3 Gifts You Gave Today

1} Cherries to a friend

2} Laughter to friends...they gave that to me as well!!!

3} a birthday gift...

Blessings,

Sufficiency of Scripture

But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?” There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

John 7:10-13

A Gift Small, Big, Just Right

1}Small: I forgot my lunch today when I went in for work...my hubby sent it with my boy when he brought him to work...thanks honey!

2}Big: New Handbags...cannot WAIT for them to come in!

3}Just Right: A diet coke after a REALLY LONG day!

Blessings,

3 Gifts Eaten

Ok...so I brought home some new chocolates to share with the family, so these are ALL going to be chocolate...the price audit at work needs to move OUT of the chocolate aisle...

1}Target has some new Godiva Creme Brulee Truffles...and THEY ARE GOOD! I didn't think I would like them...as I don't really care for Creme Brulee...but I was wrong

2} Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Almond...Smooth and creamy with just a tiny touch of salt every once in a while...

3} Ghiradelli Coconut Rendezvous...I think this was my personal favorite...I LOVE chocolate with toasted coconut in it...

Blessings,

3 Gifts Framed by a Frame

1} My Marriage License

2} Our Pictures from our annual Christmas photo over the years...It holds 10 photos...it is fun to see the family grow and the children as they change from year to year.

3} A lovely print of my favorite hymn..."May the Mind of Christ My Savior". I cannot BELIEVE I found this in a shop...

Blessings,
C~

3 Gifts in Fabric

1}The Quilt made for us for our wedding

2}The quilt that was made for me for helping with a wedding...this quilt has scraps from all the quilts she made for my babies! So special.

3} Cool, Crisp Clean sheets at bedtime

Blessings,

3 Gifts in Someone Older than Me

1} Wisdom

2} Discretion

3} Teaching the Younger Women

Blessings,

A Gift in Water, in Words, In White

1} In water: Coffee...Oh, you KNEW that was coming
2} In Words: the books I am reading...Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis and Crazy Love by Francis Chan
3} In White: LOTS of TP...stored up in our laundry room...try running out one time and tell me this is NOT a gift!!!

Blessings and giggles,

The Classical Historian

The Classical Historian
Ancient Civilizations
Take a Stand Publications
John De Gree
Price: Varies-from $168.99-$216.99 for complete history packages, $14.95-$59.99 for Game options
Ages: 5-129


A brief disclaimer...this review is LONG...there was so much to cover and share with these products...I am sorry about that. The history curriculum is covered first, and then towards the bottom of the post, The Go Fish Game.


Classical Historian Ancient Civilizations Curriculum
One Complete Year for Grades 6-8

1. 32 Week Guide for the Parent/Teacher with Take a Stand! Key - 53 Pages
2. Take a Stand! Student's Book - 89 Pages
3. Teaching the Socratic Discussion DVD Curriculum - 4 DVDs, 77 Pages
4. World History Detective, published by The Critical Thinking Company**
5. Global History and Geography, published by Amsco Publications**

** We did not receive these items…this review is based on what we could do with what we received.

The Classical Historian uses a five step program to teach history. Briefly, these are:

1. The Grammar of History -who, what, where, when, basic facts
2. The Tools of the Historian – a few of the complete list
1. Fact or Opinion?
2. Judgment
3. Supporting Evidence
4. Primary or Secondary Source Analysis
5. Using Quotes
6. Paraphrasing

3. Research-primary and secondary sources

4. The Socratic Discussion-Discussion to present, question and challenge position held and arrive at the best conclusion in preparation of writing

5. Analytical Essays-Writing a paper of substance supporting your position.

Just to clarify some terms before I begin (so you know what I am talking about!)

Socratic Discussion in History has two parts…the DVDs and the Socratic Discussion in History Guide Book. I will call these the Dvds and the DVD guide

Ancient Civilizations One Complete Year of History 32 Week Guide-Lesson plan

Take A Stand: Ancient Civilizations Reading, Discussing and Writing- Student Text


How to begin… the parent begins by watching the Introduction DVD for the Socratic Discussion in History portion of the program. There are 17 lessons to complete in the DVD series and then you can go into one of the history programs. While this is outlined in The Socratic Discussion in History book (Guide Book), it is included in the 32 Week Guide (Lesson Plan) mentioned below. I think it is easier to follow the schedule in the Lesson Plan. From that point, you watch and work together with your students, completing the activities while you pause the DVD. Your teacher, John De Gree is walking you through this program step by step and this really is not only a necessary part of the program, but INCREDIBLY helpful and valuable. While he is teaching us how to use the program, he is walking through it step by step with two students, modeling what we do and say. I REALLY LOVED this part of the program. Before I watched that, I was thinking…this program is not for me…Now, I am thinking…Wow! This is really helping students develop and use thinking skills, see more than one side of an issue and articulate and discuss what they believe and why.

