EVERYDAY ME BLOG ARCHIVES -- DECEMBER 2007

http://www.angelfire.com/sc/anderklan
anderklan@yahoo.com

DECEMBER 19, 2007

Tonight my blog will be taken down... Thank you to everyone who has entered my contest through Vision Forum... I will accept entries until MIDNIGHT tonight PST. I will have a post on in the morning with the winner. I will also email the winner to get your information and will need that ASAP to give to VF for shipping. After that, this blog will go on a hiatus. I may start another private one after the holidays that I will share with a few friends but I need a blogging break.. well, a life break but hey, that's blogging too ;-) Thank you!

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Advent Day 18 -- Habbakuk 2: 1-4 -- live by faith Topic: Holidays 1 I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. 2 Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4 "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

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DECEMBER 18, 2007

I'm having a contest -- you can win a DVD from VISION FORUM!!! Mood: a-ok Topic: Contests Vision Forum is giving its affiliates the opportunity to have a contest and they supply the prize, shipping, etc.. How great is that for me, and for you?! My husband and I absolutely loved the DVD The League of Grateful Sons and so that is the item we have chosen to give away. This documentary was shot on location in Iwo Jima and it brought together the sons and fathers of WW II. These warriors are now in their 80's and returned to Iwo Jima to be mentors of what real Christian manhood looks like. These aged warriors share their love of Christ, and family, and country with a new generation that has risen up to honor their legacy! Some of these young sons never got to meet their father but have love letters from them as a lasting memento and a living legacy of what it meant to be a warrior and a man of God. I'm excited to offer it to you for free!! Click here to open a trailer that you can watch in a new window. So, for the contest, here is what you need to do. Copy the phrase below that is in "quotation marks" and post it in your blog so you can share about the contest and then leave me a comment with the link to your post (or email me at anderklan@yahoo.com with VF contest as subject line if the comments don't seem to be working right). You can also leave a comment in the chat box with your link to your post as well. I will accept entries until midnight PST on Wednesday. The winner will be announced Thursday morning. The DVD will be direct shipped from Vision Forum but it will take 2-3 weeks so don't plan on this as a Christmas gift for anyone ;-) Sallie over at Everyday Me.. life as it happens is having a blog contest and you can win a DVD copy of The League of Grateful Sons from Vision Forum. Go on over and sign up for your chance to win but hurry because the contest ends Wednesday night at midnight! Don't forget to check when you copy and paste the above quote that Everyday Me.. life as it happens is still linked to the permalink for this post. Sometimes when you copy and paste you can lose your links... ****UPDATE**** If you do not have a blog but still wish to enter, then you can email me your name and mailing address. You must have a US address to enter... Thanks!

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God is my comforter when my heart can take no more... Topic: Bible/Faith He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Isaiah 40:29 But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. Lamentations 3:25 Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalm 18:2 Commit thy way unto the Lord: trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:5 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of broken heart... In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. Psalm 120:1 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. Psalm 34: 6-9 The Lord Looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the Earth. Psalm 33:13-14 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:18 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord... Psalm 121:1-2 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass. Psalm 115:11 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22 But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. James 1:5-6 Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalm 32:8 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

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A very special man! Happy Birthday, Babe! I love you!! XOXOXOXO

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Advent Day 17 -- Micah 5:1-5 -- an ordinary town Topic: Holidays 1 Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. 2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." 3 Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. 4 And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace.

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Perception Topic: Bible/Faith Many times we see things that are happening around us and from our standpoint we think we know pretty well what is going on. The truth of the matter, though, is we only have a human eye. God has the ultimate perception of everything and sees the complete story. We were talking about Noah's ark on Sunday and again yesterday and though a bit different in context, it completely relates to what I've been thinking about lately. Why did God give specific directions to Noah for the size of the ark? I think it is because of perception. Undoubtedly Noah had seen a boat before and undoubtedly he knew there were lots of animals so he could build a boat big enough, right? No! Noah only knew what he had seen with his human eyes. God gave Noah perfect dimensions for the ark because He knew perfectly what was needed to fit all of his creation that he wished to save from the flood. How many times do we think we know the whole story? How many times do we make judgment calls based on what we think we see or, worse yet, based on what other people have told us about a situation? Thankfully, God has a clear perception of everything and we can trust that He is in control of our lives.

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DECEMBER 17, 2007

Advent Day 16 -- Isaiah 11:6-9 -- peace Topic: Holidays 6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra¿s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

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DECEMBER 16, 2007

Advent Day 15 -- Isaiah 9:2-7 -- a Messiah is promised Topic: Holidays 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; They rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

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I'm excited to share this news.. Topic: School/Homeschool I received an email last night asking me to consider coming on board as the monthly writer for Homeschooling a Child With Disabilities column at the new online homeschooling magazine, The Heart of the Matter. This was formerly a blog written by a few girl friends in Ohio but the new format will be coming out soon and will be similar to and inspired by the CWO online magazine. There will be regular monthly columns, memes, giveaways, daily posts and so forth! I'm so excited for this new venture in the new year! My husband and I are honored that I would be asked to do this. My posts on this blog about PTSD (my husband) or Asperger Syndrome (my son) have always been written with the intention of opening up so that others may be helped in some way. That is what all of my posts are about. Sometimes it is not easy to write so personally but I have received many emails that say "thank you" or "I didn't know how to handle this situation but you have helped." I can't even count all the emails I've gotten on subjects like miscarriage, PTSD, or Asperger's. There aren't enough fingers...LOL.. Just a week or so ago someone sent her sister info I wrote on socks (of all things... but they were special socks) and that led to several emails about Asperger Syndrome. I hope to meet this new friend in January at our homeschool group as it turns out we actually don't live too far apart. I have prayed many times God would move what I do at this blog into something more reachable and helpful. I am blessed to have that opportunity now and I trust God led these sweet ladies to me. Dear Amy's, thank you so much for blessing me with the opportunity to continue doing what my heart longs to do!

