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This Day, February 11, 2014

11 Tuesday Feb 2014

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FOR TODAY
Outside my window…another foggy frosty morning.  I sure am looking forward to the sunshine and warmer weather forecasted for later in the week

I am thinking…how the teaching we received this past weekend at our marriage retreat applies to all the relationships in our home
I am thankful…for my husband.  For the strong arm he put around me, that felt like a shelter, during what used to be a very difficult topic for me
In the kitchen…the remnants of the weekend’s untouched food, as we were all absent or busy
I am going…to (in)RL 2014, or at least registered and planning to.  I got so nervous after registering and finding a local meet up, that I clicked off the page before joining the meetup!
I am wondering…where our family is going to end up as this season comes to a close.  My beloved has worked away from home, renting homes and apartments where my name isn’t on the lease, for several years.  This weekend we were asked to “put a stake in the ground” for our marriage.  My stake in the ground was named “under the same roof”.
I am reading…Say Good Bye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine, Undaunted by Christine Caine, The Art of Marriage by Family Life Ministries,Perfectly Unique by Annie Downs,and  Love Does by Bob Goff
I am hoping… That the lessons I learned this weekend on hospitality, kindness and service take root in my heart and in the hearts of my children
I am looking forward to…Co-op classes! And Valentine’s Day.  I have a different menu planned from our traditional one and am looking for a movie to watch that deviates from the same one for the last 10 years (Lady and the Tramp).  Any suggestions for a good chick flick that is clean and pure?
Around the house…quiet as my daughters work on their school lessons.  And tidiness.  The 2 who were home all weekend while the rest of us were away cleaned several rooms!
A favorite quote for today…”To be able to look forward to a lifelong, thriving marriage, you must have a clear understanding of the gospel.  Without it, you cannot see God, yourself, or your marriage for what they truly are.  The gospel is the fountain of a thriving marriage.”  Dave Harvey, from When Sinners Say “I Do
A picture from this weekend…

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Goals for February 11-15

10 Monday Feb 2014

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Seeking balance between margin and productivity has been more like a pendulum swing.  So I’ve taken the outline of Money Saving Mom’s weekly goal list and made a list of my own, putting into the list a couple of refreshing “love to do” activities.

Home Environment
Read 5 chapters of Love Does aloud. Read a picture book each day with my granddaughter.
Write a love note to Ben.
Clean the dresser top in our bedroom.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with our daughters (day full of good food, fun movie in the evening)

Personal Growth
Finish memorizing Romans 12:1, 2, continue working on Ephesians 6:1-8
Walk 3 miles this week.  Start back up on crunches & pushups
Finish reading Undaunted, Say GoodBye to Survival Mode and Alone, Yet Not Alone.
Work on fingerless gloves

Ministry Goals

Prepare and test Perfectly Unique lesson plans
Take 5 photographs & edit them
Email 2 encouraging messages, write & mail 3 cards of encouragement or gratitude

Household Business
Finish Gathering Tax Paperwork
Submit receipts to Health Savings Account
Find a replacement for my current INR testing site
Find & Download the driver for our printer to the new laptop

This is just a test, to see if posting my goals where I can see them, but not having the spiral notebook in my purse or on my desk all the time, helps me to keep an atmosphere of “balance”.

For a Set Time

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

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Job 14:13-15

New King James Version

13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,

That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,

That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14 If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my hard service I will wait,

Till my change comes.

15 You shall call, and I will answer You;

You shall desire the work of Your hands.

What blessed hope, all the heaviness, darkness and troubles that press in against us will pass.  One can hide in the shelter of the Most High and wait it out.

Psalm 91:1

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Last school year we used “The Shelter” copywork book and Scripture memory cards that we made to memorize Psalm 91.  I continued to be amazed at how having the passage tucked in my heart and mind continues to reveal more and more the love of God toward me, and that pushes fear further away.

