Baseball season has started

Z had his first baseball game on Friday. The Angels won 7-0. It was a great first game. He was the DH.

K has the yuk-yuks

Poor K woke up from her nap after church yesterday and had a bad tummy. So all throughout JJ's party I was taking care of a sick baby wiht plenty of help from the rest of the family.

But she was so cute...everytime she felt sick she would say--"Yuk-Yuks comin'"

I think she's better today. So we are hoping for no more "yuk-yuks"

JJ is 10!

My sweet JJ turned 10 yesterday. I can't believe it!! Where has the time gone.

He is a wonderful son full of joy and smiles. And always so eager to help.

I am so blessed to have him as my son!

Speech

Last weekend, our boys participated in an NCFCA speech tournament.

All 3 of the of boys did very well and we are excited about how much they are learning as they become more effective communicators for Christ.

Z--His topic was on the dangers of using movies as a main topic in preaching. It was a relevant message on getting back to expository preaching. How encouraging to hear such a strong message from a 14 yo!!

J--Placed 2nd in Open Interp for his version of The 3 Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig.

JJ--Placed 3rd in Jr. Oratory for his speech on Funding for NASA.

Homeschooling to the Glory of God

2007 was a year of new revelation for me. I got a glimpse of my true purpose in life...To glorify God in everything that I say, do, think and feel.

Now this may seem simple and trite. But I assure you that this is no small task and I fail frequently. But I am being transformed by the renewing of my mind. And I am ever more mindful of of my sinful ways and my sinful motives.

I am constantly asking myself, "Why are you acting that way?" "Why are you feeling that way?" "Why are you doing things that way?" and "Why are you saying things that way and with that tone?" and finally, "Are you bringing glory to God with that thought, word or deed?"

And bottom line is if it not for the glory of God, then to me it is sin .

So, I've been digging deep into my heart even in regards to homeschooling. And I thought I'd share some food for thought:

Why am I homeschooling?

In all honesty for me, it has always been to avoid the negatives of traditional schools and gain the positives of homeschooling. The positives were close family relationships, better character, ability to train my kids in the way we thought best (using the Bible), and academic excellence. The negatives were avoiding peer pressure and accessibility (and frequent contact) to sinful attitudes, behaviors and actions (disrespect, rebellion, drugs, promiscuity, etc),

And if I look even further into my heart, I would see some even uglier things--like wanting my kids to be a trophy of some sort (better, smarter, kinder, with godlier character). And I find that in the end it all leads to sinful pride.

So what is the remedy? Christ alone! You see Jesus is not interested in what's in it for me and how He can make me look better (or even my kids to look great). It's all about the glory of God. When I teach my children, it should be to the glory of God. What am I teaching them? How am I acting towards them? What am I saying to them?

On a daily basis, I need to put away such futile and fleeting thoughts about how great my children are. Of course I love them and think they are great. But what is the purpose of my training? It HAS to be for the glory of God, so that He can use them to bring glory to Himself. Otherwise, I'm just teaching them to be prideful, arrogant, haughty, self-righteous, and even lazy. And these attitudes will do nothing but lead them astray.

When we focus on ourselves and what's in it for us and how we are better than others, we are only following our sin nature and our flesh. And I would even venture to say that when we compare ourselves to other kinds of schools, many times we are doing that as well. We need to be careful of such thoughts and words for we do not know the paths of others that God will use to bring glory to Himself.

So my question to you today is why are you homeschooling? Search your heart and see what's really in there. And if you, like me, are convicted by what you see, I pray you will repent and ask the Lord to change you from the inside.

May we always seek to honor and glorify the Lord in everything we do, say, think and feel.

Pictures from our 1st Tea

Pictures from our first tea. First picture is all of the ladies in attendance. Second picture of me and K.

Traditions

This year the ladies of our clan are beginning a new tradition--an annual Christmas Tea. Our tea will be in a couple of days at my house and I'm busily preparing for everyone to come and enjoy a relaxing time. I so love having everyone over! It is one of my greatest joys in life.

And as I've been physically preparing my home, I've been thinking on the idea of traditions. Why are they so meaningful and when did the idea of traditions start?

I think if we look back to the Bible we can definitely see the traditions that God instituted during the time of Moses (i.e. the feasts and festivals, as well as the oral tradition and the rituals of the Levitical priests, etc.)

But upon further reflection, I think the idea of traditions started when man did--at the beginning. You see, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). It was their practice to meet with God--to fellowship with Him and to learn from Him.

And when I think of this new tradition that is exactly what I hope for my dd, K--that she would cherish this tradition as a time to fellowship with the wonderful godly women of our family and to learn from them.

For me traditions, bring comfort, security, and identity. They hold a special place in my heart as all that was good in my childhood. We had many traditions in my family at Christmas--hanging up our favorite ornaments from year to year, then hanging icicles on all of the branches making sure that you put just the right amount on each branch. We made Christmas cutout cookies every year. And on Christmas Eve, we always had one present to open. You guessed it--Jammies! Grandma always gave us a new ornament for our tree every year and I still use most of them for my tree today.

Christmas Day was all about the food and being with family. Grandma was the best cook in town and she even let my cousin and I help set the table and put garnish on the food. Then after dinner my cousins, my brother and I would put together a Christmas play using our favorite gifts from that Christmas.

My children have many of these same traditions and some new ones from their Daddy's side of the family and others that we've incorporated over the years. As a funny aside, this year I asked the boys if we could change a few things. They were shocked that I would even mention it and told me in no uncertain terms that they'll have the traditions like they are--thank you very much!

I pray that the traditions that we have as a family will give them a sense of family identity and truly fond memories of our family. And as they grow up and leave the nest, they will have a strong sense of identity that will carry them through the seasons of their lives.