Friday, August 31, 2007

Our Baby 4?





Why in the world would we have more???????

Read more about that here.

We know any and every new challenge will be met with provision.

And we still believe "Children are the greatest blessings we could ever have!"


From Saturday, August 11

While I was taking a shower today, I asked Riah to look on the bathroom counter and read the little thing that was sitting next to the sink.

She said it has a

P and a R and a E and a G and a N and a A and a N and a T!

I smiled and said, okay thank you sweetie
J

When I got out of the shower, Dad came in a few minutes later and I confirmed the news with him! (He already had an idea that I was though).

Now it's time for protein protein protein, to boost that good ol' energy. And of course a change in mindset again to prepare for all that it will require from here on out.

Like Voddie, in relation to the Multi-Generational view, we want to raise, train, disciple, and launch as many children as possible.

Here is a list of more posts that we've listed about Voddie. It's just a change of perspective of society and the kingdom.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Voddie Baucham Sermons

Here's a blog that has a whole list of more messages by Dr. Baucham.

Click here.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Who Are You Gon' Listen To?

I wrote this back in April (the 5th to be exact) had it saved as a draft, and forgot to publish it. I need it on my front page, today more than ever. Because today is cleaning day!

So, today I'm taking a moment to read some blogs and get some comfort and wisdom from some of the many bloggin' ladies on the net and I stumble across one of the homeschool bloggin' moms I admire. Nothin' like my own mom though, much love to her. Okay I had to get that out.

This homeschool mom is Kim Brenneman, and the title of the Blog Post I read today is Chaos, Squalor, Filth. I titled this post "Who Are You Gon' Listen To?" because this post changed my way of thinking in a lot of ways, and it was worded the way I needed to hear it today.

If you have a moment click on this link and see the full picture of what Kim is saying but in case you don't - in a nutshell, she talks about the importance of cleaning daily, teaching your children about cleaning, and not using the excuse of having multiple children (or the excuse of homeschooling) as an excuse to waiver in that area. By the way, if you're reading this and you have a housekeeper or you never have challenges in this area -- bless you.....

I do understand that there are times when there will be temporary seasons where a mom may not able to keep everything 'spic', such as illness, having a new baby, etc. But there are not many other reasons that give you that license.

I remember my mom telling me after I had my first little mama, that 'you just have to do what you have to do'. I was looking for an excuse to have some pitty because of my new adjustment to motherhood plus household management.

Well in the season I'm currently in, I've read blogs and heard stories of other moms who have multiple children who are respectable ladies and are doing very well in what they do as mothers and in the midst of that I've "heard" them allude to the fact that their homes are not always in order. Well during my seasons here and there when my home is not in order, I've quickly gone to those examples or to other examples that give me a bit of comfort. Comfort in knowing that it happens to many mothers, nobody's perfect, sometimes it just gets like that, company understands - they're family. It was a rough week. It's not the norm for me but in some of my weak moments, I've gone to those voices (from others or in my head) that gave me a license to relax.

Not after today. As long as I'm in my right mind and leaning on the strength of the Holy Spirit, I will not listen to those voices. Kim's post put a hurt on me! And it challenged me to rethink the way I clean and the frequency that I clean and the overall attitude about those two things. To not think about a cleaning day, but doing major cleaning daily. It turned me to the voice of the Lord regarding the whole thing. I've had friends who I admire who are very dilligent about deep cleaning and dusting daily and the whole nine yards but I'm going to pull out my "youngest child card" there and admit that I got away with quite a bit growing up and I have to work hard to get out of that mind set! LOL

So when I'm feeling tired and lazy, Who Am I Gon' Listen To? Whether it's making a choice about not cleaning to the full extent, eating bad, lying, deceiving, talking back to Jeoff, taking out my anger on my child, being dishonest in my work environment, speeding, overspending, or what ever it is.......... what voice am I going to listen to?

I pray for the strength and discipline to listen to the voice of God regarding the matter. And not the voice of comfort that tells me things like:

  • oh it's okay, other mothers go through it, I'm too tired to put all those clothes away AND get dishes in the dishwasher AND clean out the tubs AND sweep the floor AND clean all the tubs AND vaccuum the floorsAND take out the trash:

  • I can't eat healthy ALL THE TIME!

  • I'm mad at him, he deserves being talked to like that

  • I'm stressed, my kid just needs to understand

  • I only left 10 minutes early, it's okay to report 8 hours

  • I'm only going 10 miles over the speed limit

  • I needed that new dress anyway!

