Better Than Life

another new favorite

2012-01-24T15:24:00.005-05:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love the songs from Sovereign Grace Music. They take the truths from Scripture and make beautiful worship songs that honor the Savior! And it thrills my heart when I hear my children singing these songs around the house. Here's another new favorite!

Have Mercy on Me

I am a sinner; You’re blameless, Lord
My sins against You can’t be ignored
They will be punished, I know they must
Your law demands it, for You are just
Pre-Chorus
If You would count
Everything that I’ve done wrong
Who could stand?
But there’s forgiveness with You, God

Chorus
Have mercy on me, have mercy on me
A broken and a contrite heart
You won’t turn away
Have mercy on me, have mercy on me
Because of Your steadfast love

Verse 2
Father of mercy, You gave Your Son
To make atonement for wrongs I have done
What You required, Jesus fulfilled
I don’t deserve it—I never will

Music and words by Dale Bischof and Pat Sczebel
© 2011 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)/Sovereign Grace

adorable

2012-01-14T15:11:00.003-05:00

This little sweetie had so much hair and was just adorable. She is only seven days old and it was such fun to snuggle with her this morning.

today

2012-01-07T18:06:00.002-05:00

took photos of this little cutie this morning and then celebrated Christmas (a few days late) with the Miller side. It was a good day!

from my kids

2012-01-01T23:33:00.003-05:00

kaci turns five today

2011-12-21T22:53:00.004-05:00

Happy, happy birthday sweet Kaci! We love you so much!

Christmas party

2011-12-10T21:54:00.004-05:00

We had a great time last night at our homeschool Christmas party. Twelve eager (?) volunteers delighted us with some holiday humor about homeschooling! Hope you enjoy!

update

2011-12-06T22:43:00.004-05:00

Well the blog has been neglected lately. Not much I can do about that. I have been busy with photo orders and trying to get everyone's cards before the holiday rush begins. Just wanted to post a quick hello and let you know that things will be back in order soon. (at least I hope!)

Here's little man, posing for the lens I am trying out.

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My favorite Christmas song! It has been playing on a regular basis in our home over the past couple of weeks. How beautiful! We got to see Andrew Peterson in concert in Louisville on Friday evening and had a wonderful time.

happy birthday, baby boy

2011-11-03T00:53:00.003-04:00

Our baby is one. Let the celebrating begin!

background

2011-10-24T20:23:00.006-04:00

[Chorus:]
I could play the background
I could play the background
Cause I know sometimes I get in the way
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
And I could play the background, background
And you could take the lead

[Verse 1:]
It's evident you run the show, so let me back down
You take the leading role, and I'll play the background
I know I miss my cues, know I forget my lines
I'm sticking to your script, and I'm reading all your signs
I don't need my name in lights, I don't need a starring role
Why gain the whole wide world, If I'm just going lose my soul
And my ways ain't purified, don't live according to Your Word
I can't endure this life without Your wisdom being heard
So word to every dance, a foe, a pop star
'Cause we all play the background, but mine's a rockstar
Yeah, so if you need me I'll be stage right
Praying the whole world will start embracing stage fright
So let me fall back, stop giving my suggestions
'Cause when I follow my obsessions, I end up confessing
That I'm not that impressive, matter of fact
I'm who I are, a trail of stardust leading to the superstar

[Chorus:]
I could play the background
I could play the background
Cause I know sometimes I get in the way
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
And I could play the background, background
And you could take the lead

[Verse 2:]
I had a dream that I was captain of my soul
I was master of my fate, lost control. and then I sank
So I don't want to take the lead, 'cause I'm prone to make mistakes
All the folks who follow me, going end up in the wrong place
So let me just shadow you, let me trace your lines
Matter of fact, just take my pen, here, you create my rhymes
'Cause if I do this by myself, I'm scared that I'll succeed
And no longer trust in you, 'cause I only trust in me
And see, that's how you end up headed to destruction
Paving a road to nowhere, pour your life out for nothing
You pulled my card, I'm bluffing, You know what's in my hand
Me, I'm just going to trust you, You cause the dice to land
I'm in control of nothing, follow you at any cost
Some call it sovereign will, all I know is you the boss
Man, I'm so at ease, I'm so content
I'll play the background, like it's an instrument

