00.001-04:00

It's a shame that we can't all be professional baseball players! Why, you ask? Well, think about this. If a baseball player goes to the plate 10 times and only gets 5 hits, that's a .500 batting average, which is absolutely UN~HEARD OF!!

The best hitter in the Major Leagues right now is Chipper Jones, third basemen for the Atlanta Braves. He currently has a .400 batting average.

A .400 batting average means that Chipper gets a hit 40% of the time. That, of course, means that he does NOT get a hit 60% of the time. THAT is why we should all be baseball players! In what other job can you mess up 60% of the time, and still be the best in your field?!

But, I"m not a professional baseball player. I"m a parent. I wonder what my "parental batting average" looks like in God's record book?!

I"m not saying that we, as parents, should aim for .400, mess up 60% of the time, and be content with that. But, we will all have a lot more joy and peace if we head to the plate realizing that we are NOT going to bat .1000.

Don't throw the bat away in disgust and knock over the dugout cooler when you strike out as a parent. Just go to your manager ( God) and ask His advice ( through prayer and Bible reading) then, when you head back to the plate, take your cut and swing for the fences :) You won't bat .1000, but you'll get enough hits to keep that average up there! :)
Have a great day!
Vicki

A Letter To Me

2008-05-15T19:10:00.001-04:00

I heard a song recently, in which the singer speaks of what he would say if he could write a letter and send it back in time to himself at age 17. I was inspired to give it a try.

Lets see...my 17th birthday fell on the last day of school of my Junior year in high school, so my 17th year included my last summer between school years, and my Senior year of high school. Looking back now, I would say....

Dear Blessed,

You have absolutley no idea how truly blessed you are!! But, you are also completely unable to see that right now.

This terrible thing that happened to your family, the lies that caused your whole world to change, WILL pass. I promise, it WILL get better. Just trust the Lord. Stay in your Bible each day, and pray. What God has in store for you and your family is so much better than what you have lost!!!

Now, on to more practical things. Be thankful for J. She is a TRUE and dear friend, and her friendship is something you will come to treasure throughout your life.

PLEASE don't be a mouse. Give that guy who insults you when he sees you in the halls at school a piece of your mind. DON'T let anything he says bother you in the least. He has absolutely NO character. It shows now, but his adult life will bear this out even more.

?? IS an adult, and your teacher, so it's GOOD that you show her respect because of that, but PLEASE understand, her opinion of you does not have to be, and SHOULD NOT influence your opinion of yourself. Her opinion is just that~an opinion, and nothing more. Trust me, once you graduate, every day you will care less and less what she thinks, and you will know that the words she said to you mean nothing.

Say thanks to RJ and JC. Their wonderful influence on you will be there throughtout your life.

Don't trust any person more than you trust the Lord. People will fail you. HE won't.

Skip the Junior/Senior Banquet. In a word? LAME!!

B doesn't seem like such a nice guy right now, but when he grows up, he actually GROWS UP for real, and he's a good friend. Be sure to smile and say hello when you see him.

Give E a little more of your time and attention. She really needs a friend.

A lot of people will tell you that these are "the best years of your life". Trust me, they are SO NOT!!

The Lord has chosen a wonderful man to be your husband. It will take some patience, but when you find him, you'll KNOW.

Don't take that first job that you are offered. You would be better off never to have had the other people who work there in your life.

Take it easy, enjoy today, and don't sweat it. These may not be the BEST years of your life, but they'll be full of some great memories that will bring you smiles later on.

Oh, and by the way, DON'T rent Dirty Dancing when you invite the kids from church over. Daddy WON'T take too kindly to that! :)

Love,
ME

One More Story About My Nana

2008-04-24T07:59:00.001-04:00

I just have to share this story. I was there when this happened, but I had forgotten about it until my Dad told this story during Nana's funeral yesterday.

If you know me IRL and have met my Dad, you know that he is quite "a character". He loves to amuse and entertain people, and he LOVES a good practical joke. But, when it comes to practical jokes, my Dad met his match 18 years ago when he met Nana.

I'm not sure how it all got started, but during the first 2 or 3 years that Papa and Nana were married, my Dad and Nana got into a little friendly competition of sorts, trying to see who could give each other the WORST Christmas gift. They would buy each other the cheapest, ugliest, most worthless thing they could possibly find, wrap in something awful, like the label off a can, or some toilet paper, and present their gifts to each other every Christmas.

I think the "object" of this game was to get the other person to FINALLY say "Oh, my word, that is the UGLIEST thing I have EVER seen!" or " Where in the world did you go shopping, the dump?" but neither of them would crack!
Nana would give Daddy the ugliest tie on earth, or a hideous hat, and he would put it on immediately, and wear it for the rest of the day. Daddy would give Nana some trinket that looked like it had been run over by a truck, or a wall hanging that looked like a pit bull had used it as a play toy, and Nana would exclaim that it was beautiful, and immediately put it on display. Neither one would "give in" to the other.

Last year, 4 or 5 months before Christmas, Daddy lost his favorite jacket. My Daddy loses things quite often, so none of us were terribly concerned about his jacket, as we asssumed it would turn up somewhere, sooner or later. But, Daddy really like this jacket, so he looked for it EVERYWHERE. He turned his house upside down, and even looked at my house and my sisters house. He tried to remember when the last time was that he remembered having the jacket, and attempted to retrace his steps, but he never did find that jacket. Finally, he gave up, and bought another jacket, but every time he wore it, he complained about how he just didn't like it as much as the one he'd lost.

When Christmas came around, we went to visit Papa and Nana. Nana opened Daddy's ugly little present for her, and proudly displayed it on her living room shelf. Then, she slipped out of the room. The children continued opening their presents, with much oohing and aahhing, but everyone got quiet when Nana walked back into the room with a big, beautiful box.

This box had been wrapped in gorgeous paper, complete with ribbon and bows. It looked lovely! Daddy, having expected something wrapped in toilet paper, was, for once, speechless. He began to open the box, looking quite confused. Then, he opened and looked inside, still not saying a word. No one else could yet see what was in that box. It seemed that Nana had finally "gotten" Daddy by letting him present her with his piece of junk, then giving him a "real" present!

The look on Daddy's face was priceless as he stared into that box and said "Well, Jeanette, I don't know what to say! What a nice jacket!"
Nana had a huge grin on her face and looked as if she were about to bust.
For my part, for just a minute, I was disappointed. What on earth was up with Nana giving Daddy a "real" present? That's no fun!

Then, Daddy slowly began to lift the jacket out of the box and hold it up for everyone to see. The room erupted in laughter as we all took a look. And we laughed even harder when it took several minutes for Daddy to be the last one to realize that he was sitting there holding HIS OWN JACKET, that he'd driven himself crazy over for the last several months!!! LOL!!

He'd left it at Papa and Nana's house, and instead of returning it, she decided to keep it and wrap it up for Christmas. Daddy had no choice but to admit defeat. Nana had gotten him, and she had gotten him good. I know she relished the moment when he stood and bowed to her, and decleared himself conquered by the joke master.

I don't know if the Lord ever lets His saints see what's going on down here on earth once they are in heaven, but if He ever does, I KNOW Nana was grinning again as Daddy told that story during her funeral yesterday.

You got him, Nana, and you got him GOOD! LOL!

Vicki

A Few More Reasons to Homeschool

2008-04-18T08:37:00.001-04:00

If I want to, I can call a "snow day", whether it's snowing or not!

We have a school holiday on OUR birthdays, and not necessarily on the birthdays of past presidents or other political figures.

Vacations in May and September are WONDERFUL!

The only time my children raise their hands is when they are trying to reach something on a high shelf.

My children are allowed to go to the restroom without announcing to the whole class that that's what they need to do.

Bugs that you find in your front yard are WAY more interesting than pictures of bugs in science text books.

I get to be teacher, lunch lady, guidance counselor, AND recess monitor!

I get to talk to myself and call it a "parent-teacher conference". :)

Vicki

Ya Gotta Love This Guy....

2008-04-17T08:58:00.001-04:00

Even if you're not a baseball fan!!

Last summer, I wrote a post on this blog titled "Getting There By A Different Route". In it, I shared the story of Rick Ankiel, a former St Louis Cardinals pitcher who blew out his elbow, lost his spot on the team, then went home and worked hard to re-invent himself as a hitter. The following season, he re-joined the Cardinals, this time as an outfielder. He brought a lot of folks to tears when he hit a home run during his first game back.

I've watched Ankiel since then, in part to see if he really is going to "make it" as an outfielder, or if last season was just a "fluke".

Well, this is no fluke. This guy has a determination that is just amazing, and it seems to show in EVERYTHING he does! Last night, he fought off SEVENTEEN pitches from a Milwaukee Brewers pitcher before finally taking a walk to first base!!

If you're not much of a baseball fan, you may realize the significance of that. A walk, aka a free pass to first base, is given to a hitter when a pitcher throws him 4 pitches out of the strike zone.

Many times, a hitter will swing at a ball and foul it off. After 2 strikes, these foul balls no longer count against the hitter, so a hitter can "stay alive" in the at-bat by fouling off pitches.

A good hitter will do this when he gets a pitch that he knows won't go very far, but he can't just let it go by him, or he'll strike out, so he has to at least "get a piece of it" and foul it off. It is not unusual for a pitcher to throw 6 or 7 pitches to a hitter before the hitter either strikes out, gets a hit, or is walked. A 10 pitch at-bat is pretty unusual.

A 17 pitch at bat like the one Ankiel had last night is EXTRAORDINARY, and shows great patience and determination on his part. He simply would not give up! He worked a walk to first base, and a few minutes later trotted across home plate when one of his team mates hit a double.
The Cardinals won the game.

After the game, in answer to a reporter's questions, Ankiel said, "I just didn't want to strike out. Striking out doesn't help my team, and helping my team to win is what I'm here to do."

Even if you hate baseball, you gotta love this guy!!

Vicki

Your Math Lesson Is Done, So Stop Jumping On The Bed!!

2008-04-14T12:43:00.001-04:00

Yes, I said those words to my son this morning, and when it came out, it sounded so odd, I just had to laugh. My son, who is in K, is practicing counting to 100 without stumbling over a few of the numbers, as he does now. Simply asking him to count to 100 usually leads to a battle of wills between the two of us. So, instead, I told him he could jump on my bed, and we would count the jumps together.

He was more than willing to go along with this, and both his sisters asked for a turn as well, so he got to practice counting to 100 3 times instead of just one!

I've been letting my daughter re-inforce her grammar lessons by using Mad Libs. Today, I decided we would do this together. When my daughter does these alone, she tends to "cheat" and read the whole story before filling in the blanks. It still helps to re-inforce grammar and parts of speech, but the game isn't as much fun that way.

So today, I held the Mad Lib book, and simply took turns asking each child to give me a noun, verb, adjective, etc., THEN we read the funny stories. I"m not "trying" to teach my Kindergartner grammar just yet, but he did NOT want to be left out of this game, so now, as a "bonus", he has learned what a noun is, what a verb is, and what an adjective is. A good time was had by all :)

Dh has changed his work routine yet again, but only a little bit this time, and for the better. He doesn't come home at 2:15 every afternoon anymore. He has gotten permission to clock in at his second job one hour earlier. This allows him to go straight from his first job to his second job, and get home each evening at 6:30 instead of 7:30. That allows us to have dinner a little earlier, and gives us a little bit more family time in the evenings.

In another 6 weeks, dh will have a 12 week break from his second job. We are all looking forward to having him home at 2pm every day during the summer!!

That may seem kind of silly, and maybe it's corny, but I miss my husband when he's at work! I"ll be glad when he can have a break from having to work such long days. I'm very thankful that after almost 14 years of marriage, I still miss my hubby when he's at work :)
Vicki

Thank you, Lord, For The Weekends

2008-04-02T00:32:00.001-04:00

In light of my last 2 rather whiny posts, I thought I"d share something good. Actually, I thought I'd all ready blogged about this, but I don't see the post here, so I must be thinking of the email I sent my sister.

Anyway, the Lord blessed us with a wonderful time this past weekend. We thought dh was going to have to work on Saturday, but he ended up getting the day off. We spent a pleasant morning at home, with dh playing with the kiddos while I got a few things done.

Then, we decided to go and eat somewhere before heading out to the circus. We tried a new Mexican restaraunt, and for the first time in a long time, we actually ate at a place that all 5 of us really liked!! Nice atmosphere, good service, GREAT food, and not too expensive! We will definitely be eating there again soon!

We had some extra time before the circus, and we were very near where I lived as a child, so we took the kids by to see the where I used to live. I made an interesting discovery there about a patch of monkey grass, which I will write about in my next post.

We headed off to the circus, and found a great parking space, very near the gate where our seats were located. The children got to take an up close look at the animals during the pre-show, and we all enjoyed the show VERY much. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful time, and some great memories. I am so thankful.

This weekend, we are looking forward to (hopefully) a day off from BOTH jobs for dh, and an evening out with friends. We hope that Saturday will be a day we can just spend together at home as a family, and we are looking forward to an awesome worship service Sunday morning, and a great Bible study Sunday evening.

Don't you just love weekends? :)

Vicki

Quote of the Day

2008-03-24T17:28:00.002-04:00

Never let schooling interfere with your education.
~Winston Churchill~

Isn't that the truth?!!

Vicki

Thank you, Hank!!

2008-03-22T19:37:00.001-04:00

I want to tell you about my friend Hank. Hank is 86 years old. He is a father of 2, grandfather of 4, and proud great grandfather of 1. Hank loves to talk about his children, his grandchildren, his beautiful little great granddaughter, and his beloved wife Betty, who passed away about 5 years ago.

But, those aren't the best parts of Hank's story. This afternoon, I had the blessing of being able to spend a couple of hours talking with Hank, and listening to his stories.

Hank is a former Prisoner of War. He was held captive by German soldiers for 4 months during World War 2. His survival is a miracle any way you look at it, but ESPECIALLY when you consider the fact that Hank is Jewish.

I don't mean that Hank has an ancestor somewhere in his background that was Jewish. Hank is absolutely, 100%, a direct descendant of the tribe of Benjamin. Six million of his Jewish brothers and sisters did NOT survive World War 2. The fact that Hank did is a miracle. But, as you listen to Hank tell his story, he will assure you that his survival of WW2 is NOT the greatest miracle he ever experienced.

Hank will tell you, quite enthusiastically, that the greatest miracle he ever experienced happend when, at the age of 83, he accompanied his son, daughter in law, and 2 granddaughters to church. As the preacher preached that day, the words suddenly began to make sense to Hank. The words from that King James Bible, given to him by a dear friend, that he's been reading at home, suddenly became very clear to him. When the pastor gave the invitation that day, then asked anyone who'd like to be saved to please come forward, Hank jumped up, shouted, "I want to be saved!" and RAN down that aisle!!

I got to hear the story again today~about the German stalag, the awful prison camp where Hank spent 4 months being beaten and starved. About all the ups and downs of life that came to Hank after that. And finally, about the glorious day when the Lord saved Hank's soul. I haven't enjoyed anything that much in a long time.

So, I just want to say thank you, Hank. Thank you for walking, for four days straight, with no food, and a German soldier pointing a gun at your head. Thank you for the four days you spent crammed onto a boxcar, one of 60 crammed into a space meant for no more than 40.

Thank you for those days when you got nothing but canned soup and a piece of bread. Thank you for those days, and there were many of them, when you got no food at all. Thank you for the scars you still carry from the beatings you took. Thank you for the 4 months you spent watching your friends die, and not knowing if you would live from one day to the next.
Because of the sacrifices you made, I have grown up in a free country. My children have never had to watch their father go off to war. We will all sleep safely tonight, because of the sacrifices you made then.

Thank you for hanging on back then, in spite of the fear you must have felt. Thank you for sharing your story with me now. Thank you for ending your story with your salvation experience, and for the absolute joy you show when you share it.

You make me proud to be an American, Hank, and even more proud to be a Christian. Thank you, my friend.

Vicki

Our First Goat Adventure

2008-03-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

So, our baby goat finally arrived today. He IS cute, and my kids loved him immediately. For all of about a half hour.

The gentleman who gave him to us brough him over today, and put him in the pen my husband built. There was some concern that the spacing in the fencing material that my dh used may have been too big, leaving spaces big enough for the goat to get out. So, our friend Tony, ( who does great yardwork for us, by the way) stuck around for about 20 minutes, watching the goat, and telling me how to take care of him.

During that time, the goat pushed his head through some of the spaces in the fence~this happened no less than 4 times, maybe more, while Tony was still here. EVERY time, Tony would watch him and then say "I believe he'll be all right. I don't believe he can get out of there. He's done got too big to get out of there." Yes, Tony is as redneck as they come, and proud of it! :)

So, after Tony left, the children and I stayed out by the goat's pen and watched him play for another 15 or 20 minutes. Then we came inside. After only about 10 minutes, I realized that I could no longer hear the goat. He had been bleating constantly up until that point. So, we went back outside. NO GOAT!

But, Tony said that he would probably sleep soon, and he is little, so I just assumed he had laid down in some of the brush that we're hoping he'll eat, and gone to sleep. The children accepted this explanation, but they were still uneasy about the possible whereabouts of their new pet.

I called my dh at work and told him that I wasn't sure the goat was in his pen, and I was going out there to have a look. Dh said if the goat wasn't there, to call Tony back, and if Tony could find him, have Tony take him back until we can fix a fence that the goat can't get out of.

So, I go outside and check the pen. NO GOAT. My kids, who were hoping that the goat was just asleep, realized that he was actually gone and started to get upset.

I herded the kids back into the house and turned on the tv, hoping to distract them, all the while grumbling to myself about all the awful things I'd like to do to my dh for bringing this dad~blasted goat here in the first place. I call my dh back and tell him that the goat is DEFINITELY not in his pen.

Then, I heard what sounded like a car stopping outside our house, so I opened my back door to see what was going on. A car has stopped in the middle of the road, a little way up from our house. A woman gets out of a small car, and has a conversation with another woman who happens to be walking along the side of the road. I have no clue what this is about until I hear one of them say "Is it your goat?" and then "Well, at least it's out of the road now".

I'm now standing in my backyard, yelling, and waving my arms, trying to get the attention of either one of these women, but they don't hear me. The lady in the car gets in and turns in to a nearby driveway, and the other lady continues to walk along the side of the road, walking away from my house.

My dh calls back and tells me that since we cannot find Tony's phone number anywhere, he is going to call his friend Harold, who lives near us. He's thinking that perhaps Harold can ride around a bit and see if he can find this blame goat before it gets run over.

While I"m still on the phone with my dh ( and still mulling over the possibility of doing him bodily harm when he gets home) my Dad pulls into my driveway with my 16yo nephew AND my 86yo grandmother, both of whom want to see the baby goat!!!

A minute later, dh's friend Harold also pulls into the driveway. I introduce my Dad to our friend Harold. I guess my Mama taught me well, because even when I'm stressed and plotting my husband's demise, I still remember to politely introduce the two of them.

So, Dad, with grandma and nephew in the car, drives up and down the road a bit to see if he can see the goat anywhere. I explain to Harold about the car I had seen that stopped in the road, and the general area where the car turned into a drive way. There is someone up there that has goats, I know, because we hear them from time to time. Harold agrees to go take a look.

