quote I found today…

Stop trying to perfect your children, but keep trying to perfect your relationship with them.

EPSOM SALTS

Trouble Sleeping? Detoxing? Try Epsom Salts! - http://www.healthhomehappy.com/2010/03/trouble-sleeping-detoxing-try-epsom-salts.html

 

Health Benefits of Epsom Salt Baths - http://www.care2.com/greenliving/health-benefits-of-epsom-salt-baths.html?page=1

Calgary -- A time lapse miniature video shot in Calgary, Canada.

http://youtu.be/Dn2WOYKUato

drafting off each others interests :o)

seen on facebook:

Brave Writer LLC

Create a home environment where people do what they do, near each other. I call this "drafting" off of each other's interests. As one watches a movie or reads a book, someone else is online posting to a discussion forum. Someone else may be putting together quesadillas and still another, folding laundry. If you inhabit a space together, you can pitch in, shout out a momentary insight, read a tidbit from your book aloud, call attention to a funny pun on a TV show, ask a question, share a new fact. Learning happens when you draft off each other's absorptions, and enjoy shared spaces.

happiness

"Happiness is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions. It's a mental attitude. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of being miserable about what we don't have. It's so simple, yet so hard for the human mind to comprehend." ~Unknown

This made me smile this morning…

found on Pinterest

Funny... I was just having this debate with myself tonight...

and then I checked my email and here is the same debate going on with someone else…

television versus books - http://minimalistmommi.com/going-head-to-head-books-v-television

I was running through the debate in my head because we are big TV and movie watchers in our house and I was feeling slightly guilty about it.  So with my guilt firmly in place, I asked myself, if we didn’t watch TV what would we do with our evening time?  We would probably read books.  Then I wrestled with the question… aren't they essentially the same thing… the telling of a story… so what would make one better than the other?  I think they are in the bare bone essentials a story, so now I feel less guilty of partaking in TV watching. :oP

open tabs ---

I want to go back and read these links:

1.  what God commands us to teach our children - http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2010/06/11/what-god-commands-us-to-teach-our-children/
2.  restore - http://www.habitat.ca/restore-directory-p5011.php?command=&cID=69&cat=Alberta
3.  organic community - http://stevesimms.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/a-nashville-dream-fulfilled-after-121-years/
4.  paradigm - http://joyfullygrowingingrace.wordpress.com/glossary/
5.  what is gluten? - http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/2012/02/what-is-gluten/
6.  low magnesium and sudden death by cardiac arrest - http://naturalallopathiccardiology.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112&Itemid=149
7.  4 ways to be a better friend - http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/02/4-ways-to-be-a-better-friend/
8.  immersion-  http://shemayisrael.net/articles/Immersion.pdf
9.  believers are grafted into and become Israel? - http://joyfullygrowingingrace.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/hebrew-roots-movement-believers-are-grafted-into-and-become-israel-um-no/
10.  law of Christ - http://joyfullygrowingingrace.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/the-law-of-christ-defined-and-defended/

Scripture says God has set eternity in the hearts of men but our bodies are subject to the eking leak of the years

“Scientists have indeed identified immersing oneself in a foreign culture as a way to slow the perception of the passing of time.  Scripture says God has set eternity in the hearts of men but our bodies are subject to the eking leak of the years”

http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/book-club-final-chapter

links to free learning resources found on Facebook

Wake Up World

Want to learn a new skill for free? Listed here are 100 sites that will help you learn a new language, a musical instrument, arts & craft, maths, science, health, fitness, cooking and the list goes on :) http://t.co/xzojDtW

100 Free Tools to Learn a New Skill in Almost Anything | Wake Up World

t.co

With a little dedication, these 100 free online tools can help guide you through the learning process step-by-step in just about any topic that you...

Love this guy’s story

Mortgage free home on a housekeepers salary --- he shares some great lessons on owning a home and mortgages.