[Chorus:]
I could play the background
I could play the background
Cause I know sometimes I get in the way
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
And I could play the background, background
And you could take the lead

[Bridge:]
I know I'm safest when I'm in Your will, and trust Your Word
I know I'm dangerous when I trust myself, my vision blurred
And I ain't got no time to play life's foolish games
Got plenty aims, but do they really Glorify Your name
And it's a shame, the way I want to do these things for You
Don't even cling to you, take time to sit and gleam from You
Seems You were patient in my ignorance
If ignorance is bliss, it's 'cause she never heard of this

[Chorus:]
I could play the background
I could play the background
Cause I know sometimes I get in the way
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
And I could play the background, background
And you could take the lead

[Chorus:]
I could play the background
I could play the background
Cause I know sometimes I get in the way
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
So won't You take the lead, lead, lead?
And I could play the background, background
And you could take the lead.

fall in love with the orphans

2011-10-19T21:11:00.005-04:00

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend that they are not real until you hold them in your arms. But once you do-everything changes" -David Platt

home school blues

2011-10-12T08:25:00.003-04:00

my kids had a photo shoot

2011-10-10T14:27:00.005-04:00

I never seem to take enough photos of my kids so yesterday afternoon we pulled it off. The light was perfect around 5:30 so I asked Taj if he would be willing to help. He said he would even though there was a baseball game on. (what a sweet husband) We ran out and accomplished our goal within 30 min. Yeah! Wyatt was very fussy and wanted to eat so we didn't get any photos of him alone but that's okay.

go into all the world

2011-09-24T08:45:00.001-04:00

Tears of the Saints from AsiaLink HistoryMaker on Vimeo.

horses

2011-09-10T22:27:00.007-04:00

Grazzin wanted some photos of horses for his room so we took the family out driving around this evening and tried to get some shots. It was so fun! Never really tried to photograph animals before so I enjoyed the challenge. Can't wait for Grazzin to see them tomorrow. Now to figure out a unique way to display them in his room. Any ideas?

The kids got so tickled about this horse. Looked like someone stuck him inside the building and he was begging to get out. Taj was talking like he was the horse and the kids lost it!

the gospel

2011-09-03T21:16:00.001-04:00

photos

2011-09-02T22:28:00.002-04:00

it's been a busy week..

on women, divisiveness, and hobby horses

2011-08-28T22:03:00.003-04:00

excellent article by Rachel Jankovic, author of Loving the Little Years.

"We all know that women are pretty much the worst at getting tangled up in heated, personally charged arguments about things (things being pretty much everything pertaining to children). Someone comes along to say that breastfeeding is the way the truth and the life, and people start throwing stink bombs. Someone barges through saying that epidurals are the only answer to the problem of pain, and before you know it, churchwomen will be driving cars with “Ban Sally from Mothering” bumper stickers. Some poor woman makes a comment at a baby shower about how she is scheduling her baby’s feedings to try to get more sleep, and women will begin making pointed comments about baby wearing and co-sleeping, and when the next la lhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifeche league meeting is. People start using words that are too big for the situations and start alienating Christian sisters over whatever they have decided is a monumental issue...

But have you gotten so involved in an “issue” that you cannot fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters who think it is silly? Are you so caught up in teaching your kids phonics while they are in the womb that you need smelling salts when someone laughs about it? Does it stress you out to see a “christian” mother feeding her children easy cheese? Do you long to pelt her house with copies of Nourishing Traditions with important parts highlighted? Are you the wrath of God as pertains to birthing methods, educational systems, and nutrition?"

Keep Reading ...

just a reminder

2011-08-12T08:40:00.007-04:00

twins

2011-08-04T07:54:00.005-04:00

These little guys were absolutely adorable. They cooperated perfectly for their first photo shoot even though they were already several weeks old. Sweet, sweet, sweet. I wanted to keep them (until I thought about the middle of the night feedings!)

Congratulations to the Knepp family!

first twin session

2011-08-03T08:59:00.001-04:00

yeah for the weekend

2011-07-29T22:06:00.002-04:00

gold rush

2011-07-26T01:12:00.004-04:00

Mia loved her week at VBS! Our theme was Gold Rush from Answers in Genesis. Today we were busy putting away the decorations from "out west" when she decided she wanted to do a little photo shoot with some of the props. I was thrilled! (She never wants to take her photo)

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

2011-07-25T07:53:00.004-04:00

An excellent article by Rachel Jankovic

"Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.

