Our Lady's Windy Acres
Godly, Uplifting Reading Material
I've been lamenting the scarcity of good reading material for Dear Daughter, 11, recently. We read godly books together but the books she reads on her own have either been the talking animal kind that I really don't like and want to move away from or they are just silliness which is a waste of time.This morning a dear friend shared a find; a quiet book that her daughter of the same age had picked up recently at the homeschool used book sale. "A---- found a treasure of a book at the booksale! It is called the Little Woodchopper. It is a short read with a very good story and lots of scripture. Has anyone read it before? It is about a boy whose father never taught him and his brothers about God until he was dying."
This was a reminder to me that in my search for reading material for Dear Daughter, I came across a wonderful site I wanted to share that is FULL of not only suggested reading but also scriptural guidelines for WHAT we should be reading.
Christian Books for Christian Homes
A few quotes from Christian Books for Christian Homes :
"A frequently overlooked or oft times neglected necessity in the proper training of our children is monitoring what our children read and providing in the home good Christian literature which will guide them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, encourage them to serve Him and obey His Word, and will teach them honesty, kindness, purity, self-control, faithfulness, etc. It is also important to inculcate in our children the life-long practice of reading good Christian literature and the knowledge needed to discern that which is not Christian and biblical."
~~~~~
"However strong and exalted your character, never read a bad book. By the time you get through the first chapter you will see the drift. If you find the marks of the hoofs of the devil in the pictures, or in the style, or in the plot, away with it. You may tear your coat, or break a vase, and repair them again, but the point where the rip or fracture took place will always be evident. It takes less than an hour to do your heart a damage which no time can entirely repair. Look carefully over your child's library; see what book it is that he reads after he has gone to bed, with the gas turned upon the pillow. Do not always take it for granted that a book is good because it is a Sunday school book. As far as possible, know who wrote it, who illustrated it, who published it, who sold it."
T. DeWitt Talmage (1832-1902)
Now, I have to admit that several of the books listed are ones that have been on my Want to Get list for awhile, I just haven't done it. Shame on me. Once we have knowledge we are also responsible for what we do with it and so I am using this new knowledge/instruction/exhortation and will place an order today!
If you have children at home, I hope you will take a few minutes to read Christian Books for Christian Homes and give your young ones the very best not only in reading material but also the best example and testimony for their Christian walk. I'm also compelled to ask - What do you spend your free time reading? Serial books? Magazines? Do your children see you reading your Bible? Do they know from watching you that reading the Bible is the most important book they can read?
"Give the Bible the honour due to it every day you live. Whatever you read, read that first. And beware of bad books: there are plenty in this day. Take heed what you read. I suspect there is more harm done to souls in this way than most people have an idea is possible. Value all books in proportion as they are agreeable to Scripture. Those that are nearest to it are the best, and those that are farthest from it, and most contrary to it, the worst."
J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)
an update
Surgery went well, no surprises except for a fourth of my back being encased in gauze and tape, seriously limiting the movement of my left arm.I can still hold my Bible and a knitting needle, though. ;-)
And this has also given me time to work on my Mega Memory Challenge of memorizing the Hallel Psalms.
Psalm 113 -
Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised.
The LORD is high above all nations, his glory above the heavens.
Thank you for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. Every single one of them is appreciated and proves the goodness of the LORD.
Blessings to you!
Another Adventure
Today was yet another adventure at the local medical facility.Have you ever realized that people who know a lot about the way things work take it for granted that everyone knows the way things work, too?
Well, I found that out today. See, I was told last week that I would need to go to Nuclear Medicine the day before my surgery and drink something. That's it. Okay, no big deal. Nuclear Medicine? Are You Kidding?! That sounds like a fun place! Anyway, I arrive at the allotted time and innocently mention that I'm here for my drink. The receptionist is immediately on point and asking what drink? Who said you would be drinking something? When were you told this? What were you told you were going to drink? I stepped back and took a breath - whoa! I'm just here for my appointment. drink, no drink, do what you need to do.