Les, don't listen to the voice that makes you comfortable..... Take the challenge, be the grown up here! Endure it!!! It will be worth it.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Chaos, Squalor, Filth by Kim Brenneman

I can no longer get to that link but thankfully I had pasted it in an email before.

It was originally posted at LargeFamilyLogistics.net by Kim Brenneman.

Here's an email I sent to my friends about this post.....

From: Leslie Thompson
To: momsfriendshipcircle
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 2:19 PM
Subject: Tough love about decluttering your house....
Crazy tough love, but GOOD. From http://www.largefamilylogistics.net/.

Sit back and take a moment to read this..... (some may not need it but I bet a few can use at least a bit of what she's saying...i can fo-sheezy)

Chaos, Squalor, Filth
Beyond Survival Series #8
Kim Brenneman

Warning: tough-love ahead, it might make you angry - if so, come back and read it again tomorrow and then again the next day until you can read it without being angry and without excuses.

It has come to my attention through various sources that there are many large homeschooling families living in chaos. These homes have clutter, they children don't have Afternoon Chore Time, the family rarely has a regular Cleaning Day, and the children are not required to do chores. In fact the mom herself isn't doing regular chores.

Ummmmm, I don't get it. Isn't this asking for a visit from DHS? I believe it falls under "neglect". Living in a pig sty is unacceptable. This is the opposite of being a woman of God. Go read Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 again.Maybe you don't see what your home really looks like? Take a glance around right now. Is it a slight mess that will take ten minutes to clear? Did it get dusted and vacuumed recently? This is normal life. Surprise visitors don't typically notice or care about this type of clutter. Their home looks the same. They are here to visit with you and your family.

Slightly worse but not horrendous yet is if the room you are in requires an hour of tidying before you can get to cleaning it but it has been cleaned in the last month. This is getting worse and hopefully it is only in the room you are currently in and doesn't apply to the whole house. You need to get your Maintenance Plan working. Your surprise visitor might raise an eyebrow privately but will understand because they are here to visit you and your family and after all they have had times in life when they haven't been exactly on top of things.

My eyes have recently been opened to a true worst case scenario scene. Does this describe your home? In order to get your home tidy, do you need an empty dumpster or two for the trash that litters your floor, at least ten large boxes from each room for clutter to take to the Goodwill Store, a week long session for simply cleaning one level of your home (not including windows that haven't been cleaned since you moved into the home), and three trips to the laundry mat to catch up?

This is not good at all. If you have a lot of clutter your home will never be clean. Clutter is hiding dirt; you can clean for days but your home won't be clean or look clean until you rid it of clutter. Your home is dirty underneath and around the clutter. You might not see clutter but others do. Your family and guests need to be able to walk in the door. Yes, walk in the door withou pushing clutter with it. They need to be able to walk in your home without tripping (knee high piles of clutter need to be purged). Guests should not be greeted by some sort of foreign unpleasant odor (do you know what your home smells like?). People should be able to sit down on a chair.

Chairs are not clutter holders. The chair should not have a dust cloud rising when sat upon. If a guest needs to use your rest room it must not be frightening to them. It should be clean and the appropriate bathroom things handy (toilet paper, hand towel). Get the dirty clutter out of your bathroom including the decaying magazines and books. Do you have piles of recycling? Either get a system and use it or don't recycle, your family and guests don't want to see it spread about your house. That's not recycling or saving pop can money, it is trash collecting and it shouldn't be going on in your home if you can't manage a system for it.

When you greet guests or when your husband and family walk in the door, give them a welcoming picture of loveliness and your clutter is not lovely. You might know where your stuff is in all that clutter but what does it look like?! If you know where your specific clutter is your brain is filled with clutter keeping and not more important things. Your home management should not require that kind of brain power. Maybe you think it's clean but in reality it is not. When you clean and organize it must not just look better than when you started.

That would fall under "lick and a promise" or "a half-way job" or "a slacker job". If this is you, read on please and start praying for help. Remember Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Pray for eyes to see what your home really looks like. You can dig out. God will help you. Pray for wisdom and pray without ceasing.I will say that there are extra clean years when we get our homes clean and have time for beautiful decorating projects and there are years when our cleanliness standards are lowered because of a tired pregnant mama, not enough help, or illness in the family. BUT living in regular squalor is unacceptable. When a dirty messy home happens it should be a very temporary situation.