A Rock-Bottom Job?

The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.

Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing.

If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children. How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? Do we believe that we want children because there is some biological urge, or the phantom “baby itch”? Are we really in this because of cute little clothes and photo opportunities? Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking?

It's Not a Hobby

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.

Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.

Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death.

Run to the Cross

But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty anhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.

Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifknow what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back.

The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children."

To finish reading ..

Rachel is also the author of a new book, Loving the Little Years. You can buy it here.

fall in love with the orphans

2011-07-15T22:59:00.004-04:00

Pray that God will give you a love for the orphans. Then adopt one (or two, or three) or help someone else adopt!

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction.." James 1:27

2011-07-10T22:45:00.004-04:00

This article was written by Steve Burchett. I thought this was an interesting thing to read as we head into VBS at church.

Five "Do's"

Do use curriculum that is biblical and precise with the gospel. Ask yourself, "Is this curriculum simply about morals like 'Be nice to your sister,' or does it deal with the Bible and what it says about the character of God (even His wrath), the sinfulness of man, and the cross of Christ?" For a solid example of this, visit www.childrendesiringgod.org.

Do make sure that every teacher is precise with the gospel. You may have excellent curriculum, but if a teacher doesn't handle the Bible accurately, the truth will be distorted. We don't want our children to hear a false gospel, do we? Remember Paul's sobering and stern words in Galatians 1:8, "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!"

Do sing appropriate songs. VBS is not primarily a gathering of believers. Therefore, it is inappropriate for the children to sing lyrics like, "Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you, so let's just praise the Lord." Instead, sing songs that speak about God's character and the saving work of Christ. For examples of songs like this, visit www.sovereigngraceministries.org.

Do send gospel literature home with the children. A large number of the children at VBS have unbelieving parents. Sending home a sheet summarizing the day's lesson with a few Scriptures for the child and parent(s) to look up together is appropriate. On the final day, send them home with an evangelistic book (like Pursuing God or The Eaglet, available at www.ccwonline.org) and a note encouraging parents to read it with them.

Do listen to and laugh with the children. There must be times of seriousness—We dare not treat the gospel trivially! However, children need to know that we care about them and that serious Christians also have a sense of humor.

Five "Don'ts"

Don't confuse the children concerning what is the necessary response to the gospel. The proper response to the gospel is not raising a hand, walking an aisle, or even praying a correctly worded prayer. The necessary response is repentance and faith (cf. Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21).

Don't constantly tell the children how great they are. Even if the children obey perfectly all week, apart from Christ they remain enemies of God, and they need to know this. The "self-esteem" teaching of our day, if embraced by VBS teachers, actually works against the children recognizing their need for a Savior. Commend them when appropriate, but don't shield them from the truth about their sin nature.

Don't expect to know for sure if even one child was saved. Certain denominational newsletters highlight the number of children who are supposedly saved at VBS in their respective churches, but how do they really know? They are probably basing their statistics on hands raised, aisles walked, or prayers prayed, but we can't really know that a child has been saved until fruit appears. In John 10:26, Jesus said that a characteristic of His sheep is that they "follow" Him. Is it possible to know, by the end of VBS week, that a child has definitely become a follower of Christ? Keep preaching the gospel to the children beyond VBS, look for ongoing repentance and faith, and forget about denominational fame.

Don't seek to assure a child that he or she is a Christian. We can give children the biblical basis upon which they can have assurance, but the Holy Spirit alone grants assurance. "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).

Don't think VBS is essential in the church's life. There are many good churches who have never held a VBS, yet they are abundantly evangelistic! How is this possible? They take the command seriously to "Go and make disciples" (Matt. 28:19), but they spread the gospel through other means. Evangelism is essential, VBS is not. However, God might lead your church to host a VBS. If so, be careful to drive children to the Savior

facebook making you miserable?

2011-07-10T00:46:00.002-04:00

Very interesting article by Tim Challies.

"It seems clear that Facebook is exposing something, some ugly little corner of the human heart. Facebook is all about making life seem joyful—we “like” one another’s happy status updates, not the sad ones; we post photos of our parties, not our funerals; we use it to celebrate births and marriages and new relationships, not to mourn deaths or remember break-ups. Facebook is meant to be a happy place for people. But it doesn’t seem to work out so well. We all think everyone else is happy, but we don’t feel the joy.