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DECEMBER 15, 2007

Advent Day 14 -- 2 Samuel 5: 1-5 -- a shepherd becomes King Topic: Holidays 1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, "Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.'" 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

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DECEMBER 14, 2007

Please Pray for Calvary Orphanage in the Philippines Topic: Bible/Faith I get email updates from the orphanage that I visited at during my mission trip to the Philippines. These kids are so smart and the orphanage is self sustaining... they filter their own water, they raise crops of rice, have water buffalo, run their own school, etc.. The have been facing this huge battle for several months though and I want to ask you to pray. They rescued some girls from off the street who had been raped repeatedly by "mafia" types and are now working with the local prosecutors to try and bring justice to these perverts. They are facing about 100 counts of rapes against minors right now and that's the easy stuff. The orphanage/school is constantly under attack and they have to try and separate the good cops from the bad cops as they don't know who is corrupt and who isn't. Here is a prayer list I received tonight.. Please join me in praying for relief from this spiritual oppression they are facing! 1) Pray for a good lawyer to help to advise us and the prosecutor 2) Pray for the girls 3) For us to know who the good guys and the bad guys are 4) Pray for the city social worker and prosecutor 5) Pray for the slander to fall to the ground 6) Our protection at our gate and boarders 7) Pray for wisdom and discernment for everyone that is helping the girls 8) That this won¿t be Christian community vs girls 9) That their mother would repent 10) Pray for the spiritual war fare that is crazy and really Heavy for this case and the other case involving a drug lord that is a former CIA for the Philippines !

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BTW, thanks for your emails.. Topic: Blogging, in general Thank you to everyone who has emailed me your comments. I'm sorry the comment feature doesn't work so well most of the time and I appreciate the extra time it takes for emailing. Deborah you weren't alone in requesting it and so I will go ahead and put my chat box this weekend if I get a chance. The doc appointment went about as well as expected and I have a referral for some more tests and ultrasounds after the first of the year. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for a call within the next few days about some tests that happened yesterday. I'm sure I'll be blogging about it all eventually...LOL..

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Gossip.. and the weekend upcoming Topic: Children My daughter and I have had really good talks over the past few days. She was gossiped about and in the midst of that events were twisted really badly to make her look to act in a way that she does not. Just because she is 15, that doesn't mean she is stupid. When she hears her mom and dad whispering and trying to be quiet and have discussions her ears perk up. She was so worried she had done something wrong. It amazed me at the insight she had to come to me and tell me specifically why she felt things had been twisted in the way they had. I had already thought some of the same things and I found it amazing that she could have such insight. I keep thinking over the verse "be careful, your sins will find you out" and that is such a truth with gossip and half truths. They eventually come full circle. On another note, our weekend looks to be busy. The two older children have a youth party tonight to go to. I have a bridal shower to attend tomorrow afternoon, followed by a Christmas party tomorrow evening. We have church on Sunday with another AS family coming for dinner afterwards. Monday we will be hosting a Christmas party in our home for all the volunteers in the squadron. We had fun doing that last year and even though I am not the coordinator anymore, we volunteered to have the party here again. Everyone seems to be excited about it. Maybe we can get rid of those bullets we received at the last white elephant exchange at one of these new parties....LOL! Of course, before all that happens, I have to try and finish decorating sometime tonight and tomorrow morning.. First, comes Mt. Washmore or, if you prefer, The Chronicles of Laundry-ia to be completed. I just keep repeating the mantra "I think I can... I think I can... I think I can" and eventually it will be so!

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Advent Day 13 -- 1 Samuel 16:1-13 -- anointed by God Topic: Holidays 1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." 2 And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." But the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you." 4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him!" 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

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Train Up A Child Thursday.. er.. uhm.. Friday Topic: Train Up A Child I did not get to post this yesterday because I needed to help my husband with some things for his blog. However, I did want to get this up because it is a very important part of my blog. We have many Bibles in our home. One of my husbands is The Maxwell Leadership Bible and it has devotions on how to be a good leader and mentor. In Numbers one of its devotions is about how it takes a good leader to raise up new good leaders. It uses a mnemonic of the word PARENT to help guide you in being a good leader. I adapted that to use with teaching our children: P: PURPOSE: You must be strategic in raising your children. You can't just parent "on the fly" but need to have clearly defined guidelines with a clearly defined outcome. A: ASSESMENT: Be honest with your children and yourself. If you aren't doing this then how will they ever know if what they (or you) are doing is right?! R: RELATIONSHIP: You can not just be the mom and dad who tells your child what to do all the time. You must create a relationship that brings an understanding and love into the mix. When challenges arise with parenting, the relationship is what brings you back together on the same page and holds you together as a family! E: ENCOURAGEMENT: Many times when things are not going as we plan, it is easy to get down and focus on the bad without seeing any of the good. Always be an encouragement to your child. Correct the wrong and let it go. They need the encouragement to persevere and become the strong adults we want them to be. N: NAVIGATION: Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." We must equip our children with a compass of right and wrong from the beginning and allow them to succeed with it. They may stray or rebel for a time but if they are trained with the right set of tools and put on the right path, they will return. T: TOOLS: Our children need skills and tools to live with. It is our job to make sure this happens. It is not the school systems job. It is not the churches job. It is not the neighborhood associations job. It is our job.. the PARENTS. We have to teach our children everything they need to succeed in the life that Christ has set out for them. I hope this is helpful to you this week as you focus on training your children! May God richly bless you as you strive to be the parent He wants you to be!

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Train Up A Child Email .. and a thank you Topic: Train Up A Child Yesterday I saw in my stats that someone emailed me for the blogroll but it never landed in my inbox. If it was you (whoever that might be...lol) please email me again at anderklan@yahoo.com .. Thank you :-) Also, thank you to everyone who has voted for me, or continues to vote for me as best Encouragement Blog at the homeschool blog awards. I haven't been too encouraging or encouraged myself lately but I do appreciate everyone who so kindly, and quickly, put me in the lead. I would never spend the money on myself for any of the prizes when my children need so much (by the way, can anyone please tell me where to find size 18 extra tall extra slim pants for boys... my 13 year old is now 5'8" but so skinny that man pants don't fit him... I finally admitted to his face last night that he was taller than me... I was enjoying denial but I'm barely to his nose now so it's time to admit it...*sigh*) so I'm very thankful for all the friendly voters! God bless!