About 20 minutes later, there is a knock on our living room window. I look up, and there's our little goat, safe and sound in Harold's arms. As we all rush outside so that the kids can pet the goat and I can offer my thanks to Harold, I reach up to pet the little pain and realize that he's wearing A COLLAR!!

I asked Harold, what in the world is he doing with a collar on? Harold, who finds this entire situation VERY funny, said that when he pulled into the lady's driveway to ask her if she'd found a goat, she was on her front porch with the GOAT ON A LEASH, and her phone in her hand, calling around to ask various neighbors if they'd lost a goat!!

She is indeed the owner of the goats that we ocassionally hear when we are out in the yard. So, at least the silly goat went to the right place!!

Harold very kindly offered to return the goat to Tony for a day or two until my dh can fix the fence so that the goat can no longer get out of it.

All I can say is, it's a good thing for that dang goat that IS so stinkin' cute, or we'd likely be having barbequed goat for dinner tonight!! :) :)

Goat or no goat, I am, as always,
Blessed Beyond Measure

They Say That When Life Hands You Lemons.....

2008-02-16T11:28:00.001-05:00

you should make lemonade. I have a bit of a twist on that.

When someone give you a goat, make a unit study!

Yep. That's right. I said a GOAT. A friend of my dh's asked him if we'd like a goat to eat up some of the brush on our property, and dh said yes!!

My comment was "Oh, good grief, why don't you just paint a big ole sign that says REDNECKS LIVE HERE and hang it on the house?" My Dad said " He IS putting out a sign~he's putting a goat in the yard!'

My Dad finds this entire situation hilarious! I"m glad somebody does! :)

I am less than thrilled about the idea of having a goat in our side yard, but the children LOVE the idea, and it WILL make an excellent science study!!

That's the lemonade that I'll squeeze out of this particular lemon :)

In His Love,
Vicki ( who married a redneck, loves him infinitely, and wouldn't have it any other way!)

Preparing My Fields For Rain

2008-02-04T09:25:00.001-05:00

One of my all time favorie movies is Facing the Giants. My favorite scene from that movie is the one in which we see an older gentleman walking the halls of the school, praying for each student as he passes their locker.

He stops to talk with Coach Taylor. Coach Taylor shares with the man that he has been praying, but feels like God isn't hearing him, or isn't answering him. The gentleman shares with the Coach this story:

Once there were two farmers, both battling their way through a drought. Both farmers prayed for rain. However, only one farmer went out and tilled his field so that it would be ready to RECEIVE the rain. Which farmer had the greater faith?

I've asked the Lord for a lot of things lately. Last night, the Lord brought this story to my remembrance, and I began to wonder if I had prepared my fields to receive the rain that I've been praying for.

I've asked for healing for a family member with some medical issues. But do I worry, and doubt that the healing will come?

I've asked for financial relief~but do I follow God's plan for handling our finances?

I've asked for greater self discipline in certain areas of my life~but do I strengthen the mite of self discipline that I have by actually USING it?

A side note here~I cannot say that I have NO self discipline whatsoever. No christian can honestly claim that. If you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, then you DO have the fruit of the Spirit within you. Part of that fruit is self control, or temperance, as it's called in the King James. It is THERE. God's Word says so. But it's up to each of us to take the self control He has given us and strengthen it by exercising it.

So, what do my fields look like?

Well, in the area of the health of my loved one, I simply pray for healing, telling my Heavenly Father, "Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief". I believe very strongly in praying Scripture back to the Lord.
Last night, I felt tremendous peace about my loved one's health. This morning, satan has tried to creep in again with doubts and fear. Praying and quoting this verse back to the Lord is restoring that peace.

To prepare our field to receive the Lord's financial blessings, we are tithing, and daily seeking God's direction in the use of our money. We are seeing wonderful blessings in this area. Yes, we still have some needs, but God has shown Himself faithful, and will continue to do so. For instance, we recently paid off our van~we are praising God for this more than you know~but we still have a need there, as the van needs about $2000 worth of work done on it! So, it looks like we will have more opportunities to prepare our field and wait for rain in this area.

In the area of self control~what I'm looking for here are the establishment of better habits for the health of myself and my family. We need healthier eating habits, certainly, and we need to be more physically active. Those areas are part of what I'm praying about. But, I"m also praying about establishing habits of spending time with God FIRST each morning, and teaching each of my children to spend time alone with God in addition to our family Bible reading and memorization. I need to teach my children to prioritize their work and other activities so that the most important things get done first. I believe it's best to teach by example whenever possible, so I am asking the Lord to help ME establish the habits that I need to have in place, and then to pass them on to my children.
For me, preparing my feild in this area means opening my Bible each morning BEFORE I read any emails. It means reaching for a bottle of water FIRST, and then maybe a can of Diet Coke later. :) It means eating ONLY out of physical hunger, and asking the Lord to show me when I'm eating for any other reason~boredom, sadness, or just plain old indulgence.

HE WILL send the rain. It's time for me to prepare my fields to receive it.

In His Love,
Vicki

Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know...Apparently

2008-01-25T11:22:00.002-05:00

I've gotten several questions on the "10 Things...Just For Fun" post from a couple of days ago~so, here are some brief explanations.

My 8 trips to Walt Disney World~I visited the Magic Kingdom( the only park they had at the time) with my aunt when I was 6 or 7 years old, and I fell in love with the place. I visited there again at about age 10 when I tagged along with my Dad on a business trip in Orlando. That day at the Magic Kingdom with my Dad is one of my most treasured childhood memeories. I visited WDW again at about age 14, with my parents and a friend of mine. The next year, I went again, with just my parents. Then, dh and I spent a few days there on our honeymoon. We returned the following year, just for a couple of days. Then, in 2003, we spent a week there with our 3 kids. We did that again in 2005. We thought about going there again this spring, but we've decided to take a trip with my family to Myrtle Beach, SC instead.

A shrink wrap machine is the machine that seals things like cassette tapes, harcover books, and cd's in plastic before they are shipped to the stores.

I thought dh was a lot older than me because he's had gray in his hair since high school, and I thought he was married because the first time I saw him, he was with a girl, and I could have sworn I saw a ring on his hand~but that girl turned out to be his sister, and he wasn't wearing a ring.

It was my Mom who dared me to wear white high top tennis shoes under my wedding gown

The woman threatening to jump from a 3rd story window was a lady who was staying in the homeless shelter that my parents operated for 15 years. The night that happened, my Dad was out of town preaching somewhere, and my Mom was in bed, reovering from surgery.

The title of my Dad's book, Monkey Grass, came from the grass that was growing outside the office of the homeless shelter that we operated. The kids stomped on that stuff, yanked it up, trampled on it, and who knows what else, but no matter what, that stuff would NOT die! It just kept coming back, springing up out of the ground and growing, no matter what. Our family is like that too, doing our best to stand for the Lord, no matter what.

And there you have it....the rest of the story. :)
Vicki

POSITIVE Media Influence

2008-01-25T10:34:00.001-05:00

We all know about the dangers we and our kids face from the media. It's so easy to watch seemingly "innocent" tv show and movies, and read what we're told are "good" books, and still have our minds filled with trash.

But not all of it is bad. There IS good media out there!! So, have you ever seen a movie, or read a book that REALLY stuck with you~ in a GOOD way?~ Here are some of mine:

Movies:
Facing The Giants
Flywheel
The Natural
Remember the Titans

Books:
Me? Obey Him? by Elizabeth Rice Handford
A Daily Rate by Grace Livingston Hill
The Book of Romance by Pastor Tommy Nelson ( based on Song of Solomon)
All 3 volumes in the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers

So, what about you? What books or movies have truly had a lasting, positive influence on your life? Leave a comment and share them with me.
Vicki

Fishers of Men

2008-01-23T11:18:00.001-05:00

I heard yet another message this morning, from the pastor of a Baptist church, telling his congregation of the great need for change in the church~the need to become "relevant" so that the lost will come into the church, and thereby come to know Christ and be saved.

I understand what this pastor is trying to say. I just think he's misguided.

I am firmly convinced that winning the lost should NOT be the main goal of the church. The church's MAIN goal should be to edify and equip the believer to go out WHERE THE LOST ARE, and show them Christ, leading them to Him.

I think one reason that more people aren't being saved is that so many christians think that it's up to the church to win the lost. They seem to think that as long as they show up for worship services and participate in all the appropriate programs, they are doing their part to win the lost.

That is so sad. Jesus never called "the church" to win the lost. He called INDIVIDUALS to be "fishers of men". The christians who came together in the churches in the New Testament came together to WORSHIP and to ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER and GROW each other, so that they could go out and share the gospel with others through their daily lives. The Word of God tells us that HE "added to the church daily, such as should be saved". That indicates to me that they were saved first, THEN added to the church.

I feel strongly about this because I've seen the effects that this "the church must do whatever it can to bring in the lost" mindset can have, especially on children and young adults.

A church that I used to attend had a nice little youth group. The young people did things together~they went on outings, and they had a youth Bible study, and they fellowshipped together in the church's gym and game room. The thing that stood out to me and my husband about these young people is that they always looked nice~some of them wore jeans and t-shirts, but they were clean, neat, and always appropriate. Then, a new youth pastor took over. This youth pastor was, and is, a fine young man, who truly loves the Lord, and has a heart for ministry to teens. But, he had fallen under this misguided notion that the church, and particularly his youth group, needed to do "whatever it took" to bring in the lost so that they could hear about Jesus.

Soon, the youth activities and outings took on a much greater importance than the Bible studies. At first, a FEW young people came in in ripped, baggy jeans and dirty, wrinkled shirts. A FEW girls wore tight and/or revealing clothes. Before long, ALL the young people were coming in to church on Sunday morning looking like they had dressed in whatever clothes they had thrown on the floor on Saturday night. Soon, the young people stopped attending services in the main auditorium at all, and instead held seperate services in the youth area. It became like 2 seperate churches. It was really sad.

There were a few young people saved in the youth services, and I praise God for that. But what about the damage done to the other kids in the youth group? What about those who lost any reverence for the house of God, and who began to view church as a social activity, rather than a time to worship God? Would they not have been better off to be taught how to go out and share Christ with their friends, THEN invite them to church, rather than turning the church into a teen hangout just so the lost would "feel comfortable" coming there?

It is my conviction that a church full of saved people is the LAST place where a lost person should feel COMFORTABLE. They should come there NOT to feel comfortable, but to see what it is that these saved people have that is missing from their own lives. The church should be DIFFERENT enough to make them wonder about it!

It's just really sad that so many churches have become so conformed to the world that they don't look different any more.

Vicki

10 Things.....Just For Fun.

2008-01-23T00:22:00.001-05:00

Someone asked me this in an email, but I thought I'd post it here, just for fun.

Name 10 Things You've Done that People Might Not Know About

1. I have visited Walt Disney World in Florida a total of 8 times.

2. I used to work as a shrink wrap machine operator.

3. I once worked as a Wal Mart cashier...and I HATED it!

4. The first time I ever saw my husband, I thought he was a lot older than me....and married! He was neither, by the way. :)

5. I was a bridesmaid for both my sisters, whose weddings were 4 weeks apart.

6. I got married wearing white high top sneakers under my wedding gown....on a dare.

7. I once talked a woman down from a 3rd story window, where she was threatening to jump.

8. I was voted Most Dependable in my Senior Class.

9. One of my favorite books to read is my Dad's unpublished autobiography, Monkey Grass.

10. I gave birth to our first child on the 5th anniversary of our first date.

Vicki

I Don't Want it Anymore, Lord!!

2008-01-21T00:34:00.001-05:00

I have, for SO long, paid lip service to the fact that myself, and all that I have, belongs to the Lord. While I've always SAID that, I don't know that I"ve really, truly, deep down, BELIEVED it.

It's a fact that our actions will follow our beliefs. Our actions will not necessarily follow what we SAY we believe. They will follow what we TRULY believe.

I know, on some level, that all that I have belongs to God, and that He is in ultimate control of everything. But, there MUST be a part ofme that doesn't truly BELIEVE that, because I continue to stubbornly insist on trying to control things myself. And you know what? It's exhausting! And? I"m done.

Lord,
I"ve paid You lip service for too long. My life belongs to you, yet I try to control it. My money belongs to You, yet I try to manage it myself, then ask You to fix it when I screw up. My body is Yours, yet I abuse it by not caring for it as I should. Your Word tells me that the power over my body belongs to my husband, yet I give almost no thought as to whether he is pleased with it or not.

I decide what I want, then I plead with You to give it to me, and then I pout when you don't. The truth is, I"ve wanted control of everything, including what You do or don't do in my life!

I"m done, Lord. I'm so tired. I don't want that control anymore. It's not mine, it's Yours, and I was a fool to fight You for it. I want to present myself to You anew, Father, a living sacrifice, which is nothing more than my reasonable service.

I surrender my life, my body, my marriage, my children, our home, our money, our loved ones, my time, and my thoughts all to You, Father. I've been carrying a burden that I placed on myself, and I don't want it any more, Father. I ask You now to take it from me, and to let me rest in Your Arms, under Your control, and in Your loving care.
In the precious, sweet, holy name of Jesus I pray,
Amen.
Vicki

Yuck!!

2008-01-16T23:38:00.001-05:00

Once every year, I get hit with this MONSTER cold that just knocks me flat! Well, guess what I woke up with this morning?

Mind you, I felt just fine when I went to bed last night. This morning, I awoke feeling like I'd swallowed sandpaper and a lit match! I had the headache, the nasal congestion, and a hideous cough, but, thankfully, no fever. My daughter seems to have it too, though not as bad. So far, my two younger munchkins are fine. I, on the other hand, feel like I got run over by a truck!!

That's not the only thing that I find "yucky" at the moment. Yesterday, while listening to a christian radio station, I heard a sound clip of Oprah Winfrey saying that God only cares about what's in our hearts, not whether or not we call His Son by the name Jesus.

WRONG!! First, God knows what is in our hearts, and He told us in His Word that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked! And, as I all ready said in an email to my hs group tonight, God's Word also tells me that there is NO OTHER name given among men whereby we must be saved. So yes, God cares what we call His Son!

Sadly, Oprah Winfrey long ago ceased to be a talk show host and since become a spiritual guru of sorts. It's a shame, because she is blind, and is leading the blind. It's obvious though, that she's searching. I hope she continues to search, and that one day she finds that Jesus, and He alone, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Imagine the influence she could have for Christ!! But in her present state? Yuck.

I would write more, but I feel yucky.

Even so, I am....
Blessed Beyond Measure
Vicki

Happy Birthday!!

2008-01-13T13:32:00.001-05:00

My Firstborn is 10 years old today!! Wow!!

I am so blessed. She's such a great kid! I know, that's what I'm supposed to say because she's mine, but there's more to it than that. Do you have any relatives that you love, but if that person was a stranger that you met, say a church, or at work, you wouldn't necessarily choose that person as a friend?

As I've watched my oldest daughter's personality develop, especially in the last year or so, I can honestly ( and proudly!) say that even if she were not my firstborn precious child, I WOULD be glad to have her for a friend!!

The Lord granted me the special, unfathomable blessing of being the one to lead my firstborn to Christ~during, of all things, a History lesson in the midst of our homeschool activities. She was in Kindergarten. The Lord gave me a gift in allowing me to be the one to lead her to Him, and I will forever be grateful for that.

This year, for the first time, we celebrated her birthday with a "big" party. We've always celebrated it, but our celebrations usually consisted of cake and ice cream shared at our kitchen table with just family. This year, she really wanted to share her birthday with family AND friends, and have games and such. So, we found a community center big enough to accomodate what she wanted, and we put together a fairly simple, but fun party for her. She REALLY had a good time, and I hope all her little friends had fun too.

She seems to be enjoying herself today too. The children of our church are learning about life in Biblical times during Children's Church. All 3 of my children are really enjoying this! Tonight, we will finish up a Bible study on recognizing and dealing with false preachers and false teachings within the church. It's a VERY interesting study!

My daughter, of course, is dying to go to the mall and spend her birthday money/gift cards. That, I'm afraid, will have to wait for another day. :) She'll survive :)

I'd like to share some thoughts from the study we've been doing, but I think I'll wait until the study is finished before I do that. Stay tuned! :)
Vicki

I Just Don't Want To Go There

2008-01-11T11:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I overheard a political discussion among 4 people~people who I believe were 2 married couples. I do not know these folks personally. I was at our local community theater waiting for my daughter's rehearsal to end, and quite frankly, I was more interested in the book I had brought along than in the conversation these folks were having~at least at first.

Then, I noticed that the tone of the conversation changed from friendly chatter to short remarks made in a snappish tone. In another minute or two, the reason became obvious. The 2 couples were discussing the candidates in the current presidential race.

You must understand, I wasn't actually TRYING to listen to this conversation. But, since we were all in the room together, I couldn't help hearing it. I was AMAZED at how quickly and dramatically the tone of the conversation changed when one gentleman stated that he and his wife were supporting a particular candidate, and asked the other other gentleman how they felt about that same candidate. Obviously, there was a difference of opinion! :)

This is not the first time I've witnessed a pleasant conversation becoming unpleasant at the mention of politics. At one time, I worked at a place where just about EVERYONE loved to discuss their political views. They also loved to discuss wich translation of the Bible they read, but that is another matter. Anyway, working there was like spending 8 hours a day in a war zone.
Probably because of that experience, I now don't discuss my political views with anyone outside my family. It's not that I'm "ashamed" of the candidate that I support by any means. I just choose not to discuss it because it opens doors I'd rather not walk through.

I sat yesterday evening listening to this conversation, and the thing that jumped out at me, aside from the QUICK change in the tone, was that the two men were arguing with each other, saying things like "If X becomes president, then he's going to do this, this and this, and it will be awful!" To which the other gentleman said "That's better than what will happen if Y becomes president!"

No one knows what will happen except God. The person who becomes our next president will be the person that God places in that position. There is no such thing as a perfect candidate. I don't believe that there is one single candidate with whom I would agree on EVERY point.

So, if that's the case, where do I cast my vote? Does my vote matter?

I believe the answer is yes, my vote absolutely DOES matter. I believe that voting is not only a right, but a responsibility given to each American.

I believe I also have a responsibility as a christian to look at each candidate as closely as possible, and to see if what they say and do measures up against Scripture. None will measure up perfectly, but chances are that one will come closer than the others. That person will have my vote.

WHOEVER next occupies the White House will have my prayers.

In His Love,
Vicki

Good Reads

2008-01-08T14:09:00.001-05:00

Over our Christmas break, I did something I haven't done in a long time. I read a few books that were fiction, just for entertainment. I read a LOT, but lately I've read mostly devotional books, and books read for informational purposes.

I've heard a lot about Francine Rivers and Karen Kingsbury, both writers of christian fiction. I confess, I have loved to read for as long as I can remember, but the only christian fiction I'd ever read was a series of Janette Oke books I got from the library of my christian high school. I found those books to be very sweet, and somewhat enjoyable, but a little, I don't know, dull or something. So, I'd never read Rivers or Kingsbury. Then, I was given some Barnes and Noble gift cards for Christmas. I decided I'd try one of each, so I got "The Scarlet Thread" by Francine Rivers, and "Even Now" by Karen Kingsbury. I LOVED them both! You would especially like The Scarlet Thread if you enjoy historical fiction.