And it strikes both ways—when we portray ourselves through social media we do so on our own terms. And of course this means that we present ourselves in the way we want to be perceived, whether or not this is an accurate portrayal. So even while we put only our best foot forward, we look at others and assume that their portrayal is more accurate than our own; we believe that we are the only pretenders, the only ones stretching and exaggerating, trying to keep up. We resent another person for being happy—“She has an amazing life and I don’t!” Or we resent her for being falsely happy—“I know her and I know that her life isn’t all that!”

Read the entire article here.

baseball

2011-07-01T22:24:00.018-04:00

Our summer has been passing by in a blur! We spent many hours out at the baseball field, cheering Grazzin's little league team on. They had a rough season. Won only two games before the playoffs. But they decided to play really hard for the playoffs and managed to land themselves in the championship game tonight. I have to admit that I didn't think they could win but they proved me wrong! What a surprise to see the Yankees beat the best team in the league.

I asked Kaci to hold up one finger to show that we were the winners. She agreed.

She then tried to tell me that she wasn't one and that we needed to take a photo of four fingers. She's so funny!

Abby and Mia had a great time together and Caleb enjoyed the pop. That was Kaci's favorite as well!

The girls and Wyatt loved being at the games. I usually put Wyatt on a blanket with some toys and he loved it. Many nights he would fall asleep on his blanket (most of Grazzin's games were late). The girls usually ran the entire time - enjoying the playground, new friends,and snacks!

We enjoyed our month of June at the ball field and Grazzin had a great time making memories with his teammates. Now it's on to preparing for VBS! (and editing photo sessions)

the enemy next door

2011-06-28T09:50:00.003-04:00

An excellent article by Tim Challies. Here's an excerpt:

"First, the church was not faithful in its calling to take the gospel throughout the world. They preferred to exist in an enclave, safe from outside influences. Second, and ironically, the children developed a fascination with the world. I believe this was, in large part, because access to the outside world had been denied to them and they had never seen the pain and heartbreak that are the inevitable results of forsaking God. The world can look awfully attractive until a person sees the results of giving himself over to it. Third, the parents were prone to ignoring worldliness in their own children. I know that I saw more drugs, more drinking, more disrespect and more awful behavior in the Christian schools I attended than I did in the public schools. This isolation simply did not work. What I saw was that we do not need the world to teach us worldliness. Worldliness arises from within...

"I truly believe, after many years of reflection, that the heart of the problem in these churches was in their attitude towards the unbeliever. The person next door was the enemy; he was a person to be feared for what he might do to the fhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifamily, and the children in particular; he was someone to be regarded with distrust and suspicion rather than with love and sympathy.

The irony is that when we protect ourselves from this enemy, we are prone to take our eyes of the real enemy; we allow him to slip by, unnoticed. We are not waging war “against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). The real enemy is not next door. The real enemy is our own sinfulness and the worldliness that continues to try to manifest itself in our lives. The real enemy is spiritual, not physical. The real enemy, the most dangerous enemy, is within."

Read the rest..

happy father's day

2011-06-18T21:13:00.002-04:00

I love you, honey! Praise our Father in heaven that He saved you and gave you the desire to be a family man. You make the gospel look great!

"Family Man" from Trevor Little on Vimeo.

the mission field of mothers

2011-06-17T13:34:00.002-04:00

"At the very heart of the gospel is sacrifice, and there is perhaps no occupation in the world so intrinsically sacrificial as motherhood. Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to live the gospel. Jim Elliot famously said, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Motherhood provides you with an opportunity to lay down the things that you cannot keep on behalf of the people that you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field."

Another excerpt:

"Giving up what you cannot keep does not mean giving up your home, or your job so you can go serve somewhere else. It is giving up yourself. Lay yourself down. Sacrifice yourself here, now. Cheerfully wipe the nose for the fiftieth time today. Make dinner again for the people who don’t like the green beans. Laugh when your plans are thwarted by a vomiting child. Lay yourself down for the people here with you, the people who annoy you, the people who get in your way, the people who take up so much of your time that you can’t read anymore. Rejoice in them. Sacrifice for them."