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DECEMBER 13, 2007

It Was Christmas Eve Topic: Holidays Our friend, Abby Hinkson, wrote this poem. She is a homeschooled 6th grader in Lebanon Junction, KY. She gave me permission to put it on my blog. It was Christmas Eve, And all through the nation Between Christ and Christmas There was no relation. Instead were commercials, And big jolly sleighs, But no little Nativity Or Baby Jesus plays. People were wrapping, And last-minute shopping At big expensive stores Until at last they were dropping. Jesus was still in the basement, With the rest of the scene, While outside the world Was watching a flat-screen. No one sang carols Of Christ Jesus the King, Instead they were at stores Using up green. And after all the stores Were finally closed They sang of Rudolph, The reindeer, red-nosed. Then they decorated the tree With tacky plastic things, Like glittery this, gigantic that, And beings with ugly huge wings. Yet, never, not once, Did they stop to consider, Was there too little Jesus, And maybe, too much glitter? They just ran about Like mind-controlled zombies From Target and Sears To Fitch and Abercrombies. So don't let Christmas Commercialism get you down, Instead think of Baby Jesus And give Him the crown. by Abby Hinkson 2007

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Advent Day 12 -- Ruth 1:15 - 2:3 -- sadness turned to healing happiness Topic: Holidays Ruth 1:15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. 19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" 20 But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Ruth 2:1 There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

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Parents should pay climate change tax on extra kids: expert Topic: Blogging, in general This story rubs me as raw as this story that I previously posted about. Remember that one? Where the woman was having abortions and sterilization to save the earth from any results of her promiscuous lifestyle? Well, of course that isn't how she looked at it but that's the truth behind it.. So here we have another one where we are going to attack the baby and/or those who cherish life rather than the ones who just want to save the planet! Maybe if we get rid of all the PETA save the animal crazies, then we could have room in this world for our babies! I'm sure all the Sangerites are happy with the way this world is turning out... Read on and try not to get too sick... SYDNEY (AFP) -- Monday, December 10 09:06 pm -- YAHOO UK/IRELAND NEWS -- Parents who have more than two children should be charged a lifelong climate change tax to offset the effect of their extra greenhouse gas emissions, an Australian medical expert has proposed. They should pay 5,000 dollars (4,400 US) a head for each extra child and up to 800 dollars every year thereafter, according to the plan published in the Medical Journal of Australia. In contrast, contraceptives and sterilization procedures would be eligible for carbon credits, suggested Professor Barry Walters at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth. "Every family choosing to have more than a defined number of children should be charged a carbon tax that would fund the planting of enough trees to offset the carbon cost generated by a new human being," he wrote. Walters, an obstetrician, made his proposal in a letter in which he criticized the government's payment of a 4,000 dollar "baby bonus" in a bid to boost the birth rate in this sparsely-populated country of 21 million people. Paying parents extra for every baby fueled more emissions and contributed to global warming, he said, adding that the bonus should be replaced with a "baby levy" in line with the "polluter pays" principle. And Professor Garry Egger, director of the New South Wales Center for Health Promotion and Research, agreed. "Population remains crucial to all environmental considerations," he wrote. "The debate (around population control) needs to be reopened as part of a second ecological revolution."

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Running late today on posts.. Topic: Blogging, in general I have a doctor's appointment today and would appreciate prayers for it. It is going to be a long one but I will try to get my regular Train Up a Child post as well as the advent post for today up this afternoon before it gets too late. I just didn't have time to preset it last night due to our final AWANA meeting before Christmas -- we had a "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" celebration with all our children... I really love those guys! Thanks for sending those prayers my way!

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DECEMBER 12, 2007

Celebrate a debt-free Christmas Topic: Holidays story by Howard Dayton Posted on Dec 12, 2007 @ BPNEWS.NET GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP)--From October 31 onward it's impossible to forget that Christmas is coming. Before Thanksgiving, the red-coated man with the white beard and bag of toys is seen in stores and by mid-December, most homes are decorated, inside and out, with Christmas trees and lights. However, the real Christmas story is found in Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2. It's about the earthly birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, He lived and ministered on earth, and then died and arose again -- the promised Messiah. Jesus came as the Savior of all, and identifies Himself with every racial group, every culture, and every society. Until a couple of centuries ago, in countries where it was observed, Christmas was a noncommercial religious holiday. Gifts may have been exchanged on New Year's Day, but most gifts associated with Christmas were limited to feeding the poor or special gifts to help pastors, teachers and missionaries. click here to read the rest of the story...

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Advent Day 11 -- Joshua 2: 1-21 -- hidden and safe Topic: Holidays 1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country." 3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country." 4 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them." 6 (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) 7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. 8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token, 13 and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." 14 So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you." 15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. 16 And she said to them, "Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way." 17 So the men said to her: "We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father¿s household to your own home. 19 So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear." 21 Then she said, "According to your words, so be it." And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

