Teeter-Totter

   As I am changing a diaper, calling out spelling words, and trying to encourage yet another child to work on his math, a little phrase runs through my head:

“Be still and know that I am God.”

   HOW can I be STILL? I am sure, as a homeschool parent, you can relate to this often crazy life! God gently (and sometimes not so gently) reminds me that there is more to life than checking off boxes. I need to BE STILL.

    Finding the balance between the academic training of homeschooling and the calling to disciple in solid Biblical faith often feels like a teeter-totter in life. Adding the many alluring temptations of extracurricular events can make things seem more like a merry-go-round! I have discovered that when I finally arrive at the top of the academic side: the schedule works well, the kids are all checking the proper boxes, our family is getting ALL the “school” things done, it is then that I realize the Biblical balance has slipped to the bottom. This is the point where I am reminded that our calling to homeschool was first to ground our children in strong Biblical values and godly character. So my natural reaction in these times is to quickly jump to the other side: emphasizing Bible, prayer time, and ministry or serving. However, what happens now? I promptly realize I am NOT accomplishing either of the things I was striving for, and my children are frustrated with the “see-sawing”!

    What is the way to find a delicate balance on a teeter totter? It takes focus, patience, and being STILL! Somewhere in this life of homeschooling there is a balance too. Finding the right mix for your family of faith-building character development, along with academic challenge and opportunity, will bring stillness to your heart. In that stillness I KNOW that God can lead and guide, training the next generation to love Him with all their hearts, through all ups and downs of life.

Lord, help me today to focus on You. Give me patience as I find the stillness and balance in my homeschool life!

(no this isn't our family but it was too perfect!) 

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

*Look forward to posting more encouraging thoughts as we prepare for the upcoming homeschool convention season! We are heading to ND, NE, AR, TX and more to be determined! Hope to see some of you there!

Encouraging Others - DAY 2

When we moved we were blessed to have overwhelming assistance -- family, friends, new coworkers, not only to move but helping with the unpacking.

Today we were able to bless a family who is trying to uncover the floor from the myriad of boxes which are still covering it since recently moving! This lovely family has 7 children ranging from 10 months to 10 years and a wonderfully resourceful mother who homeschools them all.

Tuesdays projects:
#1 Complete painting of front porch

• WORKERS: Steve and Chuck
  
• STATUS: scraped, painted DONE :)

#2 Assist Mom as needed with unpacking

• WORKERS: Amy, Tutu, Ria
• STATUS: Amy was able to help mom sort clothes and we made some good headway! Getting things sorted by size and put in the correct room (clothes get overwhelming for me with only 3 boys and they have 5!)
  
• STATUS (GIRLS) they were able to help the 2 girls in the family organize their room also sorting some clothes. They had plenty of breaks to just have fun and play as well!
  

#3 Keep 5 boys busy so the rest of us could get things done :)

• WORKERS: Bernie and Eugene
  
• STATUS: Enthusiastically completed! They had lots of fun on the tramp, tire swing, with Lego's and Nerf guns, with squirt guns and exploring, and even sledding ~ no there was not snow but a GREAT hill and it worked fine even without snow!
  

When asked how their "work" was today, they replied "We didn't work today, we got to play"!
We made some wonderful new friends today. God reminded me that often its just as much about getting something done as it is about encouraging one another. We pray they were encouraged by our time together ~ I know we were!

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:3-12

BACK TO SCHOOL

We are off to a very late start to school this year, due to working an August convention and a vacation trip to spend a week with family, all in all it will work out! We have been meaning to update our blog, but well we have just been too busy! Please forgive us :)

August was a whirlwind and we hope to get more pictures up soon; from visiting our new niece, a quick trip from Gr and Gr K and celebrating a little ones FIRST birthday! enjoying beaches, going to an amusement park, lots of fun with friends, its been BUSY!

Well just wanted to let you know we are here and look forward to sharing more with you all soon. Our family enjoys Keys for Kids for evening devotions (you can sign up for online devo or free monthly devotions mailed to you on the link) tonight was one of my favorite verses:
Jeremiah 29:11¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
then we read 2 more verses which were even more of a blessing to me: ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God has a plan for YOU~ call upon Him and seek Him with all your heart TODAY!

