love to paint

Deep Breath.  It's been quite a week. On Monday morning, I instituted a new schedule with my kids.  I know my weaknesses and one of them this year has been pushing back our start time. I have other things I want to reflect on about our new schedule, but I think need to post these links before I forget... I love my middle daughter dearly.  She is very unique.  She has her strengths and weaknesses.  My kids and I were very clear with me today that they know mine and theirs ;)  Anyways, I saw an area this week that I need to work on with her--her imagination.  I love the way God helps me see what my kids need as I'm schooling them. So, I'm instituting an Imagination Exercise Schedule as part of our devotions/read aloud time starting on Monday... Here it goes: Monday          Story Starter           I will start the story with a few sentences and each child will take a turn adding at least one...

In light of all the reflection and sorting through the Lord has taken me through over the past few days, the world looks a little different.  There is a peace in my heart that I know is there.  I've always been a very competitive person and I've fought against the negative ramifications of that part of my personality.  But, last night as I sat with a group of women who I greatly enjoy doodling and doing zentangles with our daughters, I was singularly struck by the drawings of the other women and how they were all great.  It came so naturally to all of them and I admired them all.  I wasn't concerned in any corner of my heart with comparing my own to theirs.  There was a pure enjoyment of simply doodling.  Mine didn't need to be better than theirs.  For a competitive person, that's a huge thing to say.  I have peace about just being me. Because of the weaknesses I've seen in my character that have stemmed from my competitive spirit, I found ...

In my first post, I explained the passages that I cling to that tell me "who" a Christian is.  This post is about "how" Christians should live and the ramifications of teaching and encouragement I've received as well as what I've found in God's Word.   I have found that when you are a Christian there are many sermons, books, teachers, and even friends and family who want to tell us how we "should" live.     With so many messages pouring in, it is easy to get overwhelmed and find one's self with a twisted idea of how we are to live and why.  Christians can end up with a very long and heavy list of "shoulds" that weigh them down.  For years, I've loved this passage from Ecclesiastes 3:13, but couldn't fully articulate the rest of my "why" it's okay for Christians to enjoy life and things in this world.   The Amish emulate the idea of living a pure life by cutting out the things of this world because they be...

Every once in a while, I come across a movie that I really enjoy watching.  There have been a few this past year that I've enjoyed...  here's my short list. Death at Pemberley (PBS Masterpiece Theater):  PD James murder mystery continuation of Pride and Prejudice.  I wish these actors had done Pride and Prejudice.  It would have been wonderful.  But, I enjoyed this new story PD James wrote when she was 89 years old! The Giver:  of course there's some changes from the book, but the acting is well done, nothing concerning, and I enjoyed it.  The Giver is one of my favorite books. The Hundred Food Journey:  What a fun surprise!  I enjoyed this movie and would watch it again. Last Love:  Michael Caine surprised me in this very slow moving story.  But, there was something about it that I really enjoyed.  

A few years ago, Jen Turano wrote A Change of Fortune .  It was a fun, humorous read that made me laugh outloud.  I enjoyed the other stories in that series that Ms. Turano wrote, but not nearly as much as the first.  The humor was not as potent in the sequels. BUT, in the first book of Ms. Turano's new melodramatic series, the humor has returned!   After a Fashion is the first book (I suspect) in a new series about three friends.  I laughed as I began this book.  It is a melodrama, but a fun one.  Harriet Peabody, the main character, made me smile.  I appreciated her integrity and spunk.  She was admirable, but flawed.  But, first, I'll back up a moment. After a Fashion is a historical Christian romance set in the 1800s (a similar setting to Ms. Turano's first series).  The story begins with Harriet Peabody, a hat maker being assigned the troublesome task of delivering  some hats to a Miss Bellingham, a difficult and ...