Won't You See the Real Me?

Tonight as I write this post for the Five Minute word prompt, I'm feeling broken inside.
Broken and kinda hollow.  Wondering how will I do the word Connect. 

Especially when I am feeling like...

I just want to be loved and accepted for who I am...by more than my man and son.   And so often I feel like I'm not...that somehow I'm always found wanting.

But oh...how they treasure me.   Their treasuring of me lifts my soul up and feeds me heart with gratitude and yes.. total SURPRISE.  They love me!!! 

Even if I annoy them and frustrate them and drive them insane.

They love me and accept me for who I am.

They know my heart.

They are connected to the who I am.
Not the who they think I aught to be.. but the who I am RIGHT NOW.

It's a big difference.

They see my foibles, and work around them.
They see my joys and are excited by them.
They lift me in ways they don't always even know.

Why.
Because WE are connected.

And that I think is what really makes the difference you know?
They are so connected me.  We are us.   You get one of us.. you get the rest.   Just the way it is.

So when I ponder this question:
Why do families hurt and wound?

I wonder if perhaps, it's that lack of connection.  That lack of not really seeing each other.

Because sometimes I think we are so busy looking for what we expect or want from each other or only seeing past hurts that we fail to see the person standing right in front of us.

We are lacking that connection to the real.  To real "you are here with me now person".

Jesus did that you know.  He connected to the real you are here with me now person.   See Thomas and his doubt.  The woman at the well.   His own momma.

Jesus lacked what the rest of us are steeped in... the sin.  that inborn selfish that pervades all of our actions.  It's a stain that is dreadful.  It is.

So sin didn't influence his thoughts or his actions.   He could just connect with the person right there, just as they were.   And not only see them as they were but also see their potential to be more.

Sometimes, especially on days that I hurt, I just want him to come back.  To see him.  To have his light wash away it all.   To remove tetchiness and  dust-ups and sorrow and misunderstandings.

(Even though I really really want to see my lad grow up to be the man of God I think he will be).

A wee bit longer it took to write this than five minutes (wrote and changed, wrote and changed) but hey....you all will forgive me now won't you?   :)

Okay some of the rules here.
1. Five minutes to write.
2. it's a free write which means you aren't supposed to spend a whack of time editing.  Just write on the word prompt.
3. Dear Miss Kate provides the word prompt.  You can find her blog here.
4. write a post, link it up, then go and encourage the person who went on before you as encouragement is the name of the game and the SOUL of this community (and you wouldn't want to let us down eh?)

STEM: Tinker Crate - Spy Case

 

Kiwi crates sent us a Spy Case to put together. Boy oh boy did it teach us a lot!    Just so you know, affliate links are used in this post, which help us get more crates, and doesn't hurt your bottom line at all.  :)

First off .. .they didn't stint with the spy paper they gave us.   The lad was mightily impressed.

They had us make a periscope, work with invisible ink, and more.  It was a fun kit to make and provided the lad with a reason to be sneaky! 

One of the things I love about kiwi and tinker crates is how they write the directions so clearly.  Unless you are deliberately not paying attention you really can't mess it up.
 

 My son is becoming proficient enough with these crates that he can generally do them on his own now.  Reading through, making sure he's laid out all the parts needed ahead of time, and then putting it together.  See?  All put together by one lad.  Mind...he initially put it together backwards, but quickly realized the error of his ways.   I have to admit, even though he can do it on his own, I love to sit with him talking about all the discoveries we are making.

 We were also able to see the affect of blue/red lines. How if you are careful you can hide words in them.   We even were able to write some of our own messages.  Can you see it?

My lad was delighted the invisible ink and the blue light, and immediately correlated it using lemon juice and a heat source.   Good to make those connections and see a lad's brain at work.

Kiwi crates, making STEM materials around a theme, letting a child explore and create and cement the learning.   Coming once a month to delight, entertain and teach.
You can get your own Kiwi Crates eh?   A monthly subscription or just try a single crate. You can learn more about them here.

Linking up at Homeschool Highlights. 

Book Series: The Excellent Wife - Who Can Find

I was trying to figure out which of three books I've been looking at lately which one I should use on my blog.   (you can see that discussion here).   I finally decided on using the book "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace.   Why?   Because I often don't feel like a very good wife.  I don't know if I am the only one who feels like that (probably not as the Lord tells me there is nothing new under the sun), but it's a real thing for me in my life.   Often feeling inadequate for the task at hand.

I've had this book for a while now, picked up because someone said "it's a good book to work through" and it's lain on my shelf, occasionally picked up but not really worked on.