Before I move on, it is recommended to step through those 17 lessons each year to review and refresh the concepts before beginning the curriculum.

One AMAZING part of this program is contained in the DVD Guide…at the end of the lessons, there is a section that teaches the teacher how to grade the paragraphs and essays. Showing samples written from actual students, you can see both poorly written and well written pieces and see how that grade was chosen based on the grading rubric. I LOVED seeing the contrast and getting an insight to why that score was selected.

Into The Take a Stand Curriculum, we received Take A Stand! Ancient Civilizations: Reading, Discussing and Writing student book. This book is recommended for the 6-8th grader. The website states that this is not a set of textbooks, but rather a guide to thinking, reading, discussing and writing, teaching the student to become the historian. You will need some sort of textbook/documents to add to this to get the facts needed to be able to continue through the guide book. The website has recommendations of what to use. We did not receive these to review, so I cannot comment on them at all.

The student text contains the forms your child will need to record their data and organize it before writing their essay. This book is divided into two parts: Social Studies Curriculum and Social Studies Literacy Curriculum. Part one of the student book contains the lesson worksheets needed for the student to complete their assignments for the year. Part two looks like the same forms in The DVD Guide, but has an Ancient Civilization focus. My guess is that you would use the pages in the back of the student book AFTER you had gone through the Socratic Discussion program for the first time…but I am not really sure. Edit: After hearing back from Mr. De Gree, he told me that the Take A Stand books were written prior to the Socratic Discussion in History products being created. I would recommend following the outline laid out the the DVD guide so that you can have similar answers to what is happening in the video. The Lessons in part two can then be used to reinforce any weak areas of the program when the teacher is comfortable leading the method.

In Part 1 of the student text, the lesson begins with the title and a short introductory paragraph. The lesson numbers do not line up with the lesson numbers in the Lesson Plan and can be initially confusing, but the Lesson Plan is very clear on page numbers, so I would not worry about the numbers being different. The lessons have six assignments with a small chart for the student to record due dates for each one (Yes, I did say due dates…and NO…I am not good with them either…maybe this will help me out!) That is followed by some activities which will vary depending on the assignment, which is included in that introductory paragraph. After the students have completed the prewriting assignments, you gather to have your Socratic Discussion. This begins with interviewing other students and reflecting on what you found out. After that has been done, students present their ideas in class and great debate can happen at this point. This discussion is to be supported by evidence with the teacher questioning the students, helping them to see other perspectives.

One thing that could be a challenge, is the spacing of the lessons…from looking in the Lesson Plan for The Classical Historian, a lesson is a week’s worth of material. You work together once a week and then the student works alone until the next week. My older student working through this program was more than capable of working on his own, but my younger student needed more interaction throughout the week...and that is the beauty of homeschooling...tailoring it to fit our needs. The DVDs were a little problematic at times...I am not sure if this was my equipment or the DVDs, but I got what I needed from them. Some have mentioned the quality being poor. I was not at all troubled by this. I enjoyed the presentation of the material and could understand all the speakers. I only mention it as a possible annoyance. It was a little difficult not having the particular materials recommended in the lesson plan…we jumped over those parts, but our lessons felt a little disjointed. One last point was confusion over the first 17 lessons outlined in the DVD Guide…in the Lesson Plan, it looks like this is spaced over the first 9 lessons of class (nine weeks), this was not apparent to me as I was working in DVD Guide…so we did a small amount of backtracking to make sure we caught everything we were supposed to…I am not sure how that could be changed, but having that part outlined in two places was confusing to me. Edit: Mr. De Gree told me that he wrote the DVD guide one year before the Lesson Plan and that the DVD package can be used alone, for you to incorporate the method of instruction/learning into the items you may already have in your home. The Lesson Plan came out of requests from home school moms who wanted more specific instructions

There were a few things I really appreciated about the Lesson Plan. First, I appreciated that it was stated at the top of the lesson if it was going to be a full lesson and to be watchful of the time. While we do not have many time constraints, it is nice to know that ahead of time in case I use this in a co-op setting, or at a time when time is a factor. Second, the Lesson Plan steps you through everything you need to do in that lesson, down to approximate time needed, page numbers and activity numbers. There are MANY reminders to look ahead, let your student know, etc. I love how that helps us think ahead and keep on track. One last part I liked about the Lesson Plan was bringing the material your student had been learning into a discussion with the family. What a great way for students to learn to further articulate themselves in a safe environment.

