tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66320380770952113162024-03-05T05:20:50.640-08:00Destination: Proverbs 22:6My journey to train up my children in the way that they should go...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-15680383737113382992013-10-02T08:21:00.004-07:002013-10-10T06:52:51.928-07:00Women Living Well Review and Giveaway!<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> blessed to be chosen to be on the launch team for a new book that just came out in the stores yesterday. The book is titled, "</span></span><a href="http://womenlivingwell.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Women Living Well</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">," and is written by </span><a href="http://womenlivingwell.org/2013/09/my-book-is-in-bookstores-confetti/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Courtney Joseph</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. The subtitle for this book is, "Finding Your Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids, and Your Home." I think that we could all seek out more joy in all of these aspects of our lives. We are busy as mothers. Courtney is a mother of two children, she homeschools, and her husband travels a lot; so she has a lot on her plate just like many of us do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Being on the launch team, I was given an ebook copy of this book to read, review, and provide a giveaway for my readers! I am excited to be able to offer this giveaway to you all because the truths provided in this book come straight from the Word. Courtney backs up what she believes with what the Bible says, and provides ideas and insights about all aspects of the busy mom's life to try to help us to improve our own "walk with the King."</span><br />
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<a href="http://womenlivingwell.org/2013/09/my-book-is-in-bookstores-confetti/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGjm9PWdLpyxhyphenhyphencyefHfgN0v2W1BjKztd4FgI7TxeKSzPLCfETg7L0AC8rlBjTmI9duSo8_O0U1GppRgG979tlfPX8WBouCs46y7Ub0QQI25GtMf-lZTQ5msjGGcLDfNIotCXBKWrl_U/s320/Women+Living+Well.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This book comes with so much encouragement for women. Whether you are a newlywed seeking out how to balance your life with husband, homemaking, and ministry...or whether you are married for a while, balancing more than you ever imagined...this book will give you some practical ideas on how to get it all done. You may or may not utilize all off the ideas, but you will certainly come away with more in your "tool box" than you had before. As you read, seek God and ask Him how (if) this can be used in your personal life. Courtney admits that she is not always the "put together" woman that you see on her blog, in her videos, or on her "outside," but she does her best each day to "walk with the King." She has her priorities in order and is still able to get it all done<em><strong> much</strong></em> of the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Voices. They come at us from every side.</span></em></div>
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We listen to the voices on the iPad. The iPod. The iPhone.</span></em><br />
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But are we listening to the voice of the great I AM?"</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Just as we cannot charge our cell phone only once a week, being recharged in God's Word is not a once-a-week assignment."</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Are we thirsting for Jesus, or have we made ourselves so busy that we don’t even know our soul’s greatest need—solitude with God?</span></em></div>
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Do you want to be a better wife? Study your Bible.</span></em><br />
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Do you want to be a better mother? Study your Bible.</span></em><br />
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Do you want to be a better homemaker? Study your Bible."</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Women feel that they are placing themselves beneath a man when they choose to help their husbands. I wonder: why is it noble to help men in the workplace, help orphans, help widows, help your pastor, help neighbors, or help your parents, but degrading to help your husband--your groom, your lover, and your best friend?"</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And these are only a few of the quotes that I have highlighted, and these come in the first fourth of the book. Imagine what other great gems you are going to find as you read it for yourself! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because of my involvement in the launch team, I have been given the privilege of giving away a signed copy of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Women Living Well</span>!! (If you just can't wait to see if you win the giveaway, you can get your own copy </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Women-Living-Well-Find-Your/dp/1400204941/ref=zg_bs_3043241_2" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.) </span><br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c914e11/" id="rc-c914e11" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-22043466418034600342013-09-13T06:13:00.000-07:002013-09-13T06:13:35.403-07:00FREE Printable, "Praying for My Husband from Head to Toe"<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since I had been focusing on marriage, I wanted to offer this to anyone who can use it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I made this particular one up by myself after seeing several different ones on the internet. I give the Scripture reference for each prayer. I do believe that praying God's Word is a great way to improve your prayer life and to pray for others.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is my first time offering a printable of my own, so I am truly not sure if I've done it right...but if you have problems, feel free to comment here, and I'll get back to you and email it directly to you if need be. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Download the free printable "Praying for My Husband from Head to Toe" by clicking </span><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/destinationproverbs226/2twje5iib5g" target="_blank"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">HERE</span></a><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-16576334442201573592013-09-09T04:14:00.001-07:002013-09-09T04:20:24.523-07:00K.I.S.S.! (Keep It Simple, Sister!)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtrd2z9_MD3HTCRvrSRlsfIZXsXLVmjNfDg1DheMDyLtG8tsob1hAgx_SgxwlJs6nztSrvuA7adB0QsY9gRFtR9ShS_icr_u_qnivC2wamVuVTqWwX-jPa_rmCm-y_4tOzIbIdCPfADI/s1600/001+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtrd2z9_MD3HTCRvrSRlsfIZXsXLVmjNfDg1DheMDyLtG8tsob1hAgx_SgxwlJs6nztSrvuA7adB0QsY9gRFtR9ShS_icr_u_qnivC2wamVuVTqWwX-jPa_rmCm-y_4tOzIbIdCPfADI/s320/001+%25282%2529.jpg" width="224" /></a><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Does your husband <i>know</i> that you love him? Many times, we believe that we have to spend money to show our spouse our love, or do something “extravagant.” However, the “little things” mean a lot. The way that you show him that you love him on a day to day basis is what really speaks to his heart. We usually don’t need to be reminded of these things in the “courting” phase or the “honeymoon” phase of the relationship, but often, after children and 40+ hour work weeks, the simple, daily things are pushed to the side. We begin to believe that a weekend getaway or a fancy dinner at a nice restaurant will be the best way to show our love for one another, and we never find the time or the money for such things. This is often when our spouse can begin to feel like their love tank is running on empty. </span></span></span><br />
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are a few simple ways to refuel your sweetheart’s “love tank.” </span></span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><strong>Steal some kisses!</strong></em> As you pass in the hallway, stop him and give him a kiss! </span></span></span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">Find other ways to “sneak” in kisses throughout the day.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><strong>Send him text messages.</strong></em> Don’t talk about what you need him to pick up from the store, just tell him something that you love about him. </span></span></span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">The point is not to just communicate, but to let them know that you are thinking about him!</span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><em><strong>Show interest in his interests.</strong></em> </span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;">Even if you aren’t interested, find something about his interest that you can “participate” in.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><strong>Be the one to make the first move!</strong></em> Reach out and hold his hand. Sit next to him and put your hand on his knee. </span></span></span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">Give him a shoulder or foot massage unexpectedly.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When your spouse arrives home from work, meet him at the door, looking presentable, and <em><strong>greet him with a welcome home kiss.</strong></em></span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;">Set up a <strong><em>cheap and/or “at home” date night</em>.</strong> Many times, my husband and I have waited to have dinner until the kids were in bed so that we could have an “at home” dinner date. </span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;">We have also had “cheap” date nights simply by taking a walk together while someone was able to watch our children for a while. (Although I believe that "date nights" are important and that it is good to go "out" sometimes, who you are with is the important part, not where you are.)</span></span></span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;"><em><strong>Compliment him!</strong></em> Know his strengths, and praise him for how he uses that to bless you, your family, and others. Make sure that some of your compliments are done in front of others--especially his parents! </span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;">This will let them know how much you love him as well!</span></span></span><span data-mce-style="color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;" style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></li>
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<li><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;">Most importantly, and oftentimes most neglected, <em><strong>TELL him that you love him!</strong></em> Tell him often! Tell him what you love about him! And, tell your children that you love their daddy! </span><span data-mce-style="font-size: medium;">You and your husband will be their example for marriage if they are ever blessed with a husband or a wife, so make sure that the example that you are setting is what you want for them.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
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This is my final post in my series of posts concerning marriage. You can find previous posts in the marriage series here:<br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-familiar-are-you-with-your-husband.html" target="_blank">How Familiar Are You With Your Husband?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-failure-to-communicate.html" target="_blank">A Failure to Communicate?!</a><br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/09/boundaries-within-your-marriage.html" target="_blank">Boundaries Within Your Marriage</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-27712753606662200432013-09-09T04:06:00.003-07:002013-09-09T04:09:43.893-07:00Boundaries Within Your Marriage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseEng7iFUbcS8TQpS1be6ngxTcIToEwOJUBgTpIVNXa1nm7Ost_Kqbb7YD-yxjHwYjBGDdMpm6DV-oXYbTUmnpxgyU2sV0QOB1RUo5U_hX1x_hciySzToMZDS3q-IFYBOxQphihKYV6Q/s1600/090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseEng7iFUbcS8TQpS1be6ngxTcIToEwOJUBgTpIVNXa1nm7Ost_Kqbb7YD-yxjHwYjBGDdMpm6DV-oXYbTUmnpxgyU2sV0QOB1RUo5U_hX1x_hciySzToMZDS3q-IFYBOxQphihKYV6Q/s320/090.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Soon after my husband proposed to me, our pastor asked us to set up a few “pre-marital counsel” sessions. One of the things that we discussed in one of our meetings was about setting boundaries within our marriage. I did not really think much of it at the time. I am not sure that I quite understood the impact that boundaries really have in a relationship, and especially in a marriage. After almost eleven years, I can now see what an important role they should have played all along.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is one of those things that you will never know about until you begin talking through it with your spouse, but it is so essential to the livelihood of your marriage. One of the most important areas to set boundaries in marriage, in my opinion, is in relationships with friends of the opposite sex.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When we were married, both my husband and I had friends of the opposite sex. We both went into the marriage thinking that these “friendships” were fine and that they really didn’t need to CHANGE any because, after all, they were just <strong>friends</strong>. Then, as I would listen to my husband talk about the times he spent with these female friends before he and I met, I started feeling a little sad. Then, I realized that he wasn’t responsive or showing any expression when I would tell him about times that I shared with my friends that were men. But, neither of us <strong>talked</strong> about it–which made for a bigger mess as the years passed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After realizing that these <em>friendships</em> were causing some distance between us, I set up a meeting with our pastor and </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAXrjADlm2nefWYqHvzQzAzGfXbCTnfOnkSMyuqJtcpBs9D833PtG6bThSqDz6NiI4xFd67AB14mIS_v7L2T8AX_Dn2x4b9ie3Onj-9kKd7qmOfo8X-YM-UdTBc9WrBcKTo4TgM1uDIk/s1600/372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAXrjADlm2nefWYqHvzQzAzGfXbCTnfOnkSMyuqJtcpBs9D833PtG6bThSqDz6NiI4xFd67AB14mIS_v7L2T8AX_Dn2x4b9ie3Onj-9kKd7qmOfo8X-YM-UdTBc9WrBcKTo4TgM1uDIk/s320/372.