Thought I should work through it and then I can pass it along should I want to.  Make sense right?  Books are meant to be used not just sit on shelves.



This book comes with a chapter to read as well as a study book that lists a number of questions.


 I thought I would write out most of the questions along with my answers. I invite you to join me with your own thoughts.

Chapter one is "The Excellent Wife - Who Can Find?"

1. What should the greatest priority in the Christian wife's life? 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Matt 6:33.
---that old adage is a true one.  God first... all else second...

2. What should he her second greatest priority?

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”   Genesis 2:18
--- a helper fit... That's what we are you know?   Fit for the person we are with... as long as we can accept that.

3. To what does God compare the worth of the excellent wife?

An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.
 Proverbs 31:10 
 --- trying to imagine being more precious than jewels.... I know, they are only stuff.  People are more important than any kind of stuff.  PERIOD.

4. List as many traits of the "excellent wife" as you can find from a careful reading of Proverbs 31:10-31.    

 An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than jewels.
¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³ She seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
¹⁴ She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵ She rises while it is yet night
    and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She dresses herself with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰ She opens her hand to the poor
    and reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is known in the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women have done excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the gates.
 

My question: What does it mean to dress with strength?

My thoughts: There is a whole lot more in this passage than I like to think.  Some I am very familiar with...like she works hard... finds clothing for her family etc. , but others I found surprising.  Like "she laughs", "the heart of her husband trusts her."

All solid traits.

5.  What is a wife's responsibility?   What problem could keep her from becoming a godly wife?

• To put her confidence in the faithfulness of God and his word.
• Sin and it's affect on the woman in question.  Sin affects our confidence in God and his faithfulness to us in his word.

7. What is God's remedy for sin?

• 2 Cor 5:21 -  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
• Rom. 6:6 - We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
• John 8:34-36 -   Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
•  
• God's remedy for sin... His Perfect Son... the sinless one, born the penalty of sin for us.  If we want freedom from sin we must be in his Son.

8. Who is the helper that God sends Christians to enable them to obey His Word and t submit to His way and His will?
 ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.  John 14:16-17

The Holy Spirit is that additional helper that we've been given.

9. Why is the Christian wife without excuse to succeed in becoming a godly wife?  
 We have a ready and willing God who is quick to forgive those who come repentantly to him.   If I truly know that God will forgive me...if I am sorrowful for not trusting his faithfulness, then I need not have any fear.

 Your thoughts are most welcome.

Field Trip: Cantarra Park

Canatara Park is located in Sarnia, Ontario.   The lad and I went there in the spring after going to the Stones and Bones Museum.   

This is a park of trails and beaches and an animal park.  We spent the bulk of our time at the Animal Park.  We also drove along some of the roads around the park.

 We met another lady there with her family from the group of homeschoolers we went to the museum with.  There was supposed to be a whole group of us, but most of them didn't make it to where we were which was just odd.   But hey, the lad and I and the other family had a nice time while we were there.

What did we see?

Chickens (my fav) but they were locked up in pens.   I did manage to get a nice picture of this pretty lady though.

  We saw a variety of other animals as well.   

 We followed our trip to the Animal Park with a drive around the park before heading home again.  It's a nice park and worth a visit again another time.  I would like to take the bikes and bike around the paths for a while. 

Book Club: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children

Lori and Wendy do a book club where they discuss a new book every month.  I thought it would be fun to join them (and did so last month with the book of negroes).

This month we looked at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.   I have to admit, I almost decided not to join in, as my first introduction was the movie and I thought .. I'm not sure I want to read what I saw in the movie.  Some things in the movie just didn't work for me all that well.  :)

Anyways, decided to man up and give it a try.  The book is quite different from the movie and I urge you to give it a try.

LitLovers provided the questions, I, of course, provided the answers.  :)

Art Series: Bright Ideas Pencils

Imagine my delight when I received some pencil crayons in the mail.  :)  YES!!   What fun eh?   I get to indulge my colouring delight with some new pencils...fun indeed! 

The first time I used these pencils I was waiting for my son at karate.   I was joined by a young girl, asking if she could colour with me.   I told her sure, I'd be happy to have her help me with this review.  This led to a conversation about what a review was and how she was helping me.   She's a sweet young lass that I often talk with while we wait.





This little six year old girl said:
"I like these pencils, they make nice colours". 
"The colour is so pretty, I like how the brown ones look nice together."
"Do you like how I did this?"
"Can I keep helping you colour?"
"These pencils are nice, look mom, see my picture?"






