get through

wow! a new blog. thank you Lynne, for taking care of business! can everyone submit your email and receive notice of blog posts?

I read a handful of blogs consistently, at night when my brain is turned off and I'm not thinking of what needs to be done. I love new ideas, new perspectives, and plain entertainment. but it seems everyone is looking for answers and solutions to their current frustration...whether it be energy levels, ages of children, the husbands work schedule, awful neighbors, dietary needs, and home organization.

I love solutions. I'm always looking at different ways to organize my home, teach the kids, cook easier meals, make gardening worth it and every thing in between (which, by the way, are probably the most important things)...

emmett and I listened to a Piper podcast the other night. don't be fooled, we don't sit around and listen to Piper podcasts every night. but, this was a good one. if you want to google it, it's 'the Key to Ministry Longevity.' (which, this makes me laugh..I recently met up with my mentor through college. I hadn't actually seen her since my wedding day. so, it had been 11 years. she could not believe emmett and I were still church planting. she said she'd never known anyone to be ministering in a church that long and she was a missionary in South Africa...makes me feel relieved, actually!) anyways, Piper spoke on John Newton's biography and it centered around one line from maybe a memoir or something...I can't remember. Newton said he endeavors to walk through the world as ministering to the sick in hospitals, and he does the best he can and gets through.

John Newton said he just gets through?? it love it. I feel that deeply, and it doesn't need much explanation. but as you ladies are doing the hard things, day in and day out...it's okay that it is ALL hard. it's okay if we barely make spaghetti...again. it's okay if we cringe just thinking about counseling or praying with a particular person that's been on your mind. it's okay if our kids are driving us bananas and we just don't know what to do with them.

but we are doing the right things. we are clinging to the hope that we have been given, and by His grace, we will indeed get through. it's true.

Update to blog!!!

We have moved the Two Timothy Two Twenty Two blog location to:

supportingoursisters.blogspot.com

Supporting Our Sisters

Please come and join us there.

Lynne

to our friends afar

you are missed, you are loved, you are prayed for.

do not give up, you are doing the hardest things. my prayer for you is that God will give you assurance in these unknown, hot, stressful days. when you feel uncertain, I pray that Father will give you perfect peace...and that He will bless the work of your hands.

may His promises ring true yesterday...as you remember the call....today....as you persevere..and tomorrow....where there is Hope in the unknown.

carry on, sweet sisters! you are not alone!

jenny

Latest happenings at my home....plus a decorating craft idea!

If  you can remember from back in 2014 when I introduced my family, there was not a picture of me nor my hubby. (http://www.thehomeschoolhelpers.blogspot.com/2014/12/introducing-lynne-and-her-family.html)

Well, good news....I got a new camera! I just don't know how to get the pictures from the camera onto the computer yet. A techie I am not! This will be figured out soon and I will post some for the blog world to see. I'll even include some "what is happening around the ole homestead" pictures.

Joel is now a homeschool graduate. He is excited about his future! And boy, I am excited about some things I will be getting further involved with too!!

Since my children are older, we don't sit around doing artsy, paper crafts anymore. So in order to put an idea on here, I went searching over the internet. Shoe box crafts is what I came up with.

Shoe boxes may or may not be something that you have on hand. If you don't have any, you could use cereal boxes, mac and cheese boxes or any box that you have. An amazon box would work. It would just need to be cut down a bit.

One article had a picture of four shoe box lids hanging over a couch. These lids were covered in different colors. You could use spray paint or tissue paper. Or even wrapping paper. If fabric was available, that would look wonderful. For a kids room, you could cover them with comics from the paper. Another idea would be to color them and them put one letter per lid and spell something out on the wall. When finished, these look very similiar to the pricier pulled canvas pieces that are sold in many stores. I hope this makes you look differently at your trash (boxes) now!!!

I want to give credit to the following website for the idea of the above craft.
Shoebox crafts

If you ever want us to research something for you, just leave us a message on any post and we will do it for you. We want to make things easy for you!

Hoping to bring a smile to your face,
Lynne

these daze!

the girls built a wall with mud cement. thankfully, this kind doesn't burn your skin!

check out the load of wood I found in my neighborhood! the Karis got a kick out of it, Nat barely lifted her head from the book she was reading.

this was one of the first warmer days we've had. they were begging to go wading at a place we call the Pocket, but it's a nice 45 minute drive away and it was already mid-afternoon. so, I had them don their water shoes and jump in the rain ditch in the back yard instead. 

Jonathan is playing T-ball right now. this was warming up at his first game. he was so proud of his hat because he is number 3 and there is a  big 3 on the back. he was showing his older, much taller teammates. 