An Autodidact’s Schedule

This guy is someone who I can definitely relate to.  His style of learning and passion for learning, very much mirrors my own.  This is also something I am promoting for my kids in their life long learning journey.  :)

An Autodidact’s Schedule - Post written by Leo Babauta.  http://zenhabits.net/autodidact/

letting go of some relationships…

 

This lesson keeps coming up in my life…

from this website:  http://pennyraine.com/blog/2012/02/my-week-in-review-and-giveaways-coming-and-freedom/

“A word of advice, if something does not bring you Joy, true Godly Joy, then get it out of your way. Including relationships. Some folks we are called to fellowship with everyday and others are just plain a trap to drain you. Years ago I got a huge revelation. I had spent many years trying to please and get along with an extended family member. No matter what I did it backfired I finally cried out to the Lord and asked why it was so hard. His reply was eye opening.  He said He never called me to do it. Wow! So I had spent years upon years doing what looked like a good thing but was not a “God thing”. No wonder it was so hard. Some people will never be happy, no NOBODY will ever truly be happy until they submit to Jesus. And if you are and they aren’t well, it is like hot and cold meeting in the sky, produces hurricanes and tornadoes. A relationship like that will suck up those in it’s path and cause destruction.  So, the answer? Love them, be polite, but give it to God, stop trying, stop wearing the burden, stop trying to make it work. Love from a distance if necessary. It is better to love from a distance and still have love in your heart than to have constant strife up close. Re-examine what the Word says about family, who really is family? What does He say about it?  Of course now that I am doing the God thing, I am accused of doing the wrong thing, but hey, I would rather please the Lord and be free than please a million folks who are looking for a reason to pick anyway. And my hubby agrees and we are in unity. Freedom is priceless.”

I have often felt this way too… I did not live in the moment enough

(from facebook)

Relationship Homeschooling

Another great thought from "thatmom's" archives:

“The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less." ~ Anna Quindlen

whole church–whole gospel–whole world

we need our friends

"We need our friends. Not just for good times but for basic health. In isolation, everything becomes magnified. Without others to help us form our boundaries and perceptions, whatever we can imagine becomes monstrous and whatever is monstrous becomes reality." -Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen & Carol Larsen Hegarty

Jordan and Deanna on the new quad

your husband

seen on facebook: Time-Warp Wife

Love him through those days when your patience wears thin; search for his hand through the sheets on a cold winter’s night; embrace him with arms that confirm your passion runs wild; be there when he needs a hand to stand up; let go when you must and allow him to fall. ~ Time-Warp Wife

in tune… in unity

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same [tuning] fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” A. W. Tozer, ‘The Pursuit of God’ (1948), p. 97

the faults of your friends

Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends - C.S. Lewis

working all things for good

“Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good. Behave yourself and never mind the rest.” ― Beatrix Potter

convinced deep in his heart

"A man must be convinced deep in his heart. Neither arguments nor reasoning can go that deep. The Holy Spirit can." AW Tozer

God works for us

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/11-ways-god-works-for-us

Letter to an Incomplete, Insecure Teenager

Letter to an Incomplete, Insecure Teenager

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/letter-to-an-incomplete-insecure-teenager

COMPASSION

NOTE TO SELF:  Go back and read this article - http://deeperstory.com/the-c-word/

a portion of the article:

I will live inside my skin, painful though it is. And I will live inside your skin too and together . . . if we’re all living inside each other’s skin? God. It feels like a scourging, but it looks like Christ.

“Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside someone else’s skin. It’s the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. ”  ~ Frederick Buechner

Teach us how to love, Abba

Question: "What is the human soul?"

http://www.gotquestions.org/human-soul.html

Question: "What is the heart?"

http://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-the-heart.html

Tell the gospel as you find it in the Bible, but set it in the frame of your own experience of its preciousness!

SEEN ON FACEBOOK:

Desiring God

Spurgeon: "Tell the gospel as you find it in the Bible, but set it in the frame of your own experience of its preciousness! Tell your son how you sinned and how the Lord had mercy upon you."

When Your Son Asks

www.desiringgod.org

When your son asks you in time to come, "What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?" then you shall say to your son, "We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand."

Do you have a church where your gifts are encouraged?

SEEN ON FACEBOOK:

The High Calling

FB team member Dena Dyer here. Like many people, I've been thinking a lot about Whitney Houston, whose career started with singing in her church, and today I'm amen-ing the wisdom in this piece from UrbanFaith called "The Missing X Factor." I especially love the ending: "We would all be closer to achieving greatness in whatever our particular pursuit in life may be if we had a regular opportunity to practice it, and if we heard the words of folk who love us encouraging us when we mess up: 'That’s alright now, take your time!'" Do you have a church where your gifts are encouraged? If so, how? If not, how could you encourage them to let people's gifts be more fully expressed?