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Some changes and a bit of encouragement that in the end none of this matters.. Topic: Blogging, in general I'm happy to report a new comment is up clearing me of any cheating on the encouragement blogs award. My husband and I have had some issues recently with other family and because of what was happening with that, I felt almost certain that the cheating accusation probably came from that same arena. I emailed the team at HSBA wanting to clear my name and asked if they were able to tell if the comment had come from a certain location (or another area). I explained why and the several coincidences that made me feel that it could have. I also told them I desperately hoped that this person was cleared, that I would forward them the email I had sent out to friends, and that I would drop out rather than have any more rifts come up. I cried tears of joy when I found out the person I was afraid might have accused me was cleared. This has moved some things into perspective about blogging for me though. I've been writing in my blog for a very long time. The first entry in this blog is actually from 19 May 2004 and its about me having deleted the 6 months from March and prior from my old blog and that I was going to try again. Like I said, I've been blogging off and on for a long time. It hasn't always been a daily thing but I have nearly 1000 posts now... some private that are just for me...but most public. My friend Daren got me started and we used to love our political chats (he was a democrat and I'm a republican so you can imagine what those looked like...LOL). I've been participating in some memes for a long time, or if invited then joined recently. I have been commenting and getting comments for a long time. That is the way things go in blogland. Recently though, it seems to be the reason for several arguments. I don't want that to be the case so I am stepping back for a while. My husband and I are removing our chatboxes. We are not going to be participating in any memes, except for the one I started called Train Up A Child Thursday (TUAC). I am dropping all my blogrolls, except for the one I created to go with the TUAC. It's small and my goal has never been numbers with it but a sharing of how God is working in training our children and I appreciate the ladies who do this with me. I will no longer use Mr. Linky with it though because I don't want this to be a reason for button pushing. If angelfire isn't being a pain and you are able to make comments I will answer you back (it happens to be being one for me today but most days seems to work). I will still visit blogs as best I can. My husband said it best I think -- "my blog is about my life... my life isn't about my blog" -- and so I'm going back to the good ole days when things were simple. My encouragement for you is this. None of this is important in the finality of it all. This season should remind us of that more than anything. When feelings are hurt and prodding is happening, someone has to step up and take all the pokers out of the fire and lay them to the side to cool down. Don't be the one who can't do that. Don't have to always be right. Don't have to have the final word. Step back. Let it go. Put it all back into God's hands and leave it.

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DECEMBER 11, 2007

Homeschool Blog Awards.. encouragement award Topic: Blogging, in general A comment from some person claims there has been cheating on the Encouragement Blog Award and it seems to target me as the culprit. I have not cheated and the stat checks will confirm that. I am very upset that my integrity would be called into question. I can't believe some people would care that much about seeing someone lose that they would do that. I have asked for a full investigation! Please continue to vote for me and I know in the end it will all work out! God knows me and what is within me! Thank you!

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Advent Day 10 -- Deuteronomy 5: 1-22 -- the Law Topic: Holidays 1 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said: 6 'I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 7 'You shall have no other gods before Me. 8 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 11 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 12 'Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 16 'Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 17 'You shall not murder. 18 'You shall not commit adultery. 19 'You shall not steal. 20 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 'You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.' 22 "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

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DECEMBER 10, 2007

The Old Painted Cottage Topic: House Restoration Because we ( well, "he" worries about renovating but not "me"..LOL) hope the Lord provides a way to buy an old farmhouse (we have our eye on one already) when we get to North Carolina, I love keeping up with this site. The Old Painted Cottage has a cottage of the month and her own shop as well. She has a great blog that is just feminine and beautiful. So, go check out her blog and check out the cottage of the month winner too while you are at it!

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Blogging With A Purpose Award Topic: Blogging, in general Trish from MamaBugs' Mountain View Christian Academy gave me this award and it was such a very big surprise. I didn't even know she reads my blog! She awarded this to me because of my recent writings on PTSD. It is hard to share such personal information with strangers but my hope is that other families find some relief in their own struggles as well. Eric Novak started this award, here are the rules: Rules: 1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award. 2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose. 3. In their post about the award they need to link back to this entry. 4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to this site. The 5 people I am giving this award to are: Mike, my husband, at the Gunny's Gouge. My husband started his blog as a way of being able to look back at his war diary and contrast it with the present in hopes that it would not only help him, but others as well. He shares support for military service members and wants to pass on how God has helped him. Like all things in life, the blog has evolved from its original start but its meaning is still there. Nearly all of the googles searches that direct people to his blog are young Marines looking for help in their service or life. I think they find that there! Mike isn't an award kind of guy but hopefully he will display this one with the honor in which it is given. So.Cal.Val aka Valerie at Just4HomeschoolFamilies. Valerie has a yahoo homeschool support group, sends out a monthly homeschool newsletter, and shares Prayer Requests on her blog on Sundays. If Valerie doesn't have a purpose of ministering to homeschoolers especially, then I really don't know who does! AS Kids Are Cool is a group blog with several writers. Their whole purpose is sharing about life with Asperger Syndrome. That's a purpose close to my heart as our oldest son has been diagnosed. They definitely deserve this award for spreading awareness about this form of Autism. Heather at Especially Heather is one of the first people who's blog feed I started reading because her daughter, Emma, has autism. Then back in April, Heather was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. The tag line on her blog is "hope is necessary in all circumstances". She has turned her blog into being open and honest about the "CanSer Schmanser" stuff and MRI awareness. I love keeping up with her and her family and always come away with a better view on life. The Mills Family at Route5 are my last, but definitely NOT least, awardee. Their youngest child Regan suffers from Mitochondrial Disease. One of my own nieces has a chromosomal disorder (though not the same) and so I was intrigued when I first came across their blog. I love the way they share their whole life and trust in God. Trish, again thank you for awarding this to me! I really appreciate it!

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Advent Day 9 -- Genesis 37: 1-36; 50: 15-21 -- providence and forgiveness Topic: Holidays Genesis 37: 1-36 -- 1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf." 8 And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me." 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 12 Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." 14 Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. 15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?" 16 So he said, "I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks." 17 And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. 18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!" 21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him." 22 And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him" -- that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. 23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?" 31 So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?" 33 And he recognized it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces." 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him. 36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. Genesis 50:15-21 -- 15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him." 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you."' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." 19 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

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DECEMBER 9, 2007

Advent Day 8 -- Genesis 28:10-22 -- Never Alone Topic: Holidays 10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." 17 And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" 18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