So, it turns out that the drink, which the first surgeon mentioned (I think!) is actually four small bubble injections of a radioactive substance - Technitium 99, (tek-ni-shum) for those who are either incredibly curious, or like my Dear Son #2 have a very odd fascination with the Periodic Table of Elements - which they then trace through their PET scan or whatever it was to the lymph nodes nearest to my mole/melanoma. Oh, and the injections? They BURNED going in. Four times. Burning. Ouch. And the best part is that I got to lay on my stomach for over an hour on a long, hard table. I've probably never mentioned this before, no need to really, but I never lay on my stomach. I really dislike laying on my stomach. After about five minutes my back starts talking to me - "Why are you laying like this?" "This is not comfortable." "Can you move, please?" "WHY. ARE. YOU. LAYING. LIKE. THIS?!" Well, you get the idea. Did I mention that I got to lay on my stomach for over an hour? Oh, I guess I did. It was more like an hour and half, but nobody was really counting I think.
Finally - they let me turn over onto my back so that the doctor can mark three nodes under my arm that the Technitium was traced to. I clarified with the doctor that this simply showed the path of drainage for that area and tells the surgeon that if anything has spread from my mole then this is where it's going to be.
Next is up early for surgery which starts at 7:30/8:00 a.m. If all goes well I will be home by noon.
Fun, Fun, Fun.
Pray for Dear Husband. Pray that he will be calm, that he will have all of his questions answered tomorrow by the surgeon, and that he will simply have the peace that only the LORD can give.
I'm so thankful for family and friends and sisters-in-Christ and a church family and cards and e-mails and phone calls with prayers and encouragements - even prayers all the way from Albania. How sweet is that?
O Give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 118:1
Ann's MMM: Memorizing the Psalms
I haven't checked in with Ann for quite awhile and was happily surprised to find that I'm just in time for this year's Mega Memory Month. What's Mega Memory Month? Simply giving ourselves the challenge of stretching our minds by memorizing something BIG - or at least bigger than we usually do. ;-)It only took me a minute to decide that I really wanted to memorize the Hallel Prayer that Jesus sang with his disciples before his capture and crucifixion, a.k.a. Psalms 113-118.
Okay - so that's the challenge that I have set for myself this month.
What about you?
Click Here to see what others will be memorizing.
I'll post once a week with my progress. :-)
Employment
Well, Brandon has been in Texas doing testing for a job in Dallas. He is finally on his way home to us! We have missed him terribly.Just for a quick catch up, he has not worked for the railroad since the end of December. He has been applying for jobs everywhere in the United States. He was getting ready to start looking at jobs overseas! I don't think our family would be too happy about that.
We have sold all of our pigs and had 2 butchered for ourselves. Oh, I know I have said it before and I will say it again...homegrown meat with no msg or nitrates...YUM!
Tristen is now 12 years old...only 1 more year to go before he is a teenager.
Tyme is now 6! I just can't believe it.
Isabella is almost 8 months old, and friends do keep asking us if we are pregnant yet. I wonder why? LOL
Thomas just turned 4! He is 4...boy time sure does fly by when you are having fun.
Taylor, is going to be 17 next month, oh my that is such a shocker. He is getting taller, and will soon be as tall as his father. I must also mention that he is as handsome as his father.
Teresa will be 3 in July, and then we have a bit of a break until October when Trinity and Gabriella will turn 9 and 2.
We are going to go ahead and start doing some work on the house in case we have to put it up for sell. If Brandon does get offered a job in Dallas, I think that the kids and I will be up here for months until the house sells. With the economy the way it is I am not sure if we will get what we owe on it or not. It is going to be difficult on all of us with out Brandon. He will have to fly up on his days off so we can see him.
I know my thoughts are jumping all over the place, but I am tired. I just don't sleep as good when Brandon is gone.
I just wanted to do a quick update. Have a wonderful evening and God bless you all.
Blessed Evening
Today was a great and full day. VBS is going on at church right now so the morning was spent helping there and the afternoon was spent visiting, lunching, and playing Dutch Blitz with some wonderful friends! Husband was away tonight so the children and I had whatever was in the refrigerator for our dinner.All of that is blessing enough for me, but the evening got better as it went along. After eating I sat down to work on another set of potholders and was SOOO tempted to do the easy thing and turn on the television. It is the normal thing to do when husband is home and - even though I try to avoid it - it becomes a habit by association, ya' know? I really didn't want to go down that road, I wanted the children to spend their time more profitably, and I wanted to spend my time more wisely, too! So I resisted the urge - with the LORD's grace - and instead put in a sermon CD. The children, inspired by a visiting evangelist, decided to make puppets. They settled on sock puppets, since that was easily on hand, and started scrounging through the house for the materials needed.
