Top ten ways to show God your love for Him

Top ten ways to show God your love for Him:

Exodus 20:1-17....my version...

1. Worship no one other than God Himself.

2. Don't create or make idols of any variety.

3. Don't take God's name lightly, or swing it about with lack of thought to its Holiness.

4. Observe the Sabbath, keep it holy.

5. Give (freely) honor to your parents (this doesn't end at a certain age.)

6. Don't murder.

7. Don't commit adultery.

8. Don't steal.

9. Tell the truth, not just parts of it.

10. Be satisfied with what you have instead of being full of envy for what someone else may have.

If you're happy and you know it...

How good are the simplest things. How sweet it is when we can slow down and simplify. How I just want to drink in the moments.

Seeking the Holy Spirit

I thought for a change I'd share some of my 'secret place' with you. I challenged myself to get to know the Holy Spirit more intimately.

excerpt taken from my journal with the Lord:

Tuesday April 28th, 2009

I have selected a 'secret place' for time with the Lord (my old yellow porch glider that looks out to the woods). The birds are up and active, singing to the Lord. This morning the birds and I entered into His presence with a new song to the Lord.

The Holy Spirit woke me up early, as I asked Him to last night. He has such a sense of humour...I jumped out of bed at 4:50 thinking I heard the baby crying. As I stood outside her door, I realized it had been the Lord's way of 'getting me up.'

I grabbed a coffee, my bible, my dream notebook, my journal, pen and fur blanket and got myself cosy on the old metal glider.

I entered into His Presence with singing; a new song of love for Him.

I asked Him for a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, that I would even know His laughter, His moods, His voice clearer than ever before. I asked Him for Wisdom and Revelation and that He would enlighten the eyes of my heart (new understanding).

He led me to Proverbs 14 and then to the book of Ephesians.

As I sat reading and worshipping Him, tears flowed from my eyes. His Presence was so real and my heart swelled with love for Him. Oh, how good it is to come into His Presence. Oh, Lord deepen our friendship and stir my passion for you.

Holy Spirit teach me Your ways.

Wise Words Monday

Welcome to Wise Words Monday!

Ephesians 4:15

Today I want to share something that can be LIFE changing for us. (us meaning ME TOO!)

God brought it all together for me last night at church, it was a lesson that I had been learning over the last week. How did I finally get the lesson the Lord had been trying to teach me? Well, I asked Him what it was that He was trying to teach me, what was it that I needed to understand.

Kimmie's Lesson:

people: friends

words: things spoken to me...about me

character traits: descriptions of what they saw me as

Now I have to say, the words were sharp. They stung my heart and brought tears to my eyes. As I have had hard situations in the past with people, it is so tempting to shut the door on a relationship. Shutting the door seems to be logical, the problem is there is always more people and you can never really escape. God put us here to have relationships, to encourage each other, to build each other up and to speak the truth in love.

I was hurting, but instead of my old path (isolating myself)...I quickly looked to God. I went to wise counsel and asked if these words spoke truth to me. The Holy Spirit quickly came to me over the course of the next few days and began explaining it to me.

My heart still stung, but now I understood.

What I learned (or relearned at church) was that it doesn't matter what people think about me, it does matter what God speaks about me.

(the answer to the lesson...) God says about me:

I am part of the Body of Christ

that I am part of the Bride of Christ

that I am an Ambassador

that I am a son of God (sons are not just boys/men...but any Believer)

*that I am loved and ADOPTED!

I am a king (He is the King of kings)

I am a priest of God

I am a soldier/warrior of God

(needing to wear my armor to ward of arrows sent by the enemy)

My life needs to not please men, but God. I have to get my mind around that, it's so hard when you want to please people. So hard when you care about what people think of you or what they think of 'when' they think of you.

And this doesn't mean that we don't have to be nice, we do, even when it hurts. After all, people who were Jesus' friends said hurtful things to Him, they disappointed Him, the rejected Him, they abandoned Him. Jesus never said, "I am SO out of here." No, instead He loved them even more. I do so want to be more like Him.

I will continue to ask God to help me to get my mind and heart around this... how about you?

Prayer Request Sunday

Welcome to Prayer Request Sunday!

Can I pray for you today?

Can I come before God all week for whatever it is that is burdening you?

Jesus is waiting to carry your burdens, the Holy Spirit is waiting to bring wisdom into your situation, God is waiting to have you bring Him what it is that is weighing you down.

The Bible tells us where two or more are gathered together, that there He is in our midst. I'd love to believe with you for God to answer your prayers...and to invite Him to come into our midst!

Beauty secrets

A walk though April in pictures

portraition ;-)

maturation



imagination


admiration

adoration

concentration

egglation

visitation

(from paternal grandmama on Princess' birthday)

(Grampie's toy) restoration

Piration (her mama's dress)

concentration (homeschool gym class)

elation

frustration

celebration

(first beater) ...yumation!

(deck) restoration

destruction

another celebration (the Knight)

decoration

smoochation ...okay, you try it!