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">his wife for another “counsel session,” except this time it wasn’t so light and giddy as it was in those engagement days. I explained to them what had been happening and how I felt. They stated that they had talked to us about this at the beginning and how important it was to have boundaries, especially in our friendships with those of the opposite sex. Basically, neither of us “got it” until we had already hurt the other. If we had just kept going, the faithfulness in our marriage could have been jeopardized.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">From my experience, these boundaries with friends of the opposite sex need to be set in two areas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first would be in communication with and about the “friend.” In my opinion, communication boundaries should involve three things:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. <strong>How often?</strong> <em>You are part of a family now. The friend has his/her own family. Do not take time away from your family to give to him/her. </em></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. <strong>How much?</strong> <em>As husband and wife get to know one another throughout the marriage, friendships from the past will come up in conversation. Dwelling on them and letting those memories take over is where a problem can begin. You can usually sense from your spouse when he’s heard enough. I certainly know that I have been able to with my husband.</em></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. <strong>Public phone conversations only.</strong> <em> If the need arises for a phone call to a friend of the opposite sex, my husband and I have decided that we have these conversations in each other’s company. This way, nothing can be assumed about what was said in that phone conversation.</em></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The second area for setting boundaries would be in spending time together. In our marriage, we have decided that it is best to always keep company with friends of the same sex. If a situation arises that would require time spent together one-on-one, it should be discussed and different arrangements made.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCSeEwJe-4QnraSH-bQZeE-QlYpDlLx9x2dkI1OJtgG8naQXLaarFi0VRBY-3ciyETVpx3BplVJDSsWzpnIDTe3P7t_DorA-9OPluJPf8Bagdg828MzQMXDs-mZTGQGDX3-7Kg44uaD8/s1600/view+with+tracks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCSeEwJe-4QnraSH-bQZeE-QlYpDlLx9x2dkI1OJtgG8naQXLaarFi0VRBY-3ciyETVpx3BplVJDSsWzpnIDTe3P7t_DorA-9OPluJPf8Bagdg828MzQMXDs-mZTGQGDX3-7Kg44uaD8/s320/view+with+tracks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">These boundaries may seem drastic to some; they certainly did to my husband and me during those first “counsel” sessions. However, as our marriage continued, we saw the importance of these boundaries. If boundaries like these are kept, the likelihood of any compromised faithfulness within the marriage is greatly reduced. My pastor and his wife have followed these same boundaries in their own marriage; this year, they will celebrate 44 years together!</span><br />
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I have been doing a series of posts on marriage. You can find the previous posts here:<br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-familiar-are-you-with-your-husband.html" target="_blank">How Familiar Are You With Your Husband?</a><br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-failure-to-communicate.html" target="_blank">A Failure to Communicate?!</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-75720193260255315962013-09-05T04:20:00.002-07:002013-09-05T12:16:44.191-07:00A Failure To Communicate?!<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I received an email recently from a longtime friend and sister in Christ. We often share prayer requests with one another. She asked me to pray for <strong>better communication</strong> between her and her husband. As she described her situation, I could relate. The exact scenario that she described had happened in my marriage as well. I began to think about why communication in marriage seems so difficult. The only person that we can change is ourselves, so we need to look there first for solutions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I thought about how to respond to my friend, I went to the Bible first. I also gleaned from personal experiences in my eleven years as a wife. Here are the things that I came up with for improving the way that we communicate with our husbands:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>We need to be careful about what we say and how we say it</strong>. “<em>Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones</em>.” (Proverbs 16:24) Ephesians 4:29 says, “<em>Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear</em>.” Who are those who hear? It could just be your husband, if you are having a private conversation, <strong>but</strong> it could also be your children. I try to be extra, extra careful of my communication with my husband when our children are in the same room! They learn how to communicate by watching us.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTx6QPYnKq2ek5gBRq7-p91UjS-fChFOKKCMb6CewOMaLQgnuzedsFIyH82G6l_nJ1zIikF5KtlOq8UhVjwtNuG5X9wrHDqVWJsNFUwE98GpwqCB477p3RVxEBmjpriUbsVMdAljyASw/s1600/IMG126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTx6QPYnKq2ek5gBRq7-p91UjS-fChFOKKCMb6CewOMaLQgnuzedsFIyH82G6l_nJ1zIikF5KtlOq8UhVjwtNuG5X9wrHDqVWJsNFUwE98GpwqCB477p3RVxEBmjpriUbsVMdAljyASw/s320/IMG126.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Our communication also needs to show submissiveness.</strong> Submission in communication is difficult to define for me. Where is that line? Does it change from day to day? Situation to situation? Couple to couple? A great example of this, which I must say that I am guilty of way too often, is that when our husbands start to talk to us about a certain issue, we interrupt to defend ourselves or our position. He might say, “I feel like you ignored me in front of your friends yesterday.” Before he can continue, and maybe even before he finishes that first sentence, his wife says, “You shouldn’t feel that way! That’s ridiculous!” Sometimes our husbands try to tell us how they feel, and we shut them down. Yet we complain that they do not listen to our feelings. Listen to him like you want him to listen to you. Reply with grace and love as you would have him to reply to you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Let him lead</strong>. I was given this advice from an older, Christian woman. As women, we like to talk. Men are not as vocal. Let him begin most of the conversations. If he doesn’t talk much, just enjoy being with him. Doing this helped me to see submissiveness in a new light. It also allowed me to get to know my husband better and to become closer with him. If he begins the conversation, you know that it is definitely something that he is interested in talking about.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>There have been times in our marriage that I felt that I could never say anything “right.”</strong> This was usually because I meant a certain thing by what I had said, but my husband heard something totally different. I have heard of this in other marriages as well, so I am guessing that it is common among husbands and wives. Men and women communicate differently–no doubt. After a situation like this would happen, my husband would react to what I had said, which had nothing to do with what I had meant to say. As I realized how often this was happening, I began responding with, “I am sorry if that is what you thought that I meant or that the way I said it made you think that is what I meant, but this is what I am trying to say…” and I would try again. (“<em>A gentle answer turns away wrath…</em>” Proverbs 15:1) After many years of this, we now laugh about it because we so often misunderstand what the other was trying to get across. “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I don’t know if you realize that what you heard is not what I meant!” (Source: Unkown) So very true!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Timing is important!</strong> Take <strong>time</strong> to <strong>think</strong> about what you are going to say. The first thing that comes to your mind is not always the best thing to say. Although this holds true with all relationships, I believe that it is essential in good communication in marriage. Proverbs 15:28 says “<em>The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer</em>…” James 1:19 </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxflO4ItL-FTOFHxm7RGmNppo_k0EESkOXzuY95ziHPMSseKqwJbqYzzPwLhy5-LwvntZKlKuVGmiVNoq6jqYPYhAWA4ENb0RgHQ2pU8Phuio785w7rVYgYTezzszACV8IJFHMB_qxag0/s1600/IMG22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxflO4ItL-FTOFHxm7RGmNppo_k0EESkOXzuY95ziHPMSseKqwJbqYzzPwLhy5-LwvntZKlKuVGmiVNoq6jqYPYhAWA4ENb0RgHQ2pU8Phuio785w7rVYgYTezzszACV8IJFHMB_qxag0/s320/IMG22.JPG" width="213" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">reminds us to be quick to listen, but slow to speak. My husband asked me a question recently as I was getting ready to walk out the door to run errands. I gave a quick answer, because I was in a hurry. It quickly turned into a disagreement. If I had only slowed down and given a better answer, we could have avoided the issue that was created. Another issue on timing is to <strong>not</strong> discuss issues with your husband while he is trying to watch a football game or at bedtime. When he is distracted or tired, he is more likely to “tune” you out, which will tempt you to want to begin nagging. Even before I was married, I was determined to not be a nagging wife. I had heard so much about wives always nagging their husbands, saying things over and over, and continuing to talk about the same issue for more time than it’s ever going to be worth. Many times nagging will lead to interrogating, and then the wife begins to sound more like the mother. “Why didn’t you take the trash out? I have asked you to do it several times today, and it’s still sitting here by the door,” would be something appropriate for me to say to my son, but not to my husband.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Our husbands are <em>not</em> our girlfriends.</strong> When I talk to my friends, I usually give them <strong>every</strong> little detail of a situation, and they do the same with me. We like the little details. Men, however, do not. My husband prefers the condensed version. Actually, he had gotten to the point that he <strong>never</strong> listened to any voicemails that I had left for him because he said that it always took me forever to get to the point. (My more recent voicemails are, “Hey, it’s me. Call me back.”) When you have a burden that you want to talk over with your husband, I encourage you to talk it over with a trusted Christian lady first (if the situation is appropriate for sharing)…she will likely want the detailed version. Pray about it before you talk to him about it as well. By this time, you have gotten past the emotion of the situation and can give him the facts…condensing it for his listening pleasure!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Most importantly, pray for your husband and for the communication between the two of you!</strong> A few of the Scriptures that I pray over my husband regarding communication are Psalm 19:14, Proverbs 19:14, and Ephesians 4:15.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The issue of communication in marriage is not something that we can avoid. We should strive to communicate with our husbands in a manner that would be pleasing to the Lord.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(This is the second post in a series about marriage. The first post can be found here:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/09/how-familiar-are-you-with-your-husband.html" target="_blank">How Familiar Are You with Your Husband?</a>)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-36182494934069183482013-09-03T13:30:00.001-07:002013-09-03T13:30:56.561-07:00How Familiar Are You with Your Husband?<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While the word <em>intimacy </em>can go in many directions, I believe that there is a solid way to define intimacy. Intimacy is a deep familiarity with another. This definition is broad enough to cover all of the ways that intimacy can be experienced and expressed. Some words that are synonyms or related to the word <em>intimacy</em> are friendship, belonging, closeness, and fellowship. Our relationship with our spouse should bring those words to life. When you think of friendship, do you think of your pals or do you think of your husband? Is your husband a familiar friend?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember a time in my marriage when I would have thought of someone else if the word <em>friend</em> was mentioned. I also remember that turning point when I realized that my husband was (and is) my <em>best </em>friend. Once I realized that, things changed for the better in our relationship. I was able to find a fellowship with him that was beyond anything we had experienced prior to that. What happened to bring about this realization?