New every morning

It's been awhile since I have shared any devotional thoughts ~ there are alot of ponderings in my head so bear with me as I share some of them!

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-26

~A year ago today a 17 year old, Nathan N was taken to his heavenly home - as we grieve for his family, who feels the loss every day, we cling to the promise God gives, of new compassion each morning.
~We celebrated with Zephan and Katie who were married today - May your new life together be covered with God's great love and faithfulness.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

Ecclesiates 3:11

Years ago Steve and Tutu (who was about 3) shared this verse in our church's advent service and talked about a tapestry. Our lives can look like a bunch of strings all messed up.... but from God's heavenly view... its a beautiful tapestry all woven perfectly.As we make plans for tomorrow and look forward to our futures we cling to the hope we have in Christ. Sometimes things around us seem so normal or routine and we long for excitement and change ~ look to the Lord and seek HIS plans for you! When times are hard to understand, lack of direction, loneliness, loss of moms or dad in their prime, loss of children and babies, lack of work, orphans longing to have a forever family, lost souls seeking pleasure and peace in earthly things~ hope in the Lord and allow his grace to cover you!

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 5:1-5

Today, I am thankful that each day is a new gift from the Lord ~ that whatever comes my way I can choose to serve Him with a joyful heart so He receives glory and honor and praise! We don't know what tomorrow holds.... but we know WHO holds tomorrow! :)

A simple prayer to start your day:

Good morning God,
This is your day
I am your child,
Show me your way

Find us Faithful (an older post you may enjoy)

A day of work

Here is a picture of our family in front of the My Father's World booth -- that is what we do! Drive the van and a trailer to different homeschool conventions, set up the booth (its like a puzzle!) share with customers, and then drive home or onto the next one!

This year Chuck assists Steve as a second cashier what a help!

One of our helpers, Kim Reiffer, getting her order before the doors open

Eugene likes showing the demo of the foreign language program Rosetta Stone

Here we were at the Naperville, IL convention.

We are thankful to be a part of a company that has the mission of RAISING UP GENERATIONS OF GODLY FAMILIES WHO SEE THE WORLD THROUGH GODS EYES AND LIVE ACCORDING TO THAT KNOWLEDGE. Its a blessing being a part of something that is an encouragement to so many families and is also passionate about missions!

After a long day of work it feels great to sit down and eat some food! Cracker Barrel is one of our new favorites. Thanks to many of you who bless us with home-cooked food while we are on the road it is a much appreciated treat!!!

We are happy to be home for a full week! As I am wondering why I feel so busy, I realize that we are squashing into one week all the stuff we usually do in a month! It makes for a busy season but we really enjoy it! -- well most parts of it :) As we prepare to head to Denver,CO and then Austin, TX for over 40 hr in the car the next two weeks ....the driving part we could skip!!

We appreciate prayers for safe travels and that we would be an encouragement to the many homeschoolers we come in contact with!
THANKS! the Quak Flock

We're in Michigan!

What a blessing to see family and friends while we work a convention! We enjoyed the INCH convention in Lansing with lots of great helpers!!!

Encouraging moms with little ones is one of the things that I am so thankful I am able to do as we travel to these homeschool conventions. This convention I shared the HOMESCHOOLING WITH LITTLE ONES IN THE MIX session. God has been gently reminding me once again with a little one around that all my ideas are easy to share but hard to do! But to encourage moms with new ideas and reminding them that each of these children are a blessing from the Lord helps ME too! One of my favorite new lines is

"The days are LONG....but the years are SHORT!"

this was from a Proverbs 31 daily devotional and it really hit me we do so often wish the days away then suddenly wonder where they have gone. I end the session with a verse from Isaiah 40 which was like a hug from the Lord right to me for so many years!

vs11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

So if you have little ones (whether or not you are homeschooling) know that you are being gently lead by the Lord!! May you be blessed today.