Bright Ideas has put together a box of 10 metallic coloured pencils. They are a nice fit in the hand and colour nicely.  They work equally well for a six year old as they do for a more mature person.  :)

I found they went on the page smoothly and filled in the coloured area nicely.  They blend well.   I've done a couple of pages with them and haven't needed to sharpen them.

They come in a nice sturdy box which holds up well to children opening and shutting it repeatedly.  I found them to be softly metallic, with a slight sheen.They are a lovely addition to the other coloured pencils that I have and I am delighted to have them.  :)

Chronicle Books
Box size: 8.78 x 7.89

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Review: The Prayer Saturated Family

This is a good book to read.  I have not read it all the way through mind you, just bits and pieces, enough to perk my desire to read it more in-depth. 

Divided into three sections

• What Happens When Families Pray (8 sub-sections)
• Time to Take Action (3 sub-sections)
• Jump-start a life of family prayer (1 section)

Cheryl Sacks has a desire to reinforce the prayer life in families of believers.  She has therefore provided us with a book full of stories and practical ways to add prayer to your family's way of living.   She adds so many ways that prayer is answered, how it's a true work of God on behalf of his people. 

This is a very practical book written about how prayer can change the atmosphere in your home.   Prayer should be our first thought.

  Sacks tells us this "prayer can help us navigate the often uncertain landscape of life, and seek the direction, wisdom and presence of God along the way. It is amazing how, when we look back, we can see what God has done - especially when we invite Him into our families and allow his His Spirit to change the atmosphere of our homes".

We are often told that we should pray without ceasing, and this book helps us to make that necessary part of our lives of faith, a reality.

The third section of book is a 31 day section of different prayers that one can do as a family, praying for leaders, friends, decision making, schools, evangelistic works etc.  

I cannot say that I agree with everything in the book ... the whole section on the family altar and taking communion only as a family causes me hesitation... but much about the book intrigues, and the fact that it helps stoke the fires of increased conversation with the Lord God, that is a good thing is it not?

Recommendation: This book is definitely worth a read.   Take it prayerfully.  Be willing to be challenged and to be changed.  God calls for us to be prayer warriors... this book will help.

The Prayer Saturated Family
Author:: Cheryl Sacks

Pages: 187
Publisher: Chosen, division of Baker Publishing Group

Type: Christian Helps

Reviewed for: Nuts About Books.

 Amazon.ca: The Prayer-Saturated Family: How to Change the Atmosphere in Your Home through Prayer
Amazon.com: The Prayer-Saturated Family: How to Change the Atmosphere in Your Home through Prayer
 

Recipe: Whole Wheat Rolls and Buns.

This recipe was more complicated to make than I care to admit... Not sure why I found it so, but I did.

Anyways, here we go.

So I made two different sizes though only included the pics of the small ones.  It made a lot of dough (if turning into bread would have made probably three loaves).

Anyways so I made soft ones by cramming a bunch of little balls close together.

Then what was supposed to be harder rolls by making bigger ones that weren't touching.  I admittedly could not really tell the difference except the size. 

How to make them?

What did I find a challenge?
 Scalding the milk, then mixing the milk with the oil without creating a mess, and the rising of the dough seemed to take forever despite a warm house.

I also didn't use as much flour as the recipe called for so that made me feel a bit leery.

Anyways, the buns were made for our Christmas meal, hopefully people like them (though by the time this recipe posts they will have been eaten).  :)

Call This to Mind

Hymns

Holy, holy, holy
Rock of Ages
One day
Our God our help in ages past
Trust and obey
Great is thy faithfulness
Take the name of Jesus with you
God be with you til we meet  again

Scripture

Lamentations 3:19-26

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰ My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
²¹ But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.

Sermon Notes

Our church is closing, it is a time of lamenting.
Lamenting shows itself differently in different people

Lamenting is  other always the result of doing something wrong.

Jeremiah had many hard things happen to him, hard things not always deserved.   Jerusalem had been destroyed, all he saw was his failures.

We are the same you know....so often only seeing our failures.  Having the shame of the past creep in on us.   These wonderings don't help us.  They only continue to bring us down.

But it doesn't end there though.

Jeremiah remembered something important.   God's faithfulness.

The bible never ends in our sin.   It ends in Christ's saving work on our behalf.
God's love for his people never ceases.  It sticks through regardless.

You are loved by God.

His mercies never come to end.   God continually shows us mercy.  His mercy continues every single day.

