The Excellent Wife

This is a must read for all women today. Martha Peace gives a detailed, Scripturally based description of a godly wife in this book. Here is an excerpt:

"All people are naturally selfish. They come into this world selfish. It does not take a long period of time of observation to realize that a baby is only concerned about himself. Toddlers look out for themselves as they fight over toys and their mother's attention. Teenagers are renowned for being self-absorbed and putting themselves first. Adults, unfortunately, are not much better. In fact, Americans as a rule yearn to have their needs met, to feel good about themselves, and to protect their rights.

In our hedonistic, narcissistic culture it is revolutionary to hear someone say, "Deny yourself." "Put others first." Yet, this is exactly what God tells us to do ... in regards to earthy relationships, you must put your husband first. In regards to your relationship with God, se your heart on glorifying God whether you ever have your way or not.

"Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself." Philippians 2:3

Plainly and simply put, the wife is to show love to her husband by putting her husband first. She should think, "Love does not seek its own (way)..." (I Corinthians 13:5)... As she prefers her husband and "puts on" love, she will be loving her husband instead of being selfish.
...You are to be unselfish even if he is always selfish. Remember that you do not have to feel "led" to be unselfish, you just have to do it.

...Any time someone has a philosophy of life that is based on "my needs" (self), they are likely to fall into the trap of being unloving, selfish, vain, or proud. Consider the Apostle Paul or the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither one had their "needs" to be loved by everyone met, yet they continued to show love to God and to others. Their focus was on what God wanted them to do. That was their joy and hence their satisfaction. We, on the other hand, are naturally lovers of ourselves. If you are struggling with being unloving and having a wrong view of love, perhaps you are longing for the wrong kind of love. Hence, there is an idol in your heart."

I encourage you to read it, apply it to your life and pray that God will change you by His grace!

Tonya

Clown Hair

Little

Spring Weather

We FINALLY had a nice day out .. 56 degrees! Right after lunch our family went for a long bike ride until Kaci's naptime. Taj and I both have toddler seats on the backs of our bikes and the girls love to ride. Kaci cried and cried when we got home, it's never long enough for her. Of course, Grazzin would live outside if you let him!

Thumb Sucker

It's time to break the thumb sucking! Look at those front teeth. Any suggestions?

Tonya

Homeschool Family

A little humor about homeschool families!


#


You Must Be a Home Educator If...
# You live in a one-house schoolroom.
# Your walls are covered with maps and timelines.
# You know what math manipulatives are.
# You have mold growing in your fridge…on purpose.
# Your preschooler can name all the planets, but doesn't know who the Rugrats are.
# You've mastered the fine art of vacuuming a floor without sucking up a Lego or K'nex piece.
# You're either an expert at doing the Lego dance - Oooch! Ouch! Yeow! - or else you've resorted to wearing shoes around the house.
# You know the recipes for homemade versions of Play-doh, finger paint, and paste.
# Your students have to clear the breakfast bowls off the table before sitting down to do their school work.
# Your house is messy, but your kids are happy.
# Your kids publish their own family newsletter.
# You shop for birthday presents at educational stores.
# All you want for Christmas is a Barnes & Noble gift certificate.
# You'd rather buy books than clothes.
# Your friends don't want to help you move because you have so many books.
# You turn a trip to the grocery store into a learning experience.
# You get nervous about what people will say when you take your kids to K-Mart in the middle of the day.
# You have a standard one-minute speech to give to store clerks, mother-in-laws, and school officials about why you homeschool.
# You are sick and tired of answering the question, "But what about socialization?"
# For your wedding anniversary, you decide to splurge and get a photocopier.
# Talking out loud to yourself is the same as having a parent/teacher conference.
# When you see a parking lot full of mini vans, you wonder if there's a homeschooling conference.
# You take your family vacation in September, when the beaches and theme parks are empty.
# You take a suitcase full of books along on your family vacation.
# You can never find your kitchen utensils because they're out in the sandbox.
# Your kitchen doubles as a science lab.
# You are on a first name basis with your local librarian and bookstore owner.
# The UPS driver delivers a box of Scholastic books to your doorstep once a month.
# You know the scientific names of dinosaurs from A to Z.
# You're willing to drop what you're doing at a moment's notice to go look something up in a dictionary or encyclopedia.
# You don't get fired for teaching your students about God.
# Some days you learn as much as your students.

Up

Kaci spoke today. She said, "Up!" We were so excited. She likes when we sit her up on top of the fridge and we always TRY to get her to make some kind of sound/word before we grant her requests. Well, it paid off today .. she actually said,"Up!" I couldn't believe it. So, of course, I asked her to say it again and she said it about three times. Hooray for Kaci!