I loved Even Now too, and I'm excited because I just found out that there is a sequel called Ever After. I can't wait to read it! I've also read excerpts from Karen Kingsbury's "One Tuesday Morning" and "Beyond Tuesday Morning", and I'm looking forward to reading both of those.
My sister has loaned me Francine Rivers " A Voice in the Wind" and it's sequel. I"ve almost finished it, and am looking forward to the sequel. So, if you're looking for a good book, check out some of these!
Vicki

Comfortable Slippers

2008-01-08T13:56:00.001-05:00

My husband gave me wonderful Christmas gifts this year, and I love them all, but I think one has become my favorite. He got me a wonderful pair of slippers that are absolutely the most comfortable things I have ever worn!! I would wear them everywhere if I could get away with it!!
I love the cozy, comfy feeling I get every time I slip my feet into them.

This got me to thinking about a lot of things in my life that I'm grateful for~things that give me the same cozy, familiar feeling as comfortable slippers.

I missed my prayer and Bible reading time for a few days during our Christmas break. When I finally did sit down again, when everyone else was asleep and I was on my favorite spot on the couch with a blanket, I opened my Bible and started reading, and I got that warm, cozy feeling~Just like comfortable slippers.

One of the things I am proudest of about our marriage is that I truly believe we are not just husband and wife, not just parents, not just servants of God together, and not even just 2 peole in love~we are truly FRIENDS. Night before last, I, as I so often do, let my mouth go into fast forward while my brain was still in nuetral, and I said some things I shouldn't have. In my defense, I DID have a valid point to make. Even my dh says so. It was the WAY in which I chose to make my point that caused tension between us. I hate when there is tension between us. But, the Lord gave me grace to apologize, and opened my dh's heart to accept that apology, and we had SUCH a good time last night, watching a football game together!! That won't sound so odd to you unless you know me well enough to know that I am not much of a football fan at all. But, being with my dh last night, watching him enjoy something that he loves, watching him be glad when his team ( thank goodness! ) won, and the easy, comfortable, conversation that passed between us was just like slipping back into your favorite pair of slippers.

I am thankful to my Lord and Savior for all the "comfy slippers" in my life!
Vicki

Rethinking Some Things, Part 2

2008-01-06T16:47:00.001-05:00

Continuing my thoughts from my previous post:

FAMILY MATTERS
I'd like to "tweak" some things within our family, mainly just to help establish and re-inforce some good habits for my children. I also need to re-arrange some things so that I can give my husband more of my full attention when he is home. He certainly deserves it.
As it stands right now, my husband gets up at 5am on weekdays, and leaves the house by 5:30 or so. He has no interest in eating that early, so I make him something for breakfast the night before~something he can take to work with him, like oatmeal in a Tupperware bowl, or toaster pastries, something like that. I also make him a lunch every day.
Anyway, he leaves the house at 5:30am, and we don't see him until about 2:30pm. This is just a "visit". He comes home from his full time job, spends a few minutes with us, grabs a snack, and sometimes checks his email or his fantasy football team, then he heads out to his part time job, where he must be by 3:15. He isn't home for the night until 7:30.

Usually, when he stops by in the afternoons, he plays with the kids for a few minutes, but I'm usually busy doing things. I need to plan a "break" during that time, so that I can spend a few minutes talking with him, or join in whatever he and the children are doing.

His schedule is another reason that the kids bedtime isn't until 10pm. I try to have dinner ready as soon as he gets home. I know 7:30 is late for some people to be eating dinner, but having dinner together is very important to our family. Letting the kids stay up until 10 gives them some time with Daddy in the evenings, which is SO important. So, I"m not planning any changes there.

HOMESCHOOLING MATTERS
There are just a couple of things I want to change about our schooling routine. First, both my girls need more work on grammar and spelling. The main thing though, is that I want to "carve out" a definite time each day to work with each child individually on math, reading, writing, and grammar, while we continue to do Bible, Science, History, and Read Alouds together.
I've been contemplating outside lessons and activities for the children. We went through a season last Spring and Summer during which we were involved with a LOT of stuff, and it just became TOO much. Our family time all but disappeared, and it wasn't long before we were all miserable. I do NOT want to go there again, so now we are SUPER picky about committing to lessons and activities. I think that for now, the problem has pretty much taken care of itself. My oldest DD is involved in a play at the local community theater that will keep her busy through the first of March. My middle DD has not expressed any interest lately in any outside activities, and my son is content to just plain PLAY OUTSIDE. So, we're not looking for any activities right now, although I confess that if I could find a convenient, affordable science class to which I could send all 3 kids, I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat! :) Science is the only subject that, given the choice, I would NOT teach!

So, those are some things I"m mulling over right now. Whatever 2008 brings, I will be, without a doubt,
Blessed Beyond Measure
Vicki

Rethinking Some Things

2008-01-05T18:45:00.001-05:00

I have never been one to make New Year's Resolutions, and I don't plan to start now. But, it has been my habit for years now to take some time at the start of each New Year to reflect on the past year, and to set goals for the coming year. We've been so busy this past week that today is the first time I've really had a chance to do that. As is typical of me, I have to sort of categorize my thoughts in order to clarify them. I use this blog for that a lot, so if you're brave enough to venture inside my head, then read on! :)

SPIRITUAL MATTERS
2007 was a year of tremendous spiritual growth for me. A lot of things that I have been taught all of my life really hit home and became 'concrete' for me in 2007. For Example:

I have been told that sometimes God lets us have what we THINK we want, so that we can truly SEE and KNOW that we didn't want it or need it as much as we thought we did. I KNOW that now, in a way I never really knew it before. God let me have some things in 2007 that I thought I really wanted, even thought I NEEDED, and I found out that things aren't always what they're cracked up to be.

My Dad is a preacher, and has been since I was an infant. Because of that, I have met and known MANY preachers throughout my lifetime. I know that preachers are not perfect, and that they all make mistakes, stumble, and some even knowingly preach things that are not the truth, or they preach only "selective" truth. It was not until 2007 though, that I actually experienced a preacher who said all the right things, but then did not live those things out at all, and I have seen how devestating that can be. I think many church members don't realize how much trust they place in their pastor, or how much they look to him as an example, until they see him stumble or fall, and see how deeply it affects them. It's hard enough when you are hurt by someone who claims to be a christian, but when the person who deeply wounds you is someone who has asked you to place yourself under his spiritual headship, that wound is devestating. I also learned though, that God can heal even those devestating wounds, and give you a heart to pray for the one who wounded you.

Another thing I've heard said since childhood is that often times, Christians can be the most vicious people in the world. I saw a bit of that during a situation that occured when I was a teenager. I witnessed a group of christians turn on a brother in Christ like a pack of wolves. But, being a teenager, I was still living at home with my parents, and was somewhat shielded from the full impact of that viciousness.

This year, I was able to look back on a situation that happened a year or so ago, and looking at it as an adult and as a christian, I could again see the viciousness of some of those that call themselves christians. I saw false accusations fly, I saw evidence "trumped up" to support those accusations, and I saw how it devestated one family. I know that family is in God's care, and that He will heal their hurts as well, but it has taken me a little longer this time to get over the fact that all of this hatred and visciousness took place smack in the middle of a church. What an absolute disgraceful shame!!

I learned, in 2007, that time spent DAILY alone with God and His Word is as important as air to breathe. I also learned that while many people feel compelled to give God the FIRST part of their time each day, I choose to give him my BEST time each day. For me, that is NOT first thing in the morning. When I was having my private time with God first thing in the morning, I found that it was often rushed and "foggy" because I am NOT a morning person. That is definitely not my best time! So, instead, I wait now until everyone else in the house is in bed. This often means going to bed at the same time as my dh, but then get back up after he goes to sleep. It's a WONDERFUL way to end the day, and I've found that I sleep better when I do this too! :)

MARRIAGE MATTERS
What I've discovered about my marriage in 2007 is that I am a very, very lucky woman. I'm not bragging on me or my husband when I say that~I'm bragging on God. This year, I have seen marriages, both christian and non-christian, that are miserable. I've seen wives suffer with controlling, verbally abusive husbands. I've seen supposedly christian couples who snap and bark at each other like stray dogs; and others who seem to just ignore each other completely. Both are very sad to see, and I am just so thankful that my dh and I have the relationship that we have. We are very blessed.

I have some thoughts on Family and Homeschooling matters too, but I'm going to have dinner with my family now, so those will have to wait for a "Part 2" post.

In His Love,
Vicki

Vandalism?!

2008-01-02T08:35:00.001-05:00

Iread an interesting conversation on a homeschool message board this morning, and I'd like to hear what others think about it, so feel free to leave a comment if you like.

A group of homeschooling Mom's was discussing the practice of leaving gospel tracts in stores and other public places where it has not yet been forbidden.

One lady mentioned that she often leaves tracts with salvation messages stuck between the pages of library books. Another lady mentioned that on a recent trip to the library, she saw several "pro-homosexual" books in the children's section~books with titles like "One Dad, Two Dad, Red Dad, Blue Dad" and "Heather Has Two Mommies". She took these books and slid them behind some other books so that her own children wouldn't see them, as she felt her kids were not ready for the answers to the questions that these books might invite. She did NOT put the books back before leaving the library.

I was AMAZED at the reaction to this by some of the other folks on this board! Some said that leaving tracts in or on items in stores is sin because the store is not our personal property! Another person said that leaving tracts in library books and moving library books was vandalism!!!

WHAT?! VANDALISM?? Oh, COME ON!!!

Now honestly, I"ve laid books face down in the library before because I didn't want my kids to see them. I"ve never actually moved or hidden any, but I can't imagine calling it "sin" or "vandalism"!!

As for the tracts, what's wrong with leaving one inside a book? The person who finds it will either read and be blessed, or be annoyed and throw it away. What's the harm?

I am fine with the fact that some folks are not comfortable leaving tracts around, or moving offensive library books. But to call it sin and vandalism?! Good Grief, people, get a GRIP!!

Okay. ( Deep Breath). I feel better now!! :)
Vicki

Welcoming a New Year

2008-01-01T21:37:00.001-05:00

What Was SUPPOSED to Happen Today:

I was going to lay on the couch and watch the DVD's my husband gave me for Christmas while the kids played with all the neat stuff they got for Christmas, then I would read a book while dh watched a football game on tv tonight.

What ACTUALLY happened today:
We got a phone call this morning from my mil. Her news was this: My husbands aunt, J, who lives in Florida, suddenly and unexpectedly lost her husband this morning. We think it was a heart attack. J herself is very sick with what MAY be lung cancer, but we are not sure yet.

My dh's uncle, R, who has suffered with cancer for some time now, is much worse over the last couple of days. He is refusing to see anyone except his wife, his father, and my dh. Dh tried to go see him today, but he has recently moved, and dh could not find his house.

Dh's grandfather suffers from prostate cancer. But, because it is slow growing and Papa is of an advanced age, it has not been treated aggressively. It appears that the cancer may have spread. Dh will be taking his grandfather to the hospital for tests tomorrow.

Because my mil will be leaving in the morning to be with her sister in Florida, my neice, who usually stays with my mil when she's not in school, will be staying with me. She's 11, and I'm sure my 2 girls will be glad to have her here. And, my son will have one more girl to contend with, but he'll be okay :)

I feel so burdened for my dh tonight. He dearly loves his aunt J and uncle E( who passed away this morning) his uncle R, who is so ill with cancer and unsaved, and his grandfather, who is also sick. All this, and he has to get up at 5am tomorrow after being off since Dec 21. Yuck!

On the upside, we've had a wonderful time together as a family this holiday season. Even today, though it's been hard, has had it's nice moments. We even enjoyed our time together taking down the Christmas tree and other decorations. We have the peace of knowing that aunt J, uncle E, uncle R, and Papa are all in God's hands. Dh is going to try again to go see R tomorrow. So many times, he has seemed SO close to accepting Christ as his Savior. Please pray with us that He will come to know Christ before he leaves this life. All indications are that his time is short. But, we know that with God, all things are possible.

We also have birthday parties to plan! Our oldest child turns 10 in January, our youngest turns 6 in February, and our "middle" child turns 8 in March.

I"m also putting some thought into exactly what we will cover in our second semester of school, and how we will cover it. I want to make some changes to what we did during the first half of this year, but I"m not certain what those changes need to be just yet. Dh goes back to his "main" job tomorrow, but he doesn't return to his second job until Monday, so we probably won't start school until then. There would be no point to my trying to do any lessons with my neice here anyway, and she may be with us the rest of this week. So, I"ll be using the rest of this week as "teacher inservice" time for planning and organizing.

On a completely different note( my brain is random like this sometimes!) I read 2 FANTASTIC books this week! I am probably the last adult female in America who had NEVER read a Francine Rivers or Karen Kingsbury book before. This week, I read Francine Rivers book The Scarlet Thread and Karen Kingsbury's Even Now, and I LOVED them both!! Now, I'm reading Francine Rivers A Voice in the Wind. It's okay, but I"m not enjoying it as much as I did the first 2 I read. I can't wait to get my hands on some more Karen Kingsbury books!!

I've had tons of thoughts running through my head today about the New Year~how the Lord blessed us last year, and what goals I'd like to set for this year. But, I'm a bit too worn out tonight to organize those thoughts enough to post them. So, that will probably come tomorrow.

For tonight, I hope you all have a happy and blessed New Year, and that you will hold tight to our Heavenly Father's hand through whatever 2008 brings you.
In His Love,
Vicki

Christmas ( and after Christmas) Blessings

2007-12-27T21:03:00.001-05:00

We have been so very blessed this holiday season! Please understand, I don't say "holiday season" because I am opposed to saying "Merry Christmas". In fact, I said Merry Christmas as often as possible this season! But, I say we've been blessed this holiday season because the Lord blessed us with a wonderful Thanksgiving, a fantastic family trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, wonderful days with my sister and her girls prior to Christmas, and now, we are enjoying having my dh at home until next Wednesday!

I am thankful, or course, for all the "stuff" we were able to give, and for what we received this Christmas. I got my husband some clothes and other "stocking stuffer" items with the logo of his favorite college football team on them. He was blessed by other family members with some gift cards and some other great gifts.

I received so much this year! My hubby gave me 2 seasons of one of my favorite tv shows on DVD, some new jammies and new slippers( which is what I told him I wanted for Christmas) and some neat things in my stocking. My parents gave me new pajamas ( I love pajamas!) a new purse that I DESPERATELY needed, some wonderful scented candles for my house, some bracelets that my Mom made, and ~I am so excited about this one!~ a 3 year famly membership to our local children's museum!!! YAY!!

Both my sisters blessed me with gift cards to Barnes and Noble, which I LOVE, and my bil continued his tradition of giving me a unique baseball themed calendar every year. This year, it's a Baseball Hall of Fame Calendar. I love it!

One of the "perks" of parenthood is getting to play with all the cool stuff your kids get for Christmas. My kids are blessed enough to have a large extended family, almost all of whom insist on giving them gifts each year. They get gifts from me and dh, my parents, each of my 2 sisters, my aunt, and both my grandmothers, as well as my grandfather and stepgrandmother. They also receive gifts from my dh's parents, and his sister. And, yeah, I know that's a lot. :)

It would take me all night to list ALL the the kids got this year, but these are the things I'll be enjoying with my kids :)

DD (9)~a Nintendo DS with a Hannah Montana game, High School Musical dvd game, Deal or No Deal dvd game, Sleeping Beauty Storybook playset( this thing looks like a big story book but opens up to reveal Sleeping Beauty's castle with Polly Pocket sized Sleeping Beauty characters) Hannah Montana Backstage Closet and a singing Hannah Doll, several books, and lots of lip gloss and fingernail polish

DD(7)~a big Moon Sand playset with inflatable playmat and castle molds, a Nintendo DS with a Catz game, a Cheetah Girls guitar, several stuffed animals ( her passion!) and some books

DS(5) A "Cars" racetrack, a "Cars" beanbag toss game, a red tricycle, some books, a giant army tank, 2 helicopters( one army, one from the movie "Cars") and a Star Wars light sabre that lights up and makes sounds just like the ones in the movie. Oh, and his favorite gift, an XBox with a Star Wars game.

All these things are just a partial list of what the kids received. We spent today setting aside things to give away, and finding places to put thier new things. But these are not the things that I am most grateful for this holiday season. When I think of what I am blessed with this year, these are the things that come to my mind.

The fun my kids had not just counting down the days to Christmas, but counting down the days until they would see their cousins again. I am SO thankful that my kids are able to have such a close relationship with my sisters children!

The sweet time we had taking our 3 kids and my neice ( who is the same age as my "middle" daughter, to see my dh's grandmother and her room mate and best friend at the nursing home.. The staff there is wonderful, and the girls especially enjoyed seeing the 2 cats that roam the nursing home and are pets for the residents.

The fact that both my grandmothers were able to be with us for the "big" celebration at my parents home on Christmas Eve.

Our day shopping with my Dad. We NEVER let my Dad shop alone for my Mom's Christmas gifts. This year, the entourage consisted of Dad, me, both my sisters, my 16yo nephew, 15 yo neice, and my 9yo DD. We laughed SO much, and had so much fun!!

My sweet, wonderful, loving dh, who stayed home on our shopping day to take care of our 7yo daughter, our 5yo son, and our 7yo neice ~for 8 hours!!~

The evening that my sisters came to my house and stayed with all the kids so dh and I could go out and have a nice dinner and do a little shopping by ourselves. We had a great time!

The wonderful Christmas service at church on the Sunday before Christmas.

The great day that I had with dh and the kids yesterday when we hit the mall to spend gift cards and Christmas money. We shopped and had a nice lunch, and we had so much fun!

The fact that dh does not return to EITHER of his jobs until Jan 2, and does not have to go back to his second job until Jan 7! YAY!!

God is SO good to us!!! I can't explain it except to say that we are MOST undeserving, therefore all these wonderful blessings and great memories are a testament to the infinite love, mercy, and grace of a Holy, Great, and Almighty God. My feeble thanks are grossly inadequate, but they are all that I know how to convey here.

I am looking forward to spending New Years Eve at home with my dh and kids, eating hors douvers and finger foods that I will be making myself, and probably watching my dd's High School Musical 2 and Barbie as the Island Princess dvd's, and my Everybody Loves Raymond dvd's.

We are settling down now, and just trying to relax and enjoy being together. The house was a HUGE mess until today. We spent some time getting it under control, and will finish it up tomorrow, then spend the rest of dh's time off just doing "fun stuff" together.

My prayer for each of you this New Year is that you will come to truly experience and enjoy the love, the mercy, and the presence of our loving Heavenly Father.

Happy New Year!
Vicki

Merry Christmas!!

2007-12-20T23:59:00.001-05:00

I know it's a few days early, but my sister is coming into town tomorrow, and usually, once she arrives, there is just chaos (the fun kind!) at our house. So, I may or may not post again before Christmas.

I've just been sitting here thinking that the Lord has been so much better to me than I deserve. I am not at all worthy of the blessings He has given me and my family. No, things aren't perfect, and WE are not perfect, but we are so very, very blessed.

