love to paint

A friend of mine called on Wednesday and asked me how our school year had ended.  I told her then that we had just started back the day before.  Sort of.   We start back with math and finish up the Explode the Code book they were working on at the end of the year.  But, it's just one math lesson a day instead of 2 like they normally do during the school year.  Starting this way takes a little pressure off the rest of our year.  I also noticed that the kids and I both needed a little more structure.  One full month of playing was enough for them.   So, we've begun. This year is a little different.  Eli starts kindergarten, Sami's in 2nd, and Autumn's in 5th.  Usually my room is already to go before the other year ends.  Not so this year!  We started Tuesday with my room in chaos.  Still we pulled out math and just did math.  I have a lot of work to do this week.  Notebooks to get in order. New materials to o...

Common Grace is the idea that there is a measure of grace extended to everyone--common to all.  Wikipedia defines it this way:    " It is “common” because its benefits are experienced by, or intended for, the whole human race without distinction between one person and another. It is "grace" because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God. In this sense, it is distinguished from the Calvinistic understanding of "special" or "saving" grace, which extends only to those whom God has chosen to redeem." Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_grace Last fall, a friend of my husband's recommended that he read Abraham Kuyper's book on Common Grace.  So, I was excited to come across a new translation from Christian's Library Press titled Wisdom and Wonder: Common Grace in Science and Art .  Kuyper's book  De Gemene Gratie was actually a large three volume work.  There aren't any full translations of Kuyper's book in...

Three seemingly random thoughts... 1)  My middle daughter loves to read Revelation.  Revelation?  Really?  Yes, really.  I'm not exactly sure why, but it may have something to do with how much she loves the Chronicles of Narnia, if I were to wager a guess.   2)  A friend of mine told me that her mom's pastor doesn't believe in Hell and preaches that if you are a good person, you'll go to heaven.  My friend was concerned about new believers who hear this message. 3)  A few years ago, Rob Bell wrote Love Wins created quite a stir by proclaiming that God would not send people to hell, or at least only a very few.  He proclaimed that a loving God would not send people to Hell.  What he actually believes is difficult to pinpoint, because he is known for making unclear and evasive statements. Three thoughts that all link together because of a common thread--hell and death.  Is there really a hell?  What does it look like...

Last year, I read a Christian Fiction book that I really enjoyed, A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano.  It was a melodrama, which is apropriate--I think--for historical fiction.  Why I liked it was that it was funny.  There were a few scenes that genuinely made me laugh.  I have found this to be rare in Christian fiction.  Because of this, I looked forward to reading the second book in the series.   The second book is titled A Most Peculiar Circumstance .  This story focuses on Miss Arabella Beckett, the sister in law of the main character from A Change of Fortune, Eliza.  She is in trouble at the beginning of the story and Mr. Theodore Wilder rescues her and returns her to her family.  The remainder of the story focuses on the chemistry between these two characters and threats to Miss Beckett's safety.   The verdict? The writing is fine.  It isn't unusually good, but it's fine.  I didn't laugh the way I had hoped I mig...

This past week my husband and I went to a Christian camp full of junior high kids.  Our kids went along with us.  We split the counseling duties.  I went to everything in the mornings and my husband went in the afternoon / evenings.  There were a lot of interesting things that I noticed and thought about, but one of them was the constant presence of the internet and cell phones--even at a Christian retreat.  I didn't expect this, because our kids had been asked to not bring anything electronic and I didn't see them using anything at any of the meetings or carrying any phones.  But, the two college counselors did have their phones and we did too, in case we needed to find each other or get a message to each other. At one point in the week, I thought about my summers that I spent on staff at Quaker Meadow Camp in the Sequoia National Forest in my 20s.  There was a phone in the staff lounge, but people didn't have cell phones back then.  We still u...