Karis is playing soccer and here she's saying she scored three goals in her game and the final score was 3-0! I gotta say, my head was held pretty high walking off that field. :) 

and what's an afternoon without a little digging in the ditch? 

sometimes we get muddy before changing out of our pj's!

we're also doing some reading, writing, and 'rithmatic, but those pictures aren't nearly so entertaining.

Present risen-ness....

Easter morning was sweet, in my home surrounded by every lit candle I could find on my kitchen table. the kids tumbled into the kitchen, and with Easter music playing, Emmett and I proclaimed Christ's resurrection and how He is the Light of the world...they got it, it danced before their eyes, they could smell the aroma and see the difference those little candles made in the dim light.

and then...Easter ends, and the week begins. and I'm wondering in my own life, how can i live in His risen-ness? His present, daily, conquering of sin....we know 'one day' He will come as that King. we know He did indeed die on that cross, He took on the weight of our imperfections and sin and selfishness and anger...instead of longing for 'one day', how can we experience His resurrection every day?

I think the key is repentance. it's daily knowing that we can do nothing without His resurrection. it's repenting of putting on fronts, so others will see our false pretend selves. it's repenting of falling on others for our strength and grace, when His Word alone teaches us to reach out and be courageous. it's  repenting of believing anything that casts a shadow on the work He has done for us and the current Hope of His risen-ness.

i encourage you to live by boasting of what has been done so that we can be vessels of hope and life today. what does that look like for you?

It's Friday....But Sunday's a Coming

I apologize for giving a link. Hopefully, everyone will have internet usage to view this with. We are pretty much out of usage ourselves until April 1st except from 2am till 8am. We have plenty during that time. 

Lynne

It's Friday....But Sunday's a Coming

Jenny's plan to feed the Fam.

this week I'm reminded of freezer meals because I've relied on pulling two out of the freezer so far this week! we're battling the big Stomach Bug of NorthWest GA over here, and even though for us it's just about 6 hours of awfulness and 6 more of recuperation, for a family of five it takes forEVER to get through.

forever, because in Stomach Bug terminology, a few days really is FOREVER.

and the sun is not shining. not one little bit. (happy birthday, dr. Seuss)

so, here is my plan that is working in this stage of my life!

Monday's are soups, which are made on Saturdays or Sunday's. I double this and freeze leftovers.

Tuesday's are tacos, because...Tuesday's are for Tacos!

If I make it through Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, then honestly by then who knows what Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday look like. But, I choose from these options: breakfast, paninis, or spaghetti.

if I don't have meat for spaghetti, then I pull out a frozen soup. my creative brain likes the part of making biscuits or bacon cornbread to go with those already-made soups. and I almost always have breakfast stuff and paninis/sandwich stuff.

if it's a light week and I can predict my days, (translation: I get to the store), I'll make a new dish. and
always always I double it. . one, I'm finding some normal sized recipes just don't cut it anymore. and two, if we don't finish it, I freeze it! yay!

so I was so thankful to have four different soups to choose from this week for us to nibble on. and I do mean nibble.

and of course we can't forget breakfast and lunches because those also require considerable brain power, maybe not as much, but still....breakfast is not my strong point and by this point I'm guessing it's never going to be. I love that the kids can help themselves to cereal while mama is nursing her coffee mug and muttering things...but I do like a nice protein-snack about mid-morn for everyone, which ends up bumping lunch to about 1:00 which means yay! no afternoon snack! straight into
dinner. and lunch alternates between turkey/PB sandwiches and rabbit food (plate of boiled egg, carrot sticks/bell pepper sticks, nuts, dried fruit, yogurt/cheese, tortilla rolls..the kids love rabbit food!). some weeks I get inspired, usually by Lindsey, and make some breakfast bread for actual breakfast...but not usually.

so, in a rabbit-nut-shell, I really love this very easy-to-me meal plan, and I have a feeling it may stick for a good while.

Meal Planning during busy times...

Meal Planning....hmmm. Such an easy idea, but it can be a really big struggle for me. Especially, when I feel like I am chasing my tail. Like now! But this two shall pass and once again for a tiny bit, things will settle down. Just for the record, I chase my tail less when it is warm outside. Come on, warm weather! My focus is much better with sunshine and warmth, too.