Mercy...ethiopian adoption

MERCY

Some reasons you might consider adopting from Ethiopia:

*One in ten children die before their first birthday.

*One in six children die before their fifth birthday.

*60 percent of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition.

*1.5 million people in Ethiopia are infected with HIV (sixth highest country in the world).

*720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.

*Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88 percent will never attend secondary school.

*Ethiopia's doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.

All God's Children International: relief and adoption

info taken from a newsletter from All God's Children International

Wise Words Monday

Welcome to Wise Words Monday

As Christians we are 'followers of Christ,' we hopefully are becoming more Christlike moment by moment. Really, it is what comes from the inside of us that produces this Christlikeness in our lives, not the outward appearance that we catch in the mirror as we pass.

The *fruit" of our lives comes from the deposit of the Holy Spirit, given to us when we ask Jesus to become our Lord and Savior. Then we need to begin to take a look at the *fruit* in our lives...let's examine ourselves to see how that fruit is forming....

Working on developing:

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Let's choose one that we are particularly weak in and let's strengthen that ever growing fruit in our lives.

Matthew 7:15-20

*if you want, let me know what fruit you will be working on....I am going to focus on self-control.

Prayer Request Sunday

Need Prayer today?

What a privilege it is to pray with someone. Today God let me pray in Sam's Club (food wholesale club)with a woman-bless my husband he took the crying baby from me and forged ahead with the troops to get the shopping done.

I didn't know this sweet lady, but she smiled at me and said that she thought she saw me at church this morning. She was right. Turns out she is new to the church and was looking for someone to talk to. She looked around after church, but didn't see anyone. She was hurting and needed someone to listen to her. I asked her if she'd like me to pray with her. She said, "Oh, yes." She held my hand and right there in the laundry detergent aisle of Sam's we prayed together. She really had some heavy things on her heart, tears rolled down and I hugged her. She really is carrying a heavy load all alone, isn't God good that He sent someone to lighten the load...through prayer. Our prayers don't rise in vain to God, He hears them and answers, not always as we think...but in His perfect loving wisdom.

She stopped and thanked God, before she left, praising Him out loud in the middle of that aisle; for He provided for her heart's desire, of someone to talk with.

I will continue to pray for her this week....she really needs some fellowship and encouragement, God opened a door today. I have a new friend and so does she.

Can I be your friend...I'd love to.

Leave me a comment and I will stand with you in prayer too. I'll be waiting......

Secrets of homeschooling

After 13 years of homeschooling some secrets I will happily share:

Trust God:
If He has called you, He will enable you. Put Him first and everything else will fall into it's proper place (I promise and so does God!)

Ask God (first):
Before you do anything, seek God. Also ask Him what gifts and talents He has given your child(ren)...once you know them, then you can focus on 'tuning' them up. God has given them to each of us, so that we can walk in the fullness of His purposes for our lives. The Holy Spirit is a God of revelation...He so wants you to come and ask Him!

Loosen up:
In life when you run a race, you stretch before a run. Do the same with home school, allow yourself time to find what each of you enjoy and what your areas of interest are.

All learning doesn't come from curriculum:
Curriculum can be great, or it can be a major joy stealer. Pray before you buy any curriculum, ask God what He wants for your child(ren) this year.

If a curriculum doesn't work, don't keep using it:
If you are miserable with a curriculum and if it truly isn't working after giving it a chance, OR modifying it to fit your needs...well, then either sell it or give it away. You'll be so happy that you did.

Learn to say no:
Especially for new homeschoolers; don't try to do every field trip, class or opportunity that comes up. Pace yourself, embrace simplicity. The opportunity will come up again, most likely. If you try to do everything, you will get burnt out.

Learn to have a thankful heart:
See the blessings of homeschooling. Stop often to Praise God, alone and as a family.

Don't be worried about socialization:
God will not let your child(ren) become 'unsocialized.' He will give you opportunities, in His perfect timing, for friendships. Sometimes you will go through 'quiet' times, when it is just you and them. This is okay, as God is working His Hand in each of you (keep your eyes and heart open for what He wants to do currently.)

Pray for support:
Whether a face to face friendship for you (the homeschool mum) or an online friendship. It is important to have someone who can stand with you in prayer and share the good times and bad with you. Make time to get together alone (online it can be done too!).

Make use of free resources:
The library is an under used resource by most families. There are so many wonderful books, dvds, videos, library passes....get to know your libraries. Don't just use one...look to neighboring town libraries and use their resources as well. *upon entering into homeschooling, I prayed and ask God for protection from evil- this most definitely included our books...the library unfortunately has books that are NOT pleasing to God. By asking for His guidance and by teaching my children to only put things before their eyes that HONOR God, we avoided (and learned the gift of self-control and discernment) evil. If my kids found a book that they hadn't realized had things (such as witchcraft, rude language) in it...they came to me and let me set it aside to be returned.