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DECEMBER 8, 2007

You know there's meds for that, right?! Topic: PTSD I was asked what meds my husband was taking for his PTSD a while back. I said "nothing" and was met with a "you must be stupid" stare. I guess I can understand that to some extent but because the person isn't a doctor and doesn't live in my husband's shoes, it seemed a bit judgmental. I thought I'd take the time to explain a few things since I posted the other day about the recent visit with the doc. Maybe there are others with some of the same issues and it will help in some small way. Back in about 1998 my husband fell off a church roof. He was helping to replace the roof, it was getting late and darkness was starting to fall. They were almost finished when a roll of tar paper hit him and knocked him over the side. He fell probably 25 to 30 feet and dented an air conditioner unit on his way down. Miraculously he didn't have a scratch on him. He had a long night of full body ex-rays checking him over to make sure there weren't any internal injuries. Everything seemed to check out fine but over the long run, however, he has had multiple problems with his shoulder and back. The docs dic MRI's and finally decided he had a small bone chip that had come off and it was swimming around in a pocket inside his shoulder. They told him he could have surgery to try and remove it but they couldn't guarantee anything. That didn't seem like a good option! So, he took motrin on a daily basis to relieve the pain. A few years ago my husband developed a reaction to motrin and has to be very careful with how he takes it. Tylenol and other meds don't seem to work with his body because he has a hyposensitive reaction to meds (meaning he has to take a lot to have a little effect) so my husband lives with pain in his back and shoulder every single day. Some days are worse than others, especially if he has had to run a lot or has had extra stress. His back has been exponentially worse since his return from Iraq because the protective sappy plates (spelling???.. it means the kevlar inserts) dug into where he has three bad disks in his back. He just lives with it and usually doesn't say anything about it but because I live with him I know when it is a good day or not. Also, my husband has high blood pressure. Sometimes meds react with your body to make your blood pressure even higher. My husband does not want to go on medicine for his high blood pressure and so he's tried to make sure he doesn't have to do that with exercise and watching his food intake. Also, on the flip side, he's afraid if he does take meds like antidpressants for his PTSD then that will make his pressure spike even more so then he'd end up having to take even more drugs. Add to that the fact that my husband has three extreme physical reactions to stress, and in some sense, it's almost like he can't win for losing. He has such a hyposensitivity to the meds that he has to take a lot for them to work but then they make his whole body go cattywompas to which he stresses out to which his body physically has negative reactions! In the end, meds would just end up being a vicious cycle of taking this med to take care of that and this med to take care of that and so on and so on. They would become more of a hindrance than a helper and so his main option is to just watch his stress levels. So, that was what we spent a good time in conversation with the doc the other day for. She tried to convince him a small amount of Benadryl might help with his sleeping issues but she could understand his concerns too. I thought I'd share some of the suggestions she made for him in case they might help be useful. Please, of course, don't take it as professional medical advice cause everyone is different. Here goes: Stay away from caffeine in the late afternoon/evening Go to the gym and ride a stationary bike/rower for at least 30 minutes Take a walk in the evening but before 6 or so Avoid confrontations...walk away and keep the stress to a minimum at all costs Separate work from home... take a change of clothes and change into civilian attire before coming home Drink lots of water throughout the day Try to go to bed earlier... must have peaceful sleep not just "eyes are shut but still restless" sleep Also, some tips I picked up on just from listening: I need to get rid of the clutter around the house... put away the school stuff everyday .. get rid of the junk mail stack because it's overwhelming and it all ends up in the trash anyway... make at least one room completely a solemn domain where he can be left alone for a bit of recovery time away from work and before dinner... keep the meals healthy and the pepsi gone out of the house (neither of us need that sugar water anyway!!)... don't just write things on the calendar but talk about it too (not nagging but a good reminder a few days ahead so he's not sideswiped with it).. tell him I love him! A LOT! Ultimately, there is one final, most important reason my husband (and I) don't like meds. We believe everything happens in God's perfect timing and that He is in control of what happens in our lives. We don't believe all meds are wrong for everyone but we do believe He is the great physician and we need to have trust in Him first and foremost. PTSD is as much a spiritual attack as it is physically on your body. We are trusting in God for His healing.

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Love Topic: Bible/Faith My life is so far from being anywhere near perfect that I often wonder how we make it from day to day. Actually, I know how we make it. In the end we live and breath only because of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. Everyday we struggle, some days more than others. This is life. This is what life is for those who don't have Christ and those who do. The only difference is that as a Christian we have faith and hope in that which to the physical eye remains unseen but in the heart is full and alive. As deep as our own pains and struggles may be, it is unfathomable to me how someone could do it without Christ.

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Advent Day 7, Genesis 22: 1-14 -- true faith and the Lord's provision Topic: Holidays 1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

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DECEMBER 7, 2007

Spirit of Christmas Award Topic: Blogging, in general Nina at Mama's Little Treasures (not to be confused with Nina of Raising Butterflies which I think I've been doing and just thinking she had like 3 or 4 blogs...LOL) gave me this award. I honestly don't know who to give this to because so many have gotten it already, so let me just put the rules here and if you don't have it yet, and you fit the rules, then leave a comment and take it. The first five to do so can considered themselves awarded :-) God bless! From Santa's Community Blog: What is the Spirit of Christmas you ask? Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the "Spirit of Christmas". This is the only award that I am releasing that you may pass on to others. I am giving it to five and you should too. Those that have touched your heart with their kind and giving and caring nature.

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Advent Day 6 -- Genesis 21: 1-7 Topic: Holidays 1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him -- whom Sarah bore to him -- Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." 7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."

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Early copy of Magna Carta on sale in NYC Topic: Blogging, in general By RICHARD PYLE, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 7, 4:17 AM ET NEW YORK - In the year 1215, a group of English barons handed King John a document written on parchment. Put your royal seal on this, they said. John did, and forever changed the relationship between the monarchy and those it governed... click here to read the rest I wonder if I could somehow convince our bank or credit union to give this lowly military, homeschooling family who lives on a Gunny's pay but absolutely LOVES history to let us borrow $40 million dollars? Hmmmm......