Before I give my wonderful tidbit of how to deal with meal planning in those busy times, first let me tell you how this method came to be. Many years ago, when I worked outside of the home, my boss did the cooking for his family. He cooked the same meal every Monday, the same meal every Tuesday, the same meal every Wednesday! He did this Monday through Friday. I can't remember what each meal was, but I can remember they were really nice meals! He said doing this took all the brain work out of the whole process. He knew exactly what they (I think it was he that also did the grocery shopping.) needed to get at the grocery store. Both he and his wife knew what they would have each night. At that point he did have two little girls that were young enough not to realize what was going on...

I could never be this structured with my meals, but during a time or two many years ago, I sorta implemented a version of his method. I don't remember exactly what we had, but it went something like this-

Monday - pasta

Tuesday - seafood

Wed. - soup

Thursday - chicken

Friday - beef or vension

Monday's would be simply spaghetti or something more complex like Sausage Penne or Spaghetti Carbonara.

Tuesday could be grilled salmon or salmon patties.

Wed.  - simple soup or creative soups

Thursday - grilled or baked chicken

Friday - meatloaf, grilled burgers, tacos

Get the picture? I knew what to think about when it came time to plan my meals. Depending how busy I was determined the level of difficulty of the meal.

This can be easily adapted to meet any budget constraints, too. Mondays could be bean night with pinto beans, black beans and rice, etc. Tuesdays could be for salads like a simple garden salad up to a fancier salad. Wednesdays could include rice like dirty rice or wild rice.  Thursdays could be veggie nights(no meat).
Friday could be breakfast night. Choose your themes to make your family's likes and dislikes.

Happy meal planning!

Lynne

change.

I don't know how graceful I am with change, maybe my closest friends know for sure. I'd like to say i welcome it, but it probably completely depends on life at that moment. sometimes, like waiting expectantly for spring, change is good. other times, in the heavy routine of teaching and church, change can make me kind of crazy.

I remember anticipating my wedding day. I still feel like I haven't aged much over 18 years old...again, my friends can probably say 'truth. she hasn't.' but marrying a pastor at 24, I thought I'd remain the same, adventuresome, whimsical southern gal from Ala/Tenne/eorgia. (that's Jenny-ese for Alabama/Tennessee/Georgia). 

change entered, like..two minutes after the wedding ceremony ended. suddenly, it's not about me and oh my gosh he wants to eat dinner EVERY night?? and, even better: oh shoot. I just married the church. what.did.i.do.

but, God. shaping me, shepherding me. keeping me from harm.

when I found out I was going to be a mom, I thought it would be SO FUN and SWEET to have a daughter. just strap her to my back, I'll take her anywhere! no biggie! i heard lots of advice-givers say I'll never be the same, having a baby will take all my time, money, sanity....

nah. and I set my jaw against it. not me. 

but change. again. I thought those nights would never end. even though I didn't sleep, just seeing the sun rise gave me hope. I walked miles that summer with her in the stroller sleeping soundly, as I found that was the only place she would nap. i detested nursing as I quickly realized I'm the only food source in the house. 

God, in His goodness, changed me. is changing me. thank you, Jesus. He has this loving way of wrenching my heart out of my chest and laying it on the kitchen table, for all to see. oh, look. selfishness. wow, check out that ANGER. and my goodness, what a lazy bum! 

change with kids and needs and ideas and people happens a lot these days, it almost makes my head spin. I know I am not alone. how can we embrace it as His Sovereignty, His Provision over our hearts? drawing us ever closer to His great love and mercy. 

small spaces with lots of graces!

okay, so since our friend is settling in to a new home, I thought I'd post most of the space savers I've made happen in our little house with these three growing children with growing interests and bodies! granted, some of these aren't quite perfect or pretty....but that's not my priority, for the most part, especially when it's tucked away in the kids' rooms! and thankfully I have a husband who *mostly* appreciates creative ways to save space!
first up...

oh I love me some sticky hooks! obviously, these could use some replacing...but, at the end of a bunk bed, regular bed, or even on the side of book cases or refrigerators, they help keep things up off the floor! and that's my goal. here is where the girls keep their special purses and bags.

my other favorite way to hang things is little metal hooks with curtain clip thingies. these screwed right into the side of the girls' art table and holds mostly things Jonathan can grab and do on his own while I'm busy screwing in metal hooks all over the place! this takes up valuable shelf space that is also busting at its seams! and, as I always say, if things aren't right in front of their little eyeballs, it will probably not get used.

so back when Nat was in diapers, we had our guest bathroom redone. I wanted a sweet little white pedestal sink, but what I didn't realize then was I would actually need a regular sink with lots of counter space! cups and toothpaste do not sit well on little sinks. so, up they went! I've seen several different solutions for this, but I loved the IKEA rod the best. but hanging a simple wooden shelf would work, too! 