For Christmas this year, our Heavenly Father has given us health for ourselves and our children, a wonderful family, a wonderful church family, and so much more. He has filled our hearts with His peace, and His love, and His presence.

My heart is full tonight, wanting to plead with my Savior on behalf of so many who are not having a joyous holiday season. Just in my own small circle of friends and acquaintances, I know, or know of, 2 ladies who have gone home to be with Jesus in the last few days after battling cancer. Both of these ladies had children, and one of them was expecting a baby. Another friend had to undergo surgery today. She is going to be fine, praise God, but it is still a trial for her. Yet another friend had a cancerous polyp removed during a colonoscopy, and 2 days ago underwent surgery to remove a section of her colon to insure that the cancer did not spread. We are still praying for a good report from the biopsy of the tissue that was removed.
Yet another dear friend saw his 23 year marriage end today when his divorce became final.

I can only imagine what the Christmas and New Year holidays will be like for these folks. I"m reminded of the chorus of a song I listened to every Christmas since my childhood, because it ws on one of my Mom's favorite records~ we don't get much snow around here, but this song still touches my heart~

Give thanks for all you've been blessed with
And hold your loved ones tight
For you know the Lord's been good to you
On a snowy Christmas night.

Whether this Christmas brings you snow, rain, clouds, or sunny skies, I hope you'll enjoy your family, worship our Savior, and have a Blessed Christimas.

In His Love,
Vicki

Overflowing

2007-12-19T01:25:00.001-05:00

Iam just full to overflowing right now. God has been so very, very good to us, and we are so very, very undeserving.

First of all, God has kept us all safe and healthy. One of my 3 little munchkins has a cold at the moment, but we have, in the past, spent holidays dealing with illnesses MUCH more bothersome than that! So, I am thankful for our health.

I am blessed with amazing, bright, and so often hilarious children! Yes, there are days when I'd like to sell them to a passing band of gypsies, but those days, thankfully, don't happen too often.

I am married to a sweet, loving, Godly man who loves his wife and his kids and isn't afraid to show it. He works REALLY hard to provide for us, and never complains about it. Someday, when I grow up, I hope to be just like him.

We have struggled financially this year. We are trying to get completely out of debt, and we are making progress there, which I am also very thankful for. For a few weeks now, dh and I have thought that we were looking at a pretty "slim" Christmas for our kids this year, and that would have been okay. But, the Lord blessed us in a completely unexpected way, and now we can relax a bit and have a little more freedom of choice in what we can give our children and our other loved ones this year. I am SO thankful for this!

Finally, I just cannot stop praising God for bringing us "home" again. Cornerstone Baptisit Church officially re-opened it's doors on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2007. Our church family is together again. We look forward to seeing God add to that family as HE chooses to do so. We had a wonderful service on Sunday morning, and a GREAT Bible study on Sunday night. We are doing a study on how to recognize false preachers and teachers. It's a really good study! The feeling of family was really evident on Sunday, even though we're not all blood relatives, humanely speaking. We ARE brothers and sisters through the blood of Christ though, and it is SO good to be home again!!

God has been SO good to me and my family. He is infinitely more loving and merciful to me than I could ever hope to deserve. I am TRULY....
Vicki

Friendships

2007-12-15T21:54:00.001-05:00

It seems I've heard a lot of conversation lately, in several different circles, about friends. That's where my thoughts were wondering today when I opened my mail. I was THRILLED to find a Christmas card from a dear friend, complete with pictures of her 3 beautiful daughters!

I am blessed with so many friends. I have to say that my dearest friends in the world are probably my 2 sisters, whom I love dearly, and couldn't do without. But, the Lord has blessed me even beyond that.

I have wonderful friends in my church family, who, by the way, I am SO glad to be reunited with! It was a dear friend from my church who introduced me to the wonderful homeschool group that I am blessed to be a part of. I have made many wonderful friends in that group, and I am so thankful for that. I have another dear friend that I was blessed to meet in a Mom's group when my oldest child was a newborn. This lady has been a friend to me for 10 years now, and I am thankful for her and her family.

The friend from whom I received the Christmas card today is someone that I grew up with. She and I met at the age of 14, and we've been the best of friends ever since that time. Jen has stood by me, and by my family, through a LOT of stuff, both good and bad. She is lilke a sister to me, and my parent's refer to her as their "other" daughter, along with our dear friend Becky, who is also a "daughter" to my parents, and who also gives a great haircut! :)

I love my family, and I think anyone who knows me knows that. I love them, and I am WAY beyond thankful for them. But friends are an extra special blessing, and I am so very, very thankful for every one that I have.

I am truly
Vicki

Just For Fun Questions

2007-12-11T10:48:00.001-05:00

1. Were you named after anyone? Yes. My parents gave me my first name after a dear friend of theirs, and my grandfather chose my middle name~I guess just because he liked it

2. When was the last time you cried? late last night

3. Do you like your hadwriting? Yes, I guess so

4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Honey ham

5. Do you have kids? Yes, three of them

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Yes

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Yes, probably more than I should

8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes, I do

9. Would you bungee jump? NO WAY

10. What is your favorite cereal? I don't eat cereal often, but Frosted Flakes are all right

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No

12. Do you think you are strong? Mentally and emotionally, yes, physically, no

13. What is your favorite ice cream? Mayfield or Baskin Robbins Peppermint ice cream

14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Their eyes

15. Red or Pink? Both, but NEVER together

16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I wish I was more consistent in certain areas

17. Who do you miss the most? My grandfather. I hate that my own kids never got a chance to know him

18. Do you want everyone to send this back to you? Sure

19. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Black pants, no shoes ( I never wear shoes in the house)

20. What was the last thing you ate? a chicken sandwich

21. What are you listening to? A southern gospel radio station that is mixing in some great Christmas music with their regular southern gospel music

22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red

23. Favorite smell? Usually coconut, but at Christmas time, vanilla and cinnamon

24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My Mom

25. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Sure I do!

26. Favorite sport to watch? Major League Baseball, but my husband is turning me into a football fan as well

27. Hair color? Brown

28. Eye color? Brown

29. Do you wear contacts? Nope~glasses

30. What is your favorite food? Chinese

31. Scary movie or happy ending? Happy Ending

32. What was the last movie you watched? The Santa Claus 2 on DVD

33. What color shirt are you wearing? a light turquoise blue

34. Summer or winter? Fall

35. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

36. What is your favorite dessert? ice cream

37. What book are you reading right now? I just finished reading The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper aloud to my kids. Don't have time to read a "grown up" book for enjoyment right now

38. What is on your mouse pad? Disney characters depicted on the various rides at Disney World, which is where we bought the mouse pad

39. What did you watch on tv last night? we watched a Christmas dvd called Mickey's Very Merry Christmas

40. What is your favorie sound? quiet!

41. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Not a huge fan of either, but definitely Rolling Stones

42. What is the farthest you've been from home? less than a thousand miles

43. Do you have a special talent? Not really. I like to write, and I can sing, but I've never considered either of them to be a "special talent".

44. Where were you born? Rome, Georgia

Thanks, Jeannie, this was fun!
Vicki

A Jumble of Thoughts

2007-12-10T14:53:00.001-05:00

I wanted to write a post today because today is our 13th wedding anniversary, and I felt like I "ought" to post something. But, my thoughts are all over the place today, so I'm having a hard time focusing on just that one thing. So, that leaves you, dear reader, with the jumble that is my brain right now :)

I am so thankful to the Lord for His goodness to us, and His blessings upon us right now. He blessed us with a GREAT weekend trip with my family, He has blessed us with some wonderful gifts for our children this Christmas that have cost us little, or in some cases, nothing. That has led us to a more stable financial "spot", and that is wonderful!

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. I stand in awe when I think back about all that the Lord has brought us through, and all the miracles He has worked on our behalf, and all of his wonderful blessings. He has seen us through EXTREME financial difficulty, health issues, extended family issues and pressures, 2 years of infertility followed by the birth of our 3 amazing children, and the ensuing 10 years of the ups and downs of raising kids.

I love my husband more today than I ever have before. As a result of being his wife, I have grown and changed as a person. I am so thankful that God chose such a loving, caring, unselfish man as my husband. I am thankful that my husband loves the Lord more than he loves me.

Other thoughts bouncing around in my head......
Cornerstone Baptist Church will officially re-open it's doors on Dec 16, 2007. We will have an 11am worship service, and a 6pm "World's Greatest Bible Study and Fellowship", during which we will share refreshments and participate in a casual "comments and questions welcome" Bible study. The children will be in Children's Church during the morning service, but will be with us during the evening Bible study.
Thus ends our 2 year 'search for a church'. This is proof to us that you CAN indeed go home again. :)

I ran into a dear sweet lady that we attended church with during the time that Cornerstone was closed. I was heart broken to discover that this lady and her husband are ending thier 20 some year marriage. It's a sad situation for both of them, and for everyone involved, and it just makes me heartsick. It does, on the other hand, make me grateful to the Lord for blessing our marriage.

We are in a time of year right now that I just LOVE. We had a great time this past weekend, but that is not what I like best. What I like best is now. We bought some new ornaments from our tree during our trip, and I purchased a few gifts. I love adding ornaments to the tree, buying gifts for those I love, and wrapping gifts and placing them under the tree.

Today, I"m doing the laundry and cleaning the house. Dh went to do some quick shopping between his two jobs, and he found JUST the thing that our 9yo daughter really wanted for Christmas, and some things for the other 2 children as well. My sister will be staying with the children one day in the near future so that dh and I can go together to finish shopping for our kids. So, we're getting the gifts ready, my Mom is planning the menu for our "big" Christmas dinner, my kids are counting the days until my sister and her girls, who were with us this weekend on our trip, will be back for Christmas, and we are all looking forward to my dh having several days off from BOTH his jobs during Christmas and New Years. Like I said, I LOVE this time of year!!

Vicki

Thankful For the Lord's Blessings

2007-12-09T23:20:00.001-05:00

We are home from our trip to Pigeon Forge, and I am SO exhausted, but it was GREAT!! We had SUCH a good time!! We do this every year, and we always have fun, but it seems there is always some little "issue" that happens~one of the children eats something that makes them sick, or someone loses some money, or one of the little ones gets "overloaded" and has a "meltdown", something like that.

Honestly, this year, we had nothing like that! We had a great time, got a little shopping done, and made some GREAT memories!! I KNOW it is the result of prayer. We all prayed this year for everyone to stay healthy before and during the trip, and the Lord more than answered that prayer. He has been SO much for gracious to us than we deserve, and I am so thankful. I love my family, and I love my Savior. I am truly.......
Vicki

Christmas Craziness....I LOVE it!!

2007-12-06T13:38:00.001-05:00

Well, it's official, the Christmas Craziness has set in at our house. And I love it.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that we had been having trouble with our account with our cable/internet provider. I paid our bill over the phone, and they totally messed it all up. They ended up taking the amount they were due out of our checking account TWICE. NOT good. Then, after my repeated faxes to them showing proof from the bank that BOTH checks HAD cleared our bank, the second check STILL was not properly applied to our account, and they turned off our service 3 TIMES!!!! AARRGHH! So, on Monday, my dh finally reached the end of his patience with these folks and cancelled our service. We had new service installed this morning, and I am LOVING it!

My sister and her 2 girls will arrive tonight, and tomorrow morning, we are all heading for Pigeon Forge, TN. This trip will include 6 adults, and 6 kids, ages 16, 15, 9, 7, 7, and 5. We will shop, see the lights, hit the indoor pool, and of course, visit some great restaraunts. This is something we do every year, and it's always chaotic and crazy, and it's SO much fun!!

I'm seriously considering calling off our schooling until January, but haven't made a definite decision yet. I"ve got a feeling that any attempts to accomplish any school work other than our current unit on the symbols of Christmas will be pointless.

We have been SO blessed in recent days. My dh will receive his Christmas bonus on Friday, and we have all ready seen the amount. It is larger than we expected, and that is SUCH a blessing from God!! In addition to that, my sister is getting new appliances in her kitchen, and she has offered me her refrigerator and her microwave, both of wich are bigger and in better shape than the ones I have now. She has a dishwasher too, but I"m not sure we have a place to install that. This was completely unexpected, and I am just praising the Lord for all of it.

I"ve GOT to get off this computer and go pack for our trip, but I just HAD to take this opportunity to praise our amazning God for His wonderful blessings!!!!
In His Love,
Vicki

Small Surprises

2007-11-27T18:33:00.002-05:00

I have this one thing that I've been praying about for a while now, and we really need an answer from the Lord by Thursday, so as to resolve the issue.

I feel sure that the Lord is going to take care of this matter some how, some way. I confess though, to be impatient, and wishing that He would meet this need quickly.

Along the way though, He has blessed me with some small surprises that have encouraged my heart.

First, last Saturday, I FINALLY got a hair cut, and I LOVE it! And the best part? It cost me NOTHING!! Why? Because my hairdresser was none other than.....drum roll please.....MY HUSBAND!! He did a GREAT job! He put in layers and everything! He also cut our 7yo daughter's hair. This was her first hair cut aside from trimming, and she looks really cute!

Yesterday, I expected a hard time from the kids, since we were starting back to school after Thanksgiving break, but I got GREAT co-operation yesterday AND today. I"m sure it has something to do with the fact that we are schooling through December 5, then we are taking some time off. We MAY not start up again until January 7, but I"m not sure about that yet. We'll definitely start a break on the 6th though, because my sister and her girls will arrive on the 6th, and we are all going out of town for the weekend on the 7th.

So, I'm hanging in there. This one need that we have is weighing on me a bit, but I know that the Lord is in control, and that He has good things in store for our family. We are, and will remian...
Blessed Beyond Measure
Vicki

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2007-11-19T00:19:00.001-05:00

It IS beginning to look like Christmas at our house, and I"m a little surprised! My hubby enjoys Christmas well enough, but compared to me, he's just the tiniest bit of a Scrooge.

But not this year!

We've been watching our Christmas DVD's for a couple of weeks now all ready, and yesterday, he pulled out the Christmas music! Our van has only a cassette player, not a CD player, so he had our Christmas CD's playing in the house all day long on Saturday, recording them onto cassette so he could listen to them in the van.

I was a little surprised by both the movies and the music. Then, tonight, he pulled out some of the decorations! Usually, all our decorations go up on the same day, sometime shortly after Thanksgiving. Tonight, I have garland hanging in one doorway, and lighted decorations hanging in the living room windows, though they won't be tured on until Thursday night or Friday. And, our big outdoor candy canes and spiral Christmas trees for the yard are sitting by the front door, waiting for dh and the kids to put them up tomorrow evening!

I LOVE this time of year~especially when there are no Scrooges in the house!

Vicki

The Love of God

2007-11-09T16:32:00.001-05:00

There is a beautiful song that says that the Love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. That is so VERY true. My thoughts today seem to be focused on the many (seemingly) small ways in which God SHOWS His love to each of us.

Certainly, the greatest manifestation of God's love toward us is in the gift of salvation through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. The fact that we have air to breathe, good health, food, shelter, and clothing are all manifestations of the immense and immeasurable love of God.

But today, I'm talking about those "little" things~those special things that might not be a manifestation of love to anyone else but you.

A gentle breeze when you're burning up while out working in your garden
The lullaby of a gentle rain shower when you really need a good night's sleep
An email or a phone call from a friend you haven't heard from in a while
Something unexpected that makes you laugh

I"m sure you have your own list of personal things that manifest God's love to you.

I once had a dear christian friend, an older lady, tell me that she believes that God loves her through her husband. I had often thanked the Lord for the gift He gave me in my husband, but I'd never really thought of it as God loving me through my dh. The more I thought about it, the more I agreed with what she said. I saw again how true it is earlier today.

Around noon today, I was really upset. Both my girls were giving me a really snotty attitude about a certain issue, and I just got sick of it. I repeated to them ( again) what the rule is in our house about this issue, and that they could abide by the rule, or deal with the consequence, it was their choice. They both were demonstrating some EXTREME ungratefulness, and I told them so. That hurt their feelings, and they both started to cry.

I told them that I was sorry that I had hurt their feelings, but that maybe hurt feelings was what they needed to keep them from repeating this behavior.

I felt like I had done the right thing, but I still felt AWFUL, like the meanest Mom in the world. Not really having anyone else I felt like I could whine to right then, I sent the girls into another room and called my dh. He listened to me pour out the whole story without saying a word. When I had finally gotten it all out, his only comment was "I love you, baby".

I was in tears, a thing that RARELY happens to me.

My wonderful husband reassured me that I had indeed done and said the right things, that the girls MUST be taught to keep their attitudes in check, and told me again how much he loved me. At that moment, I gained a deeper understanding of what my friend meant when she talked about how God loves her through her husband.

My hubby, by the way, ended this conversation by asking "So, what are we having for dinner?" He's a wonderful man, and a great husband and father, but still, he is SUCH a GUY! LOL!
Blessings,
Vicki

Something's Brewing......I think

2007-11-05T18:21:00.001-05:00

I once wrote a post entitled "A Part of Something Special". Unfortunately, I think I forgot to transfer it from my old blog. It spoke of the small church my Dad pastored, and how priveleged we felt to have been a part of such a unique and wonderful church family.

My Dad announced to us last Sunday that he plans to re-open Cornerstone, the wonderful church that closed it's doors just about 2 years ago. There is still one small church in our area that is considering my Dad as their pastor, and in fact, they have told him he is the "leading candidate". The congregation there seems to love my Dad and his preaching style, and they are in agreement with our vision of what a church should be. Also, nearly every former member of Cornerstone has visited this church, and we all loved it, so IF they do call him to pastor, it should not be a problem at all to simply "blend" the two congregations. And, if the Lord places someone else in the pastorate there, then we will continue with the plans to re-open Cornerstone. Either way, it's going to be SO good to be "HOME" again!!

The other area in which it seems that God is "up to something" is our home. We discussed the possibility of moving during the summer. Those particular plans fell through, but that "inkling" that I"ve had ever since then that we are "supposed to' move has not gone away.

Now, we've found out that a really nice house right here on our street will soon be available for rent. We are currently buying our home, not renting, and many folks have shared their opinion that renting instead of buying is a bad idea. I understand their point, but my dh and I don't happen to agree with them. Our position is that our REAL home is in heaven, and so whether we buy or rent here makes very little difference. Besides, truth be told, the house we are currently buying is not in the greatest of shape. What is the point of ownership if what you own isn't worth having?

Now, please don't misunderstand me. Our home is adequate at the moment, and we are VERY grateful to the Lord for providing it for us. That said, we need more room. We have 3 children sharing one room, and we have only one bathroom in the house. Remodeling could take care of these issues, but we've gotten several indications lately that there is mold in the walls of this house. If that is the case, then the cost of fixing that would not be worth it, and we would be better off to just move.

But, nothing is decided yet. DH plans soon to talk to the man who is renting out the house on our street to ask him how much the rent would be. Just this weekend, my inlaws offered to help us with remodeling our current home. But, as I said, with the mold problem, we don't know that it would be worth it. We also have a very long and complicated list of reasons why we are hesitant to accept this kind of offer from my inlaws.