The first items on the daily agenda towards recovery should be Kitchen, Bathrooms, and Floors. Those are important for the safety of your family. Not only to fend off your neighbors anonymous call to DHS about your children living in filth but because filth invites bugs, rodents, mold, allergies, and disease. And by not teaching your children to be clean and tidy you are in essence teaching them to live like pigs. What kind of life preparation is that? "Go forth and live like pigs!" I don't think so, ladies. Leave the dirty chaos behind with the old man. Renew your mind, your goal as a Christian woman is to live Noble and Beautiful lives.I know you don't feel good. I myself have been ill along with my family, I feel at about 50% right now, but doing a little bit of work at a time will add up and soon your home will be clean. Then you must keep it clean.

You must have a maintenance plan. We call ours Afternoon Chore Time. Sometimes our Afternoon Chore Time is in the morning. And sometimes it happens after supper. The important thing is that chore time happens daily.If you have only little children, require them to help you and make it fun! This is teaching them to enjoy work and appreciate cleanliness while they are little. You do not want big kids who have learned a lazy work ethic; this will be hard to cure.

If it's too late and you have big kids who are lazy I think the best thing to do is to read Proverbs to them and require them to read it aloud to the family. Do this at meal times. Pray for wisdom and creativity in teaching them. Be an encourager and set an example. Start cleaning and keeping things clean. TEach them what clean looks like. When someone violates a clean area call him on it and require him to restore that area.

If you are living in squalor you must make changes. No more excuses. If you're ill or exhausted just do a little bit at a time and take a rest between each task but pray for strength and keep moving forward.

Start here with this list, do one new thing, go slow and get good at that one thing, then add another.

1. Assign a day of the week as the Cleaning Day. On this day, the goal is to get every room of the house dusted and vacuumed.

2. Assign an hour of the day for Daily Chores and require your children to do chores with you no matter how old they are. Little children can put trash in a bag, "wash dishes" with you, and wipe things with a wet rag. If you have a large family, I know for a fact that your family makes a tremendous mess every day. Chores that some families do on a weekly basis your family will need to do DAILY. Did you catch that? I said daily. This might be part of your problem. You might be thinking weekly when you need to be thinking daily. That means clean the bathroom daily. Sweep the kitchen and under your dining table daily. It might mean vacuuming a certain room daily or cleaning your well-used stove daily. Of course dishes should be washed daily no matter if you are a one person family or 16. If you are in dire straights, switch to paper and plastic for a season and throw it away. It's less expensive than a cleaning service.

3. Establish Table Chores for your family. It is unsanitary to leave food out, have piles of dirty dishes, to put your baby in a dirty high chair, and have a kitchen floor that would keep a small animal well fed. Give each person a chore to do after every meal.

4. Declutter regularly if not daily. I do it all the time. We declutter when we do the laundry. Some goes in the trash, some goes in the box for the second hand store. We declutter every week when we clean a room. We have a box for items we don’t need or want in our home and when it’s full, it goes to the van for our next trip to town.

This is how you maintain against the clutter collection. If you need a serious declutter and organize then pick a room and go through it with tough-love. Make rules and post them, have your child who is learning to read recite it to you while you do the work. You will need the reminders. Teach these rules to all of your children.Is it useful? Needed currently? Loved? Beautiful? Promote your family values? Do you have more of this item than necessary? Is it taking up needed space? Do other people need this item more than your family? Does it create problems in your home?Is it a dust collector?Do you hate to clean it or around it?Does your husband hate it?Is your excuse for living in squalor "I'm too busy homeschooling. Either I can homeschool or keep my house clean, I can't do both."

This is a myth. And it's BUSTED.There are plenty of homeschooling families that teach their children, keep a clean home, and practice hospitality. Homeschooling is not an excuse for an unkept home and I never want to hear it again. Homeschooling is messy but teaching your children to clean up a mess and keep their things tidy is part of their education! Let me say it again, teaching your children to clean after themselves, to keep their things tidy, that everything has a place and everything should be in its place, and to regularly do physical work such as pushing a vacuum, mopping a floor, or cleaning a toilet is homeschooling. It is education.

What good is raising brainiac children who don't know how to work? They might know a lot of things, they might know how to teach themselves, but do they know how to DO? Can they know something and then go do it? If not, your homeschooling is for naught. They will not be employable, or able to succeed at a job without an attitude of initiative. They will certainly not have the get-up-and-go to be an entrepreneur. They will personally live like the pig they grew up as and won't be able to have a hospitable home. Your daughters will struggle with home management, hospitality, and serving the church. They will be book-smart but useless.