You can read the entire article by Rachel Jankovic here.

sneak peak

2011-06-05T00:08:00.003-04:00

Another sweet newborn! I just fell in love with this little guy. He was adorable and so sleepy (a photographer's dream)!

Give Them Grace .. the book is out!

2011-05-23T07:14:00.002-04:00

You can look inside the book here.

This interview is well worth your time to watch. Ask God to help you use parenting opportunities to dazzle your children with the gospel. You can be sure that He will!

charge to parents

2011-05-17T21:11:00.003-04:00

Click on the photo to enlarge it. Parents, we have been given no small task. How are you doing?

remember the infertile on mother's day

2011-05-07T07:15:00.002-04:00

"Mother’s Day is a particularly sensitive time in many congregations, and pastors and church leaders often don’t even know it. This is true even in congregations that don’t focus the entire service around the event as if it were a feast day on the church’s liturgical calendar. Infertile women, and often their husbands, are still often grieving in the shadows.

It is good and right to honor mothers. The Bible calls us to do so. Jesus does so with his own mother. We must recognize though that many infertile women find this day almost unbearable. This is not because these women are (necessarily) bitter or covetous or envious. The day is simply a reminder of unfulfilled longings, longings that are good.

Some pastors, commendably, mention in their sermons and prayers on this day those who want to be mothers but who have not had their prayers answered. Some recognize those who are mothers not to children, but to the rest of the congregation as they disciple spiritual daughters in the faith. This is more than a “shout-out” to those who don’t have children. It is a call to the congregation to rejoice in those who “mother” the church with wisdom, and it’s a call to the church to remember those who long desperately to hear “Mama” directed at them."

...excerpt by Russell Moore

To read the full article, please go to Russell Moore's blog.

mother's day prayer

2011-05-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

Justin Taylor has this beautiful prayer posted on his blog today.

"Heavenly Father, on a day like Mother’s Day there are so many different emotions that we bring to you.

Some of us bring emotions of deep gratitude and joy for the mothers you have blessed us with, mothers who have

loved us,

cared for us,

walked with us

and taught us how to live well.

We praise you for such love shown to us through our moms and we pray for all those who are moms, that you would give them:

strength where they are weak,

wisdom where they are unsure,

patience with the many demands placed upon them,

faith in your care for them and their families,

and love—deep love—for those whom you have given them to nurture.

Others of us bring emotions of sadness and pain. Some of us are saddened because our relationship with our mom is not easy, or was not easy, or perhaps never existed at all.

Please

meet us in our pain,

heal our hearts where they are wounded,

soften our hearts where they are hardened,

and enable us to forgive and to love even those who have hurt us.

Others of us are saddened because we long to be moms, long to have children, and yet are not able to do so.

Father of mercies,

give us comfort in our sadness,

trust in you despite unfulfilled longings,

and joy in knowing that you never stop loving us or having our best in mind.

We pray these things to you as our Father, who loved us before the world began, and will love us forevermore.

In Jesus’ name, amen!"

there was a girl

2011-04-17T07:50:00.002-04:00

"Well what's going to happen to her?" I asked. "You know what'll happen to her," my wife answered back. "Then we're going to host this girl." At that moment, my wife and I took a step in faith that resulted in us adopting a 15 year old girl from Russia. And the timing couldn't have been worse ..."

"...But we are adopted. Adopted by the Father! Adopted. Received into the number of and with a right to all the privileges of the sons of God, as the Confession puts it. We will never be turned away, never be forsaken, and never be abandoned. In other words, because of God's amazing grace, we will never face the prospect of what our oldest daughter faced and so many like her around the world face daily: abandonment. Orphaned. Left alone.

Rather, loved by God and called as his, we are secure in God's electing love. What a tremendous truth! What tremendous hope we find in the doctrine of adoption! And what a blessed opportunity, to live that truth and walk in that hope we have, by adopting children into our own families, children who would otherwise never see in real life what God has done for all of us as Christians."

Read the whole article here.

I pray that God will give you a love for orphans.

do not be anxious

2011-04-16T23:53:00.004-04:00

We love Seeds Family Worship! Scripture set to music .. what could be a better way to teach your children God's wonderful Word? We have three of them and every time we get in the van, the kids beg to listen to them. Love it!

chubby

2011-04-10T23:11:00.001-04:00

ladies, how are we doing?