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DECEMBER 6, 2007

Just A Little Peek.. Topic: Husbands My husband has been diagnosed with PTSD in the past year. We did not have a regular "doc" that he could talk to and so his appointments have been sporadic at best. Balboa Hostpital and Camp Pendleton, the largest base in California, were noticing that we had a larger number of cases from our base as we've been supporting the functions in Iraq and abroad since the start. They decided it was time to put a permanent person here and have at least been sending someone everyweek to talk with guys until that can get officially set up over the next few weeks. Today my husband had an appointment with the fill in doc. I have never sat in on one of his appointments before. Today he asked me to and so for the last two hours we've been listening to and talking to the doc. It was nice to have that inside peek into something that he tries very hard to keep to himself. The doc was able to offer some helpful insight to both of us on what we are doing wrong and right and what other things we can change around the house to make it separate from the Marine Corps -- kinda hard to do when you live on base and are surrounded by Marines...LOL. I'm so proud of my husband and the progress he has made in dealing with this issue. He will be the first to tell you that he could not have done it without pouring himself into studying his Bible and depending on God. He has far to go, but less than he did before, and by the grace of God he will succeed in moving totally away from this disorder.

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Advent Day 5 -- Genesis 12: 1-7 -- a commission and a promise Topic: Holidays 1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother¿s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

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Train Up A Child Thursday -- Garbage in... Garbage out Topic: Train Up A Child Train Up A Child Thursday is a meme dedicated to sharing biblical traits/ characteristics you are teaching your children. If you wish to participate then sign the Mister Linky and/or leave a comment so others can see what you are teaching your kids, too! To join the blogroll email me with Train Up A Child Blogroll in the subject line. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. We are all familiar with the term "what goes in, must come out" and that really is the focus of this verse. What we put into our hearts and mind on a continuous basis is what our "body" will start to look like. Often times we let bad habits we've created in the human "flesh" take over and we don't react in a godly fashion. My husband is a Marine. He has always functioned with a high stress level and has had problems in the past with anger. Mike has always said he has a Peter-type personality of "ready, fire, aim" and he'll deal with the consequences later. His trash can center of his brain has in the past been emptied quite frequently and many times with brutal honesty without regards to how it might affect anyone else. I am completely opposite and am usually the happy go lucky "whatever" kind of person that keeps things to myself because it might hurt someone. I have to hit a pretty high level of annoyance/stress to react with anger to anything. This makes everyone who knows me as "sweet" Sallie go into shock when I allow myself to sin by acting on my anger. Unfortunately, because I never react to things for the most part, my brain has a little trash can that doesn't get emptied very often so the trash that is in it can be very old. When I react in the flesh and with anger, the trash can gets emptied completely. In the past, this was just the way it was and we both lived with it. As we have grown in maturity in Christ, we have both strived to not let our hearts and minds be filled up with garbage. As verse 8 says, think on THESE things, we have to make a conscious effort to look to the good, pure, honest, right things around us and take those in and leave the old habits and thoughts of the flesh alone. What we teach our children is a constant effort. Sometimes we fail and we must pick ourselves up again and start over. When we focus on what is of God, and take the stress of life out of our daily focus, our children see that. They learn by the example we set for them. We strive daily for them to see the nature of Christ in us by what comes out of us. What are you teaching your children? Please share and sign the Mr. Linky so others can be encouraged with the training they are giving their children, too.

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DECEMBER 5, 2007

Tootsies Stride Rite sale!! Topic: Asperger Syndrome If you have an autistic child or one that suffers with sensitivity issues, especially to touch, like we do, you know tags and seams are not these children's friends! We buy socks for two of our kids at Tootsies because they are absolutely the best thing for them! Now, I know you might be thinking they are expensive when you see the price but sometimes you have to pay for what really matters. Anyway, I got an email this morning that they are having a 25% off sale on their seamless socks so I wanted to share. Also, if you spend $100 then use coupon code save10 (website says save5 but save10 was a special email coupon code so use it!!) Hop on over and check them out!

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We are so excited... a little bit of shameless mommy bragging going on here :-) Topic: Children I have talked several times about my daughter taking a class on the US Constitution. Actually, we both took it but I did not turn in a term paper. I just really didn't want to take a scholarship away from a child who could use it more. So, anyway, this class was about 6 weeks long and for 2 hours every Tuesday night all we did was study the Constitution. All the articles, amendments, etc. We went more in depth than MY high school teachers went and I was involved in student government programs throughout my state. I was part of the Kentucky Youth Assembly and the Kentucky Youth United Nations Assembly for three years followed with arguing a case in the Kentucky Youth Supreme Court my senior year. You would have thought we'd studied the constitution really well but we didn't. So, anyway, guess what?!!? SHE WON A PRIZE FOR HER PAPER!!!! We had the announcement conference tonight and you want to know what she won???? An all expense paid trip to a week long student freedom seminar in NEW YORK!!! If you were a senior, you had the option of a $1000 scholarship to the school of your choice. She is only a sophomore so she has to go to the seminar instead. I know, poor thing, right?! LOL... She is so excited!! And, so am I :-) We looked on line and this seminar is in a little town about 20 miles north of Manhattan on the Hudson River. It is on a beautiful and quaint 19th century estate and we can't wait to go next summer. We will have already moved to North Carolina then so it will be great timing. She was so funny when she came in. She thought she'd tease her dad so she made a bee-line for the stairs and ran up them pretending to cry. He called her back down and she walked over in front of him with her head down. Then she started doing the happy dance!! Silly girl.. you'd never know she'd just been mature enough to write a paper on Habeas Corpus...ROFL! Ok, I'm finally tired out enough for bed I think... Tomorrow is a new, busy, glorious day!! Be blessed!!