most of the girls' shelf space are these cube shelves in their room. have you ever tried to stuff loose items on a shelf and the second you grabbed one thing off of it, everything else fell off? I fixed that problem real quick by cutting a board to size and screwing it across the bottom. now those baby dolls and stuffed animals are in a cage of sorts and tucked away. this is where my ideas may not be the prettiest...but as I recall I had about 15 minutes to make this happen and sometimes when I get an idea I need to act on it for my mental and emotional health.

this is the girls' closet. it used to be a single metal bar. Emmett installed a nifty shelf down the center with hanging rods on either side, but there was SO MUCH wasted space in there! but more on that in a sec...here you can mainly see what they play with the most, every single day. baby doll clothes, doctor kit, and horses. each box is labeled and laminated because....because lamination, people!! and when they have tired of it all and it is spread all over their small room, clean up is fairly simple. everything has a place, and it's labeled.  these poor girls don't have any excuses to have a messy room, I'm afraid.

so after the hanging clothes went up, there was still too much wasted space between the bottom of their clothes to the floor. so I measured and cut and bought these cheap metal braces and made two extra shelves on either side of the tall built in unit. this has helped so much, but I know whenever we do need to sell this house, these are coming down or I'm at the very least going to paint and cover them!

oh those baby dolls! this was a fabulous Pinterest idea, so I can't take full credit. cheap wooden flower boxes screwed into the wall! yay! saved floor space! 

again, I love IKEA. and these shelves are fantastic. but, you don't need these particular ones. the idea here, for me, is to give each kid a shelf of books I want them to read or attempt to read. I rotate these out fairly frequently and whenever they want me to read a random book, I tell them to grab one off their red shelf....and I don't get stuck reading Clifford the Big Red Dog. again. and they really like the idea that it is their own bookshelf. 

ok there's a few things going on here. one, if you have two book cases of the same size, turn them towards each other and put a board across it! table! in our case, it's the girls' art table. Jonathan has his own, and their lego tables in their room are the same. I love love keeping things high up so no little people come stealthily by, grabbing markers, paint, or teeny lego pieces. our home tends to be a revolving door to kids and mama's with little ones, so this gives me great peace of mind. and guess what? look underneath! a cave! little people LOVE caves. strung with Christmas lights. also, any and all art stays at their art table, they know that. since about 4 years old, the girls have had full access to paint or clay or glue or scissors at any time. I think it's crucial to their brains, and its a huge time filler....and I love time fillers. it's pretty crazy messy in this picture but I reckon that means art is being made! allllso, the shelf on top is a bookshelf I've rotated all over the house! so, if you want to go 'up', think about putting a shelf on top of a table. 

last thing..don't be afraid to use the backs of doors! this opens up into the homeschool/art/play room, so it's pretty hidden. its a fantastic way to display whatever needs displaying, and Jonathan has his stuff at the bottom within reach, too. I think if we ever move, this door is coming with me. especially since the kids' heights have been marked on the inside! 

okay, that's all for now, I hope this opens your mind to think outside the box as far as easy practical ways to organize or add new play/reading spots to your home! mostly, it's fun for me, so if its not fun for you then I bet you don't need to change a thing! 

done once and for all.

if i could do this day over again, I would in a heartbeat.

I would stress way less.

I would yell way less.

I would have read another book to them.

but oh my heavens. bedtime was so so close. just....brush....your....teeth.....hey, you're in bed, but did you go potty? didn't think so. ...sure I'll sing your favorite song! all tucked in, I'm sooooo close....shoot. you've got to potty, too.

breathe breathe. exhale. annnnnd focus. done. I'm done.

I flop on the couch, dinner in hand. husband is gone, somehow this is longer than I anticipated. but wait. nobody is puking. praise Him! every time he leaves, someone pukes......what else...my brain running through the day...what did I do wrong, was there ANYthing I did right? was it really necessary to take away Legos for the day? her attitude and yet her prized possessions....somebody else needs to teach them...I just can't do this in love....did I really need to push her to ride that bigger bike? 'you can't be afraid all the time' I said. ...and what kept me from building a car track again? I can't even remember. . . . and then, Jesus.

praise be to God that He sees me, my blue house with the yellow door.....blood dripping on my mud-smeared door post. He passes over. She is mine, leave her be.

not because I taught in love. not because I overlooked any offense myself. not because I spent all the time in the world looking them in the eyes. not because I ended their day with apologies.

but because I believe He is better than this day. I believe He is greater than ANYthing I face. because I believe He has made a way for me. a way to Him. straight is that way, with streams in these desert days.

and His mercies are brand spanking new tomorrow. already. done.

let us go straight to the throne of grace. may we saturate ourselves in the Word. and let's pray without ceasing. over the sink. in the bathroom. down the street. over the kitchen table. amidst sin. breathe in, breathe out.

covered by His precious blood, once and for all.