2011-04-05T22:59:00.002-04:00

This excerpt was taken from "The Soul of Modesty" by CJ Mahaney. You can download the entire lecture here.

I wish my kids could do this

2011-04-05T19:44:00.001-04:00

trivia Q

2011-04-04T22:37:00.006-04:00

You are floating in the ocean. How can you tell from the surface of the water if a shark or a dolphin is swimming towards you?

Leave a comment if you know the answer. No cheating .. you cannot google it!

A huge shout out to Swimming Creatures from Apologia - we love it!

You can learn more about this amazing science curriculum here.

get wisdom

2011-03-26T16:39:00.003-04:00

Publisher's Description: Question: What do our kids need? Answer: They need wisdom. "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom." Proverbs 4:7

Designed for parents or teachers to use with children from K-5-through Grade 4, twenty-three lessons illustrate qualities of wisdom and godliness. Each lesson is presented in a simple format with illustrations to capture the attention of the child, and supplemented at the back of the book with suggestions for teaching the lesson. Every child of God - both adults and children - should work hard to show these traits more and more, because we love Jesus and want to be like him. That's easier said than done, isn't it? We struggle with sin every day, and we will fail. The lessons remind us that when we do, we will find forgiveness and the grace to continue to get wisdom at the foot of the Cross.

This excellent resource is 50% off for one week only. To learn more or see sample pages, please visit the Westminster Bookstore.

sneak peak

2011-03-25T23:33:00.004-04:00

What a fun three month session! Even thought baby M was tired and our natural light was stolen by a sudden thunderstorm, we were able to get some great shots. I love little babies. Not to mention the adorable accessories for little girls!

cute baby video

2011-03-22T17:27:00.002-04:00

give them grace

2011-03-09T21:35:00.005-05:00

What makes Christian parenting distinctly Christian? More pointedly, what would make your parenting different from that of a Mormon or moral athiest? When we witness to adults about our faith we're careful to tell them that they can't work their way into heaven, but is that the message we give our children? Do they know what the gospel is? Have they been dazzled by the love of Jesus? Or do they think Christianity is about being "nice" and making Jesus smile? Have they heard the message of the glorious gospel?

In this book, Elyse and her daughter, Jessica Thompson, take the beautiful declarations of the gospel and apply them to parenting in practical yet paradigm-shifting ways. Get ready to be dazzled by the love of Jesus yourself...and freed from the covenant of works that most parents suffer under. The gospel is for children, too!

Preorder it today! I cannot wait to receive my copy!

this is true religion

2011-03-04T21:21:00.001-05:00

to care for the widows and orphans. James

Pray that God would give you a love for orphans!

goal as a parent

2011-02-24T22:42:00.003-05:00

Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
(Psalm 34:11-14 ESV)

We have several Seeds Family Worship cds in our van. Our kids love them and, as a parent, it thrills my heart to hear them singing God's Word as we drive around! I had listened to this song many times as well memorized it but today it really hit me. This is the prayer I want to daily have for my children. With tears in my eyes, I asked God to give me wisdom and to help me be faithful to teach my four sweet children.

What is your goal as a parent? I challenge you to not to have your focus on things here on earth but rather diligently teach your children the fear of the Lord. Point them to Christ in all situations in life. Help them to see God in everything. Teach them how wonderful He is. Because He really is wonderful and He really is everything.

three months

2011-02-23T23:55:00.001-05:00

oh, how we love him!

she's reading

2011-02-17T11:24:00.003-05:00

Mia has worked really hard at learning her phonongrams and is now beginning to read. Wow! I almost cried when she read her first little book. What a wonderful feeling to be able to teach my daughter how to read! Not only is she reading, she is learning how to diagram sentences.

I love our Spell to Write and Read program. If you are interested in learning more about it, you can go here.

how school has changed

2011-02-16T11:59:00.002-05:00

We recently purchased a copy of the New England Primer of 1777. Years ago this was the main book used to teach children how to read in school. It is so sad to read through it and compare the content with that of today's teaching. Thought I would give a little sample:

An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth

A wise son make a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Come unto Christ all you who labor and are heavy laden and he will give you rest.

Do not the abominable thing which I hate says the Lord.