Making the puppets was a team effort since Dear Son #2 made everyone's mouth, and Dearest Daughter sewed on several sets of eyes. Once the puppets were done, they found a very large cardboard box in the garage and set to work making a puppet theater out of it. And of course what do you do with a puppet theater but put on a show!
By the time the sermon CD was finished ( and it was excellent, too! ) I was also finished with a potholder. Then I started thinking of a young family in our church who are moving across country very soon and what could I do/make/give them as a parting gift that would bless them? I decided on a set of very sweet books for the children and a custom made book bag to hold them in. So out to the garage I went to my not so little stash of fabric and found the perfect one! (I'll take photos in the morning - too late and too tired now.) I puzzled and pressed and pinned and tested a few designs until I got it right and then sewed it all together. It is too, too cute and now I have to make another one for me!
At 10:15 p.m. I put a halt to everything and we cleaned up and got ready for bed, and by that time - they were ready for it! So --- that's our evening. Over five hours spent between dinner and bed using the creativity that the LORD gave us and learning and doing together. If only every day could be like that.
I'm a Grandma, Again
My newest grandson arrived on the scene last night at 8:33.
Matthew Nicholas Foote, Jr.
9 pounds 1 ounce
20 inches long
School Uniforms for Homeschoolers
I got a catalog in the mail today full of all the accessories needed for a stylish year in school uniforms.So I say, "I think we should get school uniforms! It would be cool and help to promote a feeling of unity among us." :-)
Dear Son #2, without missing a beat, says, "Are we going to get matching pajamas?"
He Hideth My Soul
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God
For such a Redeemer as mine!
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love
I’ll shout with the millions on high.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
Written by Fanny Crosby, Music by William Kirkpatrick
You can listen to it HERE
Summer
As I was hanging laundry today - the breeze was blowing and I got this wonderful scent of sunshine and wet towels that immediately brought the memory of summers spent at the pool. A sweet childhood memory.Things are warming up here; my flowers are starting to wilt about mid-afternoon and need refreshing.
I spoke with a cousin in Nevada today and he said that they've been having rain for TWO Weeks and are approaching the record for most rainfall for their area. This same cousin is dying of lung cancer. He's now on his third month of the three-to-six months the doctors gave him. He says he is feeling fine - no change at all. Wonderful! This cousin is dear to me because he is a link to my paternal grandfather. He is full of stories and memories of a gentle man and I can't get enough of them.
My neighbor is gone visiting her mother. When she arrived, her mother wasn't doing well and so she took her to the doctor. Two brain tumors and one large tumor in her lungs were discovered. Again, in the doctor's wisdom, they have decreed she has six months to live. My neighbor and her sister are trying to figure out how to care for their mother. She was only going to be gone for a week and now she doesn't know when she will be home.
I love hanging my laundry outside. I love to see it blowing in the breeze and to smell the freshness of sunshine on the sheets and shirts. It reminds me of the clothesline at my grandparents farm. Grandma's orange towels and Grandpa's threadbare undershirts waving, sometimes whipping in the wind. It reminds me of the large clothesline of my childhood home. Four long lines the depth of the yard, full of sheets and towels in the spring and summer months. Running in and out of the moving labryinth. Playing with the hose and being careful not to squirt the drying clothes.
Cancer.
It was always so far away from me. My mother dealt with breast cancer several years ago, but then - as now - I had an unexplainable peace that she would be just fine. And she is.
But now it seems to be all around me. In my own home.
I have a date set for my surgery. The glitch on the radar screen is that the surgeon I met with last week has turned my case over to another surgeon "who would be better able to handle" my situation. I'll meet with him this week and discuss his course of action for my surgery.
My flesh tells me I should be troubled.
The Holy Spirit tells me to hide in the cleft of the Rock; to be still and know that He is God; to put my trust in the LORD; to stand in awe of Him.
I Am.
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