At first, I could only see this being used in a classroom setting and thought that there was no way to make this work in my home. After watching the DVDs, I could easily see how to make it work with just one or two students, and I got REALLY excited to try a class like this in a co-op setting (I may have my class idea for next term already!) Probably the thing I liked best was seeing John De Gree encourage his two students in the video, even when their answers were not quite right. It really presented such a wonderful picture of history lessons with the students thinking and engaged. I LOVE that John De Gree states in the DVD that he does not know everything and students have made great points that he had not seen before. It was such a grace filled way of teaching and encouraging along the way. We really ended up enjoying this approach to teaching/learning history. I think personally though, that I would teach from more of a Christian perspective as I believe God's hand is evident throughout history and I love proclaiming that to my children. Even though there are textbooks as a part of this program, I feel like this is more about a method of teaching than a set of curriculum. One that encourages the students to be independent thinkers and articulate and confident communicators.

The materials I received were not presented as Christian, but the author comes from a Judeo-Christian background. You can get more information about their beliefs here http://www.classicalhistorian.com/q-and-a.html Junior High and High School courses are available as well as an online option

Try out a free summer lesson to get a feel for the flavor of these items.

The other item we received was Go Fish Game: Ancient History. The Go Fish game is one of SEVERAL fun learning games available from The Classical Historian. I thought they were thin and too easy to cheat with on some of the ways you can play them and a little vague in other ways, but my children LOVED these and learned from playing with them and that really is the test of a good product. Recommended for ages 6 and up, I think these are PERFECT for ages 6 to about 11 or 12. After that, I think they are a little too simplistic for olders. You can use these cards to play four different games:

Go Fish:Collect 4 of a kind collections
Collect The Cards: You guess who/what is on the card based on the clues given
Continents: Group by Continent
Chronology: Organizing cards in a chronological fashion the quickest

So there are 12 categories, such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, etc and each category has four cards...so Roman Republic has Denarius, Circus Maximus, Roman Aquaduct, and Cincinnatus and each card has three clues...so The Card Julius Caesar (in the category Roman Empire) has these clues: Crossed the Rubicon, March 15 and Cleopatra as the clues...easy breezy, huh? Ok...well try this one for Roman Empire...
Clue 1: Strong
Clue 2: Pax Romana
Clue 3: Protector

Did you get it? Don't worry...I have played this game about 4 times and I NEVER GET IT...Answer: Roman Soldier...that is what I mean about vague...some are hard just because it is so vague.
As far as being able to cheat if you are guessing...well the cards have all the names in that category on the face...so you can make a pretty good guess if you have one of the cards from that category.
Aside from what I think though, my children thought it was very fun and had a good time playing...and quizzing Mom!
There are other games available from The Classical Historian and I think I am going to buy the American History Memory Game (I may do the game bundle though...as it is a GREAT DEAL and my children did enjoy the Go Fish Game!) since we are studying American History this year.



Blessings,

Sufficiency of Scripture

After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him. So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

John 7:1-9

3 Gifts Found Around a Table

1} Fellowship

2} Memories

3} Nourishing & Nurturing

4} Hospitality

5} Laughter

6} Conversation

Blessings,

3 Gifts That Are Difficult

1} Teenagers: The whole parenting/letting go process

2} Sibling Rivalry: Knowing when to get involved and when to let it go

3} Loving on a brokenhearted Momma

Blessings,

3 Gifts Found in Light

1}Guidance: Psalm 119:105- Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

2}Vision: Matthew 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

3} A Glorious Future: Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Blessings,

A Gift Bent, Beautiful, Loved

!} Bent: Aunt Florence's Cameo Ring...It has always had an odd shape in the band

2} Beautiful: CHILDREN

3} Loved: My family

Blessings,

3 Gifts You Became Today in Serving

1} The Hands of Christ in Serving a Friend

2} Hope to a Discouraged Momma

3} A Helper to a Struggling Student

Blessings,

3 Gifts from My Heavenly Father

1}Unconditional Love

2}Purpose in Hard Things

3} Amazing Grace

Family Update

Well, It has been A LONG time since I have given an update on the "children"...who are not all looking much like children these days...I ALWAYS say...Time Flies when measured by growing babies...

