Thankful Thursday ~ Homeschool

I am considering myself to be a blessed woman. I get to stay home and be a wife and mother: I also get to do something I love - teach! My work background is in elementary education. I love teaching children. I've taught everything from K-12th as well as done administration, technology classrooms, and drove a bus. Now, here I am twenty two years later, still teaching, running a school, using technology, and driving a seven passenger van! I have a small class - two regular students and a part-time student. I teach fifth grade and three-year-old preschool. I get to spend time with my kids. I couldn't do this unless God had it planned. Who knew that all my teaching experience would come in so handy! God did. He orchestrated it. He gave me challenging children in the classroom to be prepared for the challenges we faced through our adoptions. He knew the intimate desires of my heart! He combined my dream of being a stay-at-home mom with my love of teaching! How awesome is our God!

1 Samuel 16:7 - But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

Psalm 139:1 & 2 - O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 

 Join Iris at Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday entries.

What a week

I can't believe the week has gone by so fast. It's time for Thankful Thursday tomorrow. I've been rather busy with homeschool and other activities. It was such a blessing on Tuesday. Glen took the day off and we headed to Disneyland with our annual passes. It was a lot of fun; we got to ride "Finding Nemo" for the first time. I vaguely remember it from when I was four and a half - but wasn't "Finding Nemo" then. It was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

Then today is one of my nieces birthday. Linda was a junior bridesmaid in my wedding. Now she's all grown up and has two adorable kids of her own. Happy birthday, my hummingbird! It was so good to talk to you today!

Summer 2009

Family Photo Friday

That's my sissy!

Thankful Thursday ~ Mothers

I am thankful today for my mother. I've written a lot about her here on the blog. She was such an influential person in my life. Today I wish to honor her and call her blessed. If she were alive here on earth, today would be her 82nd birthday.

Proverbs 31:28-30
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
Many women have done excellently,
   but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

My mom walked with the Lord and I am looking forward to seeing her again in heaven. May I some day be half the woman my mother was! I love and miss you, Mom!

Check out Iris at Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday.

Growing Gracefully

Yesterday started our homeschool co-op classes. I have the blessing teaching young girls about the Lord. We spent our time talking about how big God is (which we can't even begin to explain) and yet how He knows us intimately...It was a joy to be teaching teens again. I forgot how much fun it can be. Glen and I spent ten years in teen ministry (many of which are probably reading this right now). It was a great time; it was a blessed time. I treasure those years. The co-op classes are centered around texts written by Elizabeth George. We'll be focusing on different areas of our lives and seeking God's direction for them. It will be a great time in the Word!

Camp Pictures

Here are some of our camp pictures.

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross...

my nature girl!

Can you spot my girl?

Mom, are you ready to go yet?

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

A glimpse of God's beautiful creation

Amazing Discoveries

I've been spending a lot of time reflecting today. Been kinda withdrawn and quiet, as Glen so kindly put it today. I have a lot of things pressing on my heart right now. Things I really can't share, especially here in the blog world. Things that only can be prayed for; things that can only be laid at the feet of Jesus. This verse was posted as someone's FB status and God used it to speak volumes to me!

Psalm 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the LORD.

As I'm hanging out here in my miry bog, I know God hears the cries of my heart. I know that He sets my feet upon a rock and makes my steps secure. I really want to hang out here in my bog. I want to wallow in my thoughts. I am unmotivated to do anything else. Yet, tonight, I am crying out to my Lord. I am waiting patiently. Although I have always known that He is there, His presence still amazes me! I pray for those who are heavy on my heart tonight that they will know the gift of salvation and eternal life, the healing power of Jesus, and His calming presence.

Thankful Thursday ~ Creativity

I am so thankful for creativity today. Mostly, it is a creative God who makes simple organisms to complex humans; creative God who paints the trees every fall; a creative God who places such a beautiful world under water. The God we serve is amazing, awesome, and all-powerful! 

As I working with the children in our homeschool, I see their creative side. Even as I type. L is off at an art class. God has gifted her with a love and talent for drawing. My niece, J, has a creative side with textiles. I love crafts, scrapbooking, quilting, and other things. It is a great sense of accomplishment to complete a project. Glen calls me the queen of unfinished projects. He's still waiting on his 10th anniversary present and we've been married 19 years. 

Everywhere I look, I see creativity today. May God be glorified in my creative spirit!

Isaiah 40:26

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Visit Iris at Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday.

A Quarter

One of the things our speaker, Eric Hovind, brought out that really caught my attention was his quarter comparison. An infinite almighty God knows me intimately and loves me. Compare our sizes though:

Imagine a quarter, you know the one with George Washington's face. If this quarter was our universe (the sun and eight planets) the earth's orbit would be a small spot by Washington's eye; the rim of the quarter would be Neptune's orbit. The Milky Way Galaxy then would be the size of the North American Continent (Canada, North America, and Mexico). Now there are innumerable galaxies - all of which are created by God. He is bigger than all of this and yet, He created us for His glory.

Even though we are less than a tiny speck in G. Washington's eye, God loves us and sent His Son to die for our sins. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling rather small and humble today.

Questions that Go Round and Round

The messages at camp last week all focused on creation and how to refute evolution. I was challenged to review my thoughts on this issue. I grew up in a public school and some of the things I learned fell in line with both theories, but that was thirty years ago. So, I've given a lot of thought about how I view dinosaurs. Are they really extinct? I never knew that lizards and reptiles never stop growing their whole life - even after 20+ years teaching. Wouldn't our lizards today, if they lived to be hundreds of years old, be the size of dinosaurs? I've always thought all the dinos died in the flood. Now I'm re-evaluating my beliefs. This is only one area God is molding and shaping me for His glory. There are many other thoughts going round and round in this crazy brain of mine.

Glen and kids at Hartland

Back from the Woods and into the City

It was quite the week. God was incredible! We had a great time. Here's the family in our matching shirts made by Krista. Great memories and great times! Can't wait to share some of the lessons we've learned!

Closing Time

Okay, it's official.  We will be away for a few days. Taking the family camping with other homeschool families. We'll be gone Monday through Friday. I hope to have some great stories, pictures, and insights in store when we return.

How would you finish?

How would you finish this sentence?

I will always remember when God....

Family Photo Friday

Here's L as a flower girl in a wedding this past May. What can I say, this girl loves her tennis shoes!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday. This month Iris at Grace Alone is hosting this meme. I am so thankful for the ladies who host this each month. It gives me a chance in writing to thank the Lord for His blessings!

I am constantly amazed at God's work in my daughter's life. Today, watching her at volleyball practice, I could only praise God! When I reflect back to the dark times of our first summer together and look at where we are now, I stand in awe of a God who is alive and working miracles today!

Four summers ago, we received our five year old daughter into our home. She had been in foster care for two and half years and we were her tenth set of parents. This little girl struggled with respect, attachment, and anger. She fought any kind of authority. I'm not going to go any further into details of that desperate time of our lives.L is a true example of Second Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." It is His work and His alone that has brought such a change in her life! L is a joy and blessing. I love her so much!