Soup Without A Name

Our most favorite, most frequent, and most versatile soup is ... well I don't think it even has a name. Or if it does, I don't know it. It was inspired by the chicken soup you find in Mexican restaurants.

I could name it what it is: "Pour Some Good, Hot Chicken Stock Over Ingredients of Your Choice"

It all begins by making you own chicken stock. I do it almost weekly. The picture of a sizable stockpot peacefully simmering on my stove makes my homemaker heart glad. Here is a picture of the recipe that I use as a guide:

(You do need to add a good bit of salt to bring out the flavor and make the meat tasty.)

     
This is what it looks like when you put it all in a pot. In this picture I actually used the bones and leftovers from a roasted chicken. In this case you can make 2 meals out of one. If I use a whole bird I would take off all the meat after boiling and use it either in the soup or in chicken salad, chicken pot pie, or quiche.


       Now, as you might have noticed, I actually did put in the chicken feet. You may or may not have access to them and they are optional, as the recipe points out. The feet in this picture are blanched in hot water and skinned before I add them to the soup. Because of all the joints in the feet, they really add beneficial gelatin.



Then I like to pour our hot chicken broth over:


pieces of chicken meat
cooked rice
chopped avocado
chopped tomato
chopped parsley/cilantro
add soy sauce and chili garlic paste to taste.


I have also poured it over:

- leftover enchilada filling
- leftover fried rice
- sautéed mushrooms and onion with cooked noodles
- nothing. This is a good liquid meal for a fast or sickness.
Lots of nutrients and easy to digest.

Use the broth also in:

- baked potato soup
- chicken and dumplings
-any other soup that calls for chicken stock


Best of all, it is a crowd pleaser at my house!

Manja

FOOD!!

When I think about what about my life might be at all interesting or applicable to...anyone:)...I think food and cooking might be about it!  Increasingly, I find myself needing to fix food to bring somewhere or a snack to share, etc. so here are just a couple of my new favorites:

BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

1 lb. sausage (or turkey sausage)

6 eggs

2 C. milk

1 tsp. mustard powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 bag of Marie Calendar's cheesy garlic (or whatever kind) croutons*

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Brown sausage and drain.  Beat eggs, milk, mustard powder and salt in a bowl.  Add cooked sausage, croutons and cheese.  Pour into 13x9 buttered baking dish and cover and chill 8 hrs-overnight.  Cover with foil and bake at 350°F (176 ° C...does anyone even need that?  If not, pretend I didn't do it!) for 45 minutes, reduce oven to 325°F (162°C) , remove foil, and bake an additional 30  minutes or until set.  Eat it.  

HOT CHEESY CORN DIP

2 Tbsp. butter

2 C. fresh corn (or canned, frozen)

1/2 C. diced onion

1/4 C. diced red bell pepper

2 green onions, sliced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 C. mayonaise

1/2 C. shredded monterey jack cheese

1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

salt, pepper, cayenne for taste

In a cast iron skillet (or not...I just like that), melt 1 Tbsp (I use more ) of butter in pan and saute corn until it turns golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Take the corn out, and melt the rest of your butter, and add in onion and red bell peppers, cooking until fairly soft, about 5-10 minutes.  Add in green onion, jalapeno, and garlic and cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant.  Mix corn, pepper onion mixture, and the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl (reserve a little cheese for the top) and then pour into a small baking dish.  Top with additional cheese and bake in 350° oven for 10-20 minutes.  Serve with blue corn chips or tortilla chips or pita chips...or whatever you want!

Taking the focus off of me....at least trying to...

We have been enjoying the beautiful weather that we have been having here. For the third day in a row the temps have reached 50+ degrees! In January! This my friends in nothing but the grace of God flowing. I don't mind cold weather; I just don't like being cold. Actually, I can't stand being cold.

I have gotten back into the swing of reading for pleasure as well as reading to learn something. Normally, I read one book at a time, but for some reason, I am currently reading 5. Yep, 5 books. I guess you could go ahead and say 6 because I have to have the forward, introduction, and first chapter of another book read by Monday. Anyway, I was reading in Grow Together by Jeff Myers yesterday and the words jumped off the paper at me. He was talking about chronos and kairos. "Chronos: the quantitatative passing of time; minutes. Kairos; the qualitative value of time; moments.(Myers, pg. 95) Time passes=chronos. This can be measured and recorded. The potential of time=kairos. This can't be measured.

