Masterpeace

God has so blessed my life with 2 little boys who love to be creative like their mommy. And most importantly, like our great Creator. As I sit here watching my little 5 year old painting his little heart out, I am reminded of how God paints us. He first of all, doesn't go about it aimlessly or quickly. He takes His time and does His best work. He has in mind a masterpiece...And that is what we are to Him, His masterpiece. A wonderfully, fearfully created masterpiece. Thank You Lord, for not settling for halfway work or second best. But, for making us in YOUR image. YOU are our Masterpeace...My Master of Peace. 

 

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Pics from our week

Here are some pics of our week. We have been reading the story Lentil from our FIAR curriculum the last two weeks and doing a few of the activities that they suggest. The boys have whittled soap, they have made lemonade and I even caught my 7 year old several times playing his harmonica.Today he was going nuts trying to find his harmonica (because he had to go to the bathroom.) As he learned from the book it does sound even better in the bathroom. My boys are so cute and I never know what may come out of their mouths. Enjoy.

Whittling soap. They're really getting into this...They keep asking to do more.

Cutting up the lemons. (a 7 year old with a knife, YIKES!) But really, he did great.

Tasting the lemons.

Squeezing the lemons

Adding the boiling water
 

Adding the sugar

Mixing everything up

We have a winner! Even Daddy said it was the best lemonade he'd ever tasted!
 

Wonderful giveaway!

I just found this awesome home education blog and have to tell about it. Not to mention, Deana is running an amazing chance at winning a great spelling program called SpellQuizzer. It is a online program and she is giving away a free license to it. So if you are interested click either Frugal Homeschooling Mom or the green button on my sidebar and it will take you right to Deana's blog where she will inform you of how you could win this awesome spelling program.

Be Blessed~

Faith

GOD really WOWed me today. God gave our wonderful and gifted Pastor an amazing word to share with us today. Pastor Mark has been doing a series about Faith the last month. And boy it hit home with the week I have had. Pastor talked about-

'Trusting our Personal Faith Trainer' (the Holy Spirit) even though it means...

1. Leaving the familiar as Abraham had. Gen. 12:1, 4. The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." 4. So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
2. No clear destination. Heb. 11:8b. "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
3. Becoming an illegal alien. Heb. 11:9. "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise."

'Trusting our Personal Faith Trainer' (Holy Spirit) because we are convinced...

1. Of a better future. Heb. 11:10. "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."
2. Of God's promise. Heb. 11:11-12 and Gen. 15:4-6. "By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. Gen. 15:4-6. "Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

'Trusting our Personal Faith Trainer' requires...

1. Vision- Heb. 11:13. "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."
2. Perseverance- Heb. 11:14. "People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own."
3. Abandonment- Heb. 11:15. "If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return."
4. Passion- Heb. 11:16. "Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Thank you Pastor Mark for persevering through your tough times and believing God for the outcomes. Your strong faith encourages me to live by faith as well.

Lord, just like Abraham and all of the others who have walked by faith, I am asking for strength to walk by faith and not by sight and live every day with my eyes and heart set on my eternal home with You. To totally surrender my all to You and go where You send me, to leave my familiar places, not knowing where I am headed, or who I will be with. And I will look forward to what You have a head of me, and be convinced of Your promises for me. Completely knowing that all of this will require vision, perseverance, abandonment and passion.
Praise You my sweet Jesus~Amen

Mishmash Maggie: My Father's World Blog Roll 2009-2010

Mishmash Maggie: My Father's World Blog Roll 2009-2010
Go over and check out this blog if you are using or considering My Father's World. Lainie did an awesome job with this button (found on my sidebar). It's so cute...And she is such a blessing for doing this for all of us out there searching for inspiration. So click on the blog roll link above and it will take you to Lainie's blog and also a list of other MFW blogger friends with much inspiration to share.
This year we are doing a mixture of curriculum to try and smooth out some rough patches with reading for my oldest little guy. So we decided to go back and do My Father's World 1st grade. When Eli, my oldest son, was in Kindergarten we did the MFW A-Z and absolutely loved it. But he really had a hard time with the phonics part. So we stopped with the phonics part and continued with the rest of it. Last year he was in first grade and we were doing another reading program recommended by a reading specialist and he became very frustrated with it as well. So this year after much prayer we jumped back to MFW 1st grade program for the language arts. Well so far, after 3 weeks it is going well! YEA! MFW! We are doing the LA, bible and science part of it and love it.

