Relationships should help you, not hurt you.

SEEN ON FACEBOOK:

Thought Questions - Asking the right questions is the answer.

Stop spending time with negative people. Start spending time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded. Relationships should help you, not hurt you. Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be. Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it. Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. When you free yourself of negative people, you free yourself to be YOU – and being YOU is the simplest way to live.

I had a “LOST” experience today…

If you have ever watched the TV show LOST,

you have seen the scenes where someone is in the jungle and hears whispers and voices but can’t see anyone.  Well this happened to me today.  I have had a pretty stressful week and today while I was driving, I thought I had finally lost touch with reality.  As I was driving into Red Deer I could hear voices, muffled, coming from the back of the car (at least that is how it sounded to me).  I thought maybe the radio was left on low volume.  I tested the radio and nope, it wasn’t that.  Then I wondered if maybe it was my cell phone.  Checked my cell phone, no not that either.  It was weird because the voice wasn’t constant, just came periodically. 

On my way home from Red Deer, I was able to solve the mystery.  I heard the voice a little clearer and figured out what it was.  It was my GPS!  It was in the console of my car and it must have turned itself on when I was digging through the console.  Yay… I am not going crazy!  Well not yet at least.  LOL!

Wes said at least I didn’t see a black horse crossing the road or a polar bear on the loose. 

Great new space for fellowship gatherings

homeschool and otherwise

I am looking forward to using the new space with the home school community for activity days, family potlucks, classes and more.  :)

Articles about Teens I want to go back and read…

5 Good Reasons Your Teen Needs a Strong Sense of Belonging  http://parentingteens.about.com/od/familylife/a/Good-Reasons-Your-Teen-Needs-A-Strong-Sense-Of-Belonging.htm?nl=1

 

Life Skills Your Teen Needs to Be Independent  http://parentingteens.about.com/od/agesandstages/a/Life-Skills-Teens-Teaching-Independent-Living.htm

 

Strengthen Your Family’s Bonds with These Ten Tips  http://parentingteens.about.com/od/familylife/a/family_bonds.htm

 

Teaching Positive Morals and Values - Why It's Important  http://parentingteens.about.com/od/disciplin1/a/teach_values.htm

 

Rules, Limits, and Responsibilities  http://parentingteens.about.com/od/behavioranddiscipline/Rules_Limits_and_Responsibilities.htm

LOVED what Wayne wrote today on Facebook

Wayne Jacobsen-->
"When u no longer have the need 2 defend yourself with those u love, amazing things happen. You'll be able 2 listen and respond to them."

I really wanted to make these this afternoon but I don’t have any chocolate chips :o(

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add in the brown sugar and vanilla extract. Mix to combine. Add in the quick cooking oats and stir. Cook the oat mixture over medium low heat for 4 minutes.

While the oat mixture is cooking, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwavable bowl. Then set aside.

Lightly grease an 8 by 8 inch baking pan. Press 3/4 of the oat mixture in the bottom of the pan. Pour the melted chocolate and peanut butter over the oats.

Take the remaining oat mixture and crumble it over the chocolate/peanut butter. Refrigerate the bars for at least 3 hours. Then cut into squares and enjoy!

At a Fork in the Road

Wow, what a powerful post. 

At a Fork in the Road - http://www.daveblackonline.com/at_a_fork_in_the_road.htm

Since my last bone and CT scans, I have sensed that God has brought my life to a sort of fork in the road. These scans showed that the cancer is continuing to grow in multiple locations in the lungs, that the lymph nodes are now involved, and that the cancer has spread to 3 places in my bones. Humanly-speaking, it is not a “happy” picture.

Compounding this picture is the reality that I’m at the end of proven medicine. True, there are many more chemo therapies that I could take….but none have been studied and shown effective for my kind of cancer. There are no radiation or surgical options open for me.

So, in my mind, God has brought me along in the Journey to the point where Medicine is likely to be ineffective in treatment. The fork in the road before me presents 2 options: healing or transfer (death).

Click on the link above to finish reading Becky’s thoughts.

Part two of the previous article I posted is very good too…

What I Would Do Differently, Part 2  http://www.doorposts.com/blog/2012/03/27/what-i-would-do-differently-part-2/

 

 

 

I really needed to hear this today.  I have been beating myself up over my parenting choices and mistakes and what I would do differently IF I could go back and do it all again.  My prayer is that God has a plan for my kids and even though I can’t see it now that I would have peace as we walk through these teen years.  But I also acknowledge that they have freewill and make their own choices despite God’s plans. 

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

I need to learn this…

“. . . I began to speak less to the kids and more to God”

“Who do I think I am? If I can’t change my own heart (and I can’t), I’m certainly not going to succeed in changing my children’s hearts.”

“It’s His job, not mine, to change hearts.”

from the article called “What I Would Do Differently” at http://www.doorposts.com/blog/2012/03/20/what-i-would-do-differently-part-1/

What should we pray for? A great article to read.

What Does it Mean to Pray for Blessing?  http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2009/05/what-does-it-mean-to-pray-for-blessing/

“But if we concentrate our prayers on good things happening, then we not only lose out on opportunities to grow; we also leave ourselves unprepared when bad things do happen.”

I invite you to check out…

Deanna’s new project as the 43 RANCH REPORTER at http://43ranchreporter.blogspot.ca/

Deanna and her six little piggies

The Myth of the Uninvolved Unschooler

Loved this article - http://simplehomeschool.net/uninvolved-unschooler/

Let’s Talk About Dying

“We can’t control if we’ll die, but we can “occupy death,” in the words of Dr. Peter Saul. At TEDxNewy he calls on us to make clear our preferences for end of life care -- and suggests two questions for starting the conversation.

Over the past 35 years Peter Saul has been intimately involved in the dying process for over 4,000 patients. He is passionate about improving the ways we die.”

http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_saul_let_s_talk_about_dying.html

--

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“The truth will set you free but first it will piss you off!” Gloria Steinem

An Unhurried Life

Loved this post --- “An Unhurried Life” (http://www.answeringoliver.com/2011/06/unhurried-life.html)

THIS VIDEO WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT EDUCATION

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award.
For more information on Sir Ken's work visit: http://www.sirkenrobinson.com

 

seen on Facebook

Treasures from a Shoebox

Latin word origin lesson for today: Universe. "Uni"= one. "Verse"= spoken sentence. Universe = A single spoken sentence. "And God said..." That preaches!

An interesting article about raising kids…

On Building Houses   http://familylifeinthegarden.blogspot.ca/2012/03/on-building-houses.html

Here is how the article begins..

“Raising kids is like...
There are numerous conclusions to that sentence. Popular parenting books attack it in so many ways. One author said (and I'm paraphrasing) "raising kids is like working with wet cement. You only get so much time and then it is dry and hard." Before I had kids I bought into that type of an idea. I was going to "mold" my kids and shape them. I understood Deuteronomy 6:7-9 as something I had to do to my kids.
However, as I read, study, and interact with my own kids I am realizing that the Biblical paradigm is always based in relationship.
Now this presents a choice. What are we going to base our relationship with our kids on? Law or Grace?”

Click on the link to finish reading the article (http://familylifeinthegarden.blogspot.ca/2012/03/on-building-houses.html)

Food for thought…. a documentary to perhaps watch …

 

Captivated: Finding Freedom in a Media Captive Culture  http://www.amazon.com/Captivated-Finding-Freedom-Captive-Culture/dp/B006GS7R1K/ref=lh_ni_t

“WE ARE SURROUNED BY SCREENS. Have we entered a techno utopia or a virtual prison? Should we be celebrating unreservedly or should we be cautious and skeptical? Is it the greatest leap in productivity or the biggest setback from the things most meaningful in life? Has today's connectivity drawn us closer to one another or strangely more disjointed? Is our social experience richer and deeper or more shallow and artificial? Is it all of these things or none of them?”

Ode To Adolescence

“We are crossing over. You are my baby. But I cannot carry you now. You walk alone into a new world. I want you to linger here, but you constantly push. You will change. You will grow. You will stumble. You will rise. I will be soft and firm. I will guide and step aside. I will lean and I will pull. I will be lost and I will be certain. I will reach for you, and if you do not reach back, know that my heart remembers your heartbeat. And I will always be holding you there.”

This quote is from the the article titled, “Ode To Adolescence” @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janell-burley-hofmann/ode-to-adolescence_b_1335609.html?ref=parents&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

what messes up our life the most is…

“I know sometimes what messes our life up most — is the expectation of what our life is supposed to look like. Entitlement can leave you feeling entirely empty.”

This quote from the article titled, “The Importance of Being the Prodigal Parent” @ http://www.incourage.me/2012/03/the-importance-of-prodigal-parenting.html

a quote from Wayne Jacobsen

Most people think it is about church without walls. It isn't. It's about love without boundaries.

@LifestreamWayne on Twitt · via Twitter

Project: Start a Commonplace Book

Love this idea!

http://selfmadescholar.com/b/2009/05/15/project-start-a-commonplace-book/

Don’t fence me in…

The thing we evangelicals can’t stand about Jesus  http://jlawson23.com/2012/03/14/the-thing-we-evangelicals-cant-stand-about-jesus/

Food for thought… Is it correct to say “I am a sinner saved by grace?”

Sinner Saved by Grace? http://bobbyauner.blogspot.com/2012/03/sinner-saved-by-grace.html

Are You a Saint or a Sinner?  http://modernreject.com/2012/03/are-you-a-saint-or-a-sinner/

Why Yada Doesn’t Walk Away

This was a moving post…

http://www.purefreedom.org/blog/?p=134

“Yada reaches into the grace-filled depths of unconditional staying power and finds the strength to breathe life into love one more time.

Yada love is a faithful love.
A staying love.”

 

What is Yada?  http://yadadrop.com/about/what-does-yada-mean

 

“Be still and know (yada) that I am God.”   (quoted from this post: http://www.purefreedom.org/blog/?p=86#more-86)

Self-Directed Education

It’s school – minus boring stuff

Unschooling abandons classroom for wider world of learning   http://durangoherald.com/article/20120315/NEWS01/703159905/-1/s

ENCOURAGEMENT

 

“Encouragement is like lifting someone up on your shoulders so they can do the work God has called them to do.” (http://www.motivatedhomeschooler.com/2012/03/the-motivating-power-of-encouragement)

 

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

1 Thessalonians 5:11

the hokey pokey clinic

allow yourself a rhythm of rest :o)

“If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath — our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us.”

Wayne Muller, Sabbath

http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2012/03/14/5-ways-to-keep-your-job-without-losing-your-mind/

Interesting --- can guys and girls be just friends?

Watch this video at this webpage -- http://www.purefreedom.org/blog/?p=181

Very cool website!! (if you like biology like me)

 

Zygote Body – 3D Human Anatomy http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2012/03/zygote-body-3d-human-anatomy/

church membership

 

BLOG POST: A quick thought on "church membership" and titles at http://thesidos.blogspot.com/2012/03/quick-thought-on-church-membership-and.html

Love this quote from the post:

If you love one another, "membership" is completely unnecessary.

If you don't love one another, "membership" won't make a difference anyway.

and this one:

There is no greater title in the church than "brother". That should be honor enough for any Christian man.

a clear purpose

seen on Facebook:

Discover. Share. Inspire.

People without a clear purpose are like a ship without a rudder; even the “good” winds won’t help them, if they have nothing with which to direct their lives. - My Hubby

CRIMINAL HARASSMENT research…

3.2 Criminal Code Provisions

CRIMINAL HARASSMENT

• 264 (1) No person shall, without lawful authority and knowing that another person is harassed or recklessly as to whether the other person is harassed, engage in conduct referred to in subsection (2) that causes that other person reasonably, in all the circumstances, to fear for their safety or the safety of anyone known to them.

Prohibited Conduct

• (2)           The conduct mentioned in subsection (1) consists of
  • (a) repeatedly following from place to place the other person or anyone known to them;
  • (b) repeatedly communicating with, either directly or indirectly, the other person or anyone known to them;
  • (c) besetting or watching the dwelling-house, or place where the other person, or anyone known to them, resides, works, carries on business or happens to be; or
  • (d) engaging in threatening conduct directed at the other person or any member of their family.

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fv-vf/pub/har/part3a.html

still doing research on low magnesium…

My Magnesium Level Won't Come Up..  http://www.easy-immune-health.com/my-magnesium-level-wont-come-up.html

 

What's The RIGHT Magnesium Dosage For Optimal Health?  Read more: http://www.easy-immune-health.com/magnesium-dosage.html#ixzz1oV54lYuX  (http://www.easy-immune-health.com/magnesium-dosage.html)

Fibromyalgia and Magnesium  The Connection Will Astound You

Read more: http://www.easy-immune-health.com/fibromyalgia-and-magnesium.html#ixzz1oV5OGzbS  (http://www.easy-immune-health.com/fibromyalgia-and-magnesium.html)
 

Non Celiac Gluten Intolerance It's Real and You Might Have It

Read more: http://www.easy-immune-health.com/non-celiac-gluten-intolerance.html#ixzz1oV5YJl9y  (http://www.easy-immune-health.com/non-celiac-gluten-intolerance.html)
 

Magnesium Absorption and Bioavailability  http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-sources/absorption/

*** The Role of Magnesium in Fibromyalgia  http://web.mit.edu/london/www/magnesium.html

My HELL is Over! The Gluten Free and Magnesium Miracle  http://analfissure.editboard.com/t3282-my-hell-is-over-the-gluten-free-and-magnesium-miracle

______________________

more links added March 9 

The Magnesium Miracle - http://drcarolyndean.com/magnesium_miracle/ 

 

Magnesium infusion for the investigation and treatment of magnesium deficiency - http://www.pathology.leedsth.nhs.uk/dnn_bilm/Investigationprotocols/MagnesiumInfusion.aspx

How Does Magnesium Absorb Into the Body? - http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4587609_magnesium-absorb-body.html

 

Enjoyed this lady’s story…

Heidemarie Schwermer, a 69-year-old woman from Germany, gave up using money 15 years ago and says she’s been much happier ever since.  http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/18/happy-69-year-old-lady-has-not-used-money-for-15-years/

Life…

Marc and Angel Hack Life - Practical Tips for Productive Living

Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later this collection of mistakes, called experience, leads us to success. If it’s good, it’s going to be wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s going to be an experience. Remember, your mindset is at the heart of your success. You have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you have and be thankful for what you had. Forgive yourself and others, but don’t forget. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t regret. Life is change, things go wrong, and life goes on. – via: http://www.marcandangel.com/

quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky:

 

The soul is healed by being with children.

love

"To truly love someone is to see them as God intended."

 The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Quit Christianity???

food for thought…

I Wish I Could Quit Christianity - http://www.thechurchofnopeople.com/2010/08/i-wish-i-could-quit-christianity/

“What’s your reaction?  Would you like to quit Christianity?  Have you quit?  What keeps you in the game?”

Spiral of time

Food for thought:

Turtles, Trees, and the Spiral of Time

   by Joy Bennett

http://www.calebwilde.com/2012/01/turtles-trees-and-the-spiral-of-time/

 

Two quotes that stood out to me from this post:

1.  The spiral illustrates how then is very much a part of now and it all influences what’s next.

2.  I will not say that God causes tragedy, but I will declare that God is not thwarted by it.

your living...

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” — Kahlil Gibran