love to paint

Two months ago, I read a post that a page I followed had linked to on Facebook.  I was curious, so I went to the article and read it on the site Gentle Reformation (www.gentlereformation.com.  The title of the post was "A Letter to the Inactive Member".  As I read even the first paragraph, my heart became unsettled.  Something was implied in the first paragraph that was a slight twisting on Scripture.  It wasn't directly stated, but it was there, so I read on to see what the author would say as he wrote on. What the author, Kyle Borg, implied in the first paragraph of what he wrote was a particular interpretation of the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Luke 15.  I felt he implied that when the shepherd has to go after the lost sheep that the lost sheep is negligent because he/she is causing the shepherd to neglect the other ninety-nine--and that is irresponsible and unfair to the shepherd and the other ninety-nine sheep. These are his words as to why i...

My girls have both entered their teenage years.  Yet, they are so different from each other.  In conversations with each of them this past week, I became aware of moments when I frustrated them.  And I was reminded of something that my husband warned me about a while ago.  He advised me to tread carefully with them even when I have strong opinions because I need to protect and preserve my relationships with them so that they might here me when I need them to--and when I want them to. Last week, my oldest daughter and I went to a college fair.  Those kind of things are fascinating to me and aren't intimidating at all.  My daughter on the other hand, was a bit overwhelmed.  But, I plowed on ahead.  I learned some information that I needed to know to help me select her courses for high school that I hadn't known before--even though I had already done a lot of research already.  The most helpful part of the night for my daughter was a table we ...

A few weeks ago, I was listening to a mom telling me that she was in a place where she was really enjoying homeschooling and feeling good about being a mom.  She was in one of those places I've been before--savoring a moment of peace and contentment that you're doing what God wants you to and that things are working!  I remember the first time I had that feeling.  I think it was after the end of my oldest daughter's second grade year.  The feeling lasted for a month or so. Since then, I've had times when I've felt that peace about parenting and school.  Sometimes that peace lasted minutes, sometimes hours, days, weeks, or months.  But, I have learned that it comes and goes.  Having it is a blessing--a time of rest.  When it is absent though, I have learned that it doesn't mean things are wrong, instead, it usually means one of two things for me... 1.  It's time to step back and evaluate.  What's working, what's not.  and 2.  ...

When I was student teaching in first grade over fifteen years ago, I remember being in awe of how a child learns to read.  I felt this enormous amazement at how a child's brain connects symbols to sounds, sounds together to make words, and then words together to make sentences and to make meaning!  In the school where I student taught, there was no set curriculum.  Teachers always wrote their own.  Fast forward to when my oldest daughter was 4.  It was time to start teaching the letters!  And then we'd be on to reading. I wasn't sure how to teach the letters and their sounds.  I couldn't find a curriculum with my oldest daughter that would teach me how.  So, my oldest daughter, at age 4, and my middle daughter, at age 2, learned their letters and sounds by watching Leapfrog's Letter Factory DVD.  Then, they both went through the Explode the Code books A, B, and C.  These books are wonderful!  They focus on developing a child's vis...

Just a few posts ago, I wrote a review of the book Troubled Waters by Susan May Warren.  And it's already time to write a review of the next book in the series!  Storm Front is the next installation in the series.  So many Christian fiction series only have three books in them.  So, when I read the third book in this series I expected it to end--but it didn't!  Now, the series is up to book #5 and it's clear that this isn't the last book in that series.  One more book will be published this coming November. Storm Front tells the story of another search and rescue team member, Ty, and the woman who has captured his interest, Brette Arnold.  It hasn't been smooth sailing and both have troubled pasts.  Their paths cross after a tornado hits a town where another member of the search and rescue team was performing in a music concert.  This story tells the tale of their search for missing people after the storm has past.  This book mo...

I'm a little behind in my book reviews.  A lot has been going on in my house.  House projects, homeschooling, sports, and the like.  Amidst all of that, I've read a few books that I need to write a few quick posts about... so here goes! The first book in my stack is Bountiful Blessings:  A Creative Devotional Experience by Susie Larson.  Several years ago, I read a book by Ms. Larson that I loved--Growing Grateful Kids.  So, I was very curious about this devotional. This book is a very short.  For each day, there is a Bible verse, a short blessing/prayer based on that verse(s) and a 5' x 7' coloring page.  I'm not quite sure what I think of this devotional.  If it's what you're looking for, then it's okay.  But, the question is what are you looking for?  What am I looking for?  This isn't what I'm looking for.  The coloring pages take time.  I don't have a lot of time.   And I wasn't always comfort...

I enjoy getting into a book series and looking forward to the next one!  There have been several series I've enjoyed over the years, but right now there's a Christian fiction author that I enjoy reading.  It's Susan May Warren.  Her books are the typical Christian fiction and I've wondered why I like them more than others... I think it is because the first series I read by her looked at a family of five kids and how their relationships changed as they became adults.  God helped me consider what that looked like.  My husband is the oldest of six kids.  Over the course of our marriage they have all become adults.  We read books because they help us to make sense of our own lives--as Leland Ryken says.  I find that amidst the stress of life I can't handle heavy books filled with drama, but I can read light Christian Fiction.  In the latest series from Susan May Warren, she writes about a group of rescue workers in Montana.  The last i...

I have come to the conclusion that people often do not realize how harshly they speak and how long their correction stays with people or how it damages relationships. I think we really need to think long and hard before we speak to someone in an effort "to correct what we think is wrong in someone else". Matthew 7:3-5 Here's an interesting and different take on speaking the truth in love... see article HERE According to Tony Reinke, that verse actually applies to speaking the Gospel truth into someone's life--not correcting minor flaws you might perceive in someone else. It's easy to want to correct someone in how they are treating you, but is that loving? Is it necessary (unless it is abusive or manipulative--in which case it definitely is)? I have observed that it is easy to want to control how people treat us when we feel out of control in our own lives (or grew up feeling out of control in our childhoods) and tell people how to treat you, but I do...