I wanted to update with a slide of our camping trip with our small group and our field trip to Gator and Friends. Both were a lot of fun!!

My Husband Rocks Friday

I wanted to share with you why I think "My Husband Rocks" this week. He has really felt like God has put on his heart to encourage men at our church. We are now at the age that we are in church leadership training as well as raising families to be strong in the Lord. He has been praying for a while for God to show him where he can serve in this capacity. About 3 years ago, FBC offered a course called Raising Modern Day Knights. This is a training course for fathers with sons between the ages of 6-14. In the study they learn how to raise young men to stand up for their faith and be strong in their commitment to the Lord. They even have a really cool "knighting" ceremony for the boys at the end of the course. This study really encouraged Steve to take a more active role in raising our sons and ever since he has looked for ways to be more involved in the boys "man training". So, while praying for a way to encourage men, he remembered this course and thought that it was an excellent way to encourage other men/fathers while learning together how to be better fathers together.

This past week was their first official meeting. They have a group of eight wonderful men that will journey together on their way to becoming faithful servants as well as strong, courageous fathers. I am so proud of him taking time out of his already busy work and family schedule to do this. I can not think of a better way to serve the Lord while at the same time inspiring other men to further the kingdom.

That is why "My Husband Rocks"!!

Virtues

Virtues are definitely one aspect our lives that have been seriously overlooked as of late. I truly believe we as a society have failed ourselves and our children by forgoing the virtues of our past and replacing them with distraction, selfishness, greed, envy, immorality, etc. . The dictionary defines virtue as:

1.a. Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness.

b. An example or kind of moral excellence: the virtue of patience.

2. Chastity, especially in a woman.

3. A particularly efficacious, good, or beneficial quality; advantage: a plan with the virtue of being practical.

4. Effective force or power: believed in the virtue of prayer.

We have been passed down these virtues that are great and blessed country was built on. Ones such as self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty and faith.

If we do not hold these attributes in high regard, then who will? I found the poem below while reading "The Book of Virtues For Young People" to my boys and it was a slap in the face to me. I, for the most part, do not practice these virtues on a daily basis. If I have not committed to making my life a virtuous one, then how can I teach them to my children? I am making a commitment to practice one virtuous deed every day. My goal is to make them habit so that my daily life reflects these things and in turn be an example to my children. That is MY responsibility.

The Bridge Builder

Will Allen Dromgoole

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,

"There followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way."

"This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

And The Two Became One...

We have officially joined the ranks of families with a missing hamster. We, like several of you, got two hamsters this summer when my boys completed the reading program at the library. Of course my boys were thrilled and quickly claimed one as their own and named them Harry and Ralph. And yes, they actually were two boys!! Harry had already chewed himself out of the cardboard box that the pet store put him in before we got home. Thankfully we had a plastic hamster ball that we quickly transferred him to.

So, needless to say, Harry has been trying to escape ever since we bought him. There have been at least two occasions where we have to hurriedly grab Harry before he squeezed under an arm when changing food or jumped out of our hand when transferring him to the ball to clean the cage. Oh by the way, he bit too!! Not my favorite one anyway.

Well, last Thursday was "clean out cage" day at our house. We cleaned out the whole thing and replaced BOTH hamsters in the cage safe and sound when we were done. That evening I looked in the cage and did not see Harry! I didn't worry much because they bury themselves under the cedar to sleep. Well, we left for camping early Friday morning for the weekend. When we got home we were too busy unpacking to check on them. Ethan finally looked in the cage Sunday night and said he still could not see Harry. So, Steve had the "man" job of digging around in the cage. Well, after a few minutes of digging, no Harry. We examined the cage carefully and found no way that he could escape but there was no sign of him.

So, now we are just waiting for the aftermath of the lost hamster. Thankfully my boys are handling this very well. But for now, we are going to be happy with just one hamster.

My Husband Rocks!!

I am taking on the challenge of posting every Friday about why my husband rocks!! If you want to join me click here.

Where to begin!! Steve has been my best friend for 18 years!! He is my first and only love on earth. He is brilliant, thoughtful, pensive, hard-working, eccentric, forgetful, loyal,funny and down right nutty when he wants to be. I could not have asked for a more patient and self-sacrificing husband. I know he is 100% committed to me. He is an attentive, playful and prayerful daddy too. He is always tweaking his work schedule in order to rush home to spend time with us. I know he would rather be home than anywhere else! That means more to me than any material thing he could buy me. He is a strong leader that people want to be around. He loves to ponder the universe and use really big words ;)

When it comes to spiritual matters, he is strongly encourages and supports me and the boys. He challenges us to commit to his first love is Jesus Christ. He furthers is commitment and study of the Word by challenging conventional Christianity and sharing his new findings with those around him. He has a passion for music and encouraging men to be better fathers and husbands. He loves his family self-sacrificially because he wants to not because he has to.

Sound to good to be true? Well he almost is!! I love him with all of my heart and am so blessed by him. I can't wait to share every Friday about the wonderful things my hubby does every day!!

get a tee shirt here

No Words

What do you do with a 6 year old with this much attitude?
Suggestions welcome!!!

My Special Table

This seems like such a silly post especially since most of the blogs I read are so inspiring, informational or spiritual.

BUT....

I just have to tell y'all how much I love my dinner table. I know it sounds ridiculous but I do. Its a turn of the century, pine made with a hodge podge of parts for the legs. Steve surprised me with it when I was away in Colorado this summer visiting his family. It was our 14th anniversary while I was away and he shopped all around. We have a friend name Reba that owns an antique shop in downtown Gladewater called The Red Rooster. Steve and Reba had been working together to find the "perfect" farm table for me. I have been wanting one for a long time. And when I got home from my trip it was sitting in our kitchen. Its so special and fun and everyday I look at it LOVE it more and more. Now I am just waiting on pine benches to go with it. Steve is going to make those!! Now I can't wait for my "farm home" to put it in. Whenever that may be (sigh).