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I noticed that we were not as close as I wanted us to be. This made me sad because I loved my husband, and I knew that he loved me, but somehow the closeness just did not seem to be there like I felt it should. I made it my mission to get close to him. I know that I can only change what I do, and that the Lord will bless my efforts if I do it with the right spirit. A few specifics come to mind when I think of the major changes that I made to bring about this new intimacy in our relationship.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Express interest in his</em> <em>interests. </em></strong><em> </em>My husband likes motorcycles. While I don’t <em>hate</em> motorcycles, I also have no personal interest in them. I asked my husband one day if we could go on our “date” night on the motorcycle. His eyes lit up! He said, “You really want to?” I said that I did. After a few rides on the back of the motorcycle with him, I started to like the motorcycle a lot more! *wink, wink* He watches videos online of new motorcycles that he wants to upgrade to at some point. Guess who watches them with him? That’s right, I go over to the computer and stand by his side watching the video along with him. He makes comments, asks me questions about which color or design I like best, and just overall brings me into “his world.” A friend of mine found it difficult to find interest in the things that her husband liked. He was into guns and shooting competitions. She found no interest in these at all. One day, she decided to go along with him to one of his competitions, and she took along her camera. Photography is one of her interests. She took photos of her husband and his friends in the competition, and eventually made him a disc of all of the pictures she’d taken. Her husband enjoyed this little gift so much that she now goes to competitions regularly, shooting pictures while he is shooting targets! Be creative, but definitely find a way to show interest in the things that interest him.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em><strong>Build him</strong></em><strong> up.</strong> Tell your husband what you love about him often. Go back in your mind and think about those things that first attracted you to him. Think about what he does every day that you may take for granted, such as simply getting up and going to work to provide for the family. Take time to think about what it is that draws you to him. Then, tell him. I took it a step further. After I told him, I also wrote those things in a little notebook. I often write little things in it when I think of them throughout the day. I also took time to go through our wedding video, pausing and playing, to write out our vows. I put those in that notebook as well. These are just little things to remind him that he is loved and that I am committed.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><em><strong>Touch him often. </strong> </em>Most men’s love language is touch. It is just a fact. So, touch your husband. Hold his hand <em>whenever</em> you can. I have come to the point that I will <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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hold my husband’s hand in the car, on the couch, walking from the car to the store, even when we are lying next to each other in bed. I walk over to him when he’s watching television, and just give him a peck kiss on the cheek. If he’s sitting down and I come up behind him, I will play with his hair. He usually stops whatever he is doing, and just enjoys the feeling. Touch will usually be returned with touch, a “win” for both of you.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Get intimate with your husband. It doesn’t mean that you have to stop everything that you are doing and head to the bedroom, but it does mean showing him more attention and getting to know him on a deeper level. Being “one” with our husbands, as the Bible teaches, cannot be done without getting to know him on an intimate level.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-62132848085415447132013-09-03T05:06:00.000-07:002013-09-03T05:06:42.320-07:00Marriage Series<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the next four days this week, I will be posting about marriage. I can just see some of the confused looks now, thinking, "I thought this was a blog about raising your children...you know, Proverbs 22:6...raise up a child in the way he should go...so, why a series about marriage?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I truly believe that my husband plays a huge role in the raising of our children. Even though he is with them less hours in a day than I am, his role is incredibly important. I believe it's important for children to have both "Mama" and "Daddy" active in their lives. I also believe that my marriage will reflect in my children as they grow up. To have them raised up in the way that they should go, they need to see people living in the way that they should go in their day-to-day lives...which makes the relationship between my husband and I an important part of what they will become as adults. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope that you enjoy this week of posts focused on Biblical marriage.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-63751661578593396252013-08-26T11:28:00.001-07:002013-08-26T11:41:42.477-07:00A Day In The Life...<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are beginning our third week of our 2013-2014 homeschool year. I wanted to share with you all a little about what a typical day in our homeschool "looks" like.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihR6Dan-PQAyU__Sc3inC0xcnMUGPT-foOXiAYGvWfbO4QaDqHgRI4bvjF1u8rggn82U2W7xf3-xqfafCkba-d_32D7mvE8EfbtqS7U5a2l4iphrFs0I54ThpQVrtQMVONH53-osRW2s/s1600/IMG_20130116_050948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihR6Dan-PQAyU__Sc3inC0xcnMUGPT-foOXiAYGvWfbO4QaDqHgRI4bvjF1u8rggn82U2W7xf3-xqfafCkba-d_32D7mvE8EfbtqS7U5a2l4iphrFs0I54ThpQVrtQMVONH53-osRW2s/s320/IMG_20130116_050948.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After we have breakfast, we have our Bible time. During this time, the children all sit on the couch and I sit in a chair facing them. I tell them what portion of Scripture we will be reading that day, and they all find it in their Bibles. We usually take turns reading, verse by verse, and after we are finished, I will go over it a little and try to break it down so that they understand it better. Then, I might ask them questions about the passage we read, if they don't have questions for me. We then have prayer together. (If there is a time of the day when we get "caught up," this is usually it. I don't mind it though. If they want to spend longer with questions about God's Word, then I feel like that's more important that math, science, and social studies anyway.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41VJPDT2B1hhBX_1nLkGI30R85INcsNeftGysJwIW1tCqdSONcoT8abZBlFgzzTG9iGWbHerXW2ZLX_avHytPpU-_je985x3_laDeyVneBTblafEFoanIDvPGxJ9EDlfjJ4MHn9LwJig/s1600/2013-08-12+09.19.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41VJPDT2B1hhBX_1nLkGI30R85INcsNeftGysJwIW1tCqdSONcoT8abZBlFgzzTG9iGWbHerXW2ZLX_avHytPpU-_je985x3_laDeyVneBTblafEFoanIDvPGxJ9EDlfjJ4MHn9LwJig/s320/2013-08-12+09.19.08.jpg" width="238" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After our Bible time, we have exercise time. I have always felt that I needed to incorporate more physical activity into our homeschool days...especially at the times when our kids are not involved in sports. During the "off season" or if we just simply didn't get to sign up during a certain season, I wanted something to get them "active." So, I found a homeschool P.E. program that goes through the age levels and grade levels...so it can be used for many years to come and with multiple age levels. It is called </span><a href="http://familytimefitness.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Family Time Fitness</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. I try to do "exercise" early to get the "wiggles" out before we do any seat work. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNu4zz7bx7Pp9q_Sy48T9Tc_RYDOeCm2RAxZxAkI6YnoykaTnd5KZoZ1982iaR9Mt6gQTlZks4PN17QjBDHFqnxV8kRc-hTze93Gijt-EP6Q4MBjatASeLpbs-c1p9HA0Ru1fmgN2uQq0/s1600/2013-08-20+10.46.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNu4zz7bx7Pp9q_Sy48T9Tc_RYDOeCm2RAxZxAkI6YnoykaTnd5KZoZ1982iaR9Mt6gQTlZks4PN17QjBDHFqnxV8kRc-hTze93Gijt-EP6Q4MBjatASeLpbs-c1p9HA0Ru1fmgN2uQq0/s320/2013-08-20+10.46.12.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The rest of the day would probably look like chaos to anyone who isn't with us every day. After exercise time, I go with my oldest boy to teach him his math lesson for the day. During this time, his younger brother and younger sister do their reading. After the oldest boy is finished with math, we all meet together at the couch again for language. After that, the middle child goes to his room with me to do <em>his </em>math lesson while the oldest does reading and my little girl has free time. After the boys are finished with math, I do math with my daughter while the boys have some free time. Once everyone is finished with the two "r's," we come together for the final "r"...writing...which is done as we study our spelling words. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After all of this, we finally have lunch! It seems like a busy morning, and it is...but I like to get them while they are "fresh." :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After lunch, we work on one of a few "projects" that I'm hoping to finish this year. Our first one is to learn all 50 states in alphabetical order! After they have this "mastered," I have a list of things that I thought of over the summer that I have in our plan book. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePvIfSlqtSGTfmCc6rX-s4KjEiNO04g2dUjeGSEr6Py2fV89KM5oTpCpPiIrtIi5MY4ec_CWvc5LlbJA5T5Q7nW1ZpVTHX1Ax2cuJvY_AAVZtbcDvDfwe0n5QI4XxB5B0vQX7xGorU7I/s1600/2013-08-23+08.32.44-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePvIfSlqtSGTfmCc6rX-s4KjEiNO04g2dUjeGSEr6Py2fV89KM5oTpCpPiIrtIi5MY4ec_CWvc5LlbJA5T5Q7nW1ZpVTHX1Ax2cuJvY_AAVZtbcDvDfwe0n5QI4XxB5B0vQX7xGorU7I/s320/2013-08-23+08.32.44-1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I then do language, phonics, and science with my daughter. Then I do science with my boys. After that, we all come together again for vocabulary...and our ideal plan is to do read-alouds after that, but after 2 full weeks of school, we still have not implemented it! :( So, hopefully, I can fit that in there somewhere sometime as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the time we have all of that done, it's time for their Daddy to get home from work, so I switch from teaching to cooking...and try to get supper on the table shortly after he gets home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like I said, this is our typical day...but sometimes things don't go as planned, and I just try to get back on plan as quickly as I can. Sometimes I can get us back on track quickly, other times, not-so-quickly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would love for you to share with me about your typical homeschool day!!!</span><br />
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Linking up at:<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-57005469434422658322013-08-26T09:39:00.002-07:002013-08-26T11:29:29.226-07:00Why Homeschool? {Part Four}<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today’s post will be the final one in a series that I have been writing here about the reasons that my husband and I chose homeschooling as the best option for our family. There are definitely so many reasons that it would take me a long time to cover them, so I touched a little one the ones that were in the forefront of my mind, leading up to our number which is what I am sharing today…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To begin with, I would like to share a little about myself, and what initially and most importantly led me to choose to homeschool my children. I grew up wanting to be a teacher. My answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (even as a 4 year old, having no experience in a school), was “a teacher.” When I graduated from high school, I received a scholarship from the local retired teachers association that they gave each year to a student wanting to pursue a career in education. I completed four years of college, got my degree, and began teaching in the public school. My professors in college, and my experience with my colleagues in the school, left a bad impression of homeschooling overall. I did not like it, I did not want it, and I did not “believe” it could be done. I was against it as much as I could be against it. That being said, there were others, who had been teaching much longer than I had, who were much more verbal about and stronger in their anti-homeschooling beliefs than I. I had <em>never</em> met one child who had been homeschooled, yet I was against it. I had the opportunity to meet some homeschooled children one day…when I met the man who would later become my husband. I met my future nephew and nieces. At that time, they were 5, 9, and 10. They were the most well-mannered, respectful children that I had ever met, and being a teacher, I had met a lot of children. They were not anti-social as I expected that they would be. The 10 year old filled me in on just about the whole 10 years of his life previous to our meeting! The 9 year old smiled and chatted with me as if she were an adult. The 5 year old, being a bit shy, smiled her sweet smile, and played just like all other 5 year old girls that I knew at the time. I was impressed, to say the least. As my future husband and I got to know one another better, he expressed his desire to have his children (if he were blessed with them in the future) homeschooled. I was still resistant to the idea, but he told me to “just pray about it.” I did just that, and through my time with God, He led me to know that this was the right direction for me and my future family, before I even had a family of my own! My husband and I married and have been blessed with three children. At present, they are 10, 9, and 7 years old…and I do not regret one day of being here with them, homeschooling them, or the decision I made so long ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The picture that I have included in this article is of my son. It is a little difficult to see, but he is “preaching” from his children’s Bible. He often “played” preacher, and his message was always about Jonah. He would say, “God told Jonah to go THIS way, but Jonah went THAT way!” Had I decided against homeschooling my children, it would have been the same concept as the story of Jonah as my son so simply understood it. God told me to the homeschooling way. Any other direction would have been disobedient to His will for me and my family. My main reason, the most important reason, that I chose to homeschool my children is because God told me to. I cannot think of a better, more important reason than that.</span><br />