So a VERY QUICK update on each one...

Josh just finished his first quarter of community college and has officially finished his high school work. He is looking for his place in the world...trying to find a life work...which is sometimes hard to know at this age. He has been playing on the worship team at church, on the softball team as well and has the most adorable smile ever! He has been working at Target for almost a year now and will be taking his driving test soon. He loves Star Wars, many movies, techy things and has a group of great friends.

Josiah is working on getting his GED and may graduate this year too. He loves making music and really wants to tour with his band. He spends lots of time with friends and his girlfriend and we don't get to spend a lot of time with him. We wish that was different, but believe God's plan for Josiah is to give him a future and a hope. Josiah is looking for a job and may actually have one lined up...not sure...

Lou, is our helper. He is such an encouragement and a precious blessing to me in very practical ways. I cannot thank him enough for the gifts he has given to us...especially in that last year. I often say, that I think he is everyone's favorite brother...He has a great smile, is a wonderful baker, a wonderful photographer,loves to read, is a thinker, has wonderful friends, is trying to learn how to play the guitar, LOVES Lord of the Rings and is often very quiet.

The Principessa is growing into such a little lady each day...She is so beautiful and it breaks my heart that she does not see it...She loves being social, is beginning to see that reading can be nice, is my left hand (I am left handed!!!) and has such a sweet heart. Having four brothers, she can be one of the guys...which has is blessings and challenges. She has been helping me with our new Origami Owl Business and is earning a little money that way. She loves sandals and bling like her momma and is HOPING to be getting Saige (THE American Girl Doll of the Year) soon! She wants to learn more piano and every instrument known to mankind...and MAY go to the Homeschool Choir/Band that EVERYONE goes to in the fall...

DD is getting so much bigger...He has lost his front teeth this past year and BOY doesn't that change their look? He is learning to read and doing so well...he is SO EXCITED about his new school books and we just set them all up in his desk area. He is wanting to go to Cabela's SO BAD...he has never been inside one, has no idea what is there, but still REALLY wants to go...is there a Cabela's gene inside these little guys? We are HOPING to go next week...he has been promised a special trip for over a year now, but it just hasn't worked out yet. He is all boy and loves to ride his bike with no hands, climb trees, race around on his scooter and anything else he can think of. He has the most infectious laugh and adorable dimples...He loves everyone and has a sweet heart for the Lord.

Dana is working with the Laborer's Union doing demolition. I think he really enjoys that work and I already know he is a hard worker. He really enjoys yardwork, which I do not...so that is a blessing, is the master barbequer in our home and an all around great cook. He is always puttering around the house doing this and doing that. i am thankful for the many ways we complement each other.

I am still at Target and working at our church, started a new home business with Origami Owl, chaffeuring everyone all the places they need to go and trying to get on top of all the things Mommas juggle each and every day.

Well, I said it was going to be quick...I will try to update more later...sorry there are no pictures...No camera right now...

Blessings,
C~

3 Gifts in My Dad

1} My Dad Loved History...I think I got that from him

2} My Dad served in the Military...Thank you!

3} My Dad loved to talk...I may have caught that too

Blessings

3 Gifts Moving

1} Our Vehicles...PRAISE GOD...and PLEASE keep then moving!

2} Our Washer, Dryer and Dishwasher...SO THANKFUL for them...and for those who are the cause of their always being in motion!!!

3} Me...as I am working the EARLY shift today...WHEW!

Sufficiency of Scripture

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

John 6:66-71

How Do We Know God Is Really There?

How Do We Know God Is Really There?
Written by Melissa Cain Travis
Illustated by Christopher Voss
Apologia Press
Price: $16.00

Written for younger children, "How Do We Know God Is Really There" is the first in a series of books addressing worldview issues helping to give children the firm foundation they need to stand in a world of shifting sands. Written By Melissa Cain Travis, "How Do We Know God Is Really There" is a story of a father and son who spend time together every evening looking out at the stars and talking about whatever comes up. In this story, the son, Thomas asks his Dad how they know God is really there. As the conversation continues, Thomas' dad asks him some questions and then they talk about some of the science that has been discovered about our universe which leads to some great dialog on the subject. It is hard to give you the nuts and bolts without giving the entire story...so I will stop there...I will end with the last lines of the book...Psalm 19:1..."The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

I have ALWAYS LOVED how Apologia handles the mix of faith and science...they never have said this is just the way it is...believe it and move on...don't think about it, etc. They have a great way in all of the products I have used (MANY Science books, What We Believe worldview series, etc) of really explaining why science does not contradict what the Bible says and bringing the science and faith aspects together. This book continues in that tradition. Through the dialog of the father and son, the son comes to see the truth for himself and, I think, would have a firmer stand in his faith because of that process...

