love to paint

Yesterday, I went to the funeral of a woman who mentored me for 3 years, until she was diagnosed with alzheimer's.  At that point, she was told that she had 3 more years before it would get bad.  That didn't turn out to be the case.  Within 2 months she was living in a nursing home in an alzheimer's unit. I remember something she said to me shortly after she was there.  She looked at me tearfully and expressed that she was concerned about what she would say to people when she got to the point where she didn't know what she was saying.  She loved people deeply with the love of Christ.  I reassured her that God knew her fear and that what was in her heart--love--would come out. As I listened to the pastor speak at her funeral, I pondered the song on my heart. What Wondrous Love Is This What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul! What wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this That caused the Lord of bliss To bear the dreadfu...

I am A rambling, Babbling brook Bubbling over bumps Jumping into the air And coming back down Seemingly disconnected Yet always connected By a thin stream Of water Settling into small pools For a moment Quiet If too                L  o  n  g Stagnancy comes. Looking for a way out Finding one-- Moving again. Off and Rambling again.

Yesterday, a friend of mine asked me a question at church.  She had been given a pamphlet published by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America denomination.  She asked me if I knew anything about the church. She and I both had assumed it was just one church.  It's actually not, it's a denomination.  A century ago it was larger than the PC(USA) denomination actually.  So, I started to try and figure out what they believed. It might seem strange that I would do this, but I've discovered over the past few years that it matters who publishes a book--especially it is the publisher from a denomination.  What the denomination believes shapes what they will publish.  Many denominations take a very liberal view of scripture and that's going to be reflected in how the authors they publish interpret scripture--whether they take the whole Word to be the inerrant Word of God, whether they believe that the Truth can be found solely in God's Word or also in ...

Last spring, I wrote about my decision to switch to a new writing program.  I am so thankful I did.  I had been using The Well Trained Mind's Writing With Ease Program with my oldest daughter for 1st and 2nd grades.  Writing wasn't fun for her then and there was no component of creative writing--which is her natural bent.  So, I decided to switch.  Originally, I had planned to use a combination of different Evan Moor books.  There are 3 basic types of writing--creative, expository, and poetry.  So, I'd picked different Evan Moor books for each one.  Then, I ran into a snag.  Several used book sellers on Amazon sent me the older versions which didn't have what I needed in them and it turned it a huge mess trying to return them.  So, it sent me questioning.   Was this the right path for the girls and me?  I pondered for a week or two and then came back to the writing program I use with my kids for kindergarten "The Writing Spo...

I am a stay at home home (SAHM).  My husband is able to do the job he does and work hard at it because I hold down the home front.  That is my goal--to be the best wife and mom that I can be.  Every day I work very hard.  I may not get paid for my work monetarily, but that makes it of no less value.   Hilary Rosen's comments about Ann Romney this week grieve me deeply.  They are just another sign that our culture does not value women who want to stay home and raise their families.  About 9 or 10 years ago, I read a book called Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy.  One of the chapters of her book addresses the costs of working.  At the time I calculated the cost for me to go back to work.  I would have to make $48,000 gross just to break even.  I calculated it again a few weeks ago and that number has risen to $56,000.  Wow!  That's really all I can say.  That is a lot of money.  Now, my husband and I have adjusted our...

If you haven't seen it, there are 2 movies that I think are definitely worth watching.   To Save a Life and The Grace Card are two recent Christian films now on DVD.  Of course, they're a bit cheesy at times, but both are good, I think.   To Save a Life hits home for me because there's a scene in which a pastor considers expelling a student from the group because of something that happens.  The pastors of a Christian School I know of did make the decision that the pastor in the story considers.  My friend who was a part of this church had great concern about this as she watched it happen.  So, it was interesting to see this same issue come up in the movie.  I'm sorry I can't say more, but I don't want to give away any of the plot.   The Grace Card is a good discussion of racism and stereotypes.  I would take the ideas from this movie, though, and say that they apply to all races.  Again I think this movie is a good watch for adul...

I wrote this letter last night to a friend and though I know this may seem odd, I want to post it here (edited a little) Hello there, I have been meaning to write you this letter for several weeks now.   I think it was about a month and a half ago when you visited our home for small group.  Just before you left, I blurted out several thoughts to you about my experience as an urban teacher—the things and hurts that I’ve been struggling with since I quit teaching in public schools several years ago.  It came up again a few weeks later amidst a conversation with a friend.  I realized that there were a lot of issues in my heart that needed to get sorted out between me and the Lord.  I was very hurt by several of my students while I taught middle school. And then of course God stepped in—mercifully.  That is why I’ve wanted to write to you.  When we moved to our new home, God blessed me with new neighbors to get to know.  One of them across the...

There are a lot of books that I review only on Amazon.  Sometimes if I love the book, I'll post the review here too.  And sometimes if I read a book that particularly concerns me, then I post it here too.  Recently, I read a book, The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng , that falls in that latter category. I've been pondering what to write about this book since I read it a week and a half ago. It is  definitely "realistic" fiction. I suspect many girls will like this book, but I haven't been able to get my daughter to pick it up and read it. There are some books that I require her to read since we homeschool, but this isn't going to be one of those books. When we read books, we read them for a lot of reasons. Gladys Hunt says that reading books helps children learn to savor life. It helps them notice what is "seen, heard, and experienced" (Honey for a Child's Heart p. 21) Books help give children a sense of security (p.22 from the same book) t...

Sometimes I read a story and there are parts that I love and parts that I don't.  I see potential, but it's unfulfilled.  That's the case with a book I read this week.  Dan Walsh is an author who has published 4 or 5 books in the past 3 years.  I really enjoyed his first two books, but I think he might have gone a little fast in writing this last one.   The book is The Discovery .  It has a story within a story.  The beginning of the story finds Michael and his wife Jenn going to the reading of his grandfather's will.  The story begins with the first 50 or so pages basically about Michael settling into his new house (his grandfather's old house) and buying everything he and his wife want.  Please forgive the cynical description of it, but that was what stood out to me more than anything else in the first section.  Except there is a twist.  Michael's sister wants to know who her grandfather and grandmother were.  There's no w...

I don't have a kindle and I'm not planning on getting one, but lots of my friends have them, so this note is for them.  I previewed a book online that I am planning on purchasing.  I noticed that the kindle version is free for Amazon Prime members.  The books title is Uncommon Beauty: 7 Qualities of a Beautiful Woman by Cynthia Heald.  I have been deeply encouraged by Ms. Heald's Bible studies.  I haven't read this book, but I did read a portion online and enjoyed it.  

I remember when the first book of the Buddy Files series came out.  I loved it.  This series is great for kids transitioning to chapter books without pictures.  The language is easy to read and understand.  There are a few pictures, but not very many. It's a great step to help build a child's reading comprehension.  My daughter Autumn, who is now 8, has read the other books in this series and so we were excited when we found the newest one, The Case of the School Ghost at the library.  My second daughter, who is 6, started reading it aloud to me and then I noticed something that I wasn't comfortable with.  So, I went back and read through the whole book. This morning Autumn and I discussed my concerns and and hers.  She recognized and felt it wasn't good for the children to lie to Connor's mom about where they'd been.  She also felt it was wrong for them to disobey the directions of the adults at the school when they were there for a sleep...