I, along with many people I know, was praying through the election that God would put His man in the White House. I believe He has, though it may not look like it to all the McCain supporters. So, for those of us whose candidate did not make it into the White House, or any of the Senate elections, what should we do?
The Bible is pretty clear on this. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says that "requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings (i.e. presidents for Americans) and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives..." Paul was saying this at a time when those in authority were pretty focused on persecuting and killing Christians. In fact, it was just before Nero blamed the Christians on a huge fire that was started in Rome that resulted in Paul's beheading and mass rioting and killing of Christians in Rome. So, if those Christians, whose lives were in danger by being Christians should have been praying for their leaders, we, who can worship Christ freely should exercise our freedom even more and pray for wisdom and good counselors for Barak Obama and for God's protection for our country.
The Bible also reminds us that "The king's (president's) heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases." If God can convince an arrogant, idol-worshipping heathen the Pharoh Rameses to let the Isrealites go; if He can convince an arrogant, idol worshipping heathen like King Nebuchnedzzer to worship him (read the book of Daniel); if He can cause an idol loving king like Darius to let the Isrealites rebuild Jerusalem (the book of Nehemiah), He can lead a president-elect who at least claims that he is Christian.
Finally, all Americans should remember that no president, nor is any form of government our saviour. Nor do I believe that Barak Obama is the Antichrist, even though the Pick 3 Lotto numbers in Illinois right after the election were 6,6,6 (http://www.illinoislottery.com/subsections/numbers2.htm as a fact check).
Here are some other verses regarding world leaders in the Bible. It is by no means exhaustive.
Isaiah 40: 21-24
Isaiah 49:7
Daniel 2:21
Titus 3:1
God Bless!
November 16, 2008
November 8, 2008
Taking a stand
I just want to say how great my husband is. He was being asked to go on a trip that would have him be gone for two weeks AND arrive just in time for us to leave on vacation. He managed to work out a way to be part of the meeting without having to actually go to it because, his family comes first. This is especially courageous because there has been a lot of downsizing in the company lately and there is always uncertainty in what will happen to you if you go against the flow. To be fair, another person who was supposed to go isn't because his wife is due to have a baby at any time and the plane trip would take several hours.
My love, you are my hero!
My love, you are my hero!
October 19, 2008
More family news
Jessi lost another tooth. The tooth fairy was inexplicably delayed for two days :-(. However, she was very patient and was rewarded with extra cash.
John asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior this week. Woo Hoo! Now all my kids are God's Kids. I know that as he grows, he will have to make re-committments to God because he is at a very young age, but it is still quite a relief to know that God is working in my kid's lives. Last Wednesday, October 15th, during our prayer and praise time of school, when I asked for prayer requests, John said, "Momma, I need the Spirit." I cuddled him and started praying for him when I felt God say to me "Ask him if he wants Jesus in his heart." I asked him and to my joy and amazement, he said "Yes". So I got to lead him in the Sinner's prayer. I used to say that I never saw anyone come to Christ because of my testimony. Now I can say that I led two of my children to Christ. The other two asked Jesus to be their Savior at church.
My sil had a baby boy this week, even though, 20 weeks ago, the ultrasound technicians were certain the baby was a girl. They must have had a boy's name picked out from the early weeks of pregnancy because they came up with a very nice one--Ezra Nicholas. They seem to be recovering well from the shock as well as the delivery. Keep up the good work!
My hubby took a three day trip. I thought it would be easy-peasy for me because it was so short. For some reason, I had a LOT of trouble this time. Friday ended up being really horrible in the morning trying to get ready for our homeschool co-op. It seems inevitable that I only teach the weeks that he is on a trip. This week, on Thursday, one of the teachers asked me to sub for her because she was sick. I agreed and then realized that it was my turn to teach the other subject, geology. Plus, I was leading in the P.E. event of cross country running. Something had to give. I quickly emailed the group and asked them to help me out with the day and the moms were really great about taking over the geology lesson and helping me with P.E. It still took a toll on me. On Saturday, I found out that my husband's return flight was delayed by five hours! The agony!!! He was still home by dinnertime, though and the kids really enjoyed having him back.
This week, we started memorizing Proverbs 25:28--"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control." The goal is to apply it to our lives to limit the amount of screaming, crying, slamming doors, and temper tantrums in the house. As we were memorizing it, the one thing God pointed out to me is that city walls are broken down either from neglect (not relying fully on Him) or invaders and that it leaves the city defenseless against further attacks. I shared that thought with the kids. We will see if they get it. The interesting thing about scripture memory is that when you really try to put it into practice, God gives you abundant opportunities for that very purpose :-).