Move with me to page 97 and Myers says "Given the chronos and the kairos, the belief that I have little to offer is actually an affront to God. It assumes that God is limited by the resources we think exist, and it treats with contempt the value God brings to bear in his very-good world, teeming with life."

Wow, how many times do we say things like: I can't do that, I am not gifted in that area, those aren't my talents and so forth. Well, the minute I read that statement ....the Holy Spirit went.into action in my mind and allowed me to remember the date, time and place that I most recently stated, "I can't do that!"It was the first Saturday in December after enjoying a play with some friends. Step forward, mess up, repent and keep moving forward. I did end up doing what I was asked to do. This is another story for another time. I had actually been praying about it, but it came about in a different way than I thought it would happen. Me and me predetermined, limited expectations!!

It is not about me and what I think. My mind is too tiny to comprehend God and what He can do.

I am thankful for this correction. This must mean I don't focus on myself anymore, right? Wrong!

Today, I have been overwhelmed. By nature, I usually don't panic. I thrive under pressure. I enjoy a good challenge. But, not today. Oh, not today. I just can't deal with all that I need to do right now. My son graduates in 4 months. I am not ready. The portfolio is not done. Applications are not done. Questions are not answered. Thankfully,  my son is very calm about all of this! He knows God is in control and it will work out as it should.

Then it hit me. Do you see all the I's in the previous paragraph? Phew! There are just too many. This process is not about me and how quickly I can get the paperwork whipped out or about how fast Joel can fill out an application. This is about the Glory of God and how He is reflected through this process. Step forward, mess up, repent and keep moving forward.

As homeschoolers,  we typically do things differently and Joel's path through higher education will not be a exception to this. We know that his first few semesters are not going to be done the traditional route. So, I don't need to panic. Take a deep breath. Embrace the challenge. Love the process. The Lord knows where Joel will go and how Joel will get there. And it is perfectly ok that I know neither. It is not about me and what I haven't gotten accomplished. It is about Him and what He will accomplish through this process!

May we move forward together. Live, learn and lean on Him!

Lynne

Lastly, Jill:)

Our Christmas card photo 2014

Hello all! I’m Jill and I’m thrilled to add a few tidbits of info to our collective blog.  A little about me and my family:  I’m married to “the boy next door” (actually he lived down the street), my childhood sweetheart - Ronnie.  I met him in 2nd grade when my family moved off base (Barksdale AFB) and into a new school district. Of course, we were just acquaintance till high school, then bam - muscles!  We’ll celebrate 24 years of marriage this year - how did that happen?  I feel way too young to have been married for 24 years.;) 

Ronnie is an operations manager in the paper industry, so he’s super busy, but in his free time he loves to ride his mountain bike and go kayaking (kayaking is a recent interest, but he’s loving it!). Unfortunately, he also enjoys Japanese ninja movies, with subtitles. :-/

Josh, Dev & Jules

We have three kiddos: our son, Josh, and our two daughters, Devan and Jules.  Josh is 18 and a senior at a public school. He is knee deep in college/scholarship applications and interviews. He is a gifted writer, I'm sure he's written more words than he’s spoken. Not kidding. He also has a heart for orphans and spent a few weeks working at Hope House orphanage in China this past summer.  We pray he glorifies God with his talent and passion.  Our daughter Devan is 15 and a freshman at a university model high school, which means she goes to school 3 days and schools at home 2 days. It has been a wonderful fit for her personality. She has an artistic eye, takes beautifully creative photos and can braid hair like nobody’s business! Bringing up the rear is Jules, Julia Grace. Sweet Jules is 10 and I’m pretty sure she’s never said an unkind word about anyone - with the exception of me and my cooking. She's pretty outspoken about that and doesn’t hold back. Maybe she’ll be a food critic when she grows up. But she has great insight - her suggestion to add cumin to our homemade sweet potato chips was genius!:) Jules is a Classical Conversations homeschooler, this is our third year in CC and also Jules’ first year in the Essentials program.