I read this book to my children (11 and 7) and they really enjoyed it...They thought the part that showed a boy racing on Saturn's rings was pretty cool...they wished it could really happen. Reading the book also brought up some questions...what are Saturn's rings made of? What is the Hubble Telescope? Can we get a treehouse...ummm NO...sorry. They also LOVED the part that described a video going backwards...they thought that picture was HYSTERICAL! We had some great conversations each time we read this book.

The illustrations, done by Christopher Voss, are colorful and fun! The book has a great storyline that explains a subject that adults can struggle with. I think it is a great book and would recommend it to families with younger children.

3 Gifts in His Word

1} Psalm 23...ALWAYS a good word!

2} I Timothy 4:12...Thinking about the young men and women graduating...

3} Hebrews 13:5...He NEVER leaves us alone!

Blessings,

A Gift Unexpected, Unwanted, Unlikely

1} Unexpected: The man before me in line at Starbucks paid for my order...I was VERY blown away by that. Thank you so much!

2} Unwanted: A "quick" trip into Mount Vernon, WA (PLACE WHERE THE BRIDGE COLLAPSED) could have been EVEN WORSE without a good friend giving me a tip on how to get out of there...I think I would still be sitting in her parking lot without her help...Mount Vernon, I feel your pain!

3} Unlikely: Words of hope to weary moms in my checklane from a guest. Do not grow weary of doing good Mommas!

Blessings,

3 Gifts Smelled

1} Onion, mushrooms, garlic and roast beef all sauteed together in a wonderful mix for something like a Philly Cheesesteak.

2} Young Living Breathe Away and Valor...Thanks Chloe, Jill and Leah for telling me all about it!

3} Brats cooking on the grill...one of our favorite meals...Brats and Pasta Salad

Blessings,

3 Gifts Full

1} My hands...Everyone says that with 5 children, homeschooling, and working, etc, etc that my hands are full...and that is very true. I feel so very greatly blessed to have those full hands...people to love, children to point in the way and a work in which I can serve.

2} My heart-very full of the blessings that God gives...In His great love for me I am richly blessed.

3} My Cup...runneth over...

Blessings,

3 Gifts Painted

1} My Children's Artwork...crafted with SO MUCH LOVE...the latest creation was made by DD with a LARGE splat of green paint...then folded over to get the other side and you have two very large GREEN EYES...a smile completes his masterpiece...and as soon as I find where it was tucked away, I will post a picture...

2} Fingernails and toenails...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a mani and pedi...planning a trip soon with the Principessa!

3} The detailing on the Origami Owl Charms...my locket right now only has the world charm that is painted...but so many of the other charms are too precious for words...like the hummingbird, or birthday cake, or the palm tree...LOVE them all!

Blessings,

a Gift at 8, at 12, at 2

1} At 8 am: QUITTING TIME!
2} At 12 pm: Lunch with my family
3} At 2 pm: Power Cleaning for when Daddy comes home from work!

Blessings,

3 Gifts that Really Made You Smile

1} "flower" bouquets from the backyard from my children
2} Everyone at home!
3} Recognizing a Senior! We love you Josh!

Blessings,

Sufficiency of Scripture

Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

John 6:41=65

3 Gifts Empty

1} A laundry basket...a RARE occurance!
2} Our van...my hubby cleaned it out for me...thanks honey!
3} Empty Water bottles...trying to get re-hydrated...

Blessings,

3 Gifts in What You Are Reading

Currently, I am only reading Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love", so the gifts will all be from that...It will be hard to narrow down to three...so you may get a BONUS gift!

1}"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God." C.S. Lewis

2}"He (God) cannot be contained in this world, explained by our vocabulary, or grasped by our understanding."

3}"The very fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair and just God loves you and me is nothing short of astonishing...The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing God treasures us."

4}"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next." C.S. Lewis

A wonderful book so far...I have been wanting to read it for quite some time.