This is what the education establishment generally produces without the effort of foresighted and involved parents. Homeschoolers must not follow that same pattern. Homeschooling is not school at home. Homeschooling is teaching how to live as a Christian. (Deut. 6:5 and Mark 12:29) Moms, you must teach your children to work and it starts in the home when they are small. God does not mean for His homeschooled families to live in squalor with that lame excuse. That is lazy, defeatist thinking. Christianity is not a selfish religion. It is other-oriented. It is about serving others and ministering to needs. Raising super-smart children who live with their nose in a book is not raising them to practice Chrisitianity. Maybe they are filled with theology but do they know how to live it? It starts with serving each other in the home, then serving the church through hospitality, follow that up with serving others in your local community.

Is your family doing these things? Or are you too busy schooling them that when you see new neighbors move in you and the children just watch out the window for a bit of distraction in your day. There are lots of books, seminars, and organizing professionals to help you declutter and clean. There are books that will tell you why you collect clutter and how to let go of it. Have a friend or sister over to help and do one room at a time, but get the clutter out. Give it away. There are lots of needy people in your community who would be glad for your clutter. Let go of it, you don't need it in your house.

Collecting clutter is selfish. Do you have knick knacks that create cleaning work for your family? Get rid of them. Dirty knick knacks are ugly and don't glorify God at all. When we're going to add a new baby at our house that is one of my prepartory things, I go around with a box and fill it with any decorations that are going to create more work. A baby year is not a year for decorating. There will be time for that later when you have time to manage the decor. You feel guilty when you look at dirty knick-knacks, your family doesn't want to see them or clean them, the dirt embarrasses your husband, and your guests try really hard to look beyond them because they want to love you. Let it go. Give it away.Books: If you're not mad at me yet for harsh words, you will be soon. I know that homeschoolers love love love books. We also tend to collect curriculum.

If certain program doesn't work for one child, maybe it will work for another one in the line up. Sound familiar? And soon it stacks up, overflows our bookshelves and cupboards. Children don't put things back and it stacks up. Hmmmm, how do I know this? You ought to see our library right now. No, I am not the perfect person and my family is not the perfect family. I have had to learn to let go of things I might need someday. My husband has been very helpful.

For every thing that comes into our house, he wants that equal amount to go out. It's a good rule to practice. He's a wise man. Another thing he tells me is this, "Somebody is going to wake up tomorrow morning and make _____ all day long. Then somebody is going to sell that in their store and you can go buy it if you ever need it again. In fact, it will probably be an improved version." Ladies, this also applies to curriculum. You do not need to horde it. Give it to a needy person in your homeschool group. Sell it. But don't stash it in a stack. You won't remember that you had it and if you do, you won't remember where you stashed it.

There are homeschool parents writing new and better curriculum for all subjects all the time. Give your stacks of unused stuff away. When someone gives you their curriculum, be selective and take only what you will use immediately and then give it away.

Here is a plan to help stop the book and curriculum madness.

1. Go on a buying hiatus until you have purged your stacks, shelves, and cupboards and have only what are positive you will use.

2. If you have more books than shelves, don't buy another book until you have bought shelves for what you own. Figure out how much you spend a month on books and apply that towards shelves. Build them yourself with your children - it's callled shop class. Shop garage sales and second hand stores. Visit furnitures stores and find out when they hold sales. Just stop the book buying and focus on shelving.

3. Before you buy any new curriculum call your homeschool mentors and ask them what they know about it. Pray about it. Talk to your husband about it. Wait, don't buy impulsively. It will still be there tomorrow. Your child has survived this long without it, he can wait one more day or week. This is good stewardship and home management.

4. Organize your books by type and put a label on the spine to identify where in your libray the book should belong. (This is a project really high on my To Do List)

All in all, get your priorities right. As a daughter of your Heavenly Father, sister in the priesthood of believers, having the Holy Spirit as your counselor, home keeper, wife to the man God gave you, mother to blessings from God, being called to serve Christ through hospitality (Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9; Hebrews 13:1,2; 1 Timothy 5:10), and making your home a shining light on a hill with its foundation built on a the solid rock of Christ, you have to get your act together and serve others (starting with your own family) with your home to the glory of God.

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man's chief end is to glorify God,1 and to enjoy him forever

1. 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Romans 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

2. Psalm 73:24-26.

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.John 17:22, 24. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one... Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.Your chief end is not to homeschool your children for the smartest brain possible.

Mom, your duty as home keeper is more than filling your children's heads with knowledge. First of all, you need to love God, glorify Him, and enjoy Him forever. Then you need to call your children to fall in behind you and follow you in that endeavor.