So we are a blended family! We have blended pretty much every type of learning: public, private, homeschool and even semi private - the big kids (Josh and Dev) attended a lab school at one point. We’ve pretty much done it all.:) Homeschooling is my favorite, by far. There are few things that can compare to watching your children learn. Interestingly, I never thought I would, or could, homeschool. Forever thankful for friends that encouraged me to take that leap.  My iron obviously needed sharpening, and still does!:)

In the last few years, I have become an autodidact (yes, I’m a homeschooler too) of biblical health and nutrition. I’ve learned some fascinating things - all point to an amazing Creator. We ARE fearfully and wonderfully made!! My enthusiasm for the subject is hard to contain - this blog will be a welcome outlet. I've decided to call my additions: Things I Wish I'd Known Way Back When...:)

Manja's Family

Hi, I'm Manja. My husband, Seth, and I have 5 children. Our oldest, Moritz (no picture), is finishing up college and getting married this year. Then we have 3 more boys, Oskar (13), Maxwell (11), and George(8). Finally, our youngest, a girl, Nora (5).
Seth and I are from 2 different counties/cultures/continents. We met while studying abroad. I am thankful for my husband, his patient and forgiving love for me, his wisdom, and his bottomless barrel of entertaining humor. A great joy and strengthening for us in our marriage has been ministering to people together, learning about the same topics, and sharing our discoveries.

Homeschooling was something I discovered when my oldest son attended 2nd grade. I enjoy learning with and through my children and we love getting sidetracked (from our  oh so helpful schedule) by meaningful conversations or wrestling. Of course there are daily struggles with sin, but I am amazed at how God carries me through or even lifts me above the situation. Usually, I have no idea how to solve their quarrels and how to make them understand, but I am often not desperate (like I used to) and have a pleasant peace and sometimes I am even amused
by their

disagreements. I have found joy in praying for them and with them as the most powerful parenting tool. (Also, knitting, while sitting next to my child who learns to read relieves a lot of stress.)

Reading the other beautiful family introductions, I nodded in agreement with many of your pleasures and passions and found I am pretty similar.
I too, like to grow things in the garden. I have a small piece of my yard that gets enough sun in which I try to grow precious green things. Actually, this year I decided to grow a purple garden: purple beans, peas, cauliflower, ... George minds least helping in the garden. He is a hard worker. I had to coax the other boy's interest by giving them a crop to grow. So, Oskar produced a lot of spicy peppers last year and Max brought in the tomatoes and potatoes. I love food; growing, preparing, and eating it.

I too, like raising chickens. We also have rabbits; and turkeys and geese seasonally. Max takes care of the chickens and Oskar loves on the rabbits.

We too, prefer camping for our vacations. We love camping with a bunch of friends and learning to see more of God in his creation.

I find encouragement and inspiration in great books, old and new, written by great men. Most of them are not finished and are piling up in different parts of the house, but I read a piece of encouraging truth in one of these books, "Great books don't change lives, paragraphs do." And I hope to pass along some of these life changing morsels of truth as well as discoveries in above described interests.

I am already lifted up by your posts, and am looking forward to "struggling along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."                                            Love, Manja

"Wear the Crown"

Here is one of my favorite songs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It is filled with Truth.

Lynne 

Not What My Hands Have Done

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul 
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole 
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God 
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load 
These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all I bring 
And I have come to hide beneath Your wings 
These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of Your grace 
And now I wear Your righteousness. 

Thy work alone O Christ can ease this weight of sin 
Thy blood alone O Lamb of God can give me peace within 
Thy love to me O God not mine O Lord to thee 
Can rid me of this dark unrest and set my spirit free 
These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all I bring 
And I have come to hide beneath Your wings 
These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of Your grace 
And now I wear Your righteousness. 

Thy grace alone O God to me can pardon speak 
Thy power alone O Lamb of God can this sore bondage break 
No other work save Thine, no other blood will do 
No strength save that which is divine can bear me safely through 
These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all I bring 
And I have come to hide beneath Your wings 
These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of Your grace 
And now I wear Your righteousness. 

I praise the God of grace I trust His truth and might 
He calls me His I call Him mine my God, my joy, my light 
Tis He who saveth me and freely pardon gives 
I love because He loveth me I live because He lives 
These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all I bring 
And I have come to hide beneath Your wings 
These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of Your grace 
And now I wear Your righteousness.

                                                                   

credits

from Fragments of Grace, released 15 June 2011 
...... 

From the website:

http://cityhymns.com/track/holy-hands-2

Two Timothy Two Twenty Two

I have been thinking on and thinking on and mulling over and working on memorizing this verse this week, and I just love it!