The Missing X Factor

www.urbanfaith.com

Forget ‘American Idol.’ Where’s the church? Why local congregations need to reclaim their function as a training ground for young musicians.

said by Cindy Rushton this morning on her FB page:

said by Cindy Rushton this morning on her FB page:
Did we homeschool so our children would value education more than anything in this life? No. We homeschooled our children first and foremost so they would value relationship first and foremost. Relationship with God, family, church, friends, the world--first. Today, I am so blessed to see both of my children with a priority for relationships. A priority for family. An education is nice. Books are nice. But, it is all empty if education is the mark. An education should first prepare our children for LIFE. The main thing God created us for is relationship. Anything else is a cheap substitute that will bring emptiness. God, give us Your vision, Your priorities, Your best. When we seek YOU first, all these THINGS are added. Help us to see clearly what YOU want in all things and never settle for less than your best.

Does God allow or cause suffering?

Doing some research on this question.

1.  Does God cause suffering or does He allow it? http://ericcarp.blogspot.com/2007/04/question-4-does-god-cause-or-allow.html

2.  In the Midst of Pain -  http://thegodjourney.com/2012/02/17/in-the-midst-of-pain/
Do we have to go through suffering to be shaped by God? Prompted by a question on a blog comment, Brad and Wayne talk about the tension between finding God’s presence in the midst of our troubles and difficulties, and thinking God brings suffering in our lives to teach us something. While God does not orchestrate our sufferings to help us grow, he does promise to be in them when they come to teach us how to live beyond the realities of this age by living deeply in his love. Rather than live in fear of future sufferings to come, we can simply live in his love every day, whether that is in easy times or painful ones. Suffering on the outside does not have to destroy us on the inside.

3.  "THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING" - Who Or What Causes It?   http://executableoutlines.com/suf/suf_02.htm

4.  Why Is There Suffering? -- http://bible.org/article/why-there-suffering

5.  Does God directly cause suffering... http://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2011/05/does-god-directly-cause-suffering.html

6.  Thoughts from my conversation with two brothers in Christ:

We often tie our suffering to God’s judgement on us.  And the two are not related.  Our sin and our life here on earth have consequences.  But the bad things that happen to us, the diseases and such are not God’s judgement against us, they just are what they are.  They happen.  Sh*t happens.  But God does not do it to us as a judgement against us and our sin. 

And just because we are Christians does not mean that our physical and earthly life will be perfect/pain free/all wonderful.  God protects our soul, the spiritual part of our self but the physical part of us is subject to earthly matters.  If we sin, there are consequences.  If we live on earth, there will be pain, disease and suffering, it is a fact/a reality that cannot be escaped.  But as a child of God, God walks with us through our pain and suffering. 

LOVED this article about relationships :o)

relationships, showing up and leaning in -

http://deeperstory.com/relationships-showing-up-and-leaning-in/

Let go, Get out of the way and Let God! :o)

Just listened to this podcast for a second time so I could take notes – The Painful Process of Transformation (http://thegodjourney.com/2007/09/21/the-painful-process-of-transformation/). 
The parts of the conversation that spoke to me had to do with raising our teens and even participating in the lives of others with their journey with God.  Our human default is to try and manipulate or control others instead of letting them live out their life and their journey with God.  The world chooses to execute control and power over others but that wasn’t Jesus’s way – He chose to love people right where they were in their lives and in winning their hearts, He had them for life. 
Here are some notes I took from this podcast:
-  how we are duped into the “illusion” of control
-  servant leadership, participating in what God is doing in others lives
-  if you dictate the ins and outs of life for your children then they will learn to relate to you for that function instead of relating to God for that function
-  we need to be nurturing our kids to go to God in their life
-  the more you demand respect, the less you have
-  even if you can get an outward conformity to your ways for a season, it will breed a inward contempt that will have negative consequences down the road
-  “left handed power” – loving and serving –> the influence you gain in a life because someone knows you love them  (Jesus used this kind of power)
-  love and serve people into LIFE
-  Let love win what compulsion can never win
-  our love for them should be greater than our desire to control them
-  God desires to grow them and lead them.  Ask God, “What are you doing in their lives?  How can I help them come to You for guidance and counsel?”
-  I don’t want their security to be in me but in their ability to always access Him!
-  grace in the face of failure
-  grace triumphing over failure (sin) and renewing relationship instead of executing rules that would break relationship (see above note about love vs compulsion)
-  if you choose rules over people (relationship), you will lose that heart.  Love TRANSFORMS us.  Choose love.
-  let God do His working, don’t try to fix it yourself
-  tell God –> “here is my impulse on what should be done, but please step in and help me choose Your way.”
*** How do I serve what God is doing in the lives of the people I love?
***  I am going to let LOVE win what compulsion will never win.

weak vs strong

It is the weak who are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.
—Leo Rosten

Wisdom found on FB

Thought Questions - Asking the right questions is the answer.