This is quoted from Kim Brenneman at Large Family Logistics. Kim, I hope you don't mind! I posted it because of how very much it has helped me and my sanity!!!!

Monday, August 20, 2007

When Do I Get My Paycheck?

Today was my first official day (weekday) home with everybody and the first day I didn't have to get dressed and drive to work. I still got up early and got dressed and started on what we believe will be our normal routine (after breakfast, we had story time, then the kids went to work on their boxes of hands-on lessons which they do one at a time, etcetera, etcetera).

I made notes (many notes) of what I will have to do differently tomorrow based on the things that did not go well today. I know that will be an ongoing process. Tweaking and changing, and improving.

By mid-afternoon, I was worn out! A mixture of cleaning up, ordering chores and clean-ups to be done, monitoring work, reading books, changing pampers, pouring juice and milk and the monitoring of pouring juice and milk, cleaning out the high chair, rolling out mats, and teaching how to roll out mats, spanking here and there and rewarding obedience here and there, glad when it's time for Sesame Street (their one piece of multi-media entertainment of the day), answering the phone, answering email (which now happens very rarely), kissing boo-boos, whiping noses, checking mannerisms for whether it's time for a potty reminder, cleaning out the high chair again, cleaning under the high chair, wondering what's for dinner, planning what's for dinner, preparing lunch, ordering clean-up after lunch and helping with clean up after lunch, etcetera, etcetera.

I wondered at the end of the day, when I would get a paycheck. And I could add up what I would like it to be.

I actually got something better. No, I'm not going to say something sappy like "kisses and hugs from my children."

No, I got a send off from my husband, to get a Caesar salad I was craving, and have a manicure and pedicure! And mind you, I don't do that very often.

Along with that, I got this text message (in so many words) while I was there:

You deserve the pampered treatment. Especially because of all the times you went out and worked and worked all these years on the job. I'm just glad, that after seven full years, we are finally set up to train and disciple our children on a daily basis. Face to face and not meeting to meeting at the principal's office. Or worried about a teacher who just doesn't love our son or daughter the way we do. It is just such a blessing!!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Last Day at Work

....at least work "outside" the home!!

I've been working in Technology for the last 10 years (most recently with Verizon) and the other three years since college, I taught middle school.

So, today, after a long long time of praying, and waiting, and financial planning, and praying again, and waiting..... I made it to my last day of work!

Yippee!!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Halleluja!!!

I don't have a whole lot of words to say just yet. It's still all just sinking in.

These posts are what I've been writing, regarding what I'll be doing with my time now..

And here's the post about my first day on the new job.

Fun with Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore



More fun with Dick Van Dyke here.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Do We Still Have to Talk?

Oh my goodness. Today I was so upset about something that I won't mention. And we just could not seem to get through clearly to one another ......so we peacefully agreed (yeah right) to go on with get some things done around the house. Since it was important to convey, I later typed out (yeah we do that sometimes) the business details that I was trying to explain. I did that so we wouldn't have to "touch" the emotional part of us. You know, just make it black and white and write it down.... get it over with.

Well, wouldn't you know. I had taken his keys earlier, had them in my purse. When he asked for them, I tried to quickly grab them out of my purse and throw (yes I wanted to throw) them at him. But I couldn't because I didn't find them there.

Major frustration, because now we had to talk again and discuss where the keys might be, and so on. I so did not want to open my mouth and say N E THING!!!

But we Had to Talk!!! I was like "Do We Have to Talk? I would be so happy to continue this silence. It feels so much better!"

Talking of course, ended up being a good thing, because it eventually broke the tension and allowed us to discuss the business matter that desperately needed both our attention.

No deep lesson here, just sharing..... Because I was oh so mad!!!!

Monday, August 13, 2007

My Response is My Responsibility

I love this video! It made me wonder how much I blame my husband for my OWN responses and it helps me change the way I look at it.

Thanks e-Mom for posting this.

Dr. Voddie Baucham at OCBF, Sunday, August 19th


Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church

See some additional information I posted about Voddie Baucham here, regarding views on having more children, the family integrated church concept, the Centrality of the Home, and more.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Mama, what if you hadn't had baby #4?

That's me!!

I write this as a follow up to this previous post about having more children.

You see.... I am baby #4 myself. And I've been asking myself and I ask my mom when this topic comes up, what if you and dad had chosen to stop after baby #3. Where would I be?