Either way, SOMETHING has to be done. The 3 kiddos can't stay in one room forever, and my husband and oldest dd have allergy/sinus issues anyway, so the mold situation is NOT good for them. So, I figure something's gotta give. And, these thoughts keep crossing my mind for no obvious reason~thoughts like cleaning out a closet and thinking "Oh, let's get rid of that, I don't want to have to move it" when we don't have any actual plans to move. These type of thoughts have been popping into my head at random moments for months now.

So, pray with me if you will, about all of this. God is up to SOMETHING, and when God's up to something, it's ALWAYS something good!!!
In His Love,
Vicki

Holding It All Together With One Finger

2007-10-31T10:04:00.001-04:00

I have NO idea what would have triggered this particular memory for me this morning, so I choose to believe that the Holy Spirit brought it to my mind to encourage me. I'll share it here so that it might encourage you too.

When my dh and I first met, we attended a church that averaged attendance of about 100 to 150 on Sunday mornings. We weren't really big enough to have both a teen ministry and a young adult or college age ministry. This church had a "family" atmosphere anyway, so the teens and early "twentysomethings" often hung out together.

My relationship with my husband began this way~attending the same church, same Sunday School class, and the same church activities even though we weren't "officially" together. He later told me that he had very little interest in most of the church "get togethers" that we went to, but he went anyway, just so he could flirt with me. :) But, I digress........

At one of these "get togethers", we played board games. Dh came and joined a group of us at a round table where we were playing Jenga. If you're not familiar with Jenga, it's a game that involves a tower of intricately stacked wooden blocks. The object of the game is to remove one block during your turn WITHOUT making the tower fall.

I began to notice that I was doing much better than usual at this game. I usually manage to knock down the tower on my first or second turn. This time, we had made 4 or 5 rounds, and the tower was still standing, even though I moved a couple of blocks that I just KNEW were going to make it fall.

Then, my dear, sweet husband ( though he wasn't my dh at this time) got caught. He didn't move his hand quickly enough when my turn was over. I saw him pulling his hand back, and I realized that during the whole game, he had been slyly reaching over with just one finger, holding up the tower of blocks so that it wouldn't fall on my turn. :) I think I must have been the only one at the table who didn't realize what he was doing the whole time! :)

I thought it was very sweet then, and when, for whatever reason, it came to mind this morning, I thought again that it was a very sweet thing to do . My very next thought was this:

Our life is, to put it plainly, a little bit of a mess right now. I mentioned in a post yesterday that we've had some things to tear up in the house lately, other things to just stop working, our van needs some repair work and new tires, and because of very tight finances, we've not yet filled our propane tank for the winter. But, we are managing. God has met each days needs as they have come.

God is doing for us just what my dh did for me that evening so long ago. God is holding up our block tower with just one finger. We may move the blocks. We may shuffle them around a bit, and we may choose to move the wrong ones, but as long as God has His finger on the block tower, it's NOT going to fall!!!

This is my prayer today:
Father, thank You for holding our teetering block tower together. You know every detail, Father, and You are in control of it all. Our needs seem great to us, even overwhelming, but they are not so to You. You are able to meet each need by simply speaking the Word. Our needs are not a surprise to You, and I thank You for that.
Guide me today, Father, in all that I do~in my words, my actions, and the use of my time. I ask You to touch dh today. Encourage his heart, Father, that he may KNOW that You are in control, and that You are moving in our lives at every moment. I ask that you bless us and our loved ones with health and protection today.
Thank You, Father, for meeting our needs, and for reminding me this morning that You ARE holding it all together with one finger.
I ask these things in the precious, sweet name of Jesus,
Amen.

Vicki

Stay By the Stuff

2007-10-30T11:16:00.001-04:00

From the time I graduated from high school until about 4 months before our first child was born, I worked "regular" job. So, I was used to adding to the income in our home.
Since I stopped working a paying job 10 years ago, my husband and I have experienced many financial hardships. I always had mixed feelings about this. First of all, it's frustrating to go through "tight" money times under ANY circumstance. Beyond that, I have often felt frustrated as I watch my husband work SO hard while I stay at home. This is because, since I left my last job, I have gotten phone calls every few months asking me if I'm interested in coming back to work. I allow myself to become frustrated because I find myself thinking "I COULD be working, bringing in a paycheck, then we wouldn't have these financial pressures, and money wouldn't be so tight all the time."

Then, I fall even further into thinking "I shouldn't be sitting here on my behind at home all day while dh works his tail off for us".
Now there IS a part of me that KNOWS how silly that is. I DON'T sit on my behind all day. Most days, I don't sit much at all! I cook, clean, take care of the bills, care for the children, and oh, did I mention that I also teach Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, and 4th Grade ?! Furthermore, my husband believes that as long as he is physically able to provide for us, it is HIS responsibility to do that, while my main responsibility is the care of our children and our home. I agree with that, and yet I still allow satan to whisper in my ear "Shame on you, staying in your nice warm bed while your husband gets up at 5am and heads out the door!"

But, Praise the Lord for that Voice of Truth!!! As I read my Bible a few days ago, I came to I Samuel 30:21-25. In this passage, David and his warriors have returned from battle and are about to divide the spoils among themselves. One soldier speaks up and says that the soldiers who actually went to the battlefield should receive a larger share of the loot than the ones who stayed behind to guard everyone's belongings while the battle was going on.

David said no to this. He told the soldier that those who fought would receive the same share of the reward as those who "stayed by the stuff".

The Lord used this to speak to my heart. That is what I do! It's what every Mom does who is called by the Lord to stay at home full time. We are "staying by the stuff"! I may not be out there on the front lines, facing the world every day like my husband does, but that is not my calling. My calling from the Lord is to be at home. I'm through listening to satan's lies. I consider it my duty and my honor to "stay by the stuff."
In His Love,
Vicki

Around the World Day 2007

2007-10-30T10:49:00.000-04:00

Last Friday, we participated in our homeschool group's Around the World Day. This is our 3rd year to participate in this fair, and it's always a lot of fun. Looking back over our 3 ATWD projects, it's amazing to me to see how my children have grown and matured.

Two years ago, the children chose China as our project. Many of the ideas were theirs, as was some of the work itself, but a lot of the work was mine. I recall that we included some Chinese fairy tales in our display because that is the one thing we learned about China that interested my girls the most at that time.

Last year, they chose Australia. They did more of the work on the Australia project, but I was still very involved, and sort of "directing" the whole project. I wanted to encourage the kids to do what they were capable of doing for themselves, with help from me to include all that they wanted in the display.

This year, the girls decided they wanted to do seperate countries. I agreed to this, but I told them that the ONLY way we could make this work is if they were willing to display things that they each could do almost entirely by themselves.

Well, I have to say, they did it, and I am so proud of them! My 9yo chose Italy, and she did a great job. She included a salt dough map of her country, several pictures with interesting facts on them that she cut out of some old encyclopedias, did several drawings, and even did a poster about Christmas in Italy. She even painted her own version of the Mona Lisa! My only contribution to the project was to help her find information, and to do some printing for her because she was afraid people might not be able to read her handwriting. Our displays always include a food from our chosen country, and she made chocolate chip biscotti almost entirely by herself! I thought it was delicious, and it must have been pretty good because we didn't have any left to bring home!!

My 7yo chose to study and do a display about Panama. She is fascinated with Panama because she has often heard my parents and my 2 sisters share stories of the time they spent living there. They were there from 1967 to 1969 because my Dad was an Army MP in the Canal Zone.

My daughter did all her own work for her display, again with the exception of some handwriting work. She made posters, drew the Panamanian flag, and did most of the work involved in making her VERY yummy Panama Canal Cake!

My girls displays were not elaborate by any means, but they were "theirs", fully and completely, and I think they enjoyed this ATWD more than the ones they've done so far.

Incidentally, we HAVE decided to go back to having the whole family do just one country next year. We are, Lord willing, planning to visit Disney World this spring. So, we've decided to study one of the countries represented at Epcot. This will give us a chance to actually meet and speak to someone from that country, and to bring back some items from the country. Unless they change their minds, the children have chosen Morocco for next year's study.

I"m so thankful to the Lord for leaing our family to homeschool, for making it possible for us to follow His leading, and for giving us such a great homeschool group that provides opportunities like this for our children.

Also, I have to say that EVERY display at ATWD this year was GREAT! All the food was good, and at EVERY booth I visited, the children were eager to tell me what they had learned and answer my questions, and they all did a fantastic job!

Blessedbeyondmeasure

Confederate Roses and Flying Fairies

2007-10-15T18:26:00.001-04:00

Sometimes we have the most fun when we are totally NOT planning it! We were all kind of "bummed" this morning because dh was off from his part time job all last week, which means he was home at 2:15 every day. Now, he's back to working until 7:30. But still, it was a good day. The children, much to my surprise, were willing and enthusiastic this morning about helping get the house straightened up. I think they are finally beginning to grasp the idea that if we clean up a bit each day, we almost never need to spend one whole day cleaning the house.

In the midst of that, I got sidetracked because someone at our mortgage company fouled up some paperwork and caused a problem, but hey, it only took me a couple of hours to straighten it out :)

Once that was done, we set to work on studying the countries we have chosen to present at our hs group's social studies fair. This is our 3rd year participating in this fair, and my girls just LOVE doing it.

Then, we decided to head outside to enjoy some of this absolutely gorgeous weather we've been blessed with! The kids are SO excited because the Confederate Rose bush that they planted 2 years ago FINALLY bloomed! The flowers are beautiful, and the kids love them because they bloom white, then, within a day or two, they turn pink! Right now, we have one pink, and one white. It's so cool!

Then, my oldest munchkin found an old board in the yard, and a really big rock. She laid the board on the rock like a see-saw, and the kids started putting things on the lower end, then stepping on the raised end to make the objects fly up in the air. The first few things they tried were too heavy and didn't go very far. Then, my middle munchkin got the bright idea of bringing her tiny little toy fairies out and putting them on the board. Littlest munchkin STOMPED on the end of that board, and those fairies went FLYING!!! This brought squeals of laughter from all 3 kiddos, and kept them entertained for nearly an hour!!

Now, dinner is sending out a wonderful aroma from the crockpot, munchkin #1 is in the shower, and dh will soon be home. My husband, who is often just a little bit of a "scrooge" around the holidays, has actually gotten into the spirit VERY early this year, and he and the kids watched The Santa Clause last night!!! Tonight, he promised that they would watch The Santa Clause 2 when he gets home. That will be fun for them, and it will leave me free to go into the other room and watch the MLB playoff games in relative peace.

Even in these "little" things, God's grace is so very evident in our lives, and for that, I am SO thankful.
In His Love,
Vicki

Are You Serious?!

2007-10-12T18:26:00.001-04:00

I can't stand it. If you read that sentence and you know me at all, then you know that a rant is on it's way, so press on at your own risk, dear reader.

My family and I are currently visiting various churches. We actually began this "church search" in January of 2006. We had a brief "sojourn" in one church, but for the most part, we've been "wandering" for almost 2 years.

Since we've been at this for so long, I have almost made a hobby out of not only visiting churches, but also watching church services on television, listening to church radio broadcasts, and visiting church websites.

Today, however, I was NOT doing any of those things!! I am in the throes of baseball playoff fever, and I was feeding my frenzy by listening to ESPN radio. Imagine my surprise when I heard the following:

My name is XXXX and I'd like to invite you and your family to join us at XYZ Church. We are a sports oriented church with a Christian emphasis. We have softball for adults, and for boys and girls beginning at age 16. We have AWANA Olympics for the younger children. For more information, please contact me, XXXX, at this number......

Oh, come ON! This is a CHURCH advertisement for goodness sake!! Where's the location? Where are the worship times? Where is ANY mention of God WHATSOEVER??!!

Oh, I can just see it now. Where do you go to church? Oh, I go to XYZ Church. It's the SPORTS ORIENTED church with the christian emphasis.
Yeah. That's the testimony I want about my church.

For the love of chocolate covered cherries, you have GOT to be kidding me.

Vicki

A Daily Rate

2007-10-11T10:42:00.001-04:00

This is something that I've shared before, but I"m not sure that I"ve shared it here. If so, it was a long time ago. The Lord has brought it to my mind this morning, so I"ll share it again. This is a poem by Grace Livingston Hill from her novel A Daily Rate. The poem is based on 2 Kings 25:30 which says:

And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.

Charge not thyself with the weight of a year
Child of the Master, faithful and dear.
Choose not the cross for the coming week,
For that is more than He bids thee seek.
Bend not thine arm for tomorrow's load
Thou mayest leave that to thy Gracious God.
For daily, only, He says to thee,
Take up thy cross and follow Me.

I LOVE this, and pull it out a LOT to remind myself that I am a child of the King, and that I have an allowance from Him~a daily rate of not only physical provision, but mercy and grace enough for EACH day, EVERY day of my life. I often think that I need tomorrow's grace today, but I am finally learning that today's grace is enough, because the grace for tomorrow will be there when I need it, and not one moment before.

I am reminded of the chorus of an old song that I've heard in church for years~

There is grace for every need
Grace for you, grace for me
Keeping true, keeping free
Precious saving grace indeed
Flowing from the throne above
Grace to cover all my sin,
Grace to all who believe, oh this grace receive!
Full forgiveness ALL may win,
Yes there's grace in the Lord's perfect love!

In His Love,
Vicki

We took today off so we could....

2007-10-10T14:28:00.001-04:00

Go To SCHOOL!!! LOL!
My kids have got to be the only ones in the world who take a day off from their work at home so they can go to school!

Both my parents work at a local elementary school. The students are on Fall Break this week, so we spent the day at the school with Grandma and Poppy. It is gloriously beautiful today, so we spent lots of time outside on the REALLY neat playground that they have there. Then, we had a picnic lunch, then went inside to play in the gym.

We played a little baseball and a little kickball, the kids had a ball using those great big bouncing balls with a handle on them that you can hold on to, and scooting across the gym floor on something called "turtles". We unrolled a mat that looks like a bowling lane, set up the pins, hunted up the ball, and had some fun bowling in the gym.

We ended our day with a "scavenger hunt" for candy. Many of the teachers in this school keep jars of candy on their desks~things like Skittles, Starburst, candy corn, etc., that they give as rewards to their students. My Mom led the kids through the "maze" of classrooms, and once they found the teacher's candy jar, they each got a piece or two.

What they were really supposed to be searching for was Poppy (their grandfather). They found him standing in the hall with the keys to the ice cream freezer, ready to open it up and let them each pick something out of it. Needless to say, the children had a GREAT time!!

Then, we came home and played in the front yard. Now, the kids are all happy because they've had a terrific day, Daddy's home early, (he's off from his second job this week) and we're all going to watch a movie together.

I am just so very thankful to the Lord for giving us days like this one.
In His Love,
Vicki

About the Title

2007-10-09T01:20:00.001-04:00

I have titled this blog "I Am No Stranger To Grace". I chose that title because it's the name of one of my favorite songs. I'll share the lyrics with you here.

My first thougth this morning was of my great riches
What substance, such treasure the morning di bring!
There was joy beyond telling, and hope beyond failing!
I"m familiar with all these things.

I am familiar with mercy,
Know my share of victory
I'm covered with compassion every day along way
Of sweetest love, there has been plenty
Forgiveness when need be
And I am no stranger to grace.

Early this morning, as I tried to thank Him,
His peace fell around me, the same as yesterday.
Even though my tomorrows may have sadness and sorrow
I will still be no stranger to grace.

I am familiar with mercy
Know my share of victiory
I"m covered with compassion every day along the way
Of sweetest love, there has been plenty
Forgiveness when need be,
And I am no stranger to grace.

End of lyrics

I AM no stranger to God's grace, nor to His love, His mercy, His miracles, and the wonder that He is. I am more blessed than I deserve, and more grateful than I can say.

In His Love,
Vicki

The Purpose of the Church?

2007-10-01T00:12:00.002-04:00

Recently, I had occasion to be in the presence of a group of 10 adults, 11 when I include myself. Each person present is a christian, and all have been saved for at least 5years, some as long as 40 years.

The question was asked: What is the purpose of the church? 5 people answered "to reach the lost".

This opened up a fanatstic discussion with a person whose opinions and thougths on Scripture I value very much. Out of this dscussion, I have drawn some conclusions. I'm sharing them here only to share my thoughts, and to see if, perhaps, they will serve as food for thought for someone else.

I think that the folks who stated that the purpose of the church is to reach the lost are wrong. That sounds almost surprising, until you take some time to look at Scripture and to really think about it.

Christ's command in Mark 16:15 to "go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" was given to INDIVIDUALS. The commands given to the New Testament CHURCH were to love one another, to exhort one another, to share with each other as there was need, to worship the Lord, and to teach and learn from each other.

We are EACH responsible to reach the lost for Christ. The CHURCH is where we go to become equipped to do that.

I see a lot of churches today that look just like the world. They want things to be comfortable. People often dress for church EXACTLY as they would dress to go to a movie or a ball game. The music in many churches sounds very much like secular music.

All of this is done so that the lost will feel "comfortable" in the church, so that they will come to church, and hopefully, accept Christ as their Savior.

All of that SOUNDS great, but I"m not so sure that was Christ's intention for the chruch. It seem to me that a lost person SHOULD feel uncomfortable in church. They should KNOW that there is something there that they won't find anywhere else. They should KNOW that the people there are different, and they should realize that they are missing something that these poeple have.

Now, I am not at all against evangelism. The church should most definitely be doing things like having visitation programs, missions trips, and other events that they invite the community to so that they can share the gospel with the lost. But we should never lose sight of the fact that the church itself is FOR THE BELIEVER~it is our home, our haven. It's a place for learning from other christians and growning with them, fellowshipping with them, and worshipping with them. This then equips us to go OUT of the church, into the world, and share Christ with the lost.

Think of it this way. If you want to catch fish, you don't go buy bait, pile it in your living room floor, then open your front door and yell "Here, fishy, fishy, fishy!" You go to the store and get your bait, then you take the bait to the lake WHERE THE FISH ARE, and you catch the fish.

In the same way, we do not need to turn our churches into a "haven" for the lost. We need to keep the church as our haven, our "re-fueling station" so that we can then go and share that "fuel" with the lost WHERE THEY ARE~out in the world~in the grocery store, in the mall, in the doctor's office waiting room, at the ball field, in the park.

There's nothing wrong at all with inviting the lost to church. But when they get there, they desperately need to see the difference.

Blessings,
Vicki

Spoon feeding and Spiritual truths

2007-10-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

It seems that I've been hearing a lot lately about spiritual gifts, and the importance of discovering what your particular spiritual gift is. There are many christian websites that have quizzes that (they say) will tell you what your spiritual gift is.

I think those quizzes can be good indicators, but they are exactly that~INDICATORS. I think that the only way to truly discover your spiritual gift is to study the gifts in the Scripture, and spend much time in prayer asking the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, to reveal to you what your spiritual gift is.

I saw a preacher on television last week tell his congregation that they should put their name on a sign up list in the church lobby and he would then set up a time to meet with them, test them, and tell them what their spiritual gift is.

I'm sorry to disagree, but I simply don't believe that a pastor can "spoon feed" a thing like that to a member of his church. Certainly, he can share Scriptures with people, and perhaps even ask them questions that will give him INDICATIONS as to what their spiritual gift might be, but I believe it is misleading, and incorrect, for any pastor, preacher, or teacher, to tell another person that they can say with certainty "X IS your spiritual gift.