Live by choice, not by chance.

Make changes, not excuses.

Be motivated, not manipulated.

Work to excel, not to compete.

Listen to your own inner voice, not the jumbled opinions of everyone else.

:o)

"Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God."

By Floyd Watson

It is important to note that God’s love is a love that initiates; it is never a response.

“It is important to note that God’s love is a love that initiates; it is never a response.” (this quote found here – Is God’s love conditional or unconditional? http://www.gotquestions.org/questweek.html)

Food for thought

I read this blog post this morning: DO WE HAVE TO FOLLOW THE 10 COMMANDMENTS? http://eric-carpenter.blogspot.com/2012/02/do-we-have-to-follow-ten-commandments.html

Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

What to do when there has been a car accident?

So my son Jordan recently got his drivers licence and his own vehicle which means he is now going to want to venture out on his own whenever possible.  Last Saturday was one of those days.  He wanted to go into the city but I was uncomfortable with that idea.  More vehicles increases the chances of a fender bender or something worse, which lead to the discussion of what is the proper actions to take after a fender bender has occurred.  So I have been doing some web research and thought I would put together a book for Jordan to keep in his truck to reference just in case it ever happens to him. 

Photo found here (http://theoldcardawg.com/what-me-get-in-an-accident-in-my-new-car-never)

 

What to do after an accident -   http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/what-to-do-after-a-car-accident.html

 

Teens Health Website :  What to do after an accident  http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/driving/post_crash.html

 

Here are a few suggestions on how to deal with a loss involving your car:   https://www.belairdirect.com/english/ontario/claims/claims_loss.htm

 

Your Car Accident and The Police

Answers to Questions about Filing a Police Report after a Car Accident

  http://personalinsure.about.com/od/prevention/a/aa013010a.htm

 

How to Determine the Extent of a Car Accident's Damages and Injuries

Documenting Damages in a Car Accident or Crash Can Help You With Your Claim

  http://personalinsure.about.com/od/auto/a/aa010410a.htm

 

Pease Hills - http://www.peacehillsinsurance.com/splash/publichome/AboutClaims/EmergencyClaims.aspx

 

Other Road Problems

Plenty of people have minor incidents — like running over the mailbox while backing out of the driveway. Somewhere between hitting mailboxes and hitting other cars are common problems like blowouts and breakdowns. -- http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/driving/post_crash.html#

Family / Fellowship

Austin-Sparks.Net

Sometimes we are rather inclined to want all the members of the family to be exactly alike, to think the same thing and do the same thing. Really we want them uniform, but the Lord does not do it like that, either in the natural creation or in the family. That does not alter the fact that it is His own one Life in all expressing itself in a multitude of different ways, but all coming from the one source. It is a family life... http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/003747.html

Austin-Sparks.Net - Chapter 2 - Fellowship

www.austin-sparks.net

home education

Have You Covered it All? - http://hsbapost.com/2012/01/19/have-you-covered-it-all/

 

 

Choose the Gaps -- http://livelifewithyourkids.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/choose-the-gaps/

Friends

Marc and Angel Hack Life - Practical Tips for Productive Living

As we grow up, we realize it becomes less important to have more friends and more important to have real ones. Remember, life is kind of like a party. You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay all night, some laugh with you, some laugh at you, and some show up really late. But in the end, after the fun, there are a few who stay to help you clean up the mess. And most of the time, they aren’t even the ones who made the mess. These people are your real friends in life. They are the ones who matter. - via http://www.marcandangel.com/

10 Tips for 1st-Time Employees

… what must my young adults have learnt?

http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/10-tips-for-1st-time-employees/

One Anothering…

Seen on FB tonight…

 

Like a Bubbling Brook {faith. homemaking. food.}

There are so many “one another” verses in the Bible! Here are a few we can apply to the body of Christ, the Church:
• Love one another (John 13:34)
• Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:5)
• Honor one another (Romans 12:10)
• Rejoice with one another (Romans 12:15)
• Serve one another (Galations 5:13)
• Carry one another’s burdens (Galations 6:2)
• Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)
• Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
• Offer hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
• Pray for one another (James 5:16)

I like what the Bates family had to say in their dating answer (highlighted section)

http://gilbatesfamily.com/faqs/

What do you believe about dating?