We'd appreciate your prayers for safe travels as we head onto WI one of these days for the next weekend! THANKS
Amy Q

A.C.T.S.

I'm sure many of you know this prayer format

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

I don't remember who it was that shared the "children's" version but it has been such a blessing for our prayer time I wanted to share it with you!

Adoration = "God you are...."
Confession = "God I'm sorry for..."
Thanksgiving = "Thank you God for..."
Supplication = "God please help...."

What a blessing to share a special prayer time together , I just start each one and then the kids "pop" in finishing these starters. We did this almost daily last year during school and this year we usually do it at least once a week and just do "popcorn" prayers the other days. Today Eugene was so cute --"MOM ITS TIME FOR OUR FAST FEAST THEN ARE WE GOING TO DO POPCORN?"(meaning prayer) I am so thankful that my 6 year old is excited to be a part of our lent fast and prayer time!

As we begin Holy Week one other pondering thought to share: God is really working on me in areas of diligence, I am so easily distracted its a challenge to finish anything! I am so blessed that our fasting this lent has been something we have been able to remain fairly diligent to. Thanks to some wonderful advice from Kari ~ who encouraged if we missed a day or two just start again not to get discouraged. MUCH NEEDED ADVICE! Thanks so much!!!
Tomorrow we look forward to celebrating Passover with some friends :)

Today's Feast
Isaiah 42:1-7

¹ "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.

² He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

³ A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."

⁵ This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:

⁶ "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,

⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

John 12:1-11
¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." ⁶He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

⁹Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

God is good.... All the time

this was a familiar saying from Pastor Dante then the congregation would reply
"and ALL the time.... God is GOOOOD"

I am a peacemaker... if there is a quarrel I like to see PEACE restored, if there is sadness I like to bring JOY, if there is fear I like to give HOPE.

One thing God reminded me of today its not in MY strength that I am able to do any of these things in fact I CAN'T do any these things on my own. I may be one of the pieces He uses, but only God can bring true PEACE, JOY and HOPE.
May you search for HIM and find true contentment today.


Isaiah 65:17-21
¹⁷ "Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.

¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.

¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.

²⁰ "Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
he who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere youth;
he who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.

²¹ They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

John 4:43-54
⁴³After the two days he left for Galilee. ⁴⁴(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) ⁴⁵When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

⁴⁶Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

⁴⁹The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

⁵⁰Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵²When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."

⁵³Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.

⁵⁴This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

do we really homeschool?

I have had a few of you corner me and ask "When do you school -- you always seem to be doing something ...including all these Lenten posts! "

Well, I'm glad you asked! (as Pastor Sam used to say!)
YES we are doing school -- does it look like "red brick school" where kids sit in desks until the bell rings NO. YES we are learning lots of great skills from household management to culinary techniques :) NO its not traditional education however very much needed life skills! And we ARE getting in our math, writing, reading plus lots of BIBLE these days! We are striving to follow Gods leading instead of being too busy with our "stuff" to serve when He gives us an opportunity.
As for the posting it has been a good sort of accountability for me every day! We watched the movie "Saving Sarah Cain" a few weeks ago -- just for the record I AM telling the kids I am writing about them :) great movie by the way! Hoping some of the kids will post for you this weekend -- they want to... it just takes more time and patience on my part... working on more pictures too :)

well enough about all that -- onto today's FEAST which by the way if you haven't ever read the Bible and then just sat and reflected on the words -- treat your self today! Let Jesus speak to your heart! Its amazing when we really quiet our heart how his Spirit can work in us! And seeing Him speak to my children's hearts is one of the richest earthly blessings I can think of!
Jeremiah 17:5-10

⁵ This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

⁶ He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

⁷ "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

⁸ He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

¹⁰ "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

Luke 16:19-31
¹⁹"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³In hell,^a]">[a] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

²⁵"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

²⁷"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, ²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

²⁹"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'

³⁰" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

³¹"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

May we have the boldness to share the good news and bring HOPE to those who need to hear! Trusting in HIM today!

debates...