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Weblink Wednesday -- Easy Homeschool -- 15 Carol and Hymn Unit Study Topic: School/Homeschool HOLIDAY EDITION -- ALL THROUGH DECEMBER My link this week is for Easy Fun School and this particular link within the site is for a FREE unit study of 15 Christmas carols and hymns. We love music in our house and so this seemed to be a perfect fit for the Christmas season. I almost couldn't wait until today to share...LOL! It probably goes without saying that you will need a copy of the music for each of the 15 songs and I have included links to midi's and lyrics for each of the songs below. You may want to find different ones or use the ones you already have at home but this will give you a start. The songs in the study are: GOOD CHRISTIAN MEN REJOICE, O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL, ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY, THOU DIDST LEAVE THY THRONE, SILENT NIGHT, AWAY IN A MANGER, JOY TO THE WORLD, COME TH0U LONG-EXPECTED JESUS, HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING, O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM, WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS, IT CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR, THE FIRST NOEL, I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY, WE THREE KINGS Visit more homeschoolers and find other great links for Weblink Wednesday at Valerie's -- Just4homeschoolfamilies

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Advent Day 4 -- Genesis 6: 11-14; 7: 17-8: 3; 9: 8-13 -- corruption, deliverance, promise Topic: Holidays 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 7:17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. 8: 1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 9:8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

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DECEMBER 4, 2007

Wordless Wednesday -- December Farmer's Market Delight Topic: Wordless Wednesday (THERE WAS A GREAT PICTURE HERE OF MY WONDERFUL BUYS FROM THE FARMER'S MARKET...SORRY YOU MISSED SEEING IT) Click here to check out my husband's Wordless Wednesday! Click here to check out the WW HQ!

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Monday Meanderings/Menu Plan Monday... a day late ;-) Topic: Homemaking I have to move my planning back a day because of the Farmer's Market so I guess I will be posting these on Tuesday afternoons until I get a good feel for what the market will have on a continuous basis. It was late when we left the house so I didn't make it to the Harvest Club so I'll have to do that in the morning. I know they usually offer lots of poultry and pasta's in the packages though so I can sort of plan my menu by that as well as what I will buy at the commissary. Again, after a few weeks I'll know the routine a bit better. The Harvest Club is year round here but I like the selections better when the produce is fresh because everything else seems to be better quality then too. That is why I usually only shop the club in the winter months. Tomorrow I'll post a pic for Wordless Wednesday of all my food goodies I bought today :-) 1) HOMESCHOOL -- Many things have led me to pray about my method of homeschooling. I continued to get the comment of "that's not what Mr. so and so said to do" in several of our subjects. We have moved to an almost unschooling method of teaching to remove the institutionalized thinking out of our children. I have done this with my husbands blessing and he sees progress with the children. His blessing and understand of why I wanted to move in this direction was the most important thing. If he did not agree then I would need to fall back to what we had originally planned. People who know our children always comment on how smart they are. This is a blessing to us. We want them to always think for themselves and not think because someone else did it one way, that was the right way. I have found many times it wasn't the right way and I need to re-teach them in those areas. With Asperger Syndrome, Caleb was especially not in the best position for being taught by secular socialist type people. He is easily convinced of wrong ideas and we will have to work even harder with him to guard his heart as he is getting to an age where he is without us more often. We are using many materials that I can only say God truly blessed us with because I would have never thought to look at them otherwise. 2) FELLOWSHIP/BIBLE --We are continuing through the Advent readings daily from now until Christmas 3) HOME CLEANING -- Monday: laundry Tuesday: vacuum, dust, bathrooms Wednesday: windows Thursday: good scrub of kitchen; floor mopping Friday: vacuum, dust, bathrooms 4) HOMEMAKING -- work on decorating for Christmas all around the house.. Weekly dinner plan: Monday: spanish rice with sausage Tuesday: pizza/salad Wednesday: ham and baby spinach roll ups ( wrap diced ham, baby spinach leaves, and provolone cheese inside a crescent roll and bake); raw veggies Thursday: Whole roasted garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans Friday: Artichoke hearts wonton cups (from peppered chef); rice; steamed broccoli and peppers Saturday: Salad, chicken sandwiches, home fries Sunday: Pot roast, red potatoes, and carrots Monday: Homemade spinach pizza -- my children love this.. you use canned dough, baby spinach leaves, fresh tomatoes, and a mix of parmesan and mozzarella cheese.. yummy!! 5) EXERCISE!! I am continuing to work on this with weights and walking. I have a doctors appointment at the beginning of next week and we will be talking about many things, including this. Prayers are appreciated :-) That's my week planned out for now but sometimes plans are made to be changed. If you want to know how more ladies plan their week, go visit Tiany for more Monday Meanderings. Also, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu plans!

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If you are in Yuma... Topic: Food, Diets, Recipes Don't forget the farmers market opens today from 10 to 3!!! This, coupled with the Harvest Club run by the food bank, is a great way to have your family eat healthy and inexpensively!!

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Scavenger Hunt fun Topic: Friendship We went to a Christmas party at the house of our AWANA commander on Saturday night. We had such a blast!! They are the sweetest couple and it was nice to spend time getting to know them even better. Mike and I won the scavenger hunt and our prize was a $25 gift certificate to Applebee's. We are a pretty good team! I mean he is a Marine and I'm a good navigator and know a lot about this town from just going for drives so it was fun for us. One of the items you had to get was a snickers bar and so we won all of those, too. WOO HOO!! Snicker's are our favorite around here :-) We picked up close to 20 items in about 5 stops cause we are good task managers. We even called in first and got two items knocked off our lists...we follow directions so well...LOL.. There was also a white elephant gift exchange. That is where you bring a gently used or unneeded prize from your house to share. They are usually weird and fun items. Last year at our party the gift most "stolen" was the movie Superstar! Well, I can now add bullets to my most unusual present list..ROFL. Chris is a police officer. He carries a gun on a daily basis and had some bullets for a gun he had sold lying around the house. Since he was no longer using those bullets and didn't want to bother taking them in (or whatever you do with unused bullets) he gave them as his gag gift. Funnily enough, my husband purposefully stole them from the first person who picked that package. I told him new bullets doesn't exactly mean a new gun. It was all fun anyway and he really did save Anna. She is marrying an RAF (Royal Air Force) service member at the end of this month and I doubt they would let her pack them up in her household good shipment ;-) We had fun! It was great to hang out with other Christians and be a witness for non-Christians at the same time. So, I have to ask, what is the weirdest white elephant gift you have ever gotten or, better yet, given away?