Don't Go Breaking MY Heart

My boys were singing a song today from a movie they recently viewed. (Chicken Little) The song was at the end during the credits and it was called 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.' Well, when they were singing it I started to sing it too. After singing it just once, God spoke a word to me about how often we break our Father's heart by not bringing our burdens to Him. Well, right after that I had to return a phone call that I really was not wanting to deal with. I prayed specifically before hand that God would give me the right words to say to this person and do my best to bring Him glory and possibly encourage this person as well. Anyways, I made the dreaded call. And it wasn't a pleasant one. I do believe God gave me the right words to say, but what came from this person put even a huger burden on me than before. After the conversation I laid my burdens before my Faithful Father who is able to carry these burdens and handle them. Right now I sit here believing that HE will work all things out for the good of those who love Him. And that He is all together lovely, altogether wonderful to me.
Precious Lord, You do hear my heart this day and I thank and praise YOU for what YOUR plans are for this situation with my (YOUR) precious daughter. God, You are all that I am and all that I need. And YOU are able to move mountains. Lord, please move this mountain...And bring my prodigal home...
In Your Holy Name, Amen.

Holding on even tighter to thee~

Contentment

God has definitely been working on me with contentment. And especially right now. Yesterday I was outside getting something for my boys from the shed and when I stepped to come out of the shed my foot twisted and I heard this awful cracking noise. Well, to make a long story short. I am on crutches this week. I am not used to being out of sink like this. But, my wonderful Lord chose this path for me and I have been very humbled by it. My amazing husband and boys have been such a blessing to me. Helping with the laundry, meals, you name it. The last two days in my bible study I have been studying some people in the bible who either chose to be content or chose not to be. Oh how God has spoken to me through His word. Brings me to tears every time I think of how very blessed our life's would be if we just submitted every area of our life to the One who brought us life. This verse exclusively spoke to my heart. "LORD, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure." Psalm 61:5 This so resonated with me this morning as I cried out to my Lord. So my dear sisters if you are in a state of discontentment right now, cry out to the God who hears you. The One who has placed you right where you are at and who has a great inheritance for you. And as He promises, He will fill you with joy in His presence. Go before Him today...

Holding on tight to thee~

Workbox pictures coming up!

Psalm 59:16-17

But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

All day every day...this is my song.

Holding on to thee~

A woman of Prayer

Oh Lord, my heart is to be a woman of prayer. Dedicated to praying without ceasing...

I'm back!

Yes, it has a been awhile, but sometimes it is just hard to put into words what goes on in my heart and life. But, I am going to try and do better at sharing my life. Their are so many wonderful godly ladies out there who are completely transparent and have totally encouraged and inspired me to stop allowing satan to steal what the LORD wants me to share.
So here goes. This has been a different, but all around good week here at our home. Not only did we start our 2009-2010 education schedule this week, but I also started a new bible study that God has been leading me to do for awhile now. I am doing it with a group of woman at our church. It's called "A Woman After God's Own Heart." What I long to be and know most of you out there long to be as well. I have had the book for a few months now and have read about 9 chapters from it so far. Good stuff, really good stuff. Elizabeth George is definitely a woman after God's own heart with much to teach us. I am anxious to see what God has in store for me through this godly lady. Mostly though, I just want to fall head over heals in love with Him all over again. Only this time, I'm not asking Him to show me what I need to do or how I need to pray. But just simply to take me through the wilderness. Because I know that is what it will take to free me of these chains completely. So get ready Lori, God is going to take you where you do not want to go. But, it will be the best place for you. I am holding on tight...