There are a few children in our house working on debate speeches ~ funny how when you need a topic to debate you can't find one (maybe a better choice of words would be "select" one) but you can debate all day with you mom, brothers, sisters, dad about the silliest things!
We'll keep you posted on how the foster care debate and the listening to music while studying debate go!!!

I found it interesting that Jeremiah was debating with God in our OT verse today. Of course God knew what they were doing AND what Jeremiah had done. God was listening -- maybe He wasn't answering as quickly as Jeremiah wanted... hmm I am often so similar! How counter-cultural it is to serve those who hate us -- but what a testimony of His amazing love and grace!!!

Jeremiah 18:18-20
¹⁸ They said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let's attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says."

¹⁹ Listen to me, O LORD; hear what my accusers are saying! ²⁰ Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them.

Matthew 20:17-28
¹⁷Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ¹⁸"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
²⁰Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

²¹"What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."

²²"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.

²³Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."

²⁴When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

If you are in a challenging situation may you give God the glory and honor by allowing Him to work through you -- SHINE for HIM!!!

Shalom!

Come let us reason together..

I love people...if you know me that is no surprise :) I enjoy days where my life intersects with others; today, although we were home most of the day, we were blessed with a few "intersections":

* Friends delivered warm, homemade gooey cinnamon rolls to us for breakfast! Getting up early, leaving in the cold, with kids in tow -- just to bless us AMAZING! Q's ~ you are welcome to wake us up ANYTIME for this treat!!!! (Ok this was from yesterday but it got our week off to a WONDERFUL start :))

* We were able to bring a meal to a family who just had a baby which was born with spina bifida. (Yes school was a lesson in cooking today :)) They are an amazing family I am blessed to call friends! Watching their love for this little one despite the challenges she will face was inspiring for me! And to know they have another daughter with spina bifida, along with 3 other children reminds me that we all have daily trails and how we decide to handle them is up to us! May our actions reflect God's love and grace and give Him all the glory.

*Also a good friend stopped over who just returned from helping in Haiti, hearing again the extreme struggles so many face reminded me that we are so blessed. So many are searching for hope, for a reason to live, for a God to believe in, may we have the courage to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who need to hear and may God prepare their hearts to hear!

*The girls were able to play with a friend while her parents went to a fundraiser for a local camp which offers summer camp programs to children of prisoners - another amazing ministry for children who need hope! (and the girls so much enjoyed having a friend over a blessing all the way around!)

God THANK you for using little reminders in my day to show me how much I have to be thankful for! Thank you for the body of believers which encourages me, challenges me and loves me! And thanks for humbling me when need be -- I didn't take a shower today or pick up the house --thinking I wouldn't see anyone!!! today's lesson on pride really hit me!
Thank you for using this season of lent to draw us closer to YOU!

Feasting on God's Word :
Isaiah 1:10-20

¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

¹¹ "The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹² When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

¹⁴ Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood;

¹⁶ wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

¹⁷ learn to do right! Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

¹⁸ "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;

²⁰ but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword."
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Matthew 23:1-12

¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. ³So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'

⁸"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

I put in bold a few verses from today that really jumped out at me and once again inspired me to CARRY ON.
Blessings on your journey today.

Second full week of Lent

Sit down a minute,

grab a cup of tea (unless of course you are fasting from tea!)

and FEAST with me on God's food for today!

Genesis 15:15-18

¹⁵ You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-

Luke 9:28-36
²⁸About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ²⁹As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰Two men, Moses and Elijah, ³¹appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³²Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." ³⁶When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

I am not a theologian by any means -- and I am sure there are great connectors for these passages -- we didn't discuss those. :)

We reminisced about great grandparents and how long 4 generations is (or short depends on your perspective!) Also about God's timing -- which is always perfect no matter what we think. Our foresight is very short sighted but God sees from Abraham's time to Jesus' to today and way past now.

Are we taking time to LISTEN TO HIM??? Are we TRUSTING IN HIS PLAN??

Are you? Turn off the music (computer,tv,phone etc!) and really be quiet and listen today.
Enjoy God's words and be filled by His Spirit today!