Daybook, February 4

04 Tuesday Feb 2014

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FOR TODAY
Outside my window…a dark night, with few stars
I am thinking…how blessed I am by the fellowship between my daughters and Sophie.  They are creating wonderful background noise of laughter and chatter while I work
I am thankful…for my Beloved.  He has planned many details into the weekend getaway this next weekend
In the kitchen… chocolate chip cookies.  I struck a deal with the fun loving girls, they washed dinner dishes and I made cookies
I am creating…a new story quilt design
I am going…Student Orientation is planned for our co-op for tomorrow, but the forecast is calling for another dumping of snow over night and all through tomorrow.  So we’ll have to wait and see if we get to go to Student Orientation (and see lots of friends) or we get to go sledding yet again with Sophie
I am wondering…where I saved the piece I wrote yesterday morning.  I’ve looked all through my external hard drive and haven’t found it
I am reading…Undaunted, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode
I am hoping…that it does snow big, but clears out for the all the travel that is scheduled for Thursday.  Builder is flying home.  Sophie and the other exchange students are to fly out to California
I am looking forward to…a weekend away from to do lists, cell phones and laptops, and being with just my Beloved
Around the house… glow sticks (for hide & seek in the dark) uno cards, and children
A favorite quote for today… “Discipline is remembering what you want.” David Campbell as quoted in Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine (aka Money Saving Mom)
A picture…

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Hidden Falls, an episode story

04 Tuesday Feb 2014

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There is a new trend in story writing.  Episode stories, like a weekly TV series, ending each week with a little suspense to draw you back again the next week.

Hidden Falls by Olivia Newport and released by Barbour Books is one such book. It will only be released in e-book form, and is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I was emailed the first episode in January and enjoyed reading the story while waiting for my daughter at an orthodontist appointment.  The story was enjoyable and I am curious about how it will carry on, but I am not sure I like the idea of paying each week to read the next chapter or “episode”.  If there are 13 episodes at $1.99 each (that’s the number I found on amazon), we are looking at roughly $26.00 per complete story.

You can download the first episode here for free.  I would love to hear how others feel about “episode” books.

The ebook was provided to me by Handlebar Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

Snow Day Fun!

31 Friday Jan 2014

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This Moment, an answer to prayer and a delight to mom and kids alike!

Our sweet exchange student arrived late Sunday night with snow sputtering just a bit.  Tuesday morning there was enough snow on the streets to cause a 2 hour delay.  Today we woke to enough snow for a SNOW DAY for the exchange students, although the regular students have an online instruction day.

These three cuties headed to the park and 2 hours later I had to drag them home to eat and dry off.  What a treat to have a rare Colorado snow day where there is enough to really play in, and have our newest friend here to enjoy it with us.

Linking with Soulemama

Unstoppable, updated review

31 Friday Jan 2014

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This book, UNSTOPPABLE by Nick Vujicic, is an encouraging read.  Not only does Nick share the wisdom he has gleaned from his own struggles and victories, but he also share numerous stories of the struggles and victories of other people.  With each victory experienced after heartache and struggles, Nick is an example of one who believes every life is a gift from God, and a gift to be lived to the fullest.

He says, “God finds ways for us to use bad things for a good purpose.”  This sentence hit home for me.  There have been some bad things in my life, and it’s been difficult to believe that God will make something good out of them.  But, allowing God to show me how to use the bad things for a good purpose.  That makes more sense.

If you are looking for an inspiration read, this book is a bit long, but definitely inspiring.  Here is a link to the first chapter of the book if you would like a little sample.

How Nick met his wife is found in Chapter 3 (you can read that here) and I love how he uses his experience to encourage those who feel unlovely, unwanted.  Probably most of us have experienced those feelings, but for some people, life has dealt hard blows and feeling unlovely, unwanted are not just a passing emotion.  Nick is a wonderful gift from and for God’s glory, using his life to encourage others.

this review was originally posted in Feb 2013, and is updated here

“I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.”.

Bible Stories for the Little Princess

31 Friday Jan 2014

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“Dear God, Thank You for making me so special.  I love the way You created me!  Amen.”

“You were created in God’s image!  Look in the mirror and thank God for making you.”

Don’t all of us mommas and grandmothers hope to know the sweet girls we love grow up knowing that each is made unique and special?  What a wonderful thing to plant the seeds of knowing she was planned for and made, and to see each of  those young ladies grow loving they way she is created.