Make time to go to the Christian homeschool convention:
You will be so encouraged by all the other families that come, old and new homeschoolers alike. You will have the opportunity to glean wisdom and have hands on time with lots of different curriculums/books. Don't always try to recreate the wheel, let someone else show you how they've done it, perhaps it will be just what you needed to hear. OR perhaps you can go and look for opportunities to bless someone else that is struggling or searching.

*Enjoy yourself:
Your homeschooling road isn't eternal (though sometimes it may feel like that)...your children will grow, they will learn, and so will you. Breath deep and choose to joyfully homeschool those He has given you. Take pictures, you will want them when the road finally comes to an end, so that you can look back and marvel at it all.

Homeschool at our house

Homeschooling with subtitles:

Art...or *creative play* if you'd like...

snack time....or *refueling and taking a breather*

Laundry squeezed into lesson time...or *the daily battle*


Sweet Princess Mercy or *the reason for Saturday school*



The soon to be homeschool graduate or *sisterly bonding*



Learning to read or *having fun*


As we hit April, I begin to talk of the end of school. This year, though we threw in an international adoption (to Ethiopia!), we are still on task. We didn't take vacations and just prior to Princess Mercy arriving, we began to do Saturday school.

I think, by the third week of May, we should be totally finished with our 180 (plus) required days.

The purpose of our Saturday school was to get ahead, looking back, I am so glad we did that, as it put us ahead in most of our curriculum. Honestly, it enabled us to finish up our math curriculum (hear the crowds cheering!) and move to the next years curriculum for 3 of the 6 homeschooled kids here.

Out of all the school 'subjects' math has been the one that has been hardest for us...we start out great, but about 4rth grade we begin to struggle. I was thrilled when 2 years ago we found Math. U. See. My 2nd and 3rd child switched to this, after trying many other programs...and they both love it. (well, love may be too strong a word ;-) They are doing fabulous with it...they have a teacher 'Mr. Steve Demme' who teaches them by DVD. Their only complaint is he doesn't have much of a wardrobe change during the entire course. Princess Sunshine and Fozzdike, then go sit and do their student book, which is all of 6 pages and then a test.

They are totally understanding the lessons being taught by "Mr. Steve" and they move along quickly from level to the next level. This year, we will definitely buy more than one curriculum of Math.U.See for each kid's level, at our homeschool convention (as we had to order another for each in January). If I started out again, I wouldn't buy the block, inserts or fraction overlays, as my kids just didn't need them after the teachers DVD lesson.

As we look ahead to our finish, I realize that we are soon to hit a milestone. Our oldest will graduate this year, which means 13 years of homeschooling will have been completed. I am so glad that God chose this path for us. I am so very grateful for the time that He has given me with this call to homeschool my ever growing brood. To think that one of mine is not yet even in Kindergarten means I still have at least 13 years, God willing, to go. And by the way, I am very happy about that, as I love homeschooling my children.

If any of you are pondering homeschooling; I'd tell you to go for it. It is the best decision you will ever make. The great thing about it, is that YOU will learn so much! Where God calls you, He enables you...He's got all the answers to the questions too. And praise God, no home school plan or curriculum is too hard for God to undertake. He isn't going to say,

"This is too hard, let's think about this."

Oh, the things I have learned along this homeschooling road.

Oh, to think of the things that God is still teaching me....sigh, it's good to be me.

Wise Words Monday (delayed)

Wise Words Monday Tuesday

As I was prayerfully considering what to share, I was impressed with the importance of 'refraining from speaking.'

How about if we work on our listening skills this week, and also the spirit of self-control, that shows itself when we hold ourselves back from speaking.

When we are quiet, we are better able to hear the Holy Spirit's voice and His directions for each situation...and the moment. Then we are able to speak words that are a balm to the soul, healing to the hurting and life to each heart.

Listening is pretty much a lost skill. Everyone is in such a hurry, rushing, flying from one point of the day to another, hopefully without leaving wreckage along our path. To hurry means, not often taking the time to allow the Spirit to direct us in what that moment should reflect. How many times have I wished that I had spent the time in listening, realizing after that the person that came to me was 'hurting' and really needed a listening spirit from me, not the quick brush off or empty words. Ouch!

Job 4:2-4

1 Corinthians 1: 5

Proverbs 8: 6

and

James 1:19

Spring Handmade Purse for Sale:

My oldest daughter, Pirate Jacky(18), is raising money for a mission trip to Costa Rica this summer. She will be traveling with our church to San Jose, Costa Rica July 7-17th. She needs to raise $700 before July, so she has decided to sell some handmade purses!

Many people from our church family have commissioned her to make her a bag- all of her customers have been very satisfied with their bags. The bags are machine and hand stitched and have a pocket on the inside. Each bag is unique-unto itself in design.

Bag dimensions:

Handle length: 12"

Width of opening: 10" (how wide opens to insert things: 8")

Height of bag body: 14"

Widest portion of bag body: 14 1/2"

fabrics: cotton(s)

Bag price: $25.00

Shipping and handling: (U.S. orders) $2.75

(*If you are out of the U.S. we would have to increase shipping cost*)

Thank you for the support of her mission to Costa Rica!