Fridays FEAST

Well -- yes there is an element to fasting our lunch meal that does make life a bit easier. And I especially am finding it refreshing to not have so many dishes to clean up! however by early afternoon we are all hungry and vividly aware of our desire for earthly nourishment!!!

Today our FEAST was Ezekiel 18:21-28 ²¹ "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. ²² None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. ²³ Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

²⁴ "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

²⁵ "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ²⁶ If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. ²⁷ But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. ²⁸ Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die.
and Matthew 5:20-26

²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Today after our reading we had a precious discussion about making peace with those we've wronged. The Spirit is so good at convicting my heart at just the right time --after much to harshly reprimanding one of the boys for spilling something after breakfast just this morning -- I was able to apologize. The flood that followed shocked me, why is it we don't expect the spirit to work? one child after another apologizing for wrongs they had done just this morning!

May the Holy Spirit work in your heart too, to break down any walls of sin that have begun.
Have a blessed weekend!

Jonah was a prophet ...

....but he never really got it.
We have watched the Veggie tale Jonah movie enough that that gets a song going in my head!

FAST Day 9: Today our bible FEAST were verses about Jonah.
Jonah 3:1-11 and Luke 11:29-32

One of the things we talked about was our families OBEY rule:

1. obey RIGHT away
2. obey ALL the way
3.obey with a JOYFUL heart.

We discussed how Jonah had learned that he had to obey God: Right away - he did (# 1) and all the way - he did (#2) but failed to do it with JOY in his heart (#3). How often are we living the same way? We are DOING the right thing but we have the wrong motives. Like Jonah do we expect certain results when we obey then become angry if it doesn't end the way we thought it should? I fall victim to this far too often -- obeying -- just so I can say I did it? or to look good? or to get something? or because it makes me feel better?
It seems in our modern society that we far to often have everything planned then go to God for approval instead of seeking His leading in the first place. Seems to me its pretty hard to obey God if we aren't even asking for leading but instead are making our own plans.

(the kids were pretty happy to catch ME reflecting today -- so I agreed to include it )

Our move over 3 years ago now was a HUGE "OBEY" action for our family, another OBEY act was schooling extra children last year, another OBEY choice was saying yes to fostering children. There have been days when I would ask "why", days I surely DIDN'T have a joyful heart, but overall God has used all these tests of obedience to draw our family nearer to Him and be a shining light for others to see.

May you obey
ALL the way
RIGHT away
and with JOY in your heart today!!!!

How about you???

OK, I really didn't think this "fast" thing would last -- 5 kids plus a baby amidst a crazy schedule -- but it IS! And I am so blessed to see the children giving up something in order to more clearly hear from God. Today after church we relaxed for awhile, then when they started saying they were hungry -- "when is our fast done so we can have dinner?" they weren't complaining just asking, it was already after 3:00! I said lets FEAST on the word then we can eat :) Everyone got their bibles and journals ~ we FEASTED on Duet. 26:4-10 and Luke 4:1-13. (I'm not pasting it in today -- go get YOUR bible out!)

Lord, I desire to give you my best, yet too often I listen to the tempters voice -- who twists your words. May I rest in YOUR truth and be able to correct him with Sword of your Spirit. May I daily focus on YOU and follow the light instead of looking down and tripping over my own 2 feet in the dark. I love you Lord.


Maybe posting is holding me accountable! How about you ~ are you fasting from something? I'd love to hear how God is speaking to you today.
Blessings
Amy

the loose tooth

The little guy FINALLY lost it -- his tooth that is! Both cousins beat him -- but he FINALLY pulled it out yesterday :) He was very excited.

The older ones shared with him that there really isn't a tooth fairy but if he puts it under his pillow mom will give him something -- bum deal being the youngest! All the surprises are so deflated. He was still excited to find a quarter when he woke up (thankfully - mom remembered!!!)



Between gymnastics, play practice and 2 basketball games we will fit our FEAST in somewhere! May you have a blessed weekend!

Isaiah 58:9-14
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Luke 5:27-32
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
31Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

My prayer:

As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen