Planning the School Year

My mother blessed me and took all the children for the whole day so I could plan our school year. The Lord truly blessed my time. I got so much accomplished. I started with a large decaf latte with an extra shot, a water bottle, computer, copy machine and a table full of books and binders! When I would get 'stuck' on something I would pray and He would lead. I did dip into the chocolate a little at one point though, to help the thinking. (wink, wink)

This year is a 'light' year, it seems. I only have five students and a toddler. Seems doable, really, Michelle, it does. Sorry, just encouraging myself. I am kidding. I truly am looking forward to this school year. I did not get to do the school year I had planned last year because I got sick before I could even start. It feels like a privilege to get to do school, which it should, by the way, because it is!

Here is what I have lined up for each child.

Victoria 9th grade

Algebra 1

American Literature

Easy Grammar

Apologia General Science

Sonlight 7 American History

Evangelism 101

Copy Work

Spelling Wisdom

Piano

Isaiah 7th grade

Algebra 1/2

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Easy Grammar

Apologia General Science

Sonlight 7 American History

Copy Work

Spelling Wisdom

Piano

Sarah Grace 4th grade

Abeka Math

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Italic Handwriting

American History (reading list)

Piano

Isabella and Josiah (grades ??)

Rod and Staff Phonics

Rod and Staff Reading

Abeka Math

American History with Sarah Grace

I am working out the 'bugs' with the schedule. I highly recommend Managers of Their Homes. I discovered it years ago and it changed my life, really!

We will be starting our day with:

Morning Circle Time

Prayer, Bible Lesson, Hymn, Scripture memory and Gratitude Journals

From there we, in theory, flow in and out of subjects, each of us having something to do at each half hour block. Maybe when I get it typed up I will try to post it.

Please feel free to ask any questions about what we are using or what our day looks like.

What Scripture Has Been Speaking To Your Heart?

There is a scripture that has been on my heart for weeks now. No matter what I am going through the Lord seems to being me back to this scripture.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me. (Micah 7:7-8)

I even quote the above scripture with attitude some days!

What scripture have you been meditating on lately. Please share your heart, we would all be encouraged by it! Don't you just LOVE the Word of God??!!

Conviction or Condemnation?

With all this talk about repentance, I thought it would be beneficial to describe the difference between condemnation and conviction.

Condemnation

. . . feels almost like badgering

. . . it is usually harsh and driving

. . . the feeling rarely leaves even after repentance

. . . could be nagging, confusing, over and over

. . . makes you feel hopeless

Conviction

. . . is a gentle nudge from our Father

. . . it is always restorative

. . .you may certainly feel brokenness for your sin, but not heavy burdened and guilty

. . .a tap on the shoulder, never a slap in the face

. . . brings hope and desire to change

So, which one have you been listening to?

Has your Father been speaking to you on an area that needs repentance?

Or, has the accuser of the brethren been hounding you?

If you recognize the accuser, by all means repent for listening to his voice

and listen to what your Heavenly Father has to say.

BTW, He thinks you're pretty special.

He loves you with an everlasting love.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

You are precious in His sight.

You are the very apple of His eye.

How Often Do You Take a Spiritual Bath?

Since my post on Repentance, I have wanted to share on that subject some more.

2 Corinthians 7:1 has been on my heart a lot and I have been studying it out.





"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."



The few verses before talk about the promises we have. God will dwell with us and walk with us. He will be our God and we will be His people. We are to be separate and He will be our Father and we will be His sons and daughters. (2 Cor. 6:16-18)



So, how do we 'cleanse' ourselves? I believe, in part, this speaks to me about repentance. Recognizing when I have sinned and taking responsibility, repenting, renouncing and removing it.



I'm not talking about the 'big' sins here. Most people recognizes those and sees a need to repent of them. I am talking about other sins that seem to go unnoticed and most likely unrepented of.



How about fear? God has not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind. "Do not fear." I wonder how many times we are commanded to not fear? I bet way more than "do not lie" or "do not steal." Yet we do fear, sometimes everyday. (stress and anxiety fall under fear, sorry)



Not loving ourselves. Doesn't the bible tell us to 'love others as we do ourselves'? Didn't God create us fearfully and wonderfully? Who are we to hate ourselves or be unloving to ourselves?



Bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment, retaliation, anger, hatred. If we do not forgive others He does not forgive us. Ouch.



Thou shalt not murder. What about 'murder with the tongue'?



Doubt and unbelief? Listening to and taking in accusations from the enemy. He is the accuser of the brethren, and we listen to him???



Guilt, self-pity, drivenness, control, comparison, envy and jealousy, shame, complaining, excessive need to be loved, perfectionism, performance, strife . . .



Need I say more?



How often should we repent? Every time we sin! Psalm 101:8



Morning after morning I will root up all the wicked in the land, that I may eliminate all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.



I think morning after morning would be a good starting point. Or evening after evening, for that matter.



When I was reading through the bible in 40 days, I was so humbled as I read through it seeing so many areas that I needed to repent of. God's word is a mirror like that.



How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to it]. (Ps. 119:9)



And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1 John 3:3



Let's be 'doers' of the Word, ladies. Let's seek the Lord, ask Him to search our hearts and see if there is anything wicked and REPENT when He shows us. How easy it is to recognize, say, bitterness, and say, 'oh, yes, that is bitterness' and then walk away without repenting!! Ask me how I know this?!!



Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.



But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.



For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:



For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.



But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1 :21-25)



Father God, thank You for Your mercy towards us. Father, I pray that You show each one of us where we need a spiritual bath. Open our eyes, give us discernment. We want to be 'doers' of the Word. Remind us by Your Holy Spirit to humble ourselves and repent, then and there, the moment You bring conviction. And Father, help us to discern Your voice that comes with conviction from the voice our our enemy that comes in with condemnation. We love You, Father. In Jesus mighty name, we pray!



If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.



If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.



If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

(1 John 1:8-10)

I've Been Ignorant!

There are two areas that I have been so ignorant of the past several years. (I suspect there are many more, these are just two biggies the Lord has shown me of late. I reserve the right to add to this list as they come up! ;)

One being the fact that we have an enemy who seeks to kill, steal and destroy! And two, the importance of repentance.

Today I will focus on the first one. We had previously sat under teaching that felt like you were looking for a 'devil in every corner' or were rebuking demons at every turn. Having moved on from there, we sort of swung way to the other side. I think we became oblivious to the 'wiles(trickery) of the enemy'. Everything sort of turned to a more "God is sovereign, everything comes from His hand" type of mindset.

I had thoughts like, 'we just give Satan more power when we talk about him. Ummm, no, he actually already has power. Some of us have just been oblivious of it.

Brilliant move on the enemy's part, really. If we are ignorant of his schemes and wiles, how can we obey the scriptures that tell us to resist him? Ignorance is NOT bliss, trust me.

I'm not suggesting an all out '36 week study' on the enemy, but we would do well to recognize that we do have an enemy and he does seek to STEAL, KILL, DESTROY! Do you get that?

A friend recently very passionately shared with me this revelation she recently had.

She said, "the enemy comes to STEAL our children, KILL our children, DESTROY our children. He comes to STEAL our health . . . finances . . . peace . . . life, KILL our health . . . finances . . . peace . . . life, DESTROY our health . . . finances . . . peace . . . life. He comes to STEAL, KILL and DESTROY our marriages!"

It was quite sobering to hear her go through each one of those statements. Ladies, we are NOT to be ignorant of the devils wiles and schemes. (2 Cor. 2:11) Do you know he has wiles and schemes? Shouldn't we at least acknowledge that he is a force to be reckoned with? Shouldn't we be resisting him?

Ephesians 6:11 says to "put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

In 1 Timothy 3 and 4 it says it is possible to fall into the reproach and the snare of the devil, and that there are actually doctrines of devils being preached.

2 Timothy 2:26 mentions again the possibility of being caught in the snare of the devil and being taken captive to do his will. These letters are written to the church! It is possible for a believer to get caught in the snare of the devil!

James tells us to RESIST the enemy. Seems to me it might be relevant to know what I am resisting if I am going to obey this scripture.

We have been given power over the enemy (Luke 10:19) Why would Jesus give us power over the enemy if we didn't need to use it?

We are to be sober and vigilant because we have an adversary that walks around seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) This at least implies that there is a possibility of being devoured by the enemy.

I don't think for one second that we are to FEAR the enemy, but we do need to be aware of him and recognize his activity in our lives. This by no means is an exhaustive teaching on Satan and his kingdom. My desire is to share where I have been ignorant and exhort you to not be ignorant to the wiles of the enemy.

Homeschooling With Little Ones

Today I have shared some ideas on how to homeschool with little ones around. It can be very challengeing to get things done. I hope you are encouraged and get a few ideas. You can read more . . . Homeschooling With Littles over At the Well.

How To: Repentance

There are two areas in Christendom, including myself, that I have come to realize have fallen by the wayside a bit over the last several years.

One area is repentance. It seems like an obvious one. I mean, we all repent, right? Well, I have been learning just how much I DO NOT repent. I acknowledge I have sinned and feel sort of bad about it, but do I really and truly repent?

In addition to this, do I even recognize something that is a sin? For example, Fear, Stress and Anxiety is the main spiritual root (sin) behind Adrenal Fatigue/Exhaustion. Do you know how many times I read verses about not being anxious? I would read them, memorize them, post them all over the house, yet it never occurred to me to repent of it and remove it!

FEAR IS A SIN! (This is the makings of another post)

Back to repentance and a how-to. There is no formula here. No rules or have-tos, just an example, okay?

This morning the Lord revealed to me that I have once again been listening to fear and anxiety. I found myself going down the same road I used to go, almost getting anxious over anxiety instead of just repenting of it and moving on! This is what I did this morning.

Okay, Father, I recognize that I have been anxious (which really is fear) and troubled with the cares about my life.

I take responsibility for participating with this spirit of fear, including doubt and unbelief, worry and anxiety and I repent and renounce it. Thank you that You forgive me

I tell all fear (and his little buddies ;-) to go, in Jesus name by the power of the Holy Spirit. (remove)

My Father knows what I need, I am worth much more than the birds that He feeds and provides for.

I consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet they are arrayed in splendor. He, my Father, clothes the grass in the field.

I am just a girl seeking my Daddy's kingdom, and He will add all these things. He will take care of all my needs.

I will not be struck with fear, for it is my Father's good pleasure to give me the kingdom!

Simple! Recognize, Responsibility, Repent, Renounce, Remove! (Resist and Restore will be discussed further another time)

Also, if you noticed I was renewing my mind with the Truth after my repentance.

Where Do My Thoughts Come From?

Have you ever thought about where your thoughts might be coming from and what to do with them?

We are learning that thoughts come from three places. Our own intellect (something we have learned), the Spirit of God, and the enemy and his kingdom.

An example in scripture that shows the three places thoughts come from is found in
Matthew 16:13-23.

When Jesus asked the disciples who He was, their response was from what they had heard and learned from others. That is one place that our thoughts come from.

When He asked them who they say that He is, Simon Peter had the perfect answer. Jesus
replies and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. This thought is from the Spirit of God.

Later in the these verses, Jesus was explaining to them what was going to happen and Peter began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Jesus’ response was, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. This shows the third place where our thoughts come from, Satan’s kingdom.

Peter was not possessed by Satan; he just spoke out a thought that was from the enemy's kingdom.

In the verse John 13:2 we see another example of a thought coming from the enemy’s kingdom.

"And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;"

This, of course is just a tiny teaching on this whole concept, but it was revolutionary to me. It is not like this was totally new information. When I began to really understand this and began to discern where my thoughts were coming from, it was so freeing. Thoughts I assumed were my own thoughts actually were from the enemy’s kingdom! As I practice discerning my thoughts I am able to make a choice of whose kingdom I want to display in this world. Do I want to speak and act on thoughts that come from my Father’s kingdom or the enemy’s?

Hebrews 5:14 says, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

I want to exercise my senses to discern both good and evil. I want to be able to teach my children this. Just because a thought comes into my mind, this does not mean it is from God, and I can choose to not act upon it.

I need to become a doer of the Word and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

I challenge you to begin really paying attention to your thoughts. Discern where they came from. Does it line up with the Word of God? Is it just something that you have learned or have heard? Is it part of Satan’s kingdom? Grab hold of that thought and by the power and authority you have in Jesus Christ tell it to GO! Replace it with the Truth.

As our two year old son questioned me one day, “Who’s talking to you”?

We Are Home!

Our trip to Thomaston Georgia was a complete success, I would say. We learned so much through the course For Their Life at the Be In Health campus.

We met some wonderful people while we were there. It was very hard to say good-bye on Friday night. We all just wanted to linger and hang out with each other just a little longer. It was such a blessing to be around so many believers who are all on similar paths.

There was grace to leave our children in the wonderful care of my mother. I barely cried waving good-bye to all those sweet faces waving in the driveway.

Before we left we prayed with the children and I just had such a sense that we were going to have such favor and our trip was going to be blessed. It was! I think all of our flights to and fro were either early or on time and without incidence. I am usually a little anxious about flying and leaving my babies, but once I dealt with the spirit of fear I was perfectly at peace.

The picture is blurry, but I think you can still see how pretty Elizabeth is!

Before we settled into our little cabin in Thomaston we met with Elizabeth. A sweet friend that I have grown to love from blog world. This sweet thing drove 2 hours just to meet us! We had an awesome time of fellowship. As we shared from our lives, she encouraged us so much. She has ten children and they are a little older than ours, so it was such a treat to talk to someone with very similar convictions who is a little further down the road than us. She was so sweet. She brought us a few things from Georgia. Georgia pecans and peanuts, yum! A branch of cotton for the children to see and feel. A copy of Facing the Giants, which was filmed, in part, right in their neighborhood! Love you Elizabeth!!

Our first day full day in Thomaston was Sunday. We attended Pleasant Valley Church which is affiliated with Be In Health. It was a treat to worship with believers who believe in the WHOLE bible, including the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The meeting was very much like the New Testament church, which it what Brian and I have desired for years now. It was simply very cool to actually 'see' a body operating like this.

Monday began with our first class and it was a whirlwind from there. We learned so much! It was awesome to be sitting under such scriptural teaching all day long! We could not take notes quickly enough. The Holy Spirit spoke so much to our hearts. There was much conviction, encouragement and hope all week long.

I hope to be able to share some of the gazillion things we learned, but I can some it up into one word, LOVE! The Father's love, Jesus' love, our love for one another, how to minister the love of the Father, on and on, with love. Now, don't get me wrong, there was a ton of other stuff, but this is what struck me most.

Natalieh!

We met an adorable blog friend in person. Her name is Natalieh. She is the most wonderfully sweet Godly young woman I know. She has such a sweet spirit about her. She is only 24, could not believe her maturity and love for the Lord. I told her I would LOVE to have her as my daughter, she is so precious! We got to be with her a lot, but not nearly enough, if that makes sense. I LOVE you Natalieh!

Gloria

On Tuesday, we went to Gloria's home for dinner. Gloria is a wonderful home school Mama who I met through blogging. It turns out she also had been to For My Life. When I went through it, she was able to encourage me and keep me on the straight and narrow. I was able to pass on some of the advice she gave me this past week. We were greeted by her lovely family and a wonderful simple and delicious meal. They home school and have three very precious children who are so smart and entrepreneurial minded. We were so impressed! Her daughter Julia has her own jewelry business. Her boys have written a few books, check out their Warfare by Duct Tape. The boys showed us all the 'weapons' they have created. We had a wonderful time with them. It was hard to pull ourselves away around 9:00. We were so tired, but the fellowship was so sweet.

The rest of the week was filled, and I mean filled with awesome teaching, worship and fellowship.

This is a 'short' (ha ha) recap of our week. I want to be able to share some of the very specific things the Lord showed me during this week. I am trying to keep my focus on this ministry of being a mama, so be patient with me, okay? I wish we could all get together for a whole day and just share!