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Here is the links to the other posts in this series:<br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-homeschool-part-one.html" target="_blank">Why Homeschool? (Part One)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-homeschool-part-two.html" target="_blank">Why Homeschool? (Part Two)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-homeschool-part-three.html" target="_blank">Why Homeschool? (Part Three)</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-2382010420507624532013-08-24T10:20:00.002-07:002013-08-26T10:23:47.053-07:00Why Homeschool? {Part Three}<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am sharing reasons that my husband and I chose homeschooling as the best option for our family in a series of posts. There are definitely so many reasons that it would take me a long time to cover them, so I am touching on the points that are most important to us at this time, leading up to our number one reason that we chose homeschooling. Today, in part three, I am sharing one that can be quite controversial.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">• <strong>“I can regulate what is being taught to my children.” “I can teach moral values that are not allowed to be taught in public schools. We can have prayer together. We can read our Bibles aloud together. We do not have to teach that things like homosexuality are acceptable because Biblically it is not! We can teach that abortion is <em>not</em> an option because it is murder.” </strong> One of the main reasons that I chose to teach my children at home was because of what I saw happening in the public schools (I was a public school teacher for a couple of years before my husband and I got married…more on that next time). Subject matter that should have been left to parents to teach in their own way and own time became part of the curriculum taught at whatever grade that the “people in charge” decided. The “people in charge” know nothing about my child, so I do not understand how they can decide which age my child should learn certain things. Subjects such as sex education should be something that parents deal with, not a teacher who does not my child the way that I do. The main teaching that goes on in the “sex ed” classroom is “safe sex.” Sex before marriage is not safe. The only “safe sex” is no sex. So, children are taught to go ahead and have sex, just do it “safely.” “If you do end up getting pregnant, it is okay too because WE can take you (without your parents’ permission or knowledge) and let you get an abortion.” This is not how I want my children to be taught.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Teaching that homosexuality is acceptable is also something that the public schools have begun to do. Homosexuality is wrong Biblically and even “naturally” because we all know that a man and a woman are needed for reproduction. Even as young as Kindergarten, where students are anywhere from age 4-6, some of the stories that they were to read would deal with the homosexual lifestyle being “okay.” This is something that again needs to be left to the parents to discuss with their children and not for our public schools to do. Evolution is another thing that is taught in public schools. The alternative (creation) is rarely mentioned, if at all. I can teach my children how the world and its inhabitants were really created, and about Who created all of it. I do tell them that some do not believe that this is true, and give them an overview of what they believe happened. These are the things that I really want my children to “get.” I want them to grow up to be the man or woman that God wants them to be; one who loves Him and desires to do His will. I believe that the more time I can spend with them, instilling these values and morals, the better their chances to become Godly men and women when they are grown-up. “Teach a child the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I was told many times to “be careful” about the true, Biblical things that I said in my public school classroom because I would “get in trouble.” I can teach true, Biblical principles and morals to my children at home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Stay tuned...my next post will finish the series and include our number one reason for choosing homeschool.</span><br />
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Here is the links to Part One and Part Two of this series:<br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-homeschool-part-one.html" target="_blank">Why Homeschool? (Part One)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-homeschool-part-two.html" target="_blank">Why Homeschool? (Part Two)</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-91630138629850495622013-08-22T10:40:00.001-07:002013-08-26T10:22:18.310-07:00Why Homeschool? {Part Two}<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As part of an ongoing series, I am sharing some reasons why my husband and I chose to homeschool our children. I shared a couple of those reasons in last yesterday’s post and would like to share a couple more with you today.</span><br />
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<a href="http://homeschooltoolbox.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Hillary3-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-3550" height="320" src="http://homeschooltoolbox.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Hillary3-150x150.jpg" title="Hillary3" width="320" /></a><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">* "Being at home with my children and teaching them creates a greater bond between family </span></strong><a href="http://homeschooltoolbox.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Hillary3.jpg"><strong></strong></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>members.” </strong> My children are at home with me all day, pretty much every day. I do not feel that I need to say much about this because we all know that the more time we are able to spend with other people, the greater the bond with those people. My heart has been filled to overflowing many times when I see my children come to me with questions, with confusions they have, with just a random hug or kiss, or to say, “I love you,” out of the blue. I only have my children for a short time, and they are only this age for a very short time. I want to be able to form bonds with them that will last well beyond these years!</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>“My children do not have to deal with peer pressure, gangs, or cliques.”</strong> Having been a student in public school myself, and then a teacher in the public school, I have seen more than my fair share of this. I think we can all agree that these things have terrible effects on our children. Peer pressure in and of itself is the cause of many young people beginning to drink, smoke, and do drugs. Even before those things, children in younger grades are pressured to do something that they know that they should not by their “friends.” Gangs are usually made up of people who meet up at school, decide that they don’t like one thing or another, and will do whatever necessary to stop it. Cliques, while not as dangerous as gangs, are also very damaging to children of all ages. I am sure that we all know how the cliques treat others who are not like them. My children have not had to deal with any of this. You may say, “Well, they will have to at some point. Why not now?” True. They will have to deal with it someday. Today is not the day, though. It is not the time because it is not the right time. They need to be trained at home on how to deal with things before they actually have to deal with them. After all, you would not send a person into the mission field without having been trained and taught in the Word, would you? My children are still “in training.” Dealing with these things will come soon enough, and my job right now is to prepare them to respond in the right way.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I continue to share our reasons for choosing homeschool, I am leading up to our number one reason. Stay tuned. We are almost to that number one reason!</span><br />
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Here is the link to Part One of this series:<br />
<a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-homeschool-part-one.html" target="_blank">Why Homeschool? (Part One)</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-44220009775276933152013-08-21T14:17:00.000-07:002013-08-21T14:19:13.131-07:00Why Homeschool? {Part One}<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When people discover that we have chosen to homeschool our children, they often ask “why” we made that choice for our family. There are many reasons; some that are more important than others. I know that I will never touch on all of the reasons that people choose to homeschool, but I will share with you through the coming weeks about most of <strong><em>our </em></strong>“<em>why</em>s” in choosing to homeschool.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGIBXhpSP8dOjX8oleurq8vv7Gq7Wt6_DtzWT0_RfGILzUrW8Q6SxkVEqqUkrrmgEyzNFWfJYWv0-4-c-I8gow-rBSP4ykWiBf6YBRMdedeoEvyWNPhmU0XrEkN12Xj-JEMoe4pBtYDg/s1600/P8190059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGIBXhpSP8dOjX8oleurq8vv7Gq7Wt6_DtzWT0_RfGILzUrW8Q6SxkVEqqUkrrmgEyzNFWfJYWv0-4-c-I8gow-rBSP4ykWiBf6YBRMdedeoEvyWNPhmU0XrEkN12Xj-JEMoe4pBtYDg/s320/P8190059.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>“I am able to teach to my child’s interests.” </strong>This is one of the best things about homeschooling, in my opinion. My child might not be interested in a story about flowers and gardening, but he would love to read a story about dinosaurs and reptiles. Will he have to learn about flowers and gardening? Yes, to some extent, but when we want something for “reading,” we can choose the topic most appealing to each child. We could incorporate dinosaurs into every subject to grab his interest easily. The regular public school classroom will not be able to cater to each child’s individual interests.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkky2t6j2p6E438NkX5P8G3LIQ4VjfeouoXZEqtxv_aoiQ1fAhNY6r5D2pj-9j9fEyNEU_a0dyaLN8LncNhIDdRnbs-8E_4o_sz7OebfrRNidtQG8KqQjYnSl5ehyphenhyphen3JdZIXrCeto2UsVE/s1600/blog+post+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkky2t6j2p6E438NkX5P8G3LIQ4VjfeouoXZEqtxv_aoiQ1fAhNY6r5D2pj-9j9fEyNEU_a0dyaLN8LncNhIDdRnbs-8E_4o_sz7OebfrRNidtQG8KqQjYnSl5ehyphenhyphen3JdZIXrCeto2UsVE/s320/blog+post+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>“I am able to schedule our ‘off days’ to coincide with my husband’s ‘off days’ so that we have more time together as a family. I love the flexibility of scheduling with homeschooling!” </strong> Because we homeschool our children, we are able to go to my husband’s workplace for lunch from time to time. When my husband wants to use his vacation days, we can take a family vacation, whether it is summer, winter, spring, or fall. Since I am scheduling their school days, we can take time off when my husband takes time off. My children are also able to take advantage of time with other family members who live in other states when they come to visit. If they were in school, they might get to see these family members only after school hours, and then they would have to make sure to get their homework done, and get ready for an early bedtime so that they would be able to get up early for school the next day. Since I am the one directing their schedule, we can take time off to spend with our family that we do not get to see very often!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the first in a four-part series. In the last post of this series, I will share our most important reason for choosing to homeschool. I hope that you will check back as the series continues...</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-58664105146124185572013-08-13T17:25:00.002-07:002013-08-13T17:25:24.736-07:00Our little corner of the world...<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> have</span> always wanted to have a room totally dedicated to homeschooling...our desks, our books, our materials... I want it all in one place and not in the "way" of other things in our house. BUT we don't have the ability to do that right now...for many reasons, so we make do with what we have. I have typically kept the books in a closet that we don't use or on a table in the corner of the kitchen that we don't use, and just pull them out whenever... That has always been okay, but it always looked a little cluttered. This year, we got desks! My parents in Tennessee "found" some desks at a good price, cleaned them up, and hauled them all the way to us here in South Carolina. :) So, this year, we have a designated place for all of our school materials. His goes in his desk, his goes in his desk, and hers goes in her desk. It really has made for an easier time finding things and keeping everyone's materials together. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We don't have a lot of space. We designated a corner of the boys room (the bigger bedroom between theirs and their sister's) for school "stuff." My daughter keeps her desk in her room for most of the time, but we do move it to the boys room for subjects such as spelling where the white board comes in handy. :) Here is a picture of the room without the kids, and then with the kids!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-32434985592762677032013-08-05T08:32:00.003-07:002013-08-05T08:40:14.817-07:002013-2014 Curriculum Choices: The Year of Change<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The year before my oldest son was to begin "officially" homeschooling, I searched and researched curriculum choices. I have to say that across the board, more families have difficulty with choosing curriculum than any other homeschooling decision, at least in my observation. My decision-making was made easy when my husband told me that he wanted to use the curriculum that he used when he was homeschooled (from 6th grade up), which was Abeka. I was fine with that. I hadn't read anything "bad" about it, so we ordered Abeka curriculum. Things went and have gone well with Abeka...and as you will see, we are still using it for some subjects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">However, this past year, I thought about how "fast" Abeka moves through things...and I wondered if things were being covered too quickly. My son definitely struggled with how quickly the multiplication was taught, and so I knew that we were going to have to make a change in the math department. Then, as I thought about my own experiences, I thought about the language arts...and how we knew what a noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, etc. was by the time I was the age of my boys. Abeka covered <em>some</em> of those, but I felt that it was still done too quickly for my kids to <em>really</em> grasp it. So, I decided to make a change in that area too. Also, I was putting <strong><em>a lot</em></strong> of work into their spelling program. The "activities" that they gave to go along with the words were very short, so my children would have them completed in a day. So, I would have to make up stuff to go with the words for the other days of the week...which meant more time spent at the computer, making my own "worksheets," and printing them off. In the earlier grades of Abeka spelling, I liked how all of the words were similar...fun, sun, pat, sat, mat, etc., so that the children were learning, "If I can spell 'at,' I can also spell 'mat,' 'sat,' and 'pat.'" However, in the higher elementary grades, I felt like the words didn't really relate to one another at all or build upon each other. I missed that a lot. So, a homeschool friend of mine told me about the curriculum that she uses that does just that...all of the words are related and build upon one another...so, we are also changing our spelling curriculum!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I want to say before I move on that I am very glad that we used Abeka and that we will continue to use Abeka for some subjects. It does move too quickly on some things, in my opinion, but they do have a very solid Christian base for their curriculum, and my children have learned so much by us using Abeka in their beginning years. BUT without further ado...here are our curriculum choices for this year...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My youngest child, and only daughter, is going into second grade this year. As you can see, she is using </span><a href="http://www.abeka.com/HomeSchool/Default.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Abeka</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> for most everything. Here you can see her Language, Letters and Sounds, Our America (social studies), Enjoying God's World (science), and Health, Safety, and Manners books. She will be doing some subjects with the boys...for the first time ever! (More to come on that...)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><strong><u>4th Grade</u></strong></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaY6lEST8lxan2TRQMX7ZzT8N1JX4HKvlfgJl9xQU-CgQ-2geXGlMXPeaDx95dIrClmyQ1js1VK_GjQ0EOI6vqjdg-ZH0BD59bUTswApPYNwSdrRA3N770s_ODnVkI4wl0q8WoOva244/s1600/2013-08-05+10.21.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaY6lEST8lxan2TRQMX7ZzT8N1JX4HKvlfgJl9xQU-CgQ-2geXGlMXPeaDx95dIrClmyQ1js1VK_GjQ0EOI6vqjdg-ZH0BD59bUTswApPYNwSdrRA3N770s_ODnVkI4wl0q8WoOva244/s320/2013-08-05+10.21.16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My youngest son will be fourth grade this year. He is still using </span><a href="http://www.abeka.com/HomeSchool/Default.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Abeka</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> for science (Understanding God's World), social studies (My State Notebook and another social studies text not pictured), and health (Developing Good Health). He will be using </span><a href="http://store.mathusee.com/catalog/general-math/beta/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Math-U-See Beta</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> this year. The first time we've used anything except Abeka for math. So, this will be very new for all of us!</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><strong><u>5th Grade</u></strong></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-prM2rKnTjF2ROgEkhbLidtuFM4P0rlHGuq9f4rbq9lDWo2N89NlnBP7pXGvkyD2slm4fjQcbX19vL01o3N_UdQ37niRI62mTTDi7UAgegCZjmFjpSsRuZE8Uu3NHGTeytTzpbu8NrRM/s1600/2013-08-05+10.23.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-prM2rKnTjF2ROgEkhbLidtuFM4P0rlHGuq9f4rbq9lDWo2N89NlnBP7pXGvkyD2slm4fjQcbX19vL01o3N_UdQ37niRI62mTTDi7UAgegCZjmFjpSsRuZE8Uu3NHGTeytTzpbu8NrRM/s320/2013-08-05+10.23.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My oldest boy...my oldest child...will be going into fifth grade. He is doing several subjects with his brother...so some of the books pictured above are the ones that he and his brother will share. They will be doing science, social studies, and health together (as well as some other subjects that he will be doing with his brother and his sister, which I'm coming to...). He will also be using </span><a href="http://mathusee.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Math-U-See</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> this year...the </span><a href="http://store.mathusee.com/catalog/general-math/gamma/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gamma edition</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. Again, this is the first that he has had anything except Abeka, so he is very excited about doing something new!</span></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">All Three</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><u>L</u></strong><strong><u>anguage:</u></strong> We will be using </span></span><a href="http://www.learningthings.com/first-language-lessons-for-the-well-trained-mind?Cc=FIRSTLAN" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First Language Lessons</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> this year. My daughter will be doing her Language Workbook in addition to this, and my sons will also be doing worksheets from time to time to go along with this. The lessons in here are short, but very effective in teaching a child exactly WHAT a noun, pronoun, adjective, etc...is and other valid things that I believe they need to know but wasn't focused on as much in their Abeka Language.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><u>Vocabulary:</u></strong> We began working with </span></span><a href="http://www.wordlywise3000.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wordly Wise</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> last year, and I liked it so much that we are going to continue this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><u>Spelling:</u></strong> This is the spelling curriculum that my friend told me about where the words relate to one another and build upon each other. It's called </span></span><a href="http://www.avko.org/sequentialspelling.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sequential Spelling</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. I'm very excited about trying it this year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our first day of school is August 12...one week from today. So, I am using this week to get prepared!! Are you making some big changes in your curriculum this year? Did you have a year in the past where you make some major changes? If so, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. I feel like I'm stepping onto new ground, and am a little nervous about it all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Linking up at:</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-90154032452721860742013-08-01T05:00:00.000-07:002013-08-01T05:00:11.312-07:00Learning to Speak Life Review and Giveaway!<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a Christian mom, I am always looking for new
ideas to help my children learn God’s Word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My sweet blogging friend, Carlie Kercheval, and her husband, Michael,
have written the first book in a series of Bible studies for children!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was so kind to allow me to have a copy to
review for you all!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is also giving
away a copy to one of my readers!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The series that Michael and Carlie are working on is
called, “Learning to Speak Life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
focus of each book will be speaking words of life to those in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first book is a 9-week family Bible study
geared for families with young children ages 3-9. This first book is about the “Fruit
of the Spirit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E2G36GI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E2G36GI&linkCode=as2&tag=soyoucalyouah-20" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJ7yvY8pGUmjzX76rFRl6iyHT7Ur2mhYWLqq859Luckj4hN5P6AFCzIenJhQytku-nCIqlV9TK_kaRkyWsUcTlOVnxh1DPoQ_inXJwmk8XnXmoHVUEbgFEVVowxCcIY7u3zITSzd86h4/s400/LearningtoSpeakLife.png" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This book includes nine sections,
one to examine each fruit of the Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each section includes everything from scripture references which can be committed
to memory and an explanation of what each fruit is to family projects and
suggestions for digging deeper, and much more in between!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will find valuable resources to use in
your “Bible time” with your kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
study also gets the children involved instead of just reading the verses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My children recently memorized the “Fruits of the
Spirit” for their Sunday school class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am going to use this book to help them not just be able to simply recite, “love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control,” but to know and to put those things into practice in their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As these concepts are sometimes hard for
children to understand and hard for parents to explain, I know that it will be
a blessing to have this book as part of our Bible study time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it will be a blessing to your family
as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enter to win your copy of “Learning to Speak Life:
Fruit of the Spirit” below!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
simply can’t wait to find out who wins the giveaway, go ahead and purchase your
own copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E2G36GI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E2G36GI&linkCode=as2&tag=soyoucalyouah-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a> right now! You can order your copy by clicking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E2G36GI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E2G36GI&linkCode=as2&tag=soyoucalyouah-20" target="_blank">here</a>!</span></span></span></div>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c914e10/" id="rc-c914e10" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-15784695154614910652013-07-17T11:06:00.001-07:002013-07-18T05:36:05.326-07:00Water to soften...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em><strong>Do you know what this is???</strong></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is spackling paste. It is the stuff that you put on your walls to fill in holes and such. It's supposed to be soft and pliable... My husband bought this container quite a while back, used some of it, and then put it away in the closet for the next time he needed to use it. He called me yesterday and told me to get it out and bring it to him. As I went to the closet to get it out, I saw that the lid had not be snapped down securely. I opened it and saw this... I called him and told him. He said, "Just add some water. It will probably be fine." So, I added water...and waited. Soon all of the water was "sucked" up by the spackling, but it was still hard...solid and rough. I called him and told him that I had added water, it seemed to absorb all of it, but that it still wasn't softening. He said that it was probably not going to work...and to not worry about it. I wondered though, if I had added more water if anything would have ever changed... As I read online, it was all dependent on how long it had been sitting. If it hadn't been that long, the water would have likely softened it up, but the fact that it had sat a while (and the lid wasn't snapped on in one place, allowing it to dry out even more) made it pretty impossible to recover.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This got me to thinking about our lives. This is what our lives look like when we live without the "Living Water." The Bible tells us in John 14:14, "<!--/topics/john.4.14--><em>But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life</em>.” If we go a period of time without spending time with Jesus and getting our "living water" "topped off," then we begin to dry up like this spackling did. I have been terribly convicted of this in my own life many times, but today, I was convicted of this by watching my children. They were not "themselves" today...and I kept thinking, "What has gotten into them?" My question should have been, "What has NOT gotten into them?" They were thirsty and needed the living water. Of course, they've been at church and certainly being filled there, but AT HOME, we pretty much took a break from our daily Bible studies together just like we took a break from "school." I was helping them to dry up...and the only thing that could "soften" them again was to "add water"...the "living water" that is. I sat down with them for a while, talked about some things that were on my heart, and told them how I prayed for them and about them. Things immediately took a change for the better, but more water will certainly need to be added daily to get them back to the soft and pliable hearts that I desire and that God desires of them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Don't dry up! Don't get thirsty! Take from the "Living Water" and never thirst again!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Linking up at:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.w2wministries.org/"><img src=" http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y320/mom2ljgz/w2wWFW175x175_zps98430217.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.raisingmightyarrows.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://webzoom.freewebs.com/ouralaskaadventure/RaisingMightyArrows/ProverbsButton.jpg" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-44575219447080350542013-06-19T12:22:00.002-07:002013-06-20T07:22:33.592-07:00Everyone stared at me...<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember the day like it was yesterday. I sat down at my computer, pulled up Facebook, and started scrolling through my NewsFeed. Then, I read something, stopped scrolling, and looked at the computer screen...with my mouth wide open in surprise! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the deal...I live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina...but I spent the first 28 years of my life in Tennessee. I graduated from Tennessee Technological University in 2000. I loved my years there, and one of my favorite things was attending sporting events with my friends and my parents. I looked forward to going there with my husband once we were married, but pregnancy and other things hindered us from doing some things. Then, we moved to South Carolina. No complaints about living this close to the beach, but I knew that driving 10 hours for a sporting event was just not something that we would likely choose to do often, if at all.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv4tI9yiatGpQOd8T4NhfZUXqXNrLSZkJTpuRHVJIDprXP9vZqc_e9Tr4Dw3k7Mz5se7xZxATHfZoti3I-wF0cBK36Ye__9yRgvgwTK7lFhhY10_qsqkwN6lDHbjC0tMR4YIk10ECi1w/s1600/TTU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyv4tI9yiatGpQOd8T4NhfZUXqXNrLSZkJTpuRHVJIDprXP9vZqc_e9Tr4Dw3k7Mz5se7xZxATHfZoti3I-wF0cBK36Ye__9yRgvgwTK7lFhhY10_qsqkwN6lDHbjC0tMR4YIk10ECi1w/s1600/TTU.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then, that day...that day when I was scrolling through Facebook, and saw a posting from TTU Sports. "The Golden Eagles basketball team will be participating in a tournament. The first game will be against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina." REALLY?! Immediately, I called my husband, telling him the wonderful news. He started making plans for us to go...just the two of us. The Golden Eagles and a "date" with my hubby...could it get any better?!? I then commented on this Facebook post made my TTU Sports telling them how I was planning on going to the game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember walking into the gymnasium...a sea of turquoise...the color of the Chanticleers...and I was wearing my PURPLE and GOLD. Yeah...I stood out like a sore thumb... My husband I sat down...right in the middle of all of the CCU fans...and soon, a man in a suit approached us. He said, "Are you Hillary Gould?" I said, "Yes, sir." He was one of the directors of sports at TTU, and he'd seen my comment about being there, but was still very surprised that we did come out.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcX3Ke3_h71k088wklalsb2CXxQeFKdvFs2vXrjfxdHqGBicznUXBY4io5xRKudC25Th-J77eWO6m9t5CMhkY2j4bTIsMmMgyM8vsJdeqodtHPp2FLpIA4FltZomnjaFtvqA6M-tdcyoQ/s1600/TTU+Flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcX3Ke3_h71k088wklalsb2CXxQeFKdvFs2vXrjfxdHqGBicznUXBY4io5xRKudC25Th-J77eWO6m9t5CMhkY2j4bTIsMmMgyM8vsJdeqodtHPp2FLpIA4FltZomnjaFtvqA6M-tdcyoQ/s1600/TTU+Flag.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn't hold back on my support for TTU, even though I was only one, besides the players </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">themselves wearing PURPLE and GOLD! My husband even told some people that the only people wearing purple and gold were the players on the bench and me! I yelled and cheered and screamed. Eventually, the people around me realized that I was cheering when they were not...and they began turning and staring at me. One man noticed my shirt, and then nodded and turned around. Another man spoke up...he said, "You're cheering for the wrong team!" I said, "No, sir. I am the only one cheering for the right team!" LOL! I had a lot of fun that day...even though I was very "different" from everyone there, and EVERYONE noticed me by the end of the game...especially when TTU WON, and I had a little mini-party in the stands all by myself...cheering and screaming while standing on my feet!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was remembering this event today, when God gave me a parallel that is much more important than a basketball game. If you are the only one wearing "purple" in a sea of "turquoise," would you try to hide or display yourself for all to see? Wearing "purple" meaning being a Christian...in a sea of non-Christians...our world today... I had some "haters" around me, but I kept on cheering my team on. Do I do this in real life when I have "haters" of the Gospel around me...do I keep on cheering about Jesus? We are to be set apart...and people might stare at us...but we shouldn't hide or shirk away or be in fear because we are representing our team...we are representing our team leader...JESUS!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Linking up with:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.w2wministries.org/"><img src=" http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y320/mom2ljgz/w2wWFW175x175_zps98430217.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.raisingmightyarrows.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://webzoom.freewebs.com/ouralaskaadventure/RaisingMightyArrows/ProverbsButton.jpg" /></a></center>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-8428056047214880502013-06-03T10:07:00.000-07:002013-06-03T10:07:05.937-07:00MAY DAY<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember as a child looking at the calendar hanging on the wall in our kitchen and seeing May Day written under May 1. I always laughed and thought it was funny that May 1st was called "May Day." I didn't know why, and didn't really care why, I just thought it was amusing.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_Li8vLEAyZI6O8RPM19HISOAXA8a0WMrR9olouNarXgvATcvCJBLoePIEubeWVYdQSdhA5yQnLudHqahfxmyDBUHwEnmJdpwBtGMVzantyk565ys2GiZSzx-qWRir-bZXNglVCl0Lhk/s1600/May+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_Li8vLEAyZI6O8RPM19HISOAXA8a0WMrR9olouNarXgvATcvCJBLoePIEubeWVYdQSdhA5yQnLudHqahfxmyDBUHwEnmJdpwBtGMVzantyk565ys2GiZSzx-qWRir-bZXNglVCl0Lhk/s320/May+1.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, May 2013 was a month of "Mayday"s it seemed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Internationally, "Mayday" is known as a distress signal. Yep, that was May 2013...distress. My husband had left for an international trip. He did not return until mid-May. So, I was like a "single-mom" homeschooling three children. I have always said that homeschooling as a single-mom would probably be one of the hardest things to do, and I can still say that today. My husband doesn't play a huge role in our day-to-day schooling, but having him come home at the end of the day takes more of a load off of my shoulders than I realized. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">May 1st was the day that I was set to take over at </span><a href="http://www.homeschooltoolbox.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Homeschool Toolbox</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> as the content manager. Was I looking forward to it? YES! However, it did give a lot to think about that I hadn't had to deal with before, so there was just extra "stuff" on my plate that hadn't been there before...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The same day...May 1st...my son woke up in the very early morning hours telling me that he was sick. As I got up to give him some medicine, I started coughing and felt weak. Oh no! Not only was my son sick, but I was as well. For the next 12 days, either one of my children or I was sick. There were days that I did nothing except sit on the couch, sleep when I could, take medicine, and feed the children. I rarely ate because I didn't want anything. I became more and more weak, and finally started making myself eat SOMETHING at least a couple of times a day. I lost 7 pounds during that time...which was a great loss, but NOT the way I wanted to get the extra pounds off! Three kids and myself sick while my husband was far, far away was not working out well.</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTOkjlDysdEaIPfHDOnNXRLwB4Whe5yf2hBBLO-x91qxT8HDb3oVardD50tavUt1StReAogD9J7DKufAV_ZmkDohLtUsqdmf5C4fxvfsHnjbFbToXameez9yV3rnvMZIy3n-42WhDKDw/s1600/hubby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTOkjlDysdEaIPfHDOnNXRLwB4Whe5yf2hBBLO-x91qxT8HDb3oVardD50tavUt1StReAogD9J7DKufAV_ZmkDohLtUsqdmf5C4fxvfsHnjbFbToXameez9yV3rnvMZIy3n-42WhDKDw/s200/hubby.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">FINALLY...the day comes when my husband comes home! I hugged him as soon as I could, and when I did, I felt that he was hot. He was sick! He had a fever, sore throat, coughing...the whole nine yards. So, for the next few days, I was trying to do everything that I could to get him back to health. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The very next week, my parents from Tennessee come to visit to spend a week with us. During that time, I am thinking that my children finally caught what my husband had. Yep...three kids alternating days, sometimes two of them at the same time, with fevers and just all together feeling bad. So, I have relatives visiting and sick children within the same week...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWonK96wSzBZ9x6gUzAvTm_YT5UFOHBy3iu8UuJhcAVA2uP2o3t0mbGCIjMXq73Lr7vMMGlbGfZ9LvL1BS4Vq-meqTgwpS2WrN_x2NJvf8SIaXXyx_bgAK1gMN-LE6kSDVe947SH9WBEM/s1600/June.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWonK96wSzBZ9x6gUzAvTm_YT5UFOHBy3iu8UuJhcAVA2uP2o3t0mbGCIjMXq73Lr7vMMGlbGfZ9LvL1BS4Vq-meqTgwpS2WrN_x2NJvf8SIaXXyx_bgAK1gMN-LE6kSDVe947SH9WBEM/s320/June.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">May was difficult to say the least. I am so glad that June has come. I feel like there is a clean slate. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Everyone in our home is finally well again. My husband is home. No plans for anyone to visit anytime soon. So, hopefully, June will be a better month for me. As I thought on all that happened during the month of May, and how most of it was considered "bad," I had to wonder, "Why did God allow all of this to happen within such a short period of time?" I knew that a lesson was there to be learned. I have figured out some of the lessons...things that I would never imagine would teach me a certain thing, but did. It was a hard month, but you know what? God is still God. God is still there. He allowed me to go through it, but you know what?? He allowed me to MAKE it through it. He has used it to repair things that I didn't even know were broken. He still loves me, He still comforts me, and He's still on the Throne. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My "Mayday" distress call could not be answered by anyone except my Lord...and He answered it! Maybe it wasn't in the in the way that I thought that He would, but He did it in the way that was best for me and best for my family... Yes, it was a difficult month, but sometimes the biggest blessings follow the biggest trials.</span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-52134313890585285772013-04-30T07:50:00.003-07:002013-04-30T07:50:30.681-07:00An Announcement to Make...<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><em>I have an exciting announcement!</em></u>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">God has been working behind the scenes, preparing me for a big adventure, opening doors for my writing, and I want to invite you along. As of May 1st, I'm the new content manager of Homeschool Toolbox. I'm so excited. I get to work with the writing team, find great homeschooling resources to give away, and write helpful product reviews. (And some other fun stuff along the way!).
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<a href="http://www.homeschooltoolbox.net/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtJ6WrlDoyzMFf7jWw5XBWpdMZcCoEmib1C9NO_6CeZkj-OfqEBSpWgzGnwNACdFTCiKbGTdrMt1wUj6hZfh-EQYWVoacY-Mfjo0rNBqprXR6u_NvHdUTz7OACP3zOvss7q5eVkrb7nk/s1600/Homeschool+Toolbox.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's what that means for my blog. All of my mommy/wife/homemaker writing will stay right here. You'll find most of my homeschooling articles over on Homeschool Toolbox. Homeschool Toolbox is a great place to find out where to get the very best resources for homeschooling. We've also got some amazing writers sharing their wisdom and experience as they homeschool their children. Everything is written from a Christian perspective and with a positive, encouraging tone.
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'd love for you to come check it out, and be sure to sign up for the free e-book! If you love "looking over the shoulder" of others to see how they do things, this book is for you.
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can check out the site </span><a href="http://www.homeschooltoolbox.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">and be sure to like us on </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/HomeschoolToolbox" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pray for me as I begin this new venture, that I'll find joy in what I set my hands to and that this site will be a blessing to many.
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have also recently become a contributor for two other sites. You will find the “buttons” for those at the end of this post.
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<a href="http://www.fulfillingyourvows.com/" title="Fulfilling Your Vows: Marriage God's Way"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j353/ckercheval1975/FYV150x150FinalContributorButton.png" width="150" /></a>
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<a href="http://www.soyoucallyourselfahomeschooler.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="So You Call Yourself A Homeschooler?" src="http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j353/ckercheval1975/NEWLOGOcontributorbutton150x150SYCYAH.png" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-55266899839478826702013-04-15T07:18:00.000-07:002013-04-15T09:01:46.724-07:00An Introduction...for Meet & Greet Week<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been blogging for a while...so, why an introduction <em>now</em>?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.raisingmightyarrows.net/" target="_blank">Raising Might Arrows</a> is having a Bloggers Meet & Greet Week this week. If you are a blogger, check out the link at the bottom of this post. You can get in on the Meet & Greet Week as well!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My name is Hillary Gould. I live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my husband of (almost) 11 years and our three children. </span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtrd2z9_MD3HTCRvrSRlsfIZXsXLVmjNfDg1DheMDyLtG8tsob1hAgx_SgxwlJs6nztSrvuA7adB0QsY9gRFtR9ShS_icr_u_qnivC2wamVuVTqWwX-jPa_rmCm-y_4tOzIbIdCPfADI/s1600/001+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtrd2z9_MD3HTCRvrSRlsfIZXsXLVmjNfDg1DheMDyLtG8tsob1hAgx_SgxwlJs6nztSrvuA7adB0QsY9gRFtR9ShS_icr_u_qnivC2wamVuVTqWwX-jPa_rmCm-y_4tOzIbIdCPfADI/s320/001+%25282%2529.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our first two children are both boys, born 13 months and 13 days apart!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyD-QEjbxDH3Ptmls84vluiFZS0wE96uP9X2bY7PcLxa7CEN9pe-_9Cd0QxoVtMAI944fDVljek4voC9vlX-GM7TJ_osXxt2BpIAZA8Mjvwfr1UrzrqZlsiUYEe1bwFC-8rbkdlHj2Wyo/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyD-QEjbxDH3Ptmls84vluiFZS0wE96uP9X2bY7PcLxa7CEN9pe-_9Cd0QxoVtMAI944fDVljek4voC9vlX-GM7TJ_osXxt2BpIAZA8Mjvwfr1UrzrqZlsiUYEe1bwFC-8rbkdlHj2Wyo/s320/22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our third child is a little girl who was born 20 months after our second boy.</span> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCq1Ver5kkAOjHnJ-uCvpFda40nPksK_RKtuWHfabwfOS3hRmJGdLTcEK6UQ2WpjRhs9u9RVxxon-ilwk4IOQDGU3SmRYAVhS9SsyoO0TTxLSjhOuZJ5iEoMPp_MPTwN3tthh5qpSKhA/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCq1Ver5kkAOjHnJ-uCvpFda40nPksK_RKtuWHfabwfOS3hRmJGdLTcEK6UQ2WpjRhs9u9RVxxon-ilwk4IOQDGU3SmRYAVhS9SsyoO0TTxLSjhOuZJ5iEoMPp_MPTwN3tthh5qpSKhA/s320/3.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because of the way their birthdates fall, for about four months out of the year, their ages are in consecutive order. Like now, they are currently 9, 8, and 7. When they tell others outside our family this, their eyes widen! God chose to give them to us in a short period of time, and He knows best. I am glad that they can grow up together and be friends. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Why I blog:</em></strong><br />In March 2012, my family took a trip from coast to coast! We began on the East Coast, where we live, and traveled all the way to the West Coast! It was an amazing trip. I never thought that I would be able to plan 14 days for a family of five traveling all the way across the country. I spent a lot of time planning, and re-planning, and stressing; but when all was said and done, we had a wonderful trip. So, I thought..."Maybe there are other families out there that would like to do something like this, and don't know where to start...like me... I should blog about it...to help other people to have an easier time than I had." That is where my blogging spark began.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I homeschool my three children. I know that homeschooling is becoming more popular these days...but I also know that every family is different. I try each day to teach my children more about Jesus. I want them to know about Him, love Him, and serve Him. I want them to strive to be more like Him each day. A verse that has given me comfort in those days when I wonder if anything is getting through...when I wonder if they understood a word that I just said...is Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." I take comfort in knowing that God says that I should do my best right now...train them up! So much easier said than done, but I give it my best! This is how I came up with the name for this blog...I would be blogging about our travel...so the word, "Destination" came to mind. I figured that would work well with parenting, homeschooling, etc. as well...so, I thought "What is my destination as a mother?" To train them! Therefore, you have the name, "Destination: Proverbs 22:6." This being said, my posts are mostly related to Christian living, marriage, homeschooling, and being a mother. </span></div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Links to some of my favorite posts:</span></em></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">* </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-new-blogand-i-love-blogger.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Introduction to my husband's blog and links to all of my posts about our trip</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">* </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2012/12/lovewe-have-no-idea.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My personal favorite</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">*</span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/04/reasons-to-not-homeschool_15.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> My series on reasons people give about why they do NOT homeschool</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">* </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/03/homeschooling-mom-are-you-lonely.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hardest post I have written to date</span></a></div>
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<em><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Contact info:</span></strong></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">email: </span><a href="mailto:hillaryg622@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">hillaryg622@gmail.com</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Destination-Proverbs-226/245397348915743?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Destination: Proverbs 22:6 Facebook Page</span></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-90700071322742404552013-04-15T06:53:00.002-07:002013-04-18T07:36:24.796-07:00Reasons to NOT homeschool...??<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been thinking lately about all of the responses that I get from strangers who find out that we homeschool our children. Many times when other parents hear that we homeschool, they say to me, "Oh, I wish I could do that, but..." They then proceed with reasons that they would not or could not homeschool. I am going to share with you some of the reasons that I have been told as to why parents say that they cannot homeschool their children. I will then share my feelings on that response. There are such a variety of reasons that I have heard, that I decided to do a series on it instead of one very long posting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">(You can find Part One of this series, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-was-thinking-today-about-all-of.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> You can find Part Two of this series, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-have-been-thinking-lately-about-all.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> You can find Part Three, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/reason-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Part Four, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/reasons-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Part Five, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/04/reasons-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> And Part Six, <a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/04/reasons-to-not-homeschool_12.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">* </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>"My
child NEEDS to be in public school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
can be a witness to all of those children and teachers for Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His ‘mission field’ can be his school.”</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a child, my parents did not take me to
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew very little about Jesus,
and even less about His life and what He did for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a public school student, I had many
friends who did attend church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
would tell me about their church outings, their Sunday school classes, and all
types of things involving their church. They would usually ask me after they had told me these stories if I went
to church anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would tell them
that I did not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not ONCE did one person
invite me to go to church with them until I was in high school!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Not ONCE did any of them attempt to tell me more about Jesus or that He died to save me! </span>I was a sophomore in high school before a
friend invited me to go to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I had
attended church before this time with neighbors and other family members, but did
not go to church anywhere regularly.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I went with this my friend in high school a couple of times, but since she did not attend regularly, neither did I, until we both stopped going altogether. </span>I
did not attend church regularly until I was in college, due to another friend
inviting me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not think that those
who did not invite me to their church after telling me their stories were
"bad" or "un-Christian," I just think that they simply did not know WHAT to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children are NOT trained at these young ages
to be missionaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will not be
prepared to answer questions that most little children will have…maybe they
have the same questions themselves and have never had them thoroughly answered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, we had a little boy stop at our
house one afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The children were
outside playing, and he had just gotten home from school and was outside riding
his bicycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw us and wanted to
play with my children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He came up to
where they were, and my children started asking if he knew the story of “Jonah”
and other stories from the Bible that are their favorites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that he did not know about those
stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My children proceeded to ask
him where he went to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His answer
shocked me…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said, “Sometimes I go to
church with my grandma, but I do not really like to go to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not fun!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My children LOVE to go to church and will even
cry if they do not get to go due to sickness or weather related issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, they were confused by this boy saying
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He continued, “My mom and dad said
that you do not have to go to church to believe in God anyway, so there is no
reason for us to go.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My children turned
to me and asked me if that were true…they had never been confronted with this
question before, and did not know how to respond…even though they are in church
as often as possible, and we study Bible every day in our homeschool…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I responded that the Bible does teach
that we are to meet together with others who believe the same way we
believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boy said, “Well, I guess my
parents don’t know about that part.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
then started telling my children about Roman gods, which is contrary to what
they had been taught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point, my
children let him know that they had never heard about the things that he was
saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told him some Bible verses
that refuted what he was saying…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He left
and never has returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This child was 9
years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My guess is that his
grandmother was a regular church-attender, and that this discussion had
happened before with his grandmother and his parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His answers to things came very easily, as if he had heard these things before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this
child had been on the playground at school having this same discussion with my
children, they would not have had any answers for him, and would have come away
from the conversation confused. This would not be due to the fact that they have not been taught...they have...but they don't have training to be missionaries at young ages. Peer pressure is one of the biggest ways that "good" kids turn "bad." It was
better for my children to be there with me, seeing MY response to this child,
and learning from that, than for me to throw them in with the wolves and hope
they survive!</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Linking up at:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span>
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<center><br><br><a href=”http://www.enchantedhomeschoolingmom.net/search/label/Hearts%20for%20Home%20Blog%20Hop”_blank”><img src=”http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n597/enchantedhomeschoolingmom/HeartsforHomeButton125_zpsa08638de.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Photobucket” /></a></center><br><br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-78491492040386144722013-04-12T14:41:00.002-07:002013-04-12T14:41:46.403-07:00Reasons to NOT homeschool...?<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been thinking lately about all of the responses that I get from strangers who find out that we homeschool our children. Many times when other parents hear that we homeschool, they say to me, "Oh, I wish I could do that, but..." They then proceed with reasons that they would not or could not homeschool. I am going to share with you some of the reasons that I have been told as to why parents say that they cannot homeschool their children. I will then share my feelings on that response. There are such a variety of reasons that I have heard, that I decided to do a series on it instead of one very <strong>long</strong> posting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">(You can find Part One of this series, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-was-thinking-today-about-all-of.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> You can find Part Two of this series, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-have-been-thinking-lately-about-all.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> You can find Part Three, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/reason-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Part Four, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/reasons-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> And Part Five, </span><a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/04/reasons-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">* <strong>“I went to public school, and I turned out all right.”</strong> Maybe this is true… Maybe you did go to public school, and maybe you did turn out okay… BUT how do you know how you might have turned out had you been homeschooled? I know that I would not have known certain words at an early age. I know that I would not have known things that I wish I did not know at an early age. My children see or hear things in public that they have not seen or heard at home. A lot of the things they hear or see are geared toward children their age, such as cartoons that they are not allowed to watch in my house. There is a reason that they have not been exposed to those things. Some people say…”Well, they will be exposed to it sooner or later.” I would much rather it be later, thank you. There are things that children should not know until a certain age of maturity. Many things are socially acceptable, but not morally acceptable. As I think back on<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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my life, all of the things that I knew that were unacceptable to my parents, unacceptable morally, and unacceptable in a life committed to the Lord, were things that I learned at my public school from peers and/or teachers. I am not saying that children who go to public school are automatically doomed or that they are not committed to the Lord. I am just saying that if you feel like because you "turned out all right," that your children will as well, then it simply isn't true. After all, you graduated from school quite a few years ago...schools have changed a lot. I can say that with 100% certainty because I was public schooled from kindergarten through graduation...and then taught in the public schools after graduating from college. The difference that I saw in just those few years was more than enough to show me in which direction the public schools were heading.<br />
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</span> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-82690631501291360402013-04-11T10:26:00.000-07:002013-04-11T10:26:42.023-07:00Reasons to NOT homeschool...?<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I have been thinking lately about all of the responses that I get from strangers who find out that we homeschool our children. Many times when other parents hear that we homeschool, they say to me, "Oh, I wish I could do that, but..." They then proceed with reasons that they would not or could not homeschool. I am going to share with you some of the reasons that I have been told as to why parents say that they cannot homeschool their children. I will then share my feelings on that response. There are such a variety of reasons that I have heard, that I decided to do a series on it instead of one very <strong>long</strong> posting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(You can find Part One of this series <a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-was-thinking-today-about-all-of.html" target="_blank">here.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> You can find Part Two of this series <a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-have-been-thinking-lately-about-all.html" target="_blank">here.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> You can find Part Three of this series <a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/reason-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank">here.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> And you can find Part Four <a href="http://www.destinationproverbs22six.blogspot.com/2013/02/reasons-to-not-homeschool.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1BdTsWGdE1f7Nabl_xkpsFa5FZrvhqkM9P6Jg9mp5voCvD3dxL1yI5O5u_RSQPni7xkWjN6W10y8EjXa2km_YxuOElD4FYzQElYRgIERo8u9WegNpDLWAtlUge0K55w2JFTOtGN5cTQ/s1600/062706_1408a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1BdTsWGdE1f7Nabl_xkpsFa5FZrvhqkM9P6Jg9mp5voCvD3dxL1yI5O5u_RSQPni7xkWjN6W10y8EjXa2km_YxuOElD4FYzQElYRgIERo8u9WegNpDLWAtlUge0K55w2JFTOtGN5cTQ/s320/062706_1408a.jpg" width="272" /></a><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">*
"<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am NOT a teacher. Teachers have special training. I
couldn't do what they do</i></b>." Who taught your child to
walk? Talk? Feed himself/herself? Who potty trained your
child? You have been teaching them already! Teaching anything school subjects
requires the same skills that you used to teach them all of those other things! Repetition-"Say Ma Ma! Da
Da!" You keep repeating it until they get it! Phonics is taught
the same way! "Ooops, you fell down. Let's try again."
Keep doing it until you get it right. Math is taught the same way.
YOU know YOUR CHILD better than ANYONE! Use it to your advantage and
teach them in the way you know that they will learn. I could talk for
days on end about adding--using candy and coins and anything else I could get
my hands on, and still my son might not get it. But if I pick up his bag of play
dinosaurs, he begins to perk up and listen. Teachers in a public school
setting simply cannot do this for all 20 children in the classroom. That
is why the skill level in any given grade is so varied...some "got
it" and others did not...and the teachers simply did not have time to work with
those who could not "get it," even if they tried. You
know things about your child that the public school teacher will never
know...and even if he/she does know it, she might not "get" it like
a mother does.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">*
Along those same lines, "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My child has special needs. The
services offered by the school are best for him/her. He/she needs those
'special teachers.'</i></b>" Again, you know your child better than
anyone ever could. There are a lot of good teachers. A lot of good,
"special needs" teachers that are gifted in their profession. As
gifted as they are, they still do not know your child like you know your
child. Your child will benefit more from being with you, and having your
attention to his/her needs.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-12431712737287196142013-04-06T14:12:00.001-07:002013-04-12T14:25:27.921-07:00Time4Learning Review<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was recently invited to try <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">Time4Learning</a> for one
month in exchange for a candid review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My month has just ended, and I am here to give you my thoughts and
opinions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In case you are not familiar
with Time4Learning, you can find their website <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool
curriculum, afterschool enrichment, or for skill sharpening. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When our free month started, I explored the site a
little and set up accounts for all of my children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is something that I really like about
the site right off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each child has their
own username (I just used my children’s first names) and a password (here
again, I used something that they were very familiar with).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The children thought that it was great to
type in their names and a password to access the site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let my 7 year old daughter try it
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She LOVES school in general, but
had never been much for “computer games,” so I wasn’t sure how she’d take to
<a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">Time4Learning</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She bounced around from
subject to subject at first, simply “checking everything out.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, she chose “Science,” something that
she generally doesn’t like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She liked it
so much that she went to “Science” first the following day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was surprised!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She really liked the program, and would often
ask during “after school hours” if she could do school on the computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a real hit with her!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Both of my boys enjoy playing games on the computer,
so I wondered if the transition to “school” stuff on the computer would work
with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am now going to tell you my
number <strong>ONE</strong>, <em>favorite</em> part of <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">Time4Learning</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As soon as you log in, there is a little clock counting down at the top of the "page."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the time that you are to spend
working on your “school” subjects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
that, you are allowed to go into the “playground.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “playground” has games from many of the
best known educational websites (such as PBSKids).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I told my boys that they had to do “this”
amount, pointing out the clock, of “school” stuff, and after that, the
playground would be “open.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The timer
also works during the “playground” time. You are given a specific amount of “playtime,”
and then the playground closes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
go back and do more “school work” to open the “playground” back up again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This enticed my boys to try <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">Time4Learning</a>,
and once they did, there was no stopping them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My oldest son missed several opportunities to use the “playground”
because the “school” was so interesting to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He laughed at the characters and really had a good time learning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If I were to use <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">Time4Learning</a> again, I would
probably move each of my children up a grade level from where they are
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the things that they were
learning were things that we had already covered long ago. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was glad to see that they remembered,
though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is really my only “negative”
about the whole experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I encourage you to look into this option for your
children if you are looking for something along these lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a money-back guarantee after a two
week period if you are not satisfied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even if you wouldn’t use this for your sole “homeschool curriculum,” it
would be very valuable for supplementing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I must also tell you that my opinion here is entirely my
own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The content
of this post was not written by <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/" target="_blank">Time4Learning</a>, but, as stated earlier, I was
compensated with a free month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632038077095211316.post-28973093771950378862013-03-13T07:30:00.000-07:002013-03-13T07:30:45.614-07:00Book Review: Faith Leaps by Alyssa Avant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQsbGNS8XBSQs9Th8ULWh2l_agQkaHyVxJgI95KeJDAfC5T0nM0iXQSEoF0E9SuppigOxDLzjgt2HJWUt1VatMurJJ3TwqoYI0_Bfc6mItomk4tL-ZbXheGJLpfjQ_7ddGJHKWR4qY0Y/s320/alyssa.jpg" width="213" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"<em>A faith leap is stepping out of your own comfort zone
into the hands of God. I learned this firsthand, after taking my own leap of
faith five years ago. One critical element of a faith leap is having enough
faith to take the first step, whether you take it trembling or firmly planted
with confidence. Either way, you must take the step</em>!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Alyssa Avant)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So began the inspiration for the new book
titled, “Faith Leaps.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alyssa subtitled
her book, “The Christian Mom’s Guide to Passion, Purpose, and Profit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That says it all!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Faith Leaps” gives so much useful information that you will
have difficulty putting it down!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alyssa
includes stories from her own life that many of us Christian Moms have likely
experienced as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gives practical
advice that you can put into action immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also includes lists!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, for one, love lists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They allow me to make sure that I get it all
done as I check off each item one by one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of all of the Christian books written about “your purpose” in the past
years, I haven’t read one yet that puts it as concise and easy-to-follow as “Faith
Leaps.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Alyssa not only addresses finding your passion, your
purpose, and how to put it into action to make profit; she includes many
Christian concepts as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spiritual
gifts, tithing, and Bible verses are all included in her “framework” that made
her own “Faith Leap” successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of
my favorite parts of the book is where she addresses all of the things that
work together to make up our God-given purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Ultimately you will want to combine…spiritual gifts, talents, and
skills to help you pursue your passion and purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God uses these three things together to
create your ‘story.’”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am thankful to be a part of “launching” Alyssa’s dream
come true in this book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has truly
found direction from God and writes from that perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is so much more than what I have
covered in this short review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know
that you, like me, will find several aspects of this book that will speak to
your heart. You can find "Faith Leaps" on Amazon in paperback by clicking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/FaithLeaps-Christian-Passion-Purpose-Profits/dp/1481923706/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362856559&sr=8-2&keywords=faithleaps" target="_blank">here</a>. You can also purchase the book for your Kindle by clicking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/FaithLeaps-Christian-Passion-Purpose-ebook/dp/B00BQ1FH5K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362666817&sr=1-1&keywords=FaithLeaps#reader_B00BQ1FH5K" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange
for my honest review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All opinions I
have expressed are my own.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04007303491577463679noreply@blogger.com1