A pastor can spoon feed the "milk" of the Word to his flock, but discovering your spiritual gift is the "meat" of the Word, and to eat the meat, you have to be able to chew it for yourself. It can't be spoon fed to you.

On a similar but slightly different train of throught, I think that far too many pastors today are spoon feeding their congregations. But, that is fodder for my next post.
Blessings,
Vicki

I think I"m raising a cynic....

2007-09-30T23:34:00.001-04:00

or maybe just a realist. Either way, this struck me as funny.

There is a commercial running right now that advertises, I believe, a mortgage company. It begins with the statement "People are smart".

A few days ago, my 9yo daughter was sitting in the floor with a pile of Barbie dolls, and an even bigger pile of Barbie doll clothes, playing, and apparently having a fine time, but making no comment~at least, until she heard "People are smart."

Her reply?

Hmph. Not all of 'em!!!

ROFLOL!

Where did THAT come from?! :)

Vicki

Thank You

2007-09-19T00:03:00.001-04:00

It's time for some Thank You letters. So.....

THANK YOU

To My Husband
For being the wonderful man of God that you are, for listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit amidst all the other voices calling out to you, for being a wonderful father to our children, for working so hard at BOTH you jobs to support us, and for loving me as I am, faults and all.

To My Dad
For truly LIVING the Word of God before me, for working hard not only so you can provide for your own household, but so you can be generous with ALL your loved ones. Thank you for being willing to stand always on the Word of God, and for being not only willing, but HONORED to be allowed to contend for the faith. Thank you for being a wonderful Daddy, and an amazing grandfather.

To My Mom
Thank you for standing by Daddy through all the years, and through all the hard times. Thank you for being the Godly example that you are. Thank you for making all the holidays so special, and for making Grandma's house a place that everyone loves to visit. Thanks for being a great Mom, and such a fantastic Grandma.

To My Sisters
Thank you both for being my best friends. Thank you for being there to listen to me, to talk to me, to laugh and cry with me. Thank you both for being so great with my kids. Oh, and since I KNOW you both tried to do me bodily harm when I was little, I guess I should say thanks for letting me survive to adulthood!! LOL!

To My Children:
Thank you for all the joy you each bring into my life. Thank you for the countless things I've learned from you. Thank you for all the times you make me laugh. Each of you is truly a treasured gift from God.

To All the Wonderful Homeschooling Moms I Know
Thank you all for being such wonderful, christian ladies. Thank you for allowing your love for God, your husbands, and your children shine through. Thanks for all the questions you answer for me, all the times you sympathize with me, and all the times you make me laugh. Each and every one of you ladies is very special.

MOST OF ALL
To My Savior
Thank you for loving me, for saving me, and for blessing me as you have with all the wonderful people You've placed in my life. I am truly undeserving of Your grace and mercy, and yet You pour it into my life in great measure every day. Words could never express my gratitude.

With Much Love,
Vicki

Stuff that Bugs Me :)

2007-09-18T19:28:00.001-04:00

I sqashed a bug this morning, and it left a mark on my bedroom wall. The spray cleaner I used wouldn't get it off! Yuck!

I sat outside today watching my kids play, and I got two mosquito bites in the MOST annoying places!! My elbow, and the knuckle of my little finger! Yuck!!

Both my parents got some anonymous hang up calls, several over the last few days. These calls started the day after they received that anonymous letter. I've got no clue if the phone calls are related to the letter or not, but if so, I sure wish the person who is doing it would let it go, move on, grow up, and get a life.

So, anyway, if these things are the worst things that I have to worry about, then I am well and truly blessed. Our financial problems are being taken care of one by one, we are all in good health, my family is doing well, and we can truly see the hand of God in our lives. What could be better than that? :)
Vicki

Opportunities

2007-09-14T18:36:00.001-04:00

We have a rather urgent financial need right now. And you know what? I can't do anything except praise the Lord for that!

Yes, this need makes me "uncomfortable", and I've asked our friends to help us pray about it, and I hope it is resolved quickly, but still, I can only praise God.

That's because we have been in situations of financial need many times before. Sometimes, those situations were our own fault, a result of financial mistakes that we made. Other times, the situations were not of our own making. The amazing thing is, in BOTH cases, whether it was our own fault or not, God has ALWAYS come through for us!! Not always as quickly as we would have liked, and not always in the way we would have liked, but He has always come through for us.

That is not to say that we can just "mess up" any time we want too, and God will always come and clean up the mess. What it means is that when we make a mistake in handling our finances, and we realize that mistake and come to God, confessing to him that we made the wrong decision, or whatever the case may be, He WILL provide for our needs. We won't neccessarily get our WANTS, but He will provide our needs. Each and every time.

This particular situation that we are dealing with now is not entirely of our own making. It is something that just "hit us' today. But, I can see how this situation would be a lot easier to handle now if we had made better money decisions in the past.

But, that is under the blood now. The Lord knows that Roger and I are doing our best now to make the best decisions we can with our money, decisions that are in line with His Word. Satan is not happy about that, and I think that our current situation is, at least in part, something that satan has "thrown in our faces" so to speak.

That being the case, I choose not to look at this as a problem, but as an opportunity for God to come on the scene, and to "show up and show off" as the old fashioned preachers used to say.
I don't know about anyone else, but I just love watching God show off.! :)
Vicki

Sometimes I think....

2007-09-12T09:54:00.001-04:00

that change is one of the few constants in life!

We were just getting used to Roger coming home around 2:15 each day, and now that will change. Actually, he will probably still come home at 2:15, but only long enough to say hello, maybe grab a snack, and head off to his new part time job. Then, he'll be home again around 7:15 or 7:30. It's going to make for some long days for him, but we are SO thankful for this job!

We are working toward becoming debt free. I am thankful to be able to say that we don't have credit card debt. We do not carry or use any credit cards. Our debt at the moment consists of some medical bills, and a car loan. We'd also like to make some "extra" mortgage payments. AFTER, and ONLY after all of that is taken care of, we hope to take a nice family vacation in the spring of 2008.

So, we have been praying about this, and we feel that this job is the Lord's answer to those prayers. Roger did not go out looking for this job. Instead, we got a phone call telling him that it was available and asking him if he wanted it. It is 4 hours per day, and since the job is at the local high school, he does not have to work when school is closed~so, no weekends, no holidays. Also, Roger will be working with people that he knows, doing something he enjoys~maintaining the football field and various equipment for the football team. So, if you have to have a second job, this is a great one to have. We are very thankful to the Lord for answering our prayer in this way.

We still have some other things that we are praying about, and I'd love to have others praying with us about these things. We are still looking for a home church, and my Dad is still candidating as a pastor for a couple of local churches. There is one church in particular that my family and I love, and they seem very interested in having my Dad as pastor. If it's the Lord's will, we would love for that to work out.

Also, my Dad will be having an endoscopy ( I think that's what it's called) tomorrow ( Thursday). He has Barrett's disease, which is erosion in the esophagus from years of heartburn/acid reflux. He has been on medication for some time that helps with the heartburn and is also supposed to repair the erosions. But, this CAN be a pre-cancerous condition, so he has to be checked every 3 years to make sure that the erosions are getting better, not worse. He is due to be checked again tomorrow, so prayers for him during the procedure, and for good results from the test are appreciated.

One more thing. The last time that my husband worked a second job was about 9 years ago, when our first child was just about 3 months old. At that time, my mother in law made comments ( not directly to my face, but in my hearing) that "Roger wouldn't have to work two jobs if SHE ( meaning me) would let somebody take care of that baby ( probably meaning that she wanted to keep our daughter during the day) and go get a job!!

Needless to say, this did not set well with me or with Roger. We are really hoping and praying that there won't be any kind of an ugly scene when my inlaws find out that Roger has taken this job at the high school.
Vicki

Brangging, The Travel Channel, and Hannah Montana

2007-09-10T22:58:00.001-04:00

Okay, most of my IRL friends who read this blog all ready know this, but I simply cannot stop myself from posting it here.

My daughter Rachel, who is 9 years old and about 6 weeks into the 4th grade, recently completed her first standardized testing. These are her grade equivalent scores. For example, a score of 5.3 means 5th grade, 3rd month. Below are Rachel's scores:

Word Analysis: No grade equivalent listed
Vocabulary: 8.2
Comprehension: 5.1
Spelling: 2.9
Language Mechanics: Post High School
Language Expression: Post High School
Mathematics Computation: 5.0
Math Concepts: Post High School
Science: Post High School
Social Studies: Post High School

I actually started NOT to post these scores here because I feel like I'm bragging, and I feel badly about that. BUT, I also have family who don't live near us who like to read my blog, and Rachel deserves to have them know about this too, just like our "local" relatives and friends know about it.

Now, changing the subject~I just LOVE the Travel Channel!! My girls are studying Italy and Panama for our homeschool group's Around the World Day. So far, we have seen episodes of Samantha's Brown's show Great Hotels that featured 2 citites in Italy, as well as 2 or 3 episodes of her show Passport to Europe that have featured cities in Italy. This weekend, we just happened to catch her newest show Passport to Latin America, and gues where she was? Panama!!! VERY cool!

I STILL remember, from my childhood, an episode of Mr Roger's Neighborhood in which he visited a crayon factory. I've always wanted my kids, who LOVE crayons, to see that. This morning, I checked the Travel Channel's tv schedule to see what the topic was going to be for today's episode of Made in America, hosted by John Ratzenberger. I am so glad I checked, because we got to watch as he visited the factories where they make 2 things that my kids love~Crayola Crayons and Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup!!
Like I said, I LOVE the Travel Channel!

And now, a word about Hannah Montana. We are VERY selective in not only the amount of tv that our kids watch, but also which shows they are permitted to see. I have in fact been accused of being TOO picky about what our kids watch. Anyway, one program we DO allow is Hannah Montana. My husband and I watch this show with our kids, and we like that the characters are always decently dressed( at least we've never seen anything indecent) and while the kids do make some "smart" remarks, which we always discuss with the kids, we generally like the relationship portrayed between Miley/ Hannah and her Dad.
I was "won over" by this show durning one particular episode in which Miley and her friends had plans to go somewhere. Miley's Dad saw her report card and told her that if her science grade did not improve, the trip was off. When Miley's friends accused her Dad of being unfair, instead of joining with her friends in complaining about her Dad as the characters on many shows would have done, Miley told her friends that it was NOT her Dad's fault, that they had a "deal", that school had to come first. I really liked that.

So, now, my sisters and I have lost our minds. My 9 and 7yo daughters are Hannah Montana fans, as is my 6yo neice. My 15yo nephew and 14yo neice are fans too, though they don't like to adimit it.
There is going to be a Hannah Montana concert in November at an arena that is about 5 minutes away from my sister's house. So, we are going to "take the plunge" and take all 5 kids that want to go. My husband enjoys the television show, but he and my 5yo son couldn't care less about the concert, so they aren't going with us. Yes, I"m going to spend an evening in the midst of a multitude of screaming, hyped up teens and tweens. Heaven help me! LOL But I KNOW my girls are going to LOVE it! So what if I've lost my mind?! Sanity is over-rated anyway!
Vicki

Do You Ever Wonder...

2007-08-25T10:01:00.001-04:00

what God is up to?

I am a person who believes that God is in complete control of absolutely everything, and that there is a reason/purpose for everything.

I sometimes think of God as an artist, painting a portrait of our lives. Sometimes, we are able to step back and see the brush strokes He uses, and the colors He chooses, but we don't know what the finished picture will look like. But HE does.

There are a few unresolved situations in my life right now. I don't know how they will turn out. I don't know what the finished picture will look like. But I am honored to be the subject of a painting by The Greatest Artist that could ever be. HE knows exactly what the picture is going to look like, and because He is the artist, I know it's going to be beautiful!!

Vicki

An Open Letter To My Husband And......

2007-08-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

all the other men who need to get a clue about their wives.

Dear Husband,
I truly, deeply love with you with all of my heart. I know beyond any shadow of doubt that God brought us together, and that He chose us for each other. You're a wonderful, Godly man, and a great father.

There are, however, a few things that I wish I could get you to really, truly, deeply, in your heart of hearts, KNOW.

1. It is not ALWAYS "that time of the month".

2. When I am in ANYTHING that you refer to as "a mood" whether it be sad, angry, pensive, or just "deep in thought", don't automatically assume that it's about you, or even that it has anything to do with you. My moods are one of the few things that I can truly call my own, so just let me have them, okay?

3. "Go ask your Mama" is NOT the correct answer to ANY question when said Mama is in the bathroom, cooking a meal, cleaning anything, working at the desk, OR watching a baseball game.

4. Camping is NOT a vacation. Camping is work, discomfort, dirt, bugs, and boredom. I can accept camping as a punishment for a crime, a form of torture, and for some, maybe, an activiity, but it is not in any way, shape or form a VACATION. To use the words camping and vacation in the same sentence is an absolute vile abomination.

5. Contrary to your opinion, the world should NOT come to a screeching halt for every college football game. It SHOULD, however, take a hiatus during the World Series.

6. YES, I NEED to talk on the phone that much, YES I NEED that long to get ready, and YES, I occasionally NEED chocolate.

Please committ these facts to memory. It will make both our lives SO much easier.
Love you bunches,
Your Wife

Thump, Thump, Thump, AARRGGHH!!!!

2007-08-20T19:53:00.001-04:00

THAT is the sound of me banging my head against the wall, and screaming, because that is what I feel like doing right now!!

I went to a particular website that I often visit when I could use a bit of encouragement, especially regarding homeschooling. Today, what I found there was a discussion thread all about the misguided notion that homeschooled kids are "abused" because they are not "socialized"!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHGGG!!!!!!

Then, when I was over at the local elementary school where my parents work, I saw this sign on the wall in the gymnasium. This sign displays a list of the rules that must be followed by the children who arrive at school early, and must wait in the gym for classes to begin.

1. You must sit on the line designated for your class. ( this is followed by a list that reads: 1st grade on the blue line, 2nd grade on the red line, etc.)

2. You may speak ONLY in whispers, and ONLY to the person next to you.

3. No toys, playing cards, or collector cards (ie pokemon or yugi-oh) of any kind.

4. You must remain in your seat and with your class until your class is dismissed from the gym. Please walk single file from the gym to your classroom. No talking in line.

Um, okay. So, my children, who are obviously unsocialized, deprived homeschoolers, NEED to go to school so they can learn to SOCIALIZE? Oh, really? How? By being forbidden to play with toys or cards that they might possibly want to ( dare I say it?) SHARE with a friend?

By being forced to sit on a colored line with ONLY children their own age? Are they to learn to socialize ONLY in whispers, and ONLY with the person directly beside them? Will they learn to get along with other people by learning to walk in a single file line, at the sound of a bell, looking only forward and speaking to no one?

THIS is the "socialization" I'm supposed to WANT my kids to learn?

To me, it sounds less like learning to socialize and more like learning to BE a SOCIALIST.

Well, in that case, no thanks. We believe in getting along with EVERYONE of EVERY age. We don't believe in socialization.

Vicki

Getting There By A Different Route

2007-08-20T00:29:00.002-04:00

For some months now, I have been following through the pages of Sports Illustrated magazine and nightly Baseball Tonight broadcasts, the inspiring story of Rick Ankiel.

Rick Ankiel was a pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals. He was a good pitcher, and he LOVED being in the Major Leagues. Playing Major League Baseball had been his dream since boyhood, and he was just happy to b there.

Then, things began to go terribly wrong. Suddenly, Rick Ankiel, the highly touted and talented young pitcher, could no longer throw a baseball anywhere near the strike zone. He had blown out his elbow, and his pitching days were at an end. So, it seemed, was his career in Major League Baseball.

On the day that he was formally dismissed by the Cardinals, Ankiel asked General Manager Walt Jocketty, "Isn't there ANY way I can get back to the Majors?" Jocketty's answer was a rather gruff "Sure, kid, just not as a pitcher".

Rick Ankiel took those words to heart. He determined that he WOULD someday return to the Major Leagues. He went home and worked hard, staying in shape and practicing hs swing. Soon, he asked for and received a chance to try out for a St Louis minor league team~as an outfileder.

No one expected much, if ANYTHING, from Rick Ankiel's attempt to return to Major League Baseball. I mean really~the only pitcher to ever successfully switch positions like this was Babe Ruth, and he didn't have an injury to overcome!

But, Ankiel was persistent. For 3 years he toiled in anonymity, and for MUCH less money, in the St Louis minor league system.

This week, that work and persistence paid off. Rick Ankiel was called up from the minors to once again join the St Louis Cardinals~this time as an outfielder. It was obvious to everyone in the stadium that night that Rick Ankiel was just glad to be there. Also obvious was the joy of St Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, who has been following Ankiel for all this time, and was thrilled to see him back in the Major Leagues.

Rick Ankiel walked to the plate for his first at bat amid loud cheering from the crowd. The noise grew to a deafening level a few minutes later when Rick Ankiel connected for a 3 run homer in his very first at bat.

Tom Hanks has a line in the movie "A League Of Their Own" that says "There's no crying in baseball!" But when Rick Ankiel crossed home plate and was greeted by his teammates in the St Louis dugout, there was indeed crying in baseball. Tears were being wiped away by several of Ankiel's teammate, and even his manager, Tony LaRussa.

Ankiel has, in the week since his return, hit 2 more home runs and has made some spectacular catches in the outfield. He has absolutely found his way back.

So, why am I sharing all of this with you? Because it inspires me, and I hope it will inspire you as well. What Rick Ankiel wanted was to be a Major League Baseball player. He's there now, he just didn't get there quite the way he thought he would. He had to find a different route. But, he didn't let that stop him. He found that route, and he worked hard to follow it, and now he is right where he wants to be.

I don't know what goal you have in mind that you want to acheive. I just want to say to you, don't give up. If you tried getting there one way and it didn't work, look for another route. My grandfather used to tell me "If that mule won't move, get off and ride a horse!" :}

So, if you're mule won't move, get off and ride a horse.
If you can't pitch, then learn to play the outfield.

Try a different route. You just might find yourself hitting a home run.

Blessings,
Vicki

UPDATE: Rick Ankiel has since been traded to my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, so now I get to watch him on a regular basis. And by the way, the Braves pulled out a 5-4 post season win over the San Fransisco Giants last night, thanks to Rick Ankiel's 11th inning MONSTER home run :))

This Could Be the Start of Something New....

2007-08-16T22:05:00.001-04:00

That title is actually a lyric from a song from the new DisneyChannel movie High School Musical 2. My 9yo daughter enjoyed the first High School Musical, and is excited about seeing the sequel. With the Disney Channel showing promos for it during every episode of Hannah Montana that we watch, that song has gotten stuck in my head!! :)

Anyway, we do have some "new' things going on around our house. Roger, who has worked 8am to 4pm for all 12 and 1/2 years of our marriage (except for a brief stint working 4pm to midnight, UGH!) will begin working new hours tomorrow. He'll be working 6am to 2pm. He's not looking forward to getting up at 5am on a regular basis and I don't blame him, but having him home at around 2:30 every afternoon will be fantastic!!