As far as our home education goes this will be our 3rd year at it. I would love to say it has been a breeze. But, I would be lying. So I will just tell you, God has been faithful as always and gives me the strength I need when I am weak. Every morning when I rise I make sure I get filled up with Him before I even try to do anything without Him. "My God will supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4:19. My boys are a delight and I am blessed to have them with me everyday. However, some days I second guess why He called me to such a great task. But, "faithful is He that calleth me, who also will do it." 1 Thess. 5:24.

Holding on tight to Thee,
Lori

Wonderful Workboxes!

I just have to throw a big THANK YOU! out there to Sue Patrick for her creativity to come up with this workbox system...This is only our second week with it and it has blessed our family so much...Our boys are so excited about school now. And that is a total answer to prayer! THANK YOU GOD! HIGH FIVE! to You my precious Faithful Father.

Here is a sample of one of the activities in our boys boxes.

We call it musical alphabet. I cut out large alphabet letters out of felt and I lay them all over the carpet and start the music. My boys ages 7 and 4 either hop, run or skip around until I pause the music. They have to be on a letter when the music stops. Then they take turns telling me the sound of the letter and a word that begins with that letter. They pick up the letter and put it on the couch and we keep playing until all of the letters are gone. Not only are they getting practice learning their sounds, they are also learning scripture as well. We use Integrity Musics God Rocks cds. The boys love them and they love this game...

Workboxes!

We started the workbox system this week and so far it is going great. I have to tell you I was a little hesistant at first. My Eli age 7 is my challenge when it comes to knowing what he likes or is not going to like. One day he likes something the next day he doesn' t. So after alot of researching and praying I felt the Lord leading me to go for it. Out I went in search of the accessory rack, and shoe boxes. Found both of them at Target. The rack is $14.99 and the shoe boxes were $1.00 each. And well, it seems to be going fine. I am optimistic that this will change our days. As far as the reading goes though. Eli is still not enjoying it and gets frustrated very easily trying to sound out words. And then I get frustrated. Thank You GOD for prayer. God is certainly our strength when we get weak.

For those of you who do not know what the workbox system is, here is a link to Sue Patricks workbox system, www.workboxsystem.com.
There is also a couple of yahoo groups that just started that has a huge amount of information and ideas for workboxes. Not to mention the numerous blogs about them.
Here's the yahoo groups, Workbox_fun and workboxes.

This system is basically an organizational system for your school day. A four tier accessory rack with up to 12 plastic shoe boxes for your school work. It has definitely helped me to be more organized in what we are doing and will be doing next. And the boys are doing more independent work, learning responsibility, having fun and getting their work done as well. So we all win! And I am feeling much more productive in the end. We don't do school on Fridays simply because Eli does an art class in the morning away from home. So we do more errands, library, chores and play time on Fridays. But, my little Ian age 4 got up this morning and went to our homeschool room and let out "our boxes aren't filled up Mommy!" I guess that means he likes them too...

My boy.

It's been awhile I know. I have been having a hard time keeping this blog stuff going. But, now that my son seems to be interested in blogging, I guess I will be doing alot better staying consistent. My 7 year old son Eli loves legos and is always making a new creation of some kind. It is his passion and I encourage him whenever possible. So I mentioned to him about how another little boy named, Elijah, started a lego blog to share his creations. Well, let's just say my Eli is very excited about starting his lego blog as well. So a big thank you to Ami and Elijah over at Walking by the Way! If you are interested or should I say, your kids, go to Lego Creations blog.

WOW!

Well, once again my Heavenly Father has WOWED me. I don't even know where to begin. But, I will give it a try. First of all, my heart is to raise my children for the Lord and watch them grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As hard as I try everyday, the enemy keeps trying to throw his best shots at us. For instance yesterday at church. God's presence was amazing once again. However, the enemy was trying to stop God from moving. On the way to church I seen my 7 year old dear son's spirit change in and instant like I have never before. He just became completely quiet and solemn and it was strange. Before I took him to his class I asked him if he wanted to talk about it or if he wanted me to pray for him. But, he just shook his head no. However, as I walked him into class my mother's intuition, if you would call it that, told me to just pray. So I kept an attitude of prayer through the morning service.

