Meditation of My Heart

I have skipped a couple chapters and might post about them later. This has been a hard "assignment" for me. How do I respond in any adequate fashion to such eloquently written chapters? Now to sum up this chapter. Do I just say Sovereignty of God?  Yet the Sovereignty of God is so completely overwhelming where do we even start to comprehend that. Yet even a minuscule tidbit can so drastically throw my life in a spin that changes me forever. What is a true woman? One that trusts so completely that God is in such control, that He CHOSE every difficult situation we are in to HIS glory in us. I can rest in my struggles because He wants me to go through them. That is so reassuring, that is the basis of my hope and my joy. It is what allows me to hum praises in the hardest of days. Praying that I learn to live God-centered because in realty God is the center of all things. Isn't that the essence of sovereignty?  If I truly grasp this, my life will reflect it. It will chan...

We started Truthquest History this year and are thoroughly enjoying it. I love supplementing with hands on and movies when possible. We read the "true" stories and find it fun to find the discrepancies in the fiction and sometimes liberally influenced movies. Surprisingly we have found some really good historically Christian based movies as well. This is a good supplement to any history you are doing. Movies are sometimes very hard to classify into specific time periods because they don't write down the exact times on most descriptions. I am trying to figure out the best way to classify these. However, I have found while studying history if we are in the general area it doesn't seem to matter. I have listed dates as closed as I could. If the movie is about someone, I have listed the years they have lived. Depending if the movie is a life story or just a part of their life will determine the years it covers. TQ - Truthquest Recommended    FFF Feature Films for Fam...

A couple recipes I am finding to save us money. I like Zoot (at our Walmart). I use 1/3 bar, it is bigger than the Fels-Naptha bar which I found at Kroger. I like the smell of it. This I took from the Duggar family page. Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value 4 Cups - hot tap water 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar 1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda* ½ Cup Borax - Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. -Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. -Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel) -Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: la...

I feel privileged to share in blogging this new book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss . I pray that God will use this time to encourage and challenge me. I also pray that through His work in me, I might be able to encourage someone else. I realize that I can only be a vessel of His work. I am the tool, He is the master. I pray that during the next few weeks or months that God will challenge me and others to become woman for change, woman that will challenge the norm in society. I pray He will will rise us up as models that point to a better calling, a higher standard that in every fraction in our lives will glorify Him!! All glory to God who never accepts "good enough"!!

I have just finished the book Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas. Every woman needs to read this book. This book will challenge you to be the best God would have you be. It will stretch you the standard God has for every believer. It will practically show you how to live as a wife. It will give you a new view on what marriage is all about. Holiness over happiness. If you want to be stretched, challenged and changed beyond what any marriage book has done for you in the past, this is a must read. I plan on reading this book at least every couple years. I encourage you to read it and see for yourself!

As God seems to continually bring holiness to my attention, I find that I am thinking about it in the littlest things. Pursuit of holiness happens every moment of everyday. "Consider it all joy" in every situation can be overwhelming. As I was putting away pots and pans from last night's dinner, I started to grumble about the lack of space in my kitchen which causes me to put pans away in the most awkward cupboard. "Happiness or holiness" came to mind.  I then, at the prompting of God, thanked him for the dishes that are often dirty with more than enough food, evident by my bulging waistline. My girls are probably tired of hearing "Are you pursuing your happiness or holiness". I am learning to thank God for the overdemanding kids that cause me to die to myself. I am praising God for the amount of home schooling two teens, parenting with an autistic child, keeping up with a toddler and trying to keep a house that has caused me to evaluate what is im...

One of the benefits to scripture memorization is the ability to redeem seemingly idle time. As I was rocking my sick baby to sleep, I was meditating on some verses in James. Jam 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, Jam 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Jam 1:4 And let  endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Trials is what according to verse 3? It is the testing of your faith. Anything that tests your faith and remember according to James 1:13-15 that all things are trials unless we respond sinfully to them then they are temptations.. As Hebrews 14:23 states that all things not of faith are sin, so we are to respond in all things in faith. What happens in the testing of faith is endurance. We will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. What a promise! Something to remember when I struggle with just the routines of a day. Character...