"So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart"

I don't know if anyone else is like me in that I get caught up in the first part of a verse like this "so flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace" and I kind of start thinking about that and forget to keep going!  I really don't know why I do that?  Maybe it's these letters from Paul where his language and writing style are just so full that my brain can't take anymore truth and shuts off:)  But ANYWAY, the last part of this verse almost changes the whole meaning of this to me.  If I had stopped before I made it to the end, I would think that I should be doing these things personally (I mean, I should do that too), privately...kind of working out my own salvation on my own, apart from others to see the messiness and sinfulness and ugliness of some of that process, and then once I emerged triumphant, having successfully fled those passions and excelling at the fruits of the spirit...I could return to face my brothers and sisters in Christ.  And I mean, then I would really have something to be proud of!  I could impress others with my amazing "fleeing" skills, and they would ooh and aaah over my righteousness, faith, love and peace...

And there is a glimpse into the depth of my heart my friends.  If my little self can run to self righteousness and pride, then by golly, it...I will.  It is what I fall back on.  

But, wow, I want to suggest that I think Jesus is working in me and seeking to change this in me.  This has been a humbling last month or two or twelve...you get the picture.  But particularly these last couple months.  I have struggled.  Our family has struggled.  Our relationships in our family have struggled.  We have struggled with some of the relationships in our small community which meets here in Cartersville.  But you know, the second part of this verse is so key for me.  We are to flee the bad and pursue the good, but we are to do it "along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart".  Am I surrounded by believers in my family? Well, yes, some at least.  My husband for one. Am I surrounded by believers at church and in our small community here in Cartersville?  Well, yes.  So then these are some of the people that I can walk through life with, that I can work out my salvation with, that I can allow God to use to teach me, to admonish me, to instruct me, to encourage me, and even to mourn with and rejoice with me. 

I want to work the messy stuff out...the stuff that really humbles you...behind the scenes, out of sight of my fellow believers, but besides that not being the way that our relational God created us, it is not for any of our good and edification.  It isn't helpful to me or any of you.  To see someone lose it from the heaviness of burdens they have been carrying is good I guess (yea, that's me I'm talking about), because it reminds those are us that we are ALL in the same boat here.  No one can just breeze through this life even if it might look like that at times from the outside.  We need...I need...my sisters in Christ to carry my burdens and for me to help carry theirs.  We need...I need...our (my) sisters in Christ to speak truth to us (me) when we are caught believing and feeding on Satan's lies.  We need...I need...our (my) sisters in Christ to rejoice with us (me) and give thanks to the God of GRACE in our lives when we are high and fighting the good fight and feel like the Lord is reigning supreme in our lives!  We need...I need...our (my) sisters in Christ to encourage us (me) to flee what is bad and transient and what is folly, and pursue that which is holy, and right and pure and good.  

So, after all that, I hope that the whole overarching theme of this blog is to do just exactly what "two timothy two twenty two" says and walk through this life, pursuing what is good and fleeing what is not, together, being honest about the trials AND the joys, and seeking to rejoice and encourage and speak truth all together, as one little part of the body of Christ, in all different parts of the world:)


Update:  I just realized that we should probably sign our posts...so...Love, Lindsey

The Great Tree Fling.

isn't it great that Christmas falls right at the beginning of a new year completely? I don't know the specifics of how traditions and calendars and cultures morphed over the years, but whoever finally decided that it should land at the end of the year and there it shall stay, I salute you.

when I take the tree down, and yes, it's always just me...maybe next year I'll leave it up and see how long it stays.....the closest exit is the front door. I have a great time flinging the door wide and heaving it as far as I can into the front yard. then, I slam the door. there, my responsibility ends. I wait for the children to circle it, hone in on it and pick it's branches, make something with it....it's become, in my mind, sort of an Olympic sport. the Tree Put. the Great Tree Fling.

then I proceed to every room in the house (there aren't that many), and also fling things into trash bags, rubbermaids, clothes hampers. if I'm tired of looking at it, out it goes. if i received two new shirts, I lose two old. if I have to read that particular annoying book one more time, it's gone. if his bin of trucks is over flowing, he loses a couple. if the girls haven't caught on to me scooting certain items under their beds, those are included in the Great Stuff Gathering and Flinging Event.

and so, the new year begins a bit lighter, cleaner, and maybe picked up (temporarily).

and that part is easy. I really love simplifying every now and again, I think it matches our family's heartbeat.  but, what of selfishness? and anger....am I opening that door, flinging it far into my yard? do I want it gone that badly? or do I want to just sorta move it around, find a different place for it, bury it beneath some other stuff I don't need....and move on?

my prayer is that along with the Great Tree Fling, I search my heart....allow Him in to point out the stuff that has built up, created barriers, shadows, and dust....and repent. repent of patterns, repent of  thoughts, repent of idols.

and then, when that door is flung open, the Light will surely follow.