When I am weak

Here I am trying to express to you what has been going on with us and I can't even get it out. All I keep hearing is my 7 year old dear son humming the Hot wheels theme. And my mind is blank. Have you been there??? Okay, here let's try this again. This last month has been like a roller coaster ride. Every since I decided my goal for this year was to go deeper into GOD and allow Him to fight my battles. The war has been on and satan has been on the prowl as usual. I have to be honest with you, sometimes I just want to give up and throw in the towel. And then I remember the race I am in and the price that has been paid and of course my love and devotion to my LORD and family. My hearts biggest desire is to have a meek and quiet spirit so my children will see JESUS in me. It's seems the harder I try the harder it gets...Am I the only one this happens to? My quiet time with the Lord in the morning is so good and then the day starts...I know the good I want to do, but don't do it. It's seems I do more apologizing to my children than I do disciplining. GOD please help me take captive the thoughts in my mind and keep me close to Your side today. I love you. Amen

He knows me

Do you know Jesus knows everything about you? He knows everything we think, what we are about to say, where we go, when we sit and when we rise. There is absolutely nothing we can hide from Him. And you know what? I am so glad that HE knows all of that and more. Because most of the time, I don't even know myself.
My Father knows me...and HE knows you too. Give HIM praise, for HE fearfully and wonderfully made you and HE is always thinking of you.
How precious to me are YOUR thoughts, O GOD! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. Psalm 139:17-18

Thank you, my precious Father for knowing me so well and for thinking of me so much. I love You.
Amen

God has brought me to Psalm 139 and has challenged me to set a goal for myself of reading it everyday for the next year. I am expecting it to be an amazing adventure, to say the least. How about you? Would you like to join me? If you do, please let me know what HE is doing in you...and through you.

Blessings~
Lori

Another day

Well, another day and another sick little one. Last night was very interesting to say the least. Just when we thought things were looking up, Ian our 4 year old woke up vomitting all over the place on and off for most of the night. And then, early this morning when we thought Eli was doing better, he woke up crying about his head, arms and stomach hurting. Come to find out he was dehydrated. So my precious husband and I said a mighty prayer over him, put the liquids in him and I laid down beside him till daybreak. When he awoke he said "Mommy I feel better, God healed me." "And of course, HE did." I said... Now it is calm and GOD willing, our little babes will be bouncing around again tomorrow. GOD, You are my warrior and I am letting You take the battles on. I praise You, for when I am weak, You are strong. Blessed be Your name...

Blessings~
Lori

The Battles are on...

Well, if you read my post yesterday you would remember how I talked about my determination to get deeper into my Master this year. And how the battles would come. Well, they have started and I have been rebuking the old enemy all day thus far. My oldest little guy was sick this weekend with the stomach virus and messes were everywhere. I am not very good at handling messes such as these. However, I have and they are being taken care of. I haven't been very nice to my man and have been doing alot of apologizing as well. You see he has been off of work since Dec. 23 and our whole routine has been thrown off and out of wack. But, it was nice to have him home... He went back today, but not at the usual time he used to go. His hours have changed for the week and are 9-5:30 instead of 7-3:30. This is suppose to only be for a week...Please Lord, let it be...
Anyways, we were suppose to start back with home education this week. Doesn't look promising. I didn't get my quiet time this morning and it is showing. However, the boys and I had ours together. Just later than normal. And it was good...So after all is said and done I am still determined to grow deeper in my walk with the LORD. And I know He is battling for me every step of the way. PRAISE YOU LORD!

Blessings~

Deeper

I don't know about you but, I am very excited about the year we have ahead of us. God has so much waiting for us and my desire is to press on and get to know Him better. Deeper into Him is where I want to go and I am determined to not let anything get in my way. The battles ahead will not be easy. However, they are not my battles, the battle belongs to the Lord and I am His. WOW! Just writing that takes a large weight off of my shoulders. Praise YOU GOD, my Jehovah-nissi. Tomorrow will come and go but Your word says, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." 2 Chron. 20:15.

I Praise Him today for the battles will be won...

Blessings,

Lori