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Advent Day 3 -- Genesis 3:1-19 -- sin Topic: Holidays 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." 11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." 16 To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." 17 And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

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DECEMBER 3, 2007

Do We Put Him In The Box And Throw Away The Key?? Topic: Bible/Faith My God has answered more prayers for my family this year than I can count on fingers and toes. We have been so strongly convinced to turn our whole lives over to God that in every instance of our life, especially recently, we have no answer except to pray. Family, life, finances, job, automobiles are all things we've prayed about and waited on God for His answers. Many times literally two seconds later we have known the answer in a clear and precise way. Other times we've had to pray and wait. God always answers our prayers! I know that sometimes waiting can be the hardest thing. This is the point at which most of the time people fail. And then the next time we pray and aren't answered right away, the time we wait gets even shorter. Sooner or later we just lock Jesus up in a box, throw away the key, and try to do it all on our own. Eventually we'll run around harried like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find the key to let Jesus out because all else has failed and we realize we need His help. We let Him stay out for a bit until we have to play the waiting game again one too many times and then its back into the box He goes. This is not the way it is supposed to work! We need to trust and make God the one and only Lord in our life. Not just one part, but every part. We have to pray. We have to have faith. We have to trust. God already knows He is Lord of all. Will you trust Him to be Lord of all to you too? Will you trust Him and wait on Him? Be blessed!!

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The doctor called.. Topic: Bible/Faith She thinks I was pregnant and need to get some referral stuff from the base for my appointment. I think I laughed at her. Would someone stop the emo-coaster and let me off?! All I know is I want a nap and God is in control so I'll just let Him handle it all.....

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Advent Day 2 -- Genesis 1:26-31 Topic: Holidays 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the breath of life in it -- I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning -- the sixth day.

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DECEMBER 2, 2007

If you feel so led... Topic: Blogging, in general I only know for sure that Nikki nominated me for the Best Encourager blog but at least two more people had to so I thank you whoever you are. The voting starts bright and early Monday morning (the 3rd) and you may only vote for each category one time. If you feel I've been an encouragement to you and feel led to vote, I would appreciate it, and you can click here to go to the voting page. I know there are a lot of great bloggers out there who do so much better than me and I honestly don't see myself winning... heck, family won't even vote for me... LOL... but it's fun to play along anyway. Have a great day and be blessed!!!

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Learning My Letters eBook is ready!! Topic: Homeschool Printouts I finally had the chance to get the Learning My Letters eBook "printed" today. The more files you have, the longer it takes to create the PDF file and nothing else can be running on your computer at that time. My family loved me for that ;-) Anyway, of course, the best way to download it is to right click on the link above, and then click on "save target as" and choose which folder on your computer you want to save it in. This eBook has 37 pages of dot to dot tracing letters -- individual letters, the complete alphabet, multiples of each letter, etc.. I also included the lined paper and story paper in this one as well. This eBook is free just like the other two. If these eBooks have been helpful and you want to make a donation of any amount that is very much appreciated and you can do that through my paypal button that I added in the sidebar. However, I know not everyone can afford to pay for a lot of curriculum and don't really have time to search through 50 million files on other sites or in a google search engine to find just the basics. This is a way for me to minister to other homeschool moms and I love to share things I've created. Do not ever let money stop you from downloading these books!! They are there to be helpful to whoever needs them. I just understand too that sometimes people feel led to make a donation and my husbands grandmother always admonishes me not to steal someone else's blessing so that option is there if you feel like donating.

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Advent Day 1 -- Isaiah 11:1-10 1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious."

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DECEMBER 1, 2007

Christmas Cards.. a bit of info on the very first one We really enjoy letting all the children sign their own names to the Christmas cards. It makes them more personal and they feel like they have been included in the card process. We got the stash of cards out and the kids will sign a few at a time and take a break and come back and sign more later. Hopefully by Monday they will all be signed and I can take my time filling out or printing the envelopes. I thought I'd pull some info from the first Christmas webpage I ever did many, many years ago and put it here to share since it is about this same subject. I hope you enjoy this bit of Christmas card history :-) In 1843, the first Christmas card was printed in England for Sir Henry Cole. It was divided into three frames. The largest frame, the middle, was a picture of a family feast. The smaller frame to the right was to symbolize the feeding of the poor and the smaller to the left symbolized clothing the poor. He was a busy man who wanted to save time on his own Christmas letters, but was also interested in encouraging the expansion of the postal system. One thousand copies of the card were sold at one shilling each. It was not until the 1860's that the production of cards accelerated, with cheaper printing methods. Then in 1870, the Post Office introduced a half penny stamp for sending cards.

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How Sweet He Is Topic: Husbands My husband and I have not been able to go on our coffee dates for a few weeks. We've been busy and he has been stressing a bit over a retirement ceremony that he had to plan so it just kept getting pushed aside for the opportunity to sleep a bit later. Last night he asked if we could please go this morning so we could have some time together. I said YES and so we took off early early to grab that cup of joe. Well, he surprised me and took me to breakfast instead at the Cracker Barrel. It was so nice to have that hour to ourselves so we could catch up with each other and just talk about what has been going on at work and with school. We are still stuffing stockings this year even though we aren't doing all out presents and so we were able to find four small stocking stuffers for the stockings. Do you know there were only 5 items in the store NOT made in China and we bought 4 of them?! I think label reading for products not made in China is harder than label reading for foods that are low in sodium, sugars, and fats ;-) Anyway, we just really enjoyed our time together and the children were just starting to stretch and groan from hunger by the time we got back home. Ah, it's good to have teenagers...LOL

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Blog Decorating Party.. join in the fun :-) Topic: Blogging, in general Sisterlisa over at Apples of Gold Ministries is hosting the Blog Decorating Party for Christmas! I love this because I always make my own graphics for my page so it's fun for me to change things up a bit and get the creative juices flowing. I just recently changed to my winter holiday scene and as it gets closer to Christmas I will change it even more to reflect the nativity. Go check it out and enter your blog too!!

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