(For those of you who do not know, Kaci has a lazy mouth and jaw so we have been working with her to strengthen it and encouraging her to make sounds for speech.) It's a lot of work ... how rewarding to hear a new word today!

Don't Waste Your Life

John Piper writes, “I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider this story from the February 1998 Reader’s Digest: A couple ‘took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells. . . .’ Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: ‘Look, Lord. See my shells.’ That is a tragedy.

“God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of Him in every part of our lives.”

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

What?

When we first moved here, we were thankful our friends found us a place to rent a few miles from this street and not on it!

Tonya

More Nutritional Info

Due to the overwhelming response to yesterday's post I felt I must add a further "word of knowledge" to our discussion.

It is worth noting that the OJ is the second ingredient listed right after the 'carbonated water.' And everyone knows the ingredients are listed in order of their proportion in the food/drink, with the most common ingredients listed first.

Please note also that there are no nutritional benefits in Coke Zero Vanilla.

Love,
Taj

Nutritional Info

Note: Dt. Dew contains orange juice.

Drink away.

Taj

gymnastics

This one is for the cousins! We love to use our blog as a way to keep in touch with family. Our children miss their cousins and seeing videos on the blogs helps them so much!




Tonya

...Who Saved a Wretch Like Me...

Disappointment

My babies aren't left-handed .. how disappointing. Well, it's really not that bad! I am the only lefty in my family and I had always hoped one of my children would be. Kaci has used her right hand since she started feeding herself and now there's no denying it when she holds a crayon.

I guess I will have to keep hoping .. maybe if we have another child?







Tonya

Life Without Limbs -Nick Vujicic

Homemade Roller Coaster!

Our kids love coming up with all kinds of entertainment! Please forgive the video quality..

Use Biblical Language with your Children

Here is an excerpt from the Women Discipling Women Conference, speaker Alyssa Buck:

Use biblical language with your children. Call sin, sin. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

If your child lies, use the word lie. God says that a person who tells lies is a liar, not a fibber, but a liar. Your child does not tell fibs, he tells lies. Instead of telling your child to listen to you, tell your child to obey you. Obedience is required by God and should be expected from your child. When you say to your child,"That was good listening Billy", you have missed an opportunity to teach him what is biblical and right. If your child child is being disrespectful, don't say,"Betty, those are not nice words to call mommy." Say, "Betty, you are being disrespectful and you are not honoring mommy with your words. How does God require you to talk to mommy and daddy?" When you ask this question of your child, you can take her right to the Word of Gd and show her from Scripture what God requires. This is how you teach the gospel, your child again can see that she fails to obey God's law and needs a Savior. Call sin what the Bible calls sin. Here are some examples, there are many more.

Biblical Word/ Unbliblical Word
Lie/ Fib
Angry/ Frustrated or tantrum
Obey or Disobey/ Not listening
Kind/ Nice
Complaining or grumbling/ Whine or Fuss
Disrespect or Dishonor/ Don't talk to me like that
Selfish/ Not sharing
Tale barer/ tattle tale
Perverse/ bad language
Lazy/ I understand you're too tired
Idle/ Bored
Foolish/ Silly
Prideful/ Stubborn

Always give biblical truth to your children. When the dog dies do not tell your 2 year old that she will see Buddy in heaven. Tell her that Buddy does not have soul and that God only created people with souls. Use this kind of an opportunity to teach truth. Ask her who created people and animals. Teach her that God created us with a physical body and a soul. The soul lives forever but the body dies. The soul lives forever in heaven or in hell. Who is in heaven? How can we be with God in heaven? What separates us from God? Why do we need a Savior? How are we reconciled to God? The gospel can always be explained in any and every circumstance!
If your child fears one of his parents dying, don't tell him you won't die, talk about death and what it means to be a believer. Don't miss precious opportunities!

Tonya

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Songs that Jesus Said

My children love this children's CD from Keith and Kristen Getty! (I do too!) You can listen to sample of the songs here. It's a great resource for your family!

How to climb onto a toilet when you are little!

25 Things I Hate About Facebook

"You've Come a Long Way, Baby!"

"In the past fifty years, women have come a long way, but a long way isn't necessarily the right way or a good way. Whether or not you know it, all of us have been profoundly affected by feminist thought..."

To watch(or read) the full lecture by Mary Kassin, click here.

As believers in Christ, we need to have an understanding of what the feminist movement is about and how it differs drastically from what Scripture teaches.

Tonya