We love dating . . . every week! Every married couple should make a habit of it. It will improve their romance, their communication, and their anticipation! We also enjoy special date nights with the children. It offers great one on one time and allows for heart to heart talks.

As for our children dating others, we’d prefer to save that for marriage . . . Of course, our children have natural attractions for the opposite genders. That’s a normal and exciting part of life that we encourage! In getting to know some of these youth, along with their families, we enjoy more meaningful times of wholesome fellowship than the typical opportunities that dating affords. Dating often focuses primarily on good times and physical attractions. Like-minded fellowship between two families focuses more on deepening friendships, learning commitment, and developing the inward qualities of selflessness and self- control. The youth learn to communicate in a wide variety of settings and experiences. They learn to serve one another. Since the time together is quality time, they have a big head start on a lot of couples that get physically involved, but after several years of marriage realize they don’t even know how to talk to one another. These sad couples feel like they don’t really know each other at all. They feel little to no romance or appreciation. They wonder if they made the right choice and many end their marriage in divorce, beginning again with many wounds and scars from their previous relationships. We choose to by-pass that heartache by preparing for a lasting, loving life together with someone whose attractiveness has become more than skin deep and whose preparation for marriage has been the practice of patience, purity, and character development. That makes for a healthy, happy, harmonious marriage!

a new relationship with Christmas

I want to go back and read this (and other things on this blog)…

http://joyfullygrowingingrace.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/a-new-relationship-with-christmas/

3 choices happy people make

 

Although the CONCEPT of happiness as a choice is simple to grasp, its IMPLEMENTATION  is not.

In order to CHOOSE to be happy you MUST be willing to GIVE UP:

YOUR STORY

“Bright Shiny Object” Syndrome

Selfishness, for a Life of Service

Read the complete post here - http://lifelessons4u.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/three-choices-happy-people-make/

community

Bonhoeffer stated a beautiful spiritual truth when he wrote, “The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.”

http://www.alanknox.net/2012/02/dont-start-a-movement-start-caring-for-those-around-you-sacrificially/

My Dear Deanna…

 

Jordan and his truck

 

He did it!  He has his licence and his own vehicle all before he ends his 16th year.  Wow!  And he did it all himself… paid for the whole thing.

And on Saturday he took his first solo trip (meaning no parent with him) with his friend and his sister to Olds and back.  They didn’t get to leave until they got a stern lecture from me about behaviors from the passengers and such.  He did good. 

Things will never be the same again.  Sigh.

seen on FB

Getting Down With Jesus

God loves me, in this moment, just as I am ... not as I think that I ought to be.

DESIGN YOUR OWN MASTERS

Loved this article – Design Your Own Masters

http://simplehomeschool.net/design-your-own-masters/

This quote describes me – “Then I realized something amazing–I don’t really want a master’s.  I just want to learn.”

That’s me… I just want to learn.  And I hope my kids have caught the learning bug too.  :)

… that is poor

“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” - Seneca

Look at the RV Wes found yesterday, I really like it. :o)

keep learning

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." ~Henry Ford

there is a purpose to everyone you meet

In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you, and some will teach you. But most importantly some will bring out the best in you. - via http://www.marcandangel.com/

Matt 19:13 - 15 (NIV)

So what kingdom qualities do children have?

http://jonjourney.blogspot.com/2012/02/kingdom-of-heaven-belongs-to.html

Loved this video…. truth and laughter rolled into one!

success

"What is success in this world? I would say it consists of four simple things -- to live a lot, to love a lot, to laugh a lot, and from it all, to learn a lot."
~Richard Needham

protein powder

How to Make Your Own Protein Powder Mix.

http://www.dailygarnish.com/2010/07/how-to-make-your-own-protein-powder-mix.html

what you can do

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." ~John Wooden

with the certainty of the world to come

"We must meet the uncertainties of this world with the certainty of the world to come." A.W. Tozer

What's your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

Top five regrets of the dying

A nurse has recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard'. What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying

To the Cancer Patient: Natural Cures vs. Traditional

http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/cancer/to-the-cancer-patient/

http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/diet/New-West-Diet/

little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom.

“Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays . . . when Scripture talks about church, it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together. They hang out together, in each other’s homes." John Eldredge