The other change on our horizon is our church situation. My Dad feels that the Lord is leading him to pastor again. The last church that my Dad pastored was one that he actually started himself. He does not feel that is the Lord's will this time, so he has been "canidating" at churches in our area.

Roger and I are thrilled about the idea of my Dad pastoring again. In the last year or two, we've been exposed to a lot of the "junk" that goes on in churches that lack the leadership of a strong, Scripturally sound pastor. So, we think this is great.

The situation as it stands right now is this. There are currently 2 local churches that are interested in my Dad as their pastor. We have visited both of them several times. One of them is actually a church that Roger attended as a teen ager. We LIKE both churches, but we like one a little more than the other, simply because it has more people our age, and more children in it. Right now, it LOOKS like the OTHER church, the one that is not our favorite, is the closest to actually calling my Dad as pastor, though both churches are strong possibilities. We are just waiting, and seeking the Lords will in the whole matter, and I'm excited to see what the Lord is going to do for us, and through us.

Vicki

Sweet Hour of Prayer

2007-08-14T16:01:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was one of THOSE days.....

My 5yo had NO interest in doing anything remotely related to learning to read. His mission for the day was to annoy his sisters and disrupt our mornings activities.

At one point, during his "pitching a fit" because he didn't want to do something that I asked him to do, he manaaged to hurt his finger. I did not SEE anything that could have hurt his hand, so I have no clue exactly how he managed to hurt his finger, but he was very timid about using it for the rest of the day.

Our history for the day consisted of some review questions. Keep in mind that I said REVIEW questions. My 2 girls sat there looking at me as if I were a complete stranger speaking a foreign language and they didn't understand a single word I was saying!!!! Grrrr!

Thank heavens for time alone last night to read my Bible and pray, and time to do that again this morning!!! How I thank God for the privelege of prayer!!

Today, the girls had a much better attitude about doing their school work. I suspect ( sheepish grin!) that it's because *I* had a much better attitude today as well!! There was actual joking and laughter taking place during our schoolwork this morning!!! And during SCIENCE, no less!!!

Now tell ME that God doesn't answer prayer! LOL!

Noah's hand seems to be all right. It looks like it might be just the tiniest bit swollen around one knuckle, but that's it. He can bend it, and is only slightly favoring that hand a bit. I think he may have "jammed" his finger a bit. Anyway, praiase God, it looks like it's going to be okay.

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.

AND

Oh, what peace we often forfeit!
Oh, what needless pain we bear!
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Blessings,
Vicki

Back to Bethel

2007-08-12T14:59:00.001-04:00

I have had conversation with no less than 6 people over the last 3 or 4 weeks, all of whom mentioned that either they or someone they knew of was attempting to "get back" to a place in their lives in which they were much closer to the Lord.

There is certainly nothing wrong with that. In fact, we have an example of that in Scripture. Jacob has a time of being very close to the Lord while he is at Bethel, and later on in Scripture, he asks the Lord to let him return to Bethel.

I found myself asking the Lord for the very same thing. You know, sometimes, I believe that the Lord lets us have things that we ask Him for just so He can show us that we didn't really want that thing as much as we thought we did.

I thought I wanted a bigger church, one with more activities and more programs for us, and for our kids to participate in. The Lord gave us that. We enjoyed it very much, for a time. Then, we began to be so wrapped up in all the 'stuff" going on at church that the actual worship services became merely an interruption of all of our activities. Oh, how sad that is, and how ashamed I am of myself for having felt that way!

I believe with all my heart that the Lord led us to the church that we just left a few weeks ago. I believe He had several purposes for our being there. One was to allow us a period of "rest" from doing all the things that we did in our small church. Another was for us to be a testimony to some folks, and an encouragement to some folks. My Mom and I directed the VBS in that church just before we left, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God meant for us to do that. In the end of our time there, God allowed us to stand up and to "contend for the faith" when no one else would. That is truly an honor.

But, I also think that a part of God's purpose was to show us that we didn't really want or need a large "program packed" church as much as we thought we did.

We have spent the last 3 weeks in churches that had nice facilities, but not "luxurious" ones. They had VERY friendly people, and wonderful Sunday School and Children's Church for my kids, but not a program to keep them busy every second of Sunday morning, sunday night, and wednesday night. And you know what? It has been FANTASTIC!

We are truly WORSHIPPING GOD again, and learning about HIM, and isn't that what church is SUPPOSED to be about?

What's more, my husband attended this church many years ago, before we met. His time at this church was a time in his life during which he was very close to the Lord. There aren't many people still there now who knew him then, but there are a few. Another dear friend of ours has been visiting there with us, and she shared with me this morning that the altar they have in the church now is the VERY altar at which she got saved, and how very blessed she has been to be there again.

Incidentally, please keep this matter in your prayers. This church is currently without a pastor, and they are seriously considering my Dad in that position. We want the Lord's will to be done, so please pray for that with us.

I truly feel like the Lord is leading us "back to Bethel", and I am SO thankful!

I don't know where your 'bethel" is in your life, but if you feel yourself drifting away from a close walk with the Lord, you might consider paying it a visit very soon. You won't regret it.
Vicki

Because HE Said So!!

2007-08-12T14:46:00.001-04:00

I used to think it was a "bad" thing for a parent to answer a child with "because I said so!". Since I"ve had children of my own, I now fully understand that there are times when child NEEDS to do something JUST because I said so. There is nothing wrong with answering a child's questions, or explaining things to them. but sometimes, when you need to, it's OKAY to say "Because I SAID so!"

How do I know this? Because as christians, sometimes we do things JUST because God says so! I heard an EXCELLENT sermon this morning From 1 Chronicles 13. David is attempting to bring the Ark of the Covenant back into the temple so that the people of Israel can worship. David was an intelligent man, and he has access to the Scriptures that had been written at that time. He KNEW of the specific requirements for carrying the Ark that God has laid out in the book of Numbers. The ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests, on poles that were run through rings on the side of the ark. When the ark was carried this way, it was not necessary for any of the priests to touch the ark. That's good, because God had said that anyone who touched it would die.

But David had a better way. He decided it would be best to put the ark in a new wagon, or cart, instead of carrying it on the poles. So, they put the wagon in the cart and had it pulled by mules. One of the mules stumbled, causing the ark to tip, and when Uzziah reached out his hand to steady the ark, he was instantly struck dead!!

But why??!! Wasn't Uzziah doing a GOOD thing? Wasn't David just doing what he thought was best to set up a place for the Israelites to worship God? What went so very wrong?

Simple. David disobeyed. He did not transport the ark in the way God had commanded, and as a "domino effect" of David's disobedience, Uzziah also disobeyed, and died.

Why did the ark NEED to be carried on poles and not in a cart? Well, the only answer I can find in Scripture is BECAUSE GOD SAID SO.

I have a tendency to want to know WHY everything. What I'm (slowly!) learning is that there are times when God will show me why He has asked me to do a certain thing, and other times He is simply going to expect me to obey Him because He said so.

Thank God that He gives us the grace to do that!!
Vicki

Up In The Air~ A Place I Hate To Be!!

2007-08-08T23:19:00.001-04:00

We've had 3 days of school now, and all 3 days have gone very well. You would think I'd be glad to be settling into a routine.

In a way, I am. But, we also have a lot of things that are "up in the air" right now. I can handle one thing at a time being undecided, but too many more than that mkes me tense and edgy.

Some time ago, we condidered the possibility of moving. Now, we've pretty much decided to stay where we are. My sister is planning to sell her house and build a smaller one on some property that she all ready owns. She will still be next door to my parents, just on the other side. So, my parents are staying put, and so are we. It is financially in our best interest to stay here and remodel this house rather than buy another one.

That is one of my struggles though~ I live in fear and dread of ANY remodeling project in this house!! Some of you will remember the fiasco we had a just over a year ago when we remodeled our bathroom. I am unable to drive, and was stuck here in this house for MANY days with 3 small kids and no bathroom!! I CANNOT go through anything like that again!

That one was the worst, but it seems that EVERY remodeling project that we tackle in this house ends up being more work, more expense, and more time than we originally thought. I hate the house being torn up. I hate not being able to use parts of my house.

I'd love to have the house remodeled, I just wish we could live somewhere else while it's being done! It will have to be done in stages because we cannot afford to do it all at once. Yuck.

We went to a small church last Sunday morning to hear my Dad preach. We liked the church a lot, and my kids LOVED it. They have asked my Dad to come back and preach again this Sunday morning and Sunday evening, so I'm happy about that. I'll be even MORE glad when we're settled in a church somewhere.

I'm also struggling again with in-lasw issues and could really use some prayer for that. I need a breakthrough there. By that I mean that I need for something to change. I either need the Lord to give me a "new" grace for dealing with them, or I need to not have as much contact with them, or SOMETHING.

I also want a vacation REALLY badly, and I have no idea when that will ever happen. We MIGHT be able to plan a vacation with our next income tax refund, but we won't know until January, and even if we CAN squeeze a trip out of that, we most likely won't travel until next May. Right now, that seems like a really, really, really long way off.

Gee, don't you just love reading my blog when I'm whiny? :)
Okay, I"m done now.
Vicki

Hank Aaron, King of Class

2007-08-08T00:17:00.001-04:00

**IF you are not a baseball fan~2 things~fisrt, feel free to disregard this post, and second, shame on you!! LOL!

There is a great deal of controversy surrounding San Francisco outfielder Barry Bonds. There is much evidence that would seem to point at his having reached the "watermark" of 755 home runs with the aid of peformance enhancing substances~ILLEGAL performance enhancing substances.

While I do believe that folks should be thoguht of as innocent until proven guilty, I have to say that there is much evidence that indicates that Mr Bonds has indeed made use of illegal substances. Be that as it may, I do not dislike him for that reason. I find myself disliking Barry Bonds because, quite simply, he has no class.

He is often surly with fans and with the media, both of whom he NEEDS in order to achieve his desired fame and fortune. He is gruff to those around him, not at all friendly, and makes selfish demands of his employers~demands that his teammates would never dream of making.

Mr Henry "Hank" Aaron, who, in the hearts of many will FOREVER be the "home run king" has been asked MANY times to comment on Barry Bonds pursuit of the home run record, and the allegations that seem to hand in a cloud over Mr Bonds head.

Mr Aaron, who faced death threats, harrassment and untold misery during his baseball career and his pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record only because of the color of his skin, has said NOTHING whatsoever about Barry Bonds that could be construed as negative. And still, Mr Aaron his been critisized. He's been critisized for not calling to congratulate Mr Bonds when he tied the home run record at 755, and for not being present at tongiht's game when Mr Bonds became the all time home run leader when he hit number 756.

But, when Barry touched home plate and the game was stopped, everyone was asked to turn their attention to the huge video screen. There they saw a wonderful message from Hank Aaron, who earned his record with NO questions about his integrity or character, congratulated Barry Bonds and VERY graciously stepped aside, thereby passing the torch to the new home run leader.

Chivalry is NOT dead.

Bravo, Mr Aaron. VERY well done. To me, you will always be the home run king, and you are absolutely the undisputed King of Class.
Vicki

Well, son, Rome wan't built in a day!! :)

2007-08-07T09:12:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was my son's first "official" day in Kindergarten. He was excited about finally having his turn to do the lesoons in what my kids call "the big yellow book". ( Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons).

We did his first lesson together, and a couple of workbook pages, then he ran off to play. A few minutes later, he came back and was hanging around ( literally, since he was hanging upside down in the recliner) listening to his sisters work on their lessons for the day. As I finished up with one of the girls Noah called out, urgently, Mommy!! Mommmy!! When I asked "What is it, Noah?" He replied, VERY concerned, "Mommy, I did the stuff in the big yellow book, but I STILL CAN'T READ!!!

LOL!!

I assured him (again) that he will be able to read when we get to the end of the big yellow book, and that satisfied him enough for him to decide that his toy cars were more interesting than his sister's schoolwork, so off he went. :)

It must be wonderful to be 5 years old. :)
Vicki

1 Down, only 179 to go!! :)

2007-08-06T15:30:00.001-04:00

We've had a successful first day of school.

We had breakfast and devotions together, then the girls started on their copywork/vocabulary while Noah did his reading lesson and 1 page from each of his 2 workbooks.

I'm not a huge fan of "spelling word lists" for their own sake, but for copywork, which we use to work on handwriting, spelling, grammar, etc, I've put together a list of words taken from this week's science and history lessons. These are words that my girls are going to encounter as we study other subjects, so it will be helpful for them to be able to recognize and spell them, and know what they mean. So, they worked on that while I worked with Noah.

All of Noah's "work" takes about 20 minutes total, which I think is just fine for a Kindergartner. That certainly doesn't mean that he only learns for 20 minutes a day, just that he is only required to sit with me and focus on specific "work" for about 20 minutes. He did great today.

After that, I got Rachel started in Mad Libs while I worked with Alex on Reading and Math, and Noah went to play on the computer. Then, he went off to play with toys, Alex, when her reading and math were done, moved to the computer, and I worked with Rachel~going over the Mad Libs with her, working on reading aloud, and doing a lesson from MUS.

Then, we took our lunch break. After lunch, I gave the kids a brief "overview" of our science and history units for this year, read a chapter from a Mrs Piggle Wiggle book, and we were done for the day.

Wouldn't it be nice if EVERY day went this smoothly? Never gonna happen, but it would be nice! :)

We won't be doing science and history every day. Most likely, we will have history on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Science on Tuesday and Thursday.

I'm VERY thankful for "smooth sailing" for our first day!

Now, Alex and Noah are watching cartoons, and Rachel is off to her first day at "work" with her grandparents. Both my parents work at a local elementary school, and they let my children take turns coming once a month to help clean up and straighten up around the school. Mom pays them each $10 for their afternoon's work, and they just love it!

We had a wonderful church service yesterday morning!! I felt SO blessed! I felt like I"d found an oasis in a desert! My Dad was asked to preach at a small church in our area. It's a small church, but it's newly remodeled, and it's beautiful. The people there were just as friendly as could be, and there truly seemed to be a spirit of JOYFUL WORSHIP in that church.

To my surprise, all 3 of my kids jumped right up and went off to children's church with the other kids. I knew Rachel would go, but I wasn't so sure about Alex and Noah. All 3 went, and all 3 came back with BIG smiles, and a goody bag filled with candy and new school supplies!!! Needless to say, they are hoping that we plan to visit this church again! :) I'd love to do that too, we'll just have to see how the Lord leads.

I"ve got lots of thoughts about many different topics floating around in my little brain today, so check back later. I may have to blog some more just to help sort it all out. :)
Vicki

My Husband is out on a date.....

2007-08-03T18:37:00.001-04:00

with our 7yo daughter!! LOL!

I believe the plan for their evening was dinner at a place of her choosing ( I"d bet she picked McDonald's) and a movie at the "cheap" movie place.

My husband does this every so often with all 3 of our kids, though when he takes our son out, they don't call it a "date", it's just "hanging out together".

I'm so thankful for a wonderful husband who will take the time to spend individual time with each one of our children, and for children who are genuinely excited about spending an afternoon or evening with Daddy.

I know that not every child is that fortunate. I have a teenage nephew who spends time with his father ( his parents are divorced) becaue he "feels like he should", but it's NOT something he looks forward to doing. It's such a shame, and it just breaks my heart.

In other happenings around here, we are just about ready to start school again. We will officially begin on Monday. Rachel wanted to start last week, and I thought about it, but I wanted to do a bit more de-cluttering and organizing in the house before we "dive in".

Rachel is excited about getting started, and so am I. I'm not sure about Alex and Noah, but hopefully they will get excited once we get started.

We are still "up in the air" about church. It is looking like my Dad may be pastoring again soon. I think that would be great. I wasn't terribly excited about the idea of my Dad starting a church "from scratch", because we've done that before, and it's really hard. But, it looks like he might be called to pastor an all ready established church in our area. I think that would be great.

Until we went to that small church last Wednesday night, I"d forgotten how nice it was to be in a church that had a "family" feel to it, and where the focus is on listening to what God has to say to us through His Word, and worshipping Him, not participating in this activity or that one. I'm thinking it would be really nice to get back to that.

Recently, I was talking with a friend of mine about another lady that we both know. My friend made the comment that maybe this lady was trying to get back to a time in her life when she felt closer to the Lord. It has dawned on me in the last couple of days that this is exactly what I'd like to do!!

It's not that I'm "miles away" from the Lord now, but I CAN remember a time when I felt a particularly "special" closeness to the Lord. I would love, love, love to get back to that~not only for myself, but for my family.

I know that the Lord hasn't moved anywhere~it's ME that has "wandered away". How wonderful it is to know that He is always right there, waiting to receive me with open arms, no matter how far away I've wandered. Oh, how I praise God for that!!
Vicki

Aaah, That Felt Good!!

2007-08-01T22:57:00.001-04:00

We went to a small church to hear my Dad preach, and I have to say, it felt really GOOD!!

It's not just that it was my Dad preaching, although I always enjoy hearing him. It's because this was just a little church that I guess some would call old fashioned, but I have never met friendlier people in my life, and it was SO obvious that these folks were there to WORSHIP THE LORD!!

Sadly, we have just come out of a situation in which it seemed like many ( not all, but many) of the people who came to church came to see what would happen next~what or who would be voted in or out, that sort of thing. Or, they were coming merely to see and/or be seen. I have been in many services in recent months that felt a lot more like attending a performance than going to church to worship.

This church is small, but comfortable and VERY well kept and maintained. The music was simple, but joyful and worshipful. It was truly like a breath of fresh air, and I am so thankful for it!

This church is currently without a pastor, and they are interested in the possibility of my Dad pastoring there. We do not yet know if that is the Lord's will or not, but right now, I'm thinking that wouldn't be such a bad thing. We'll just have to wait and see what the Lord has in store for us.

Vicki

Optimism is a Gift From God

2007-07-31T09:35:00.001-04:00

Somewhat to my surprise, I awoke feeling better today. I woke with thoughts of "This is a new day. Something FANTASTIC could happen today!"

I don't KNOW of anything fantastic that's on it's way, but it's nice to believe that it COULD happen. Any number of good things could happen today!

I know without a doubt that these thoughts that are with me this morning are a gift from God~one that I don't deserve, by the way.

I've done quite a bit of whining to God lately, and I confess that there are still some "What is going on with this situation, Lord?" kinds of questions floating around in my brain; but, He is a good, and loving , and merciful God, and He has given me assurance that things won't always be this way, and that there are good things on the way.

Nothing spectacular has happened to improve my frame of mind. God's just good, that's all.
Have a great day!
Vicki

I know God is merciful because......

2007-07-26T23:11:00.001-04:00

Well, there are COUNTLESS things in my life that make me KNOW what a merciful God I serve, but these are things that He brought into my life TODAY.

I know God is merciful because.....

My little girl REALLY wanted to have her cousin with her today when we went bowling with our homeschool group. We thought they weren't going to be here in time to go, but they got here a whole day early!!!

We only paid for 2 games, which turned out to be just enough for our munchkins.

I had one errand that I needed to do today, but was dreading. Just in time, I got a phone call telling me that the errand would not be necessary.

We had a "small" need today that needed to be met, but was going to put us in just a bit of a financial bind. The Lord worked it out so that the need was met without costing us a cent.