This week, I read Caddie Woodlawn, which was one of Elizabeth's required reading for school. I never had read it and I was curious about the story. For those of you who do not know, the book is based on an actual person who lived south of Menomee, Wisconsin. Her father convinced her mother to let her run "wild" with the boys because he felt she would be healthier and stronger because of it. Near the end of the story, after she has played a very mean trick on a visiting cousin, Caddie's dad tells her the following: "It is the sisters and wives and mothers...who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie--harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well." This gave me great encouragement to "stay the course" in my commitment to my children and my husband and my home. It is also something I hope to pass on to my children--that the truly important things of life will not be valued by the world, things like having good relationships, taking care of others, letting others have the limelight, holding your tongue instead of either boasting or tearing someone down. I am an imperfect teacher at this concept, but then again, God is still working on this vessel. Thank you, God that you have not given up on me!
John asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior this week. Woo Hoo! Now all my kids are God's Kids. I know that as he grows, he will have to make re-committments to God because he is at a very young age, but it is still quite a relief to know that God is working in my kid's lives. Last Wednesday, October 15th, during our prayer and praise time of school, when I asked for prayer requests, John said, "Momma, I need the Spirit." I cuddled him and started praying for him when I felt God say to me "Ask him if he wants Jesus in his heart." I asked him and to my joy and amazement, he said "Yes". So I got to lead him in the Sinner's prayer. I used to say that I never saw anyone come to Christ because of my testimony. Now I can say that I led two of my children to Christ. The other two asked Jesus to be their Savior at church.
My sil had a baby boy this week, even though, 20 weeks ago, the ultrasound technicians were certain the baby was a girl. They must have had a boy's name picked out from the early weeks of pregnancy because they came up with a very nice one--Ezra Nicholas. They seem to be recovering well from the shock as well as the delivery. Keep up the good work!
My hubby took a three day trip. I thought it would be easy-peasy for me because it was so short. For some reason, I had a LOT of trouble this time. Friday ended up being really horrible in the morning trying to get ready for our homeschool co-op. It seems inevitable that I only teach the weeks that he is on a trip. This week, on Thursday, one of the teachers asked me to sub for her because she was sick. I agreed and then realized that it was my turn to teach the other subject, geology. Plus, I was leading in the P.E. event of cross country running. Something had to give. I quickly emailed the group and asked them to help me out with the day and the moms were really great about taking over the geology lesson and helping me with P.E. It still took a toll on me. On Saturday, I found out that my husband's return flight was delayed by five hours! The agony!!! He was still home by dinnertime, though and the kids really enjoyed having him back.
This week, we started memorizing Proverbs 25:28--"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control." The goal is to apply it to our lives to limit the amount of screaming, crying, slamming doors, and temper tantrums in the house. As we were memorizing it, the one thing God pointed out to me is that city walls are broken down either from neglect (not relying fully on Him) or invaders and that it leaves the city defenseless against further attacks. I shared that thought with the kids. We will see if they get it. The interesting thing about scripture memory is that when you really try to put it into practice, God gives you abundant opportunities for that very purpose :-).
This week, I read Caddie Woodlawn, which was one of Elizabeth's required reading for school. I never had read it and I was curious about the story. For those of you who do not know, the book is based on an actual person who lived south of Menomee, Wisconsin. Her father convinced her mother to let her run "wild" with the boys because he felt she would be healthier and stronger because of it. Near the end of the story, after she has played a very mean trick on a visiting cousin, Caddie's dad tells her the following: "It is the sisters and wives and mothers...who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie--harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well." This gave me great encouragement to "stay the course" in my commitment to my children and my husband and my home. It is also something I hope to pass on to my children--that the truly important things of life will not be valued by the world, things like having good relationships, taking care of others, letting others have the limelight, holding your tongue instead of either boasting or tearing someone down. I am an imperfect teacher at this concept, but then again, God is still working on this vessel. Thank you, God that you have not given up on me!