Blessings,

3 Gifts Ugly-Beautiful

1} A BIG hole in our wall where smaller holes were made...a patch coming soon!
2} Needed work when I would rather be home
3} God's redeeming of the years the locusts have taken...

Blessings,

A Gift of Peace, of Hope, Of Love

1} Peace: Sleep
2} Hope: Flowers
3} Love: Sisters in Christ

Blessings,

3 Gifts Found in Christ

1}Reconciliation
2}Abundant Life
3}A Generosity which goes BEYOND Calculation! Thanks to Pastor Steve's Sermon title for that one!

Blessings,

3 Gifts from Today's Conversations

What a PERFECT day to have this post...we had a trip to the zoo...and HOPEFULLY, I will be posting some pictures about that...but here are the 3 gifts for today...


1} Talking with my children about God's design in His creation and getting to see it up close!
2} The opportunity to chat with friends over lunch...we talked about nothing, everything...Friends are such a blessing!
3} The third gift was a HUGE gift...the conversation was just asking my daughter to clean up the car...the Gift part was in her sacrificial gift to her Momma that was just not feeling good...Thank you precious Principessa...Your gift was more precious that you could ever know!

Blessings,

Summer Reading Fun

Well, this is the FIFTH time we have had a beginning reader...and it is very bittersweet as this will most likely will be the LAST beginning reader...It is a VERY exciting time for our DD as these shaped things called letters begin to take on a WHOLE NEW LIFE as words...and words in sentences, paragraphs and books.
To especially encourage my NEW reader, but also to have fun with one who THINKS she hates reading...we made Reading Rockets to track the books we read over the summer. When these get filled up, a trip to our FAVORITE used book store is in order.
So here are some Pictures...You really don't NEED them, but one day, I will want to remember this...my younger two are SO EXCITED! The Cloud like blob in the middle has their name on it...so I did not close in on that...but choosing a name out of the hat it would say, " Sally is a Rocket Reader!" We found an extra flat person from DD's Flat Stanley class...so we dressed it up and added that to his rocket...I guess the Principessa didn't want one for hers.
So here are DD's


And The Principessa's


Tomorrow, we are going to the ZOO!!!! This will be DD's FIRST TIME...can you believe it...WOW...cannot believe it has been over 7 years since we have gone...
It will also be a VERY LONG day for me...as I work at 5 am...then we will be going straight to the zoo...then later that night I will have a homeschool meeting...Ugh...tired just thinking about it!
Blessings,

Joy Dare Catch Up...again

So, I am already seeing how I might change how I do my Joy Dare posts next year...as I have periods of time when I can work ahead and then periods where I seem to be catching up...
So here are the last few days...

May 28
3 Gifts in Today's Work

1} Tuesdays, I get to do my FAVORITE job where I work...counting money!
2} The Team Environment
3} Discounts on Iced Coffees!!!!

May 29
A Gift at 8am, 12 pm, 8 pm

1} 8 am: Quitting time and Iced Coffee
2} 12 pm: School was in FULL SWING...time for a lunch break
3} 8 pm: Bedtime for a tired Momma...LONG DAY!

May 30
3 Gifts Blue

1} New Organizers for my desk!
2} Our New Bedroom...LOVE how our space looks now
3} EMPTY laundry baskets...well at LEAST ONE is blue!

May 31
3 Gifts I Gave today

1} Encouragement
2} LOVE
3} A sacrifice of my time to bless my hubby...

June 1
3 Gifts Orange

1} Looking at my orange Origami Owl Fortune Cookies...I feel blessed to be a part of such a great company
2} Mangoes...kinda orange-y...LOVE the new Mango NOOSA Yoghurt...
3} My boy in his Orange shirt...the ONE he HAD to have...even though it BARELY fits! Makes me happy and thankful for that sweet boy and his siblings that have SO ENRICHED my life.

June 2
This should be 3 gifts Funny...but it has been a HARD day...so I am changing this to Three HARD EUCHARISTEOS

1} Loving on a precious Momma who just lost a son...seeing her broke my heart and no words were good enough...Thankful today that God is on His throne and in control when all seems out of control.
2} Loving a prodigal...seeing his brokenness and knowing he needs to open up, but he won't...and he will continue down the hard path for a while longer...Thankful today that God loves this one more than we do and that when we make our beds in hell...HE IS THERE
3} Thankful for music that helps us express our hurts (and JOYS) when we have no words, are spiritually dry or things are just too hard...I am loving this song right now...


And I am caught up too!

Blessings,

Sufficiency of Scripture

So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:15-40