I look at Lamby, my youngest, and ask the same thing. I say to myself, I would have never been blessed to see you and to know you, if we had made the decision not to have anymore children. There was really nothing, no sound reason, for not having you and I'm so glad we did.

And I'm so glad my mom, at the same age I am at the present, chose to keep going and have baby #4..... ME!!!

Disclaimer: Adoption IS an option, if there's a reason you're unable to have more biologically!!!! :-)

I say that because of this post.

Click here for an update to this story.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Insignia® 37″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV!!!


5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Giveaway. Go here and find out more!

You have until Friday August 17th, at 12AM to enter!

The giveaway is hosted by Best Buy!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Competitive Birthing


Enough is too much. I just like quoting that from Happy Feet, but I had to include this here.

It's a news report about "Competitive Birthing", where women are competing with other women in the number of children they have and the report speaks of it as a status symbol.

Many of the mothers are working and are paying for the children's education, home care, potty training, and the like. And it even speaks of a $15,000 activity budget!!

Here's a quote from the article and you can click below to hear the news story fron NPR.

The newest status symbol for the nation's most affluent families is fast becoming a big brood of kids.

Historically, the country-club set has had the smallest number of kids. But in the past 10 years, the number of high-end earners who are having three or more kids has shot up nearly 30 percent.

Some say the trend is driven by a generation of over-achieving career women who have quit work and transferred all of their competitive energy to baby making.

They call it "competitive birthing."


Hear the news report here.

To contrast a bad perspective on it, here's a good story! A family who sees children the way we should!

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Congrats to the Duggars!

Congrats to the Duggars on the birth of baby #17!!

What do you call it? Brave? Dumb? Trying to get attention? Whatever we choose to call it....

"Children are a heritage of the Lord"
Psalm 127:3

Here's a quote from the FAQs on their website.

"How do you make a household of 17 people run smoothly? What is a typical day in your lives?

Our #1 goal is to lead our children to seek a close relationship with God & give Him every area of their lives. We purpose to start each day with a family Bible study, reading a chapter of Proverbs that corresponds with the day of the month. We have heart to heart talks with each of the older children regularly. We try to keep up with their attitudes & actions.

We desire for each child to develop a learning spirit & a servant's heart that looks for opportunities to serve others. It is a joy to see our children becoming best friends. If they can learn to treat their brothers and sisters like they want to be treated, then they can learn to get along with just about anyone along life's way.
Our daily routine begins with personal hygiene (get dressed, brush teeth, comb hair, etc...). Each older child has a younger buddy or two that they help. We eat breakfast & read Proverbs at 8:00a.m., then we "quick clean" the house (older child & their buddy work together to clean their jurisdictions).

Throughout the day we try to pickup as we go along, but naturally things tend toward disorder. So, it is a constant training process with "quick clean" times throughout the day. At 9:00a.m., the older children help their buddies with their studies in phonics, math, violin & piano (J-O-Y- Jesus first, Others second, & Yourself last!). Then the older children start their music & individual studies- math, English, spelling & typing.

We break for lunch at 12:00pm. Jill (age 15) prepares lunch & we all help cleanup. After lunch we work to finish individual studies.

Read the rest here and a related post here on my blog, regarding how I feel about children.




What's the deal?

How quickly praise can turn into a complaint!! I had this challenge just the other night, right after the wonderful sweet lunch date!

It was also one of those times where you begin a battle between each of your perspectives, each of your needs, each of your rights!

I know the book answer ... the theological answer ... but it's not an automatic update. LOL

Very frustrating.

These posts I read helped me in my state of frustration though.




Friday, August 03, 2007

National Night Out, Tuesday, August 7, 2007


National Night out is coming up. Are you planning to be involved?




There's a big sign at the end of my street, advertising it, so I guess I better be out there!!




Specific event information in some of the major Texas cities:

Austin
Click Here, Here, and Here

Dallas
Click Here

Houston
Click Here

San Antonio
Click Here and Here

On Having More Children



Baby #3 2006 (AKA Lamby)


When we decided to have another baby after our second child, it was largely because of a seminar we attended by this couple at church. It was at the marriage conference about 3 years ago. The only reason we would have stopped after him, was because of concerns of managing them or having enough money, etc. The things we heard at the conference convinced us to go ahead and have one more. After she was born, we were pretty much in limbo and not sure either way whether to have any more. Then, it was mainly because of all the work involved. But I've seen so many stories of how it actually still works, even in our day and time.