Since his mercies are new every day, it means that we have a future and a hope.   A future free of pain and sorrows.  The world and it's pleasures are so fleeting.   But our future...it is imperishable and undefiled, a place of perfection that will be ours forever.

Remember God's faithfulness in those hard times.   He works it out.  All those things that happen in our lives, he works it out.  For our good when  we are called according to his purposes.  Mercies new every single morning..

Great is his faithfulness.

Who is God? Not the Prince of Tyre

 You can read Ezekiel 28-1-10 HERE.

The lament against Tyre continues.   This time specifically against the Prince of Tyre.

The Prince of Tyre is judged because 

“Because your heart is proud,

and you have said, ‘I am a god,

I sit in the seat of the gods,

in the heart of the seas,’

I have to admit, part of me is astounded that a person could think that way.   To think of themselves as a god, yet I am really not surprised.  As the lad and I go through our history books there are many nations whose leaders were actually considered to be gods, or who when individuals gained leadership they said they were a god and could do or command anything they wanted.   So this time it's the Prince of Tyre who has this false notion.

God reminds him clearly.  He is a MAN.  Not a GOD.

Hymn Study: One Day

Just as a fun preamble...I was thinking the other day about hymns I would want sung at my funeral, and this is one of them.  I LOVE this song.

But funeral arrangements aside.... here's more about the author and the songs history.  :)

HEY!!! Happy New Year. Reflections on 2016

Happy New Year dear readers...

Did you stay up late?  Bring in the New Year or did you find yourself exhausted and head to bed early?   Regardless of what you did... may this New Year be one of growth, enlightenment and the knowledge of God's goodness in your life  :)

At this time of year you tend to find a lot of "this is my word for the year" or "this is my verse for the year" posts.   I find those posts fascinating reading.   I really do, they give insight into the person behind the blog you know?   When I find some that I particularly enjoy I will link them up here.  :)

Some word posts: Life.  Cultivate.  Growth.  Simplify. Restore. Crave.

So my top post of the year on this blog has been

Books We've Enjoyed Recently

 I wanted to update you on some of the books we've read lately.  

They've been a varied bunch, but I thought you might like them. 

 The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt.   This is a GA Henty book that took us quite a while to finish.   We did it as a read-aloud, starting with it being a lunch time book and then a bed time book so we could get it done.   I found it very wordy and often summarized sections with my lad.   BUT the tale itself is well done with it becoming not only a story about Egypt but of people coming to the know the Lord and how, in time, it changed an entire people group.    Excellent story.




Here, There Be Dragons   I read this one for myself a while ago and it's been sitting in my "put this on my blog" pile.  :)  Good read, want to read more in the series.  It's a typical protect the world from the bad guys type of fantasy fiction.   Good read though.   Character development, interesting scenes..







Sky Dragons: Dragonriders of Pern.  I freely admit that I love Anne McCaffrey books, and the books she writes with her son Todd... love them too.  The Dragonriders of Pern are one of my favourite fantasy books.  Dragons, danger, people, mystery, drama and they have everything.  I really hope that when my lad gets a touch older that he will love this series as much as I do.  Time will tell eh?

Anyways, SkyDragons takes us back in time to Xhinnia needing to help save Pern.  They land in an area with no caves and no safety.  Where will they nest to stay safe?   read the book and find out!

Recommended reading level... teenagers and up.   Not a lot of adult theme, but there is some.


Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll: Secret Agent Zet Series Book 1.   My son and I absolutely loved this book.   It was a quite read, held our attention, taught us alot about Egypt and her people, and was just a great mystery.  We were on pins and needles as we waited to find out how the bad people would be stopped.  Rest assured they were.   Definitely recommend reading this one.

I think this was a veritas press history book selection but I can't remember for sure.  But go.. get it, read it.  :)

Another one of my favourite authors is Mercedes Lackey.   The Companions of Valdemar is high on my lists of must reads.  :)   Recently I have read Closer to the Heart (The Herald Spy Trilogy Book 2)  as well as Closer to the Chest (Valdemar: The Herald Spy).    I am currently awaiting in the release of book three of this series.. patience is sometimes hard come by...  :)   Anyways, Mags and Amily have work to do in both of these books.   Can they help Valdemar?   We are introduced to some interesting characters in both books.  I particularly liked the addition of a special needs fellow (his name currently escapes) who is able to help out the rangers.  Can't talk well but can do amazingly specialized weapons and works of beauty.   Bands of informants created by both Mags and Amily that work two different sections of society.   A lot of a kindness in these books despite the danger and evil that sometimes surround.   Probably why I like them so much.  :)  

I will warn you.. if you do get hooked on the Heralds of Valdemar series... it's huge!!!   So many lovely books to read.  :)


Well there you have it.. I think I've gotten through all the book in my stake.   Need to do this more often you know?   :)

Three Middle School Books

Today I want to take a moment to talk to you about three middle school books I've recently had a chance to review.