My friend's little girl had outpatient surgery today. I KNOW how scary it is to have one of your little ones in surgery, no matter how many times they tell you it's "minor" or "routine". The procedure went well, and my friends sweet little girl seems to be recovering well.

Today was "Poppy Day at Lake Winnie" for my kids. "Lake Winnie" is a local amusement park. It's big enough to have cool rides that everyone likes, but it's small enough that you can do it all in a few hours. "Poppy" (my Dad) takes all 6 of his grandchildren there once a year, pays for everything, including game playing, and lets them eat all sorts of junk food. He makes me, my dh, and my sister come along to help "corral" the kids. God showed His mercy there today by letting it rain on us enough to cool us off, but not enough to spoil anyone's fun. He showed His mercy to the adults by letting us find out after we got there that the park would be closing at 8pm (much earlier than we thougt) LOL! And, He was merciful to the kids in allowing us to get in all their favorite rides before the park closed. :)

So, the kids got to ride everything they wanted to ride, and us "old fuddy-duddy" adults didn't have to stay at the park until 10pm like we thought!!! See, I told you He was a merciful God!!! :)

Seriously, we had a good time, and I am so thankful to have a family that is so close that we can do things like this and love it. God is indeed good.
Goodnight, all!!
Vicki

New School Year

2007-07-24T11:05:00.001-04:00

This school year certainly won't be dull at our house!

This year, for the first time, all 3 children will be "official" students. Noah will start Kindergarten this year. What that means for him is that in addition to "sitting in" on his sisters lessons when he chooses too, he will have around 30 minutes each day of his own lessons.

Noah's lessons will consist of games played on his JumpStart Kindergarten cdrom, 1 lesson a day from Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and one page a day from a BIG colorful workbook that I bought at Wal-Mart. It covers just about everything that needs covering in Kindergarten.

All 3 children will study science and history/geography through unit studies. On my last trip to our local used book store, I found copies of Abeka's 1st and 3rd grade history textbooks~the smae books I used in 1st and 3rd grades.

We won't be using these textbooks as such. I studied the chapter titles in each of these books, then shopped for "real" books to build unit studies about those topics.

I"ve done the same thing with science. I found a VERY inexpensive copy of Abeka's 4th grade science book at a used book sale~again, the same text book I used in the 4th grade. Then, I bought "real" books and other materials to build unit studies around the chapter topics.

The text books are for ME, not for the kids. They are my guide for building this year's units. I will probably only show the textbooks to the kids so they can see the pictures in them.

Both girls will practice reading aloud daily, and Noah will have his reading lessons as I mentioned above. Outside of that, I wasn't sure what to do about Language Arts for this year. I've always leaned toward a Charlotte Mason type of philosophy as far as the use of text books, length of lessons, etc. Charlotte Mason doesn't teach grammar as a subject unto itself until around 8th grade or so. Up to that point, children just "absorb" grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc, through copywork. I have no problem with that, but now Rachel, who is 9 and entering 4th grade, wants to do some writing on her own. To be able to do that well, she needs at least the basics of sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, etc.

So, at the recent curriculum fair, I wasn't sure what to look for. I looked at several grammar curriculums, but to me, they ALL looked dull, boring, and expensive! Then, I had the opportunity to talk to a Mom of 12 who has been homschooling for more than 20 years. She suggested I get my daughter some Mad Libs Junior books, and then some Mad Libs.

Do you remember Mad Libs from childhood? I do, and I loved them! These are silly stories with lots of blanks left in them. The child is instructed to insert a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc into each blank, then read the story. The difference with Mad Libs Junior is that instead of having to come up with a word on their own, the child is given a list of nouns, adverbs, etc from wich to choose. Each one is labeled as the part of speech that it is, so it's a great learning tool.

The Mom I talked too suggested starting out with these, then moving into the regular Mad Libs, and perhaps looking into a grammar curriculum for next year. She has successfully homeschooled 12 children, so my guess is that she knows what she's talking about! :)

We won't use a Bible "curriculum" but will use Day By Day Devotions by Karyn Henly, along with our Bibles, for our family devotions each evening. This won't be so much a part of our "school day" though. It will be something we do in the evenings when Roger is home. We will, of courseregularly attend Sunday School and church, and the children will most likely be involved in AWANA or some similar program.

So, that's the plan for this year. It will, of course, evolve and change as the year goes on. But at least for now, I think we've got a good starting point.

Blessings,
Vicki

Thoughts That Are Keeping Me Awake Tonight

2007-07-24T00:54:00.001-04:00

Here we go again. I SO didn't want to have to do this, and we hoped and PRAYED that we wouldn't have to do this, but we are, once again, like the children of Israel, wandering in the wilderness without a church to call "home".

This is SO weird for us!! We are NOT "church hoppers". My family has faithfully attended church since before I was born, and there has been only 1 time, when I was about 8 years old, that we left a church because of a "falling out" with someone. The other times we have changed churches have been due to a move or something of that nature. My children knew only one church their entire lives until my father retired from pastoring and that church closed its doors.

As you know if you read my blog, we searched long and hard for a "home church" after that. We thougtht we'd found one. Then, we thought perhaps the Lord was leading us elsewhere, but at the last minute, the Lord made it clear to us that His will was for us to stay where we were. Now, He has made it just as clear that it's time to go.

I won't go into all the details as to why we've left our church. You can read a bit more about the reasons in my post titled "It's Been A While".

So, here we are, searching again, and if I may be blunt, I hate it.

My earliest memories of church are of a VERY large, VERY legalistic church. This church believed and taught that ANY woman who wore pants ANYWHERE, let alone IN CHURCH, could not possibly be saved. They also taught that going to movies, going to any restaraunt that served alcohol, or shopping at any store that sold alcohol was a hideous sin.

These folks are in bondage. They don't realize the liberty that we have in Christ. I don't want to go back to a church like that, and I don't want to raise my kids in a church like that.

BUT.....

What we are finding in a lot of churches now is that the pendulum has swung TOO far in the other direction. Everyone wears whatever they want to wear to church, wich for most people means that they dress for church exactly the same way they would dress for a ball game. There seems to be an ultra casual, anything goes type of atmosphere in a lot of churches today.
I don't want to raise my kids in a church like that either.

I know that God doesn't care what we wear. That's not what I"m talking about here. What I am feeling so sad about right now is the almost complete lack of reverence for God that I see in a lot of churches now. Many kids today, and adults for that matter, see church as just one more thing to fill in a day on their social calendar. It's not "special". We don't have to wear our best clothes, and we don't have to be on our best behaviour. That is just sad.

I think we should wear our best to church. Now, our best may be a nice pair of blue jeans, or a pants suit. I'm not saying it has to be a dress. I"m just saying that I don't want my kids wearing the same clothes for church that they would wear to go to the park.

I mean really. If I got an invitation to the White House to visit the President, I wouldn't just drop whatever I was doing and run over there in my torn jeans, stained t shirt, and hair pulled back in a ponytail. I would shower, fix my hair as best I could, put on a little makeup, and put on something nice. It might not be a dress, it might be pants, but it would be the nicest thing I had in my closet.

I would also behave myself carefully at the White House. I would want to be sure that I showed the President the proper respect, while still showing my joy and pleasure in being there.

Isn't that how church should be? Shouldn't it be someplace "special" to go? Shouldn't we dress in our best? And shouldn't we express to our Heavenly Father our praise, and our thanks, and our joy at being welcomed into His house, while still teaching our children that a church should nto be treated like a playground?

I"ve seen both ends of the spectrum, and I don't like either of them. I've been in churches that were so stiff and solemn that anyone even daring to say "Amen" was stared at. I've left a church service feeling like I"d been to a funeral.

Then, I've been to church services in wich the pastor's sermon was taken entirely from the latest book of christian pop psychology instead of the Bible, and the whole thing felt much more like a contemporary concert than a worship service.

What we're looking for is a happy medium. I have begun to wonder if it even exists.
Vicki

Stuff I Do Just Because I Can

2007-07-17T22:24:00.001-04:00

Buy new crayons for EVERYONE in the family, including me and Roger, because Wal-Mart had them for 20cents a box today.

Watch a baseball game and SCREAM at the tv!

Let my kids have Bubble Gum ice cream cones for lunch~yeah, I really did that today.

Watch Hannah Montana with my daughter, laugh my head off, and sing along with all the songs~yeah, I know all the words, and yes, I know it's juvenielle and silly, but I also know that I would have given my right arm to have had something like that for my Mom and I to enjoy together when I was 9!!

Incidentally, that is where my love of Major League Baseball came from~my Mom caught the "baseball bug" from her father in law(my grandpa that I loved dearly) and I caught it too, so my Mom and I "bonded" over baseball. Kinda weird, since that's TOTALLY not a 'girl" thing, but it worked for us!! Now, back to the list~

Walk into the living room at random times and yell "Mommy needs huggles and snuggles!" Huggles and Snuggles are, of course, always accompanied by giggles!

Call my husband in the middle of his workday and say "I love you more than you love me! Haha! Tag, you're it!" then wait for him to call me back.

Call my Dad for no reason and say something to make him laugh.

Find funny cards to send to my sisters and my best friend for no special reason.

This is the great mystery that is me, LOL! and these are some of the things I do just because I can.

So, if you didn't think I was a nut before, you're over that now, right? LOL!
Vicki

At Least I"m Not Bored!!

2007-06-27T10:17:00.001-04:00

Here's today's "To Do" List

Laundry~2 loads, maybe 3

Vacuum entire house because I feel dirt when I walk barefoot in the house~ugh!

Mop kitchen and living room

Spend at least 30 minutes finding places to put some of the things displaced by the remodel in our kitchen.

Take care of some banking matters.

Wash the dishes.

Have myself and the children ready to leave by 4pm to head over to the church to dig costumes and other necessities for VBS out of the storage room.

Have microwavable meals ready to take with us since we will be eating our dinner at the church.

And in between, remember to hug my kiddos and to laugh as often as possible!!

Blessings,
Vicki

Need Prayer? Or Need To PRAY?

2007-06-27T10:07:00.001-04:00

I have had SO many things going on lately that I sometimes feel overwhelmed with it all, and I"ve been asking ALL of my christian friends to pray for me and my family. I am blessed with friends who I know WILL pray~not just SAY that they will pray. So, I am comforted by the knowledge that so many friends are praying for me right now, and I sure hope they don't stop!!

But, I've noticed something in myself. I talk to friends, or send out an email asking for THEIR prayers, but then I tend to rely on those prayers and find MYSELF not praying as much as I should. So, things don't go smoothly and I don't feel peace, and then I find myself thinking "Somebody isn't praying for me like they said they would!"

Well, duh! That SOMEBODY is me! Yes, I need the prayers of my family and friends, but so much more than that, *I* need to pray! I need to hang on to my time in prayer and in God's Word like the life preserver that it is.

I don't know if others have this problem too, or if it's just me. But, just in case you're struggling in a certain area and need prayer, please ask for it. You NEED prayer. Just don't forget that you also need to pray yourself.
Blessings,
Vicki

Doing the Open Letter Thing Again

2007-06-19T21:41:00.001-04:00

Dear UPS person:

I fully understand that your job is to deliver my package to my door. HOWEVER, a knock on said door to alert me that the package had arrived would have been nice considering that it was POURING rain, and you know, cardboard boxes don't hold up so well in torrential downpours. But, whatever. I feel sure that you are not the least bit concerned that I discovered the package JUST in time to keep the rain from ruining 250 wooden boat kits, muslin bags, shell necklace kits, and fishing nets for our Vacation Bible School. Cause it's not your job to worry about stuff like that, right? Yeah. So, anyway, thanks for nothing.

Sincerely,
A disgruntled customer with a 30 pound soaking wet cardboard box in her living room

Dear Family Member:
I said something that hurt your feelings today, and I am SO sorry about that. BUT, I TOLD you that I was sorry, and you totally ignored me! So, you know what? I love you, and I really AM sorry that I said what I said, so, when you're done pouting or whatever, you know where to find me.

Sincerely,
Your relative who was angry and said the wrong thing, then sad and embarrassed about having said the wrong thing, and is now back to being angry again because you're pouting like a 2 year old who needs a spanking.

Dear JAS:
I like you. I really, really do. Also, I like your family, and I do care about what happens to you, and to them. But, please, please understand that I cannot ignore my children and the work I need to do in order to have long, rambling, pointless conversations with a man who is not my husband. Maybe I'm a real prude, but it just doesn't seem appropriate to me. So please, for pete's sake, take the hints I keep dropping and DON"T make me be rude. PLEASE?!

Sincerely,
Your friend from high school who has a family now and really would prefer to behave like an adult

Dear Idiots in Wal-Mart tonight:
Okay, first of all, MUST you stroll directly in front of a person with a cart at the pace of a snail, talking on your cell phone, snapping gum, AND blocking the aisle as if the people behind you have no lives and, like you, can afford to sqander 3 hours in a Wal-Mart?

Secondly, to the other idiot~the rest of us do not want to hear you yell at your child that you heard her the first 20 times she said something to you. We heard her too, and we don't need YOU to do an encore. Don't you ever wonder where SHE gets it from? Turn down the volume, lighten up, and for the love of pete, if you must scold like that, do it at home.
Sincerely,
That person in Wal-Mart tonight who wanted to hug your kid and smack the snot out of you.

And there you have it, folks. My latest installment of "open letters". I feel SO much better now!!
Goodnight all!!
Vicki

Thank you, Daddy

2007-06-17T22:02:00.001-04:00

For teasing my sisters about how I was your favorite when I was little, and for letting me believe it.

For allowing me to spend lots of time with YOUR Daddy.

For showing confidence in my abilities, even when I was so very young.

For leading me to Christ at the age of almost 5, and not brushing me off as "too young".

For raising me in a home centered around the Word of God, and filled with love.

For loving my mom, and for wanting the whole world to KNOW that you loved this lady!!

For giving so many years of your life to ministering to others, and for including our whole family in that ministry.

For all those movie "dates".

For all the great vacations.

For working 2, and sometimes 3 jobs so I could attend a christian school.

For being my wonderful pastor for so many years.

For being such a great Sunday School teacher.

For loving my husband and my children as much as I do.

For speaking my language.

No one but my Daddy will understand that last one, but we have some "code words" that we use that only we and a few family members understand, and even though I'm now 36 years old, my Daddy and I still speak to each other in this "language" from time to time. My kids are picking it up too, and it's silly, but it's so much fun!!

Because of my Daddy, I know what it means to "live out" your relationship with Christ. And, because of Daddy, I can see the humor in almost anything, and I'll never be able to express how that has helped me through some tough situations.

So, this seems so simple, and so inadequate, but,

Thanks, Daddy.
With love,
Vicki

Thoroughly Disgusted

2007-06-05T12:41:00.001-04:00

And utterly repulsed

And sickened, disgusted, and just plain fed up.

This morning, on Dr James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast, which you can hear online at http://www.family.org/ , he played an audio recording from a school assembly that took place at Boulder High School in Boulder, CO on April 10, 2007. This assembly was mandatorily attended by the students in grades 9-12.

A man stood up and introduced himself as a clinical psychologist. He went on to say, amid cheers and laughter from the students, that he was NOT there to tell them NOT to have sex, do drugs, or drink alcohol. He was there instead to share with them the "safe" and "smart" ways to do these things because, in his words, "I know you're going to do them anyway".

Excuse me??!! Are you KIDDING me?!

Oh, I see! I"ve been doing it wrong all these years! I"m supposed to tell my kids that it's okay to lie to me, because they're going to do it anyway.

I'm supposed to tell them that it's okay to treat each other badly, because they're going to do it anyway. It's okay to steal, because they're going to take things that don't belong to them anyway.

WHAT?!?!?!

I have never heard such garbage in my entire life. The fact that the minds and hearts of innocent children are being filled with this absolute garbage just sickens me.

That psychologist, the speaker who followed him and endorsed his comments, the school administrators that set up this assembly, and every parent that DOESN'T protest this trash should be horse whipped.

I've been told that I should never say never, but right now, at this moment, I cannot imagine ANY set of circumstances that would EVER compel me or my husband to allow any of our children to be enrolled in a public school.

I'd sooner let my child play in a cesspool. For Cryin' Out Loud. :(
Vicki

CLUTTER!!!

2007-06-05T10:05:00.001-04:00

Oh, how I hate it!!!

I couldn't sleep last night, so I had some quiet time to think while everyone else was sleeping.

I was sort of griping to myself about the clutter that's in my house right now. I"m usually fairly quick to "de-clutter" areas of my house that get piled up because I just can't stand things being piled up. It makes me feel claustraphobic. But, you'd never know that if you looked at my house right now.

We have a room that is sort of our "playroom"~our computer is there, along with Noah's air hockey table and his train table, some toys, and most of the children's art supplies. This room is an open room, meaning that it has doorways, but no doors. AND~it's smack in the middle of the house. So, I generally get uptight when it gets cluttered.

This past Saturday, my Dad and my husband brought me 2 HUGE cabinets out of my grandmother's house. These things are big enough to hold nearly all of what is in this playroom~toys, books, art supplies, games, etc. But, in order to make room for them to bring the cabinets into the house, I had to pile everything in the middle of the playroom, on top of Noah's train table. It's a huge mess, and I , quite frankly, don't feel very motivated to clean it up!!

Last night, as I sat thinking and trying to bore myself into falling asleep, I started to wonder WHY I kept putting off cleaning up the clutter in the playroom.

I came to the conclusion that there is just too much clutter in other places right now for me to give the playroom priority. There is too much clutter, not so much in our house, but in our lives. At least, that's what I thought at first. Then, as I began to mentally run down the list of things we are currently involved in, I realized, it's isn't that much. Further more, the things that we are working on right now are things that we are certain the Lord has led us to do.

As I sat there, thinking, praying, and reading my Bible, the Lord opened my eyes to be able to see that the clutter I'm struggling with right now is not in my house, or in our schedule. It's in my own heart. My personal priorities are not where they should be.

I spend too much time reading emails and message boards, and not enough time in the Word of God. I'm also guilty of making time to do things I want to do and letting slide the things that I NEED to do. Much of that comes from selfishness.

I've been whinnig to the Lord a lot lately.

Instead of thanking Him that we've been financially blessed enough recently to not have to struggle so much with the bills, I find myself still whining that we don't have money for "extra" things like a vacation this year.

Instead of taking the best care that I can of the home the Lord has given us, I"ve been whining to the Lord that He isn't moving fast enough to show us His will about the possibility of moving into another house~something I want very much.

I've been cluttering up my heart and my mind with thoughts and wishes about the house we MIGHT move into, and the vacation we MIGHT get next year, and other things that MIGHT soon come to pass. There is nothing wrong with thinking about those things, but dwelling on what might be tomorrow has made me completely ineffective today.

Clutter!! Oh, how I hate it!!!
Vicki

I don't wanna.....

2007-06-04T14:44:00.001-04:00

Take the load of laundry that's in the dryer out
Put the clothes away
Put the load that's in the washer into the dryer
Vacuum
Move the stuff in our playroom that I piled up in there to make room for 2 new cabinets that my aunt gave me
Cook supper

What I would love to do right now is grab a suitcase, throw in some clothes, pile the kids into the van, and escape someplace for a few days!!!!

Not gonna happen, but it would be nice!!
Vicki