In the last few months, more and more confirmation has been received that leads us to believe that there is no sound reason for not having any more. There are reasons that we could think of like you won't be able to do as much, it will be too much work, you're 35!! :-), you don't have enough money, etc. But none of those reasons stand when we go back to the whole reason for children being born in the world in the first place.

So now we're open to how God leads us and I wanted to let you know. Basically we were in limbo before but now we are not.

Is there a limit? It'll be based on God's wisdom, not mine.

Update: Here's a new followup post to this one. And a second followup here.

Disclaimer: Adoption IS an option, if there's a reason you're unable to have more biologically!!!!

I say that because of this post.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Our homeschool Sa Fer


I created this post, as part of the Homeschool Open house which is being hosted by Less of Me, More of Him, from now until August 15th.



This will be our first year homeschooling, so I'll be sharing here, what we have planned Sa Fer. By the way, I am still working full-time and have just a little over two weeks left there. I have been working full-time for most of our marriage and over the last two years we've made the decision to homeschool. After looking at public school, private school, and Montessori school (where my two oldest went for preschool last year), we settled on Homeschool.

That decision was inspired heavily by our time in CTI (School of Ministry), seminars by the Bluedorns, and of course from a couple of dozens of my friends who now have homeschool families.

While you're here, please take a look at the other posts in this category (Homeschool), as well as the ones to the right. My favorites are Relationship with Christ, *Marriage*, Children, Women, and Ministry.

My very favorite post about homeschool and the best advice I've received so far, can be found, here.

So regarding Homeschool, here's what we look like.

(Oh and also, if you have any tips to share with me, from your experiences, please let me know! Especially tips for multi-aged settings, and tips for the specific curriculum choices I have made)

Description
Our children are ages 5, 3 and 1, and along with us this year will be my 12 year old and 11 year old nieces.

The main curriculum we'll use is My Father's World. I will be getting the Exploring Countries and Cultures package and using that along with some of their Pre-K and Kinder learning toys.

Other items we will include are:
- TATRAS (Teach America to Read and Spell)
- Singapore Math
- Apologia Science
- Logic books (The Thinking Toolbox) from Trivium Pursuit
- Beginning Greek & Latin from Trivium Pursuit
- Right From Wrong for Youth (Josh McDowell)

The older kids will also be attending a co-op at a local church for their Language Arts instruction and for theatre. And one will do volley ball at the private school she attended last year.

Daily Schedule
I'll list them in order, not by time

Morning
- Morning chores
- Breakfast and worship time
- Quick Clean
- Two education segments which will include: memory work, copy work, narration, reading aloud, science and geography projects, etc

Lunchtime
- Quick clean before lunch
- The three (maybe four) older children help prepare and serve lunch
- Clean up after lunch (table and kitchen)

Naptime for the younger children and math for the older ones

After naps
- One more educational segment, as above, then move to the weekly activity for the day

Weekly Schedule
We'll break the days up into the following:
- Library and Cooking Day (prepare 2-3 meals for the week)
- Music and Dance Day (including ballet lessons)
- Communion and Prayer Day (Pray for specific needs for ourselves and for others we know who are in need, this is a longer prayer time than daily prayers)
- Outreach Day: Visit or relatives who are sick/homebound, visit others who are also sick or another type of outreach activity
- Trip day (Field Trips!)

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

The Centrality of the Home, by Voddie Baucham, What is a Family Integrated Church (FIC)?

Dr. Voddie Baucham is someone Jeoff & I have come to admire, and Jeoff heard him speak at a men's conference a few weeks ago.

Among a few subjects that I admire is the concept of the family integrated church, homeschooling, and the parents' role in the home.

Here's a quote from the FIC and below a few links to other information.

What is a Family Integrated Church?
Distinctives of a Family Integrated Church (FIC)
By Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr.

Family Integrated Churches come in all shapes, sizes and varieties. There are FICs in virtually every denominational and theological tradition, and in most sections of the country. While no two FICs are exactly alike, they do have certain distinctives in common

Families Worship Together
If you’ve ever walked into a FIC during a worship service, perhaps the first thing that struck you was the fact that there were so many babies and small children in the service. We have grown accustomed to the presence of children in the service, and the children grow accustomed to being a part of the worship experience. No one will stop you at the door if you try to enter our service with your toddler.
_____________________