First up is.. what I thought was a touch of an odd book..The title is Secrets of the Dragon Tomb.The characters were interesting and the story was a clever mystery and had twists and turns that kept me alert, but I still thought... it's an odd book.   A mystery wrapped up in a fantasy world.  

The  setting is high society Mars.  Strange clockwork machines,. Pterodactyls gliding through the sky, automatic servants hard at work, and in the north, the great dragon tombs hide marvels of Ancient Martian technology.

Twelve-year-old Edward Sullivan has always dreamed of becoming a spy .... Instead, he spends his days keeping his eccentric family from complete disaster.  BUT THEN his family is kidnapped.  Edward is off to save them. He discovers that spywork is a bit more challenging than he had imagined. . . .

This book was written by  Patrick Samphire and illustrated by Jeremy Holmes.

Recommend it?  I think so.   It's oddity is kinda appealing.   It's not fine literature, but it was entertaining seeing how this eccentric family ended up working together to save the day.

 Patrick Griffin's Last Breakfast on Earth.   Written by Ned Rust.

Mr. Rust introduces us to Patrick, the middle child in a family with seven children.   It's a busy household with a boy in the middle of it who liked science... who could have guessed that such a love would get him into such a mess of trouble?

Alternate realities exist!  Earth - Ith.  Celebrate the odd, teach the expected, be plugged in at all times, or not.   Meet the proscribed rules, do what needs to be done.   or hold on...

Perhaps one should work to save the world?   Yeah, work to save the world and have the biggest adventure of your life.

Recommend it? This book intrigued me.  :)   It was a fun read, and I think most middle schoolers would get a kick out of it.

Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.

Take two children, who form an unlikely alliance, one secure in her family relationship, the other not, the setting... John Muir Wildlife Park.   Add a mystery...something is happening with the wolves at the zoo.   Strange noises and happenings at night...the wolves are dying and no one knows why.  Add the intrigue of John Muir and his lost cabin..can it still be around?

Two snoopy youth, a fast moving vehicle, Yosemite Park, a mystery solved.  History explained.

Recommend it? I have to admit, my son and I loved this book.  Well written with excellent character development.  Good cliff-hangers.  Great story line that left room for questions and considerations...it's good to see a book make a lad think.   I so enjoy watching that.

So there you have it, three very different from each other books....but all with their own intrigues to them.   Depending on what your middle schoolers like to read, these three books just might fit the bill eh?

All these books were sent to me courtesy of Raincoast Books.

A time to be encouraged is coming.. the Virtual Curriculum Fair

Pretty soon the Virtual Curriculum Fair will start for the year 2017.  :)   Fun times eh?

Each week we will talk about different topics like Language Arts, Science, History and the like.   It will be fun and often times I learn so much.  There is SO MUCH knowledge out there it is astounding.  You will find yourself encouraged, surprised, educated, and filled with new material to help you in your life and your homeschool education journey.

But for this first week we are simply introducing ourselves and talking about how we do school and what not.

If you have followed by blog for anytime you will know that we do a little bit of this and that.  My son does a fair amount of school on the computer.   We are struggling with math because he comes at math from a different perspective than I do.   We are going to be adding more art and more geography and MORE Canada and what not.  But we are happy with our history and bible, our science and language arts.   I always see things I want to tweak...but those things need to be done carefully to avoid a rebellious child.

We read a lot and the lad is starting to write more...the joy of your very own story and art work... makes a lad smile.   I hope to share that with you.

I also plan to share some of our favourite art books.   I might talk about our math issues.  Talk about history and how much fun it is.   Who knows what the next four weeks hold?  Time will tell eh?

Weighing out the Sin

I don't know if you are familiar with Tim Challies... he is a Christian blogger who THINKS.  Like really, he thinks.  He writes book reviews, links to good reads, and posts some really fascinating stuff.

I do not agree with everything he talks about, but sometimes he writes a post that really gets me to thinking.    He recently did that with THIS post.   Sex on the Silver Screen - Outsourcing Depravity.

And it's gotten me thinking.

GAH!!!   Like I need more to think on this week.   I suppose part of the reason it has gotten me thinking is that when I am feeling stressed two things happen.