October 11, 2008
Garage Sale update
Well, our garage sale enterprise is officially done and the end result is that most of the stuff we have no one else wants to buy either. So today, we packed up the van and car and took the stuff to various and sundry places--Goodwill, Tri-County Pregnancy Center, and the Grayslake Library (books). There we discovered that even Goodwill has limits: they won't take any electronics that were made before 2000! So tonight, I put an ad on Freecycle just to get stuff out of our garage! Apparently, some people don't mind "old" electronics! Hopefully by tomorrow everything will be gone.
If I had to do it all over again, I would save the trouble of having a garage sale and just give it to charity or put something on Freecycle.
Good News: My SIL did not have a C-section because prayers were answered and her "pecan" turned around on her own. Yay God! Yay Katie! Of course, this means that she is still 9 months pregnant...
If I had to do it all over again, I would save the trouble of having a garage sale and just give it to charity or put something on Freecycle.
Good News: My SIL did not have a C-section because prayers were answered and her "pecan" turned around on her own. Yay God! Yay Katie! Of course, this means that she is still 9 months pregnant...
October 8, 2008
Family ramblings
This morning, my sister-in-law, is going to the hospital to possibly have a C-section. We are hoping she gets a lovely surprise and that the baby turned itself around properly and will be "heading out" on its own. You're in our prayers KT!
Also this morning, my son, after watching rain all yesterday afternoon and evening and waking up to it, cried out "Holy Soaks!" I don't know where he gets it from.
Last week, my oldest daughter mastered doing cartwheels on the balance beam like Shawn Johnson while suffering through a fever. Way to go! (We didn't realize she had a fever until she got home). She's much better now.
We have an impending visit from the tooth fairy for my younger daughter, who is also doing a fabulous job in gymnastics.
My youngest son, is learning to wag his eyebrows in the cutest way.
I am working a lot and enjoying every minute of it, both at home and my work outside the home.
In political news...
I, like my dh, have realized that Obama is the Messiah! He foresaw the Georgia crisis; he foresaw the financial crisis we are experiencing; he foresaw the problems in Pakistan. And he flew into action with keeness and speed, issuing statements of concern and filing position papers and starting to evaluate whether he should be president! He and the creator of the internet, Al Gore, are soul mates!
Also this morning, my son, after watching rain all yesterday afternoon and evening and waking up to it, cried out "Holy Soaks!" I don't know where he gets it from.
Last week, my oldest daughter mastered doing cartwheels on the balance beam like Shawn Johnson while suffering through a fever. Way to go! (We didn't realize she had a fever until she got home). She's much better now.
We have an impending visit from the tooth fairy for my younger daughter, who is also doing a fabulous job in gymnastics.
My youngest son, is learning to wag his eyebrows in the cutest way.
I am working a lot and enjoying every minute of it, both at home and my work outside the home.
In political news...
I, like my dh, have realized that Obama is the Messiah! He foresaw the Georgia crisis; he foresaw the financial crisis we are experiencing; he foresaw the problems in Pakistan. And he flew into action with keeness and speed, issuing statements of concern and filing position papers and starting to evaluate whether he should be president! He and the creator of the internet, Al Gore, are soul mates!
September 19, 2008
Bridgetender School Newsletter
Bridgetender School started again on September 2, 2008. Children attending are Elizabeth in 4th grade, Jessica in 2nd grade, Kyle in Kindergarten, and John in pre-school. This year, Kris is doing more of a literature based unit study approach, which mainly means that there are several subject we do together as a family. Before school starts, we all do chores, focusing on one room. School starts with worship, prayer and Bible study. We are currently going through Proverbs, which is Providential because Elizabeth is also studying Proverbs in church. Then we do Math (individually), History or Science (combined), Language Arts--Literature, break for lunch and recess, then get back together for Language Arts--written arts for the girls. We start around 8:30 and are usually done by 2 p.m. Our history study is a Diane Waring study of the ancient cultures with support from Streams of Civilization. For science, we are studying Botany through Apologia. Fridays involve our homeschool group which is currently studying Spanish, geology, and doing logic exercises.
For Elizabeth, we will be focusing a lot of effort on expanding her writing ability. One day a week, she is journaling. This month, we are working on book reports and developing essay skills. In October, she will be submitting an essay for an essay contest sponsored by the Homeschool Legal Defence Association. She has Spanish homework from the homeschool group and we are going through a Latin Roots book. Elizabeth is over halfway through the Gamma book from Math U See, which involves multiplication and division. We are trying to get through two chapters a week as long as she can. We are continuing spelling and grammer, focusing on prepositions this month. She finished reading The Green Glass Sea and is reading Caddie Woodlawn. For P.E., she is taking Gymnastics three times a week in the Level 5 competitive team and participating in the homeschool P.E. group. The P.E. group is currently using letterboxing in a "great race" format. In home skills, Elizabeth learned to clean the refrigerator, which also helped her earn extra money. She participated in a one day horseriding "field trip" for homeschoolers that she paid for with her own money.