No Systematic Age Segregation
One of the biggest distinctions of a FIC is the absence of age-graded ministries. We do not have segregated youth ministry, or children’s ministry. First, these ministries are not part of the biblical church model. The Bible is clear on whose job it is to disciple children... parents. Second, these ministries can work against the biblical mode. Parents who are relieved of their discipleship duties tend to become dependent on those who have taken over the job. Finally, these ministries have failed. We are losing 75-88% of Evangelical teens by the end of their freshman year in college. And as Dr. Alvin Reid has noticed, “The largest rise of youth professionals in history has been accompanied by a decline in youth evangelism effectiveness.”
_____________________

Evangelism/Discipleship Through Homes
We teach parents to evangelize and disciple their children and their neighbors. We emphasize the ministry of hospitality, family worship, catechism, and family discipleship. Thus, instead of placing the burden on paid professionals to “do the work of the ministry,” we equip the saints to do it.
_____________________

Education as a Key Component of Discipleship
Jesus said, “A pupil is not above his teacher, but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Whoever educates a child is discipling that child. We work hard to help parents see the importance of Christian education, and to help them make biblical choices as it relates to this part of their children’s discipleship.

_____________________

The Family Integrated Model
By Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr.

Ministry to Families (D.E.F.E.N.D.)
Families are falling apart all around us. The divorce rate is at an all time high; The birth rate has plummeted to an all time low. Children lack discipline and self control, and are falling away from the faith at rates of up to 88 percent (2002 SBC Council on the Family)! At Grace Family Baptist Church, we believe the answer is simple. We must DEFEND the family.

Disciple
The current state of the family has left most people with poor models, or no models at all when it comes to biblical family. Consequently, many people simply don’t know what biblical family looks like. We are committed to the discipleship of individuals and families with a view toward establishing sound biblical principles upon which the home is built (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 2:6).

Equip
We are committed to equipping and expecting men to step into their God-given role as priest, prophet and provider in the home, and in turn, to lead their wives and teach their children in the ways of righteousness (Titus 2)

Facilitate
Family takes time. Therefore, at Grace Family Baptist Church, we are committed to “creating space” for families to spend time together (Ephesians 5:16). We do not offer a host of programs that run families ragged. We would much rather encourage you to spend more time around your family table enjoying one another’s company, or engaging in Christian hospitality toward your neighbors.

Encourage
We believe the church is a “family of families.” Our desire is to encourage families to be all God wants them to be, since the strength of the church is dependent upon the strength of individual families (Deuteronomy 6:7; Ephesians 6:1-4).

Nurture
Family life is filled with both mountaintops and valleys. We are committed to rejoicing with families when they experience the highs, and nurturing them during the lows (Romans 12:15; 1 Corinthians 12:26; Hebrews 13:3).

Duplicate
Grace Family Baptist Church has been blessed with many families that exemplify the best the biblical model has to offer. These families aren’t perfect, but they are far enough down the road to help others just starting out (Titus 2).
_____________________

Ministry to single parents (R.E.D.E.E.M.)
Reconcile

Our primary goal with any broken marriage is to reconcile it if possible. Thus, the first question we ask in the case of single parents is, “Can we help restore this person’s marriage?” If we can, we are obligated to do so. If we cannot (i.e., in the case of the death or remarriage of a spouse), we pick up the pieces and move on (Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:11).

Embrace
While we believe the ideal family involves two loving, godly parents, we do not consider single-parent families inferior to traditional, nuclear families. We understand that many people find themselves raising children without the help of a spouse for a variety of reasons beyond their control, and we embrace these families (Deuteronomy 10:18; 16:14; 24:19-21).

Disciple
As with all families, we are committed to discipling single parents, and equipping them to disciple the children with which they have been entrusted (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 2:6).

Encourage
We are committed to providing encouragement to single parents. We recognize the added burdens involved in raising children alone, and believe God has called us to come alongside single parents in an effort to lighten their load wherever possible.

Envelop
Grace Family Baptist Church is a covenantal body of believers. We share life together. We are committed to enveloping our members in a blanket of genuine fellowship, especially those with the added burden of single parenthood.

Minister
Grace Family Baptist Church is committed to minister to single parents and their children. When needs arise, we see ourselves as extended family.

More articles by or related to Voddie Baucham

The Centrality of the Home (Listen to the MP3)

Family Integrated Church Conference

More on the Family Integrated Church

The Grace Family Institute

Homeschool Support Group

2007 Family Conference

On The Decision to Have More Children or Not

Looking forward to Girls' Night!

Girls' Night This Friday!

It's all about getting together with some old friends, and some new friends, for fun, laughs, and maybe even some inspiration.

We do this quarterly so we're not away from home too often, but just often enough!

Go here for more information.