This is just one of the prayers and jewel truths written into Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess by Sheri Rose Shepherd.  This book title caught my eye recently and I requested it from the Tyndale Blog Network. The book is a gentle introduction to God’s Word for the very young, and I will enjoy sharing with it with my grandchildren.  My youngest daughter will probably spend a little time reading through it as well, although she tells me it is for “little kids.”  Oh to be 11, still loving to play, but also stretching into bigger ways.

The illustrations by Shelley Dieterichs are charming and simple.  There are children in the illustrations with diverse features, which I do appreciate.  Bible Stories for His Beautiful Princess is a sweet gentle introduction for to God’s Word for the little girl.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review..

Daybook, January 27

27 Monday Jan 2014

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FOR TODAY
Outside my window…Sunshine making it’s way through the grey sky, a dusting of snow that is quickly melting.  A little earlier, 2 squirrels enjoying a feast from our compost.

I am thinking…how very brave our young exchange student is, to travel so far from home at such a fresh young age.

I am thankful…cozy sweaters and warm tea on this very chilly day.

In the kitchen…more broth making is happening, chicken soup for dinner, maybe another loaf of banana bread for an after school snack

I am creating…another Scripture memory book, a pretty gratitude journal to replace the look of the composition notebook.

I am mixing together… Non toxic All Purpose Cleaner, well actually, Chica mixed it together.

I am going…to be dropping off and picking up a student everyday for the next 10 days.  That is something I haven’t done since our 25 yo was a junior in high school.

I am wondering…how it will work out for this precious 12 year old exchange student.

I am reading…Perfectly Unique by Annie Downs, The Giver by Lois Lowry and What to Wear To the War by Warren W Wiersbe.  A post with my thoughts after reading Torches of Joy was written this weekend.

I am hoping…that Builder’s next job brings him home, but where ever work takes him we want to be under the same roof again.

I am looking forward to…these next 10 days with Sophie, getting to know her, giving her a comfortable place to learn, process and grow

Around the house…the signs of life, but also a little less clutter as we continue to pull out those things we no longer use, need, nor love.

A quote for today… “this is one thing I can give–myself. I cannot fix the past. I cannot take away the pain. But I can make the present a little easier.”     emily t. wierenga.

A few plans for the rest of the week…a fairly normal rhythm but with the addition of the twice daily run to the nearby middle school.  Eye exams, someone may be getting contacts!  and someone else may be getting stronger bifocals.  Saturday one of my kiddos is participating in a Bible Quiz event, then we hope to head to the mountains with Sophie.

A picture to share….

Torches of Joy

27 Monday Jan 2014

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I use Grammarly’s plagerism checker because it is important to share what I have to tell, not what others have said!



Torches of Joy by John Dekker with Lois Neely is the story of the early mission work of John and Helen Dekker in the 1960s.  The couple traveled to the Indonesian island of Irian Jaya where they lived and ministered for 21 years.  Beyond being the story of the mission work to the Dani people, this book has several points of applications for Christians.

The Dekkers sought to share the Gospel and disciple new believers without imposing their cultural traditions upon the Dani people.  They also worked to equip and encourage the new believers to grow and take leadership of their local churches.  Equipping national pastors is a very important task, one that I learned about in the church we currently attend. Our own pastor travels internationally to train and encourage national pastors through expository teaching of the Bible.

On a recent Wednesday evening the leader of our T&T girls read a story during the large group time, The Pineapple Story.   The application of the story was to ponder our own “pineapple” or “rights”, and how our rights may be hindering the Gospel.   As I completed reading Torches of Joy that idea grew ten fold.  Reading how the Dani believers became missionaries to other peoples groups, fierce murderous, even cannibal tribes and gave up much more than their comforts, but even the right to life if that is what it took to share the hope of Christ.

This story has given me some good things to ponder.  Where my “rights” may be getting in the way of sharing hope, love, peace with the people around me is on my mind!  Reading biographies and missionary stories is a great way to experience life in a different time, different place.  The stories also become mentors, prompting us to explore ideas and think about our own lives.