For Jessi, we are working on penmanship skills, which are still pretty weak right now. However, this week, they improved dramatically when I explained that penmanship should be a thing of beauty. She is flying through math as quickly as she can and claims that it is her favorite subject. She is working on spelling. For P.E., she is taking Gymnastics twice a week as part of the Jr. Trainer program and is participating in the homeschool P.E. program.
For Kyle, we are focusing on developing reading skills and learning about money. He can currently recognize pennies, nickels and dimes and can count by 5's and 10's. He can blend sounds easily when he knows the sounds of the words. We checked out the "BOB books" from the Library. He is enjoying botany with the girls and is taking a Jr. Engineering program through the Grayslake Park District. He also decided to do gymnastics when the Grayslake Park District cancelled their fall T-Ball program for lack of interest. He is also participating in the homeschool P.E. program.
John is learning to listen and enjoys reading time and play time with momma. He is learning to play card games, dust and pick up his room. He plays with clay, playdough and colors when we get together on topics. Once a week, on Tuesdays, the girls and Kyle spend an hour at art class while momma and John play.
I hope you enjoyed the update.
For Elizabeth, we will be focusing a lot of effort on expanding her writing ability. One day a week, she is journaling. This month, we are working on book reports and developing essay skills. In October, she will be submitting an essay for an essay contest sponsored by the Homeschool Legal Defence Association. She has Spanish homework from the homeschool group and we are going through a Latin Roots book. Elizabeth is over halfway through the Gamma book from Math U See, which involves multiplication and division. We are trying to get through two chapters a week as long as she can. We are continuing spelling and grammer, focusing on prepositions this month. She finished reading The Green Glass Sea and is reading Caddie Woodlawn. For P.E., she is taking Gymnastics three times a week in the Level 5 competitive team and participating in the homeschool P.E. group. The P.E. group is currently using letterboxing in a "great race" format. In home skills, Elizabeth learned to clean the refrigerator, which also helped her earn extra money. She participated in a one day horseriding "field trip" for homeschoolers that she paid for with her own money.
For Jessi, we are working on penmanship skills, which are still pretty weak right now. However, this week, they improved dramatically when I explained that penmanship should be a thing of beauty. She is flying through math as quickly as she can and claims that it is her favorite subject. She is working on spelling. For P.E., she is taking Gymnastics twice a week as part of the Jr. Trainer program and is participating in the homeschool P.E. program.
For Kyle, we are focusing on developing reading skills and learning about money. He can currently recognize pennies, nickels and dimes and can count by 5's and 10's. He can blend sounds easily when he knows the sounds of the words. We checked out the "BOB books" from the Library. He is enjoying botany with the girls and is taking a Jr. Engineering program through the Grayslake Park District. He also decided to do gymnastics when the Grayslake Park District cancelled their fall T-Ball program for lack of interest. He is also participating in the homeschool P.E. program.
John is learning to listen and enjoys reading time and play time with momma. He is learning to play card games, dust and pick up his room. He plays with clay, playdough and colors when we get together on topics. Once a week, on Tuesdays, the girls and Kyle spend an hour at art class while momma and John play.
I hope you enjoyed the update.
September 17, 2008
Garage Sale results
I held my first ever garage sale last weekend. My DH helped a lot with setting up the garage and putting tarps over the stuff we didn't want to sell. We kept a lot of stuff in the garage because there was a forecast of rain for at least part of the weekend. However, we had put something in CraigsList and we didn't want to disappoint. It started raining Friday afternoon and didn't stop much until Sunday afternoon. We were only planning to have the garage sale Friday and Saturday, but we ended it early on Saturday. We sold a few things, but still have a lot of stuff. We will try and have another garage sale in a couple of weeks and if it doesn't pan out, we will give the remaining toys to Hurricane Ike victims and I might put the rest on Freecycle. It was nice to see that some of the stuff was worth buying. I will say that seeing someone walk away with empty hands from your stuff is a little humiliating. You feel like saying, "What, my stuff isn't good enough for you?" But then again, it isn't good enough for me....hmmm.
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