That's really all I wanted to share. Silly but true.....

I added the leg pix after Stacey's comment!
Here ya go Stace....

BTW: If you have never been to Red Rooster in Gladewater, you must go. Its off main street next to the Gladewater Opry (yes, Gladewater has an Opry;)

I Love My Boys

I just had to share with everyone how much I love my boys! They are such a blessing from God! I never imagined how much they would inspire me, love me, crack me up, make me think, stump me, and sometimes drive me completely crazy.

My dad told me right before I had Ethan that having children gives you the highest high and the lowest lows. I had no idea what that meant before!!

Aren't they life's most precious gift! I am in awe of my love for them! There are so many times during the day that I can relate to God in such a deeper way because of my children. I catch myself on a daily basis instructing my children in a way that can directly relate back to my relationship with God. Words, attitudes, commitments, discipline, all of it can refocus my heart back to Christ.

I pray everyday for their well-being, heart, wives, walk, safety, education, relationships, health and most importantly their commitment to Christ and their desire to serve only Him!

I use this article when I feel like I don't know what to pray for or about when it comes to my boys! They are my main ministry right now and their salvation and commitment to the kingdom
is what I am called to teach them.

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
(2 Timothy 3:14-15)

Pray for our Country

I have to share my heart with you. So bare with me....

This election more than anyone else has weighed so heavy on mind. I am not sure if that is because I am at the age where I understand better than ever the ramifications of our actions when choosing leadership to not only our country but my family and friends or that for the first time I can really see our freedoms and rights being challenged. I make no bones about the fact that Obama scares me to death. Regardless of the fact that he has no real experience to speak of, he holds firm to beliefs and morals that are diabolically opposed to mine. He challenges my religious freedoms as well as trivializes human life, the right to defend my home, the sanctity of marriage and my ability to care for myself and my family without government intervention. I have watched and listened to the media so much lately that I am truly exhausted!! This election has completely worn me out. I don't think I even want to watch TV anymore because of all of the campaign commercials and liberal spin.

All of that to say, I think we as a country are at a fork in the road. In a little less than a month our country will either vote for a man that somewhat stands for God and country or a man that could lead us down a path of destruction. I have been praying for our leaders and my children more in the past few months than ever before. I think it is so important as Christians that we understand who we are voting for and against. We need to stand firm in our values and morals. We need to choose leaders that will at least allow us to freely voice our beliefs without persecution. I believe that God chooses our leaders and puts them into power.

"Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for
ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth
the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up
kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them
that know understanding:"
Daniel 2:20-21, KJV

I take some comfort in that verse but still feel very unnerved by what may come. I want to feel safe in my country. I want to be able to worship God openly and freely. I want to be able to choose to stay home and homeschool my children. I want to be able to live in a country that believes that we are "One Nation Under God".

This was sent to me in an email and I think it is worth your time.

Another 'vote' taken by NOW on PBS expecting that their 80% liberal viewers will dominate. Let's prove that wrong. Send to every non-liberal you know. Let's get some balance into the voting group.

This is the easiest vote you will ever make. It takes literally two seconds. Let's turn this around!!! PBS has a short video on Sarah Palin on their website. Also included is a poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? I logged on yesterday and 37% percent had voted YES, 62% NO. A day later the vote is 48% Yes and 51% No. What a difference a day makes. Let's keep it turning around..... You don't have to give your name or email address in order to vote. It's very simple.

Here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

Book Recommendation

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One of the books that I have so enjoyed reading with the boys this year is "Window of the World; When We Pray God Works" by Daphne Spraggett. I can not tell you how much this book has meant to us. We have been reading about a new country or people group every day. Each day we read about the history, culture, religion and physical needs of each of these peoples. We learn how to pray for these people and how the missionaries in these regions are reaching out to them and teaching them about Jesus Christ. The boys and I come together read and pray for those who are not anywhere near as blessed as we are either financially, physically and especially spiritually. I don't think our homeschooling journey could focus on anything more important! I highly suggest this read with your kids!! My boys are learning to think and pray outside of themselves. They are learning to petition to our Gracious Heavenly Father on behalf of others. I pray that we are also teaching them a passion for missions and sharing the gospel with those they come in contact with! Praise God!

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
Luke 2:10

I know, I know..... I finally got around to blogging!!

Have you ever just NOT been in the mood to blog? I know some of you can't fathom the idea but that is just the way I have been feeling lately. I guess you could say that when there is an expectation of me that overwhelms me, I kinda rebel. I know that comes as a shock to most of you (snicker) but its true. I absolutely don't like being told what to do, even if its me doing the telling!! I think most of the time its amazing that I am a believer. Rules have always been something that make me feel confined and limited. That is, if they don't make sense or make me feel safe.

Why am I saying all this? I really have no idea except that I thought I needed to kinda explain why I have not blogged lately. If you remind me that I need too, that only makes me not want to do it even more. I know, I know, childish but I guess you have a small glimpse of my humanity.

So with all of that said, short and sweet, here are some pics of the family that need to be shared
with all of you!! We had several fun and worth while activities in the month of September. Most importantly we raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and participated in the annual Walk for A Cure with our dearest friends, the Neal's. Check out their blog for all of the fun details!

Now on with the show....

Of course its a slide show... that is my favorite medium