love to paint

A few months ago, I started a website that could serve as a resource for families in the county I live in considering homeschooling.  I didn't realize at the time that I should have defined who a Christian is.  This past Monday, I realized that I need to define it.   Hundreds of years ago, there was a lot of controversy over who a Christian was.  That is why the Council of Nicea met and wrote the Nicene Creed.   We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.  We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under P...

My brain is a jumble of thoughts and stress right at the moment.  I'm trying to calm down, but I'm not being entirely successful at it.  You see, my mom moved across the country to come live near us a week ago.  This week was filled with the normal homeschooling schedule and activities plus helping my mom get her car (it was shipped), have it inspected and registered, get her driver's license, and switch her Medicare supplement provider.  It was a very busy week.  I saw God's fingerprints all along the way.  My mom had such a great attitude about everything.  She lessened what could have been a lot more stress for me than it was. From the day she arrived, my husband and I began talking together and with her about where would be the wisest place for her to live.  Within a few days, we realized that we didn't want her to buy a house in our neighborhood because we want to move.  We want to move closer to our church family and be a part of peo...

I spend more time than I'd like on the computer.   I have realized many times that it is easy to gravitate to this thing on the desk which I can turn on and be instantly entertained by or interact with.   But, is it real interaction?   No, not really.   It's this semi-real kind of thing.   I think it falls in a gray area.   It's not entirely authentic and real or entirely fake.   One of the conclusions I've come to as I've watched myself spend more time, mostly out of necessity, on the computer is that I need to seek out real, tangible hobbies all the more.   I need to put the people in my life that need me first at all times.   Interruptions that are real need to take precedence.   I have a few hobbies that I enjoy.   I knit--just simple blankets.   I like to quilt and do simple sewing.   I try my hand at gardening--it gets me outside in the sun.   With homeschooling and taking care of my kids and home, there isn't ...

This weekend I went garage saling with my kids as I often do on Saturday mornings.  My mom was with us for the first time.  She was surprised by how many conversations I struck up with strangers.  But, she chuckled about it and told my husband many stories about our adventures when we got home. One of my conversations was with a woman who has written a book.  She self published it back in 2007.  She's been trying to publicize it and get it out there for the past 4 years.  It was interesting to hear from her how challenging that has been--and how much she's invested in it.  She wrote a book that matters to her.  I suspect that most authors feel that way.   Or at least I hope they do.  During my conversation, I discovered that the book was a fictional story about a young woman who has an autistic son.  The author has an autistic son who is in his 20s now.  Autism is such a mystery and I was very curious about this story. ...

Yesterday, I saw our pastor at Starbuck's.  We talked for a moment about facebook.  I have come to the conclusion that there are more cons than pros about facebook.  I actually discourage people from joining if they haven't already.  My belief is that it's not wise to shift your conversation to facebook if it isn't already there.  Facebook lives in the land of quasi-real relationships.  The relationships aren't quite real, but aren't entirely fake either.  It's a bit of a trap in my mind.  The reason I don't withdraw from it altogether is that I now have relationships with family and friends far away that I don't hear about otherwise.  It also allows me to keep in touch with people that I don't see regularly where I am. My pastor made a comment about communication and the internet and how it was supposed to improve communication, but it often leads to more frustration--that you can't get ahold of everyone right away or that you have to cal...