Terribly Interesting

One of the things I absolutely love about homeschool is that I get to experience everything with my children. I watch in wonder at their daily development and awe of learning. I love going to see new things and discover with them. Then we can discuss it naturally for as long as we want to. I saw a Groupon for the Glass Bottom Boats in San Marcos a few months ago and snatched it up.  Even though I had wanted to take the girls for some time, I thought the fee was a bit high for a 25 minute boat ride around the springs. When Groupon did two for one, I snatched it up. I didn't really know what to expect. I had only read about it and seen the signs. Finally, we were here.  The boat we skimmed the waters in was built in the fifties. There was one that had been built in the twenties. They were really interesting looking. The craftsmanship was beautiful. Our guide told of an old theme park that was there and the time the original television Tarzan dove to the bottom of the ...

When I was growing up, I thought I could live forever. Forty seemed old. Death seemed so far away that I thought I could never reach it. I am thirty-five years old now. Two of my brothers went to be with Jesus at 38. My uncle at 45. Six of my babies. He gives and He takes away. To take away, He had to have given. In this moment, I am thankful for the giving.  As I write this, my beloved husband is in California burying his uncle. Uncle Terry. He had a life-giving personality. He made you feel loved, welcome, and like the most important person in the room. He was a gift to us all. He was someone that you would want to emulate. He was just 59 years old. Over the month of February, I had been thinking heavily about the brevity of life. What exactly is the legacy I want to leave behind. What can we rid ourselves of that is meaningless? As I asked for wisdom in all of this that makes no sense to me, I heard a gentle internal whisper. "Pursue Christ. Love people." ...

Unexpected Love is a collection of stories from scripture that address times that Jesus interacted with women. Often the context that surrounds a story is lost on us because we have no reference to the culture of the day. Often, it could seem that Jesus was being sarcastic or hurtful, but when we look at the culture and the context we can clearly see that Christ was saying more than we could easily discern.  The author clearly explains these instances so that you can see deep into the heart of Christ. I definitely struggled with this book. Even though the information was good, it was written somewhat like a Sunday school lesson and hard to engage with. There was quite a bit of presentation of facts about the man of Christ, however. The writing was a bit choppy and that made it hard for me to read. It does answer many questions that a new believer or a person questioning the scriptures may have. This would be a good resource for them and could facilitate great discussion....

I often find myself thinking of that verse that says that we should put others ahead of ourselves. For many years, I thought of it mostly in how we respond to others behaving badly. You know, to react in a way that helps them to heal or change or be better at whatever might be causing the issue. Of late, I have been thinking about this quite a bit. How can I truly put others before myself? I heard one person use modesty as a way to put others ahead of ourselves. We don't dress to get attention. We dress so that others are comfortable around you or not stumbling over you. That made so much sense to me. What a simple way to honor others. Another way we can do this is through manners. We can act in such a way as to bring dignity and honor to all of the hearers. Let your speech be seasoned with salt and all. One big way we can put others before ourselves is by not being offended when they don't meet our needs the way we want them met. I had a real desire to have an ...

There are always hundreds of things to be done here. You really can't fathom the lists of things that need to be accomplished around here. It's intense. Add in three children five and under, church, friends, and work. It is intense. I hardly ever hit my target of things I would like to accomplish today list. Sometimes, in the midst of all of the necessities of what is going on here, we can lose sight of our true purpose. We forget that we are here to serve and simply love The Lord Jesus. It's those days that I remind myself or my husband of why we are here that I will hear this sweet inner voice tell me that we did the real work that day or in that moment. I love journaling and I very rarely get to finish what I would like to pour out to The Lord before I am bombarded with tiny people. It's easy to get frustrated and want that time for myself. Each day I start out by writing "thank you for my children." Many days, that is all I get written down. As I to...

Out of the health and fitness books I have read, this has been one I got quite a bit out of. Most things make outlandish claims or take you down some treacherous paths. Of course, there are things that I don't totally agree with or that I am not sure about. The Dr tells the difference between soy and frankensoy, but I'm not totally sold on the idea of soy. The hormonal factor there scares me a bit. Basically, this is a comm on sense lifestyle. Ea t how people ate before they ate junk. Get rid of the junk. Fat doesn't make you fat. Cholesterol doesn't give you high cholesterol. There is even evidence that its good for you. With the complex chemical reactions in the human body, you can see how something wouldn't be able to go in and stay the same. The problem most of us are facing, as outlined in the book is inflammation. This is caused by food that isn't really food. It should say "unsafe for consumption." Sugar is a huge problem. Refined ...

I told you about how Gomer refuses to be tidy. The place just can't bring herself to commensurate with my desires. I try to keep this 5,500 sq foot tidy with three girls. The hardest part is attempting to maintain a routine when we are on the road five to six months out of the year. I found Flylady many moons ago. She has a website that helps get your house in order. Let me tell you, I do not do her routines flawlessly, but her daily emails encourage me to try every day. There are several things I have learned from Flylady that translate into all areas of life. FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself. Now, I know all about all the things that we should know about being beautiful and made in the image of Creator God, but for some reason, one day as I read that phrase on the Flylady site, it hit me that I had never really done that. I kind of did the bare minimum of care for myself and I let ugly comments from others keep me from pursuing my dreams and the discouragement kept m...