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

a sucess.. kind of

2011-02-16T10:00:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to learn how to prop babies up on their hands for a photo but I have never had a baby sleepy enough to try it until yesterday. This little guy was a perfect model! I love this photo even though it wasn't exactly the pose I had in mind. Babies are just so sweet to photograph.

2011-02-02T13:10:00.002-05:00

"Much of the world would agree that being a housekeeper is acceptable as long as you are not caring for your own home; treating men with attentive devotion would also be right as long as the man is the boss in the office and not your husband; caring for children would even be deemed heroic service for which presidential awards could be given as long as the children are someone else's and not your own."
..Dorothy Patterson

Very sad but true statement.

I will

2011-01-21T22:33:00.002-05:00

I will learn how to do this pose .. I will! (okay, at least I really, really want to)

sneak peek

2011-01-15T23:51:00.003-05:00

I had a newborn session today. What a joy to capture those first memories! This baby girl was so precious.

nine weeks

2011-01-12T22:54:00.005-05:00

This little guy is bringing so much joy to our home! He cracks us up with all of his facial expressions and wild hair. For those who don't know, his hair will not lay down no matter what you try!

birdie

2011-01-09T00:16:00.010-05:00

Our little birdie has turned four. It's hard to imagine. She had her birthday right before Christmas but I am just now uploading some photos. We love her to pieces!

This is Kaci's birthday present. No, she did not get a pet. Just the cage. "How strange" you might think but this is what she wanted. She loves to put stuff inside and carry it around. The best part: opening and closing the door! It's too cute to watch her. There will be anything in that cage: toy animals, play dishes, books, crayons, doll accessories and even shoes. If there is something missing around the house, we just ask Kaci if it's in her cage. She smiles really big and runs to her cage and pulls it out!

Her face is healing very nicely following her accident on the day Wyatt was born. She still wants Taj to pray for her ouchie every day. If he forgets, after the prayer is finished she will get his attention and point at her scar. We have to laugh at times .. it's been nine weeks!

Kaci is slowing learning some words. She enjoys going to speech class each week. We can't wait until we can hear her say complete sentences! She's such a trooper and tries so hard to talk. I am sure it must be frustrating for her at times when we can't understand what she's wanting. (makes me want to cry because I feel so sorry for her) But she never seems to get upset .. she just keeps trying to explain with motions and her own little form of sign language.

We just love that little girl!

Tonya

education

2011-01-01T23:49:00.003-05:00

"Our education is either based on biblical truth, or some other truth. There is no such thing as neutrality in this regard.

All education is religious in nature.

Since it is illegal for students in our government schools to be taught from a Christian perspective, then it follows that they must be taught from a non (or anti) Christian perspective."

quote by Voddie Baucham

sneak peek

2010-12-30T18:04:00.002-05:00

I enjoyed spending some time today with three cute little girls. It was a challenge to get them to stay in the same place for longer than three seconds. I was thankful their mommies had some good ideas to distract them!

something much better

2010-12-24T09:24:00.002-05:00

happy birthday

2010-12-21T23:27:00.003-05:00

Our sweet little Kaci turned four today. Oh, how we love her!

how good is your memory this Christmas?

2010-12-20T16:38:00.001-05:00

Tonya

kaci encounters santa

2010-12-16T18:54:00.004-05:00

ok, it didn't go so well ... but it was too cute!

Christmas wish

2010-12-14T22:25:00.002-05:00

all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth

christmas program

2010-12-12T20:56:00.002-05:00

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen!

We had our program for the kids tonight at church. It was very good but wasn't nearly as exciting as the one above. Ha ha

Tonya

christmas humor

2010-12-09T09:53:00.002-05:00

Wow. My blog is getting neglected. You wouldn't think that adding a newborn to your schedule would change things that much but it sure does! Wyatt is doing wonderful and we love him SO much. It's funny how he's only been with us for five weeks and we can't imagine life without him. He is just the sweetest little baby. Smiled for the first time (on purpose) a few days ago and melted my heart.

Here's a little home school humor set to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas. We loved it! Home schooling is not the most popular option around here and this song was perfect because we get asked these questions on a regular basis. I especially love the answer to Day Five!

I don't mind being a "little bit strange" for the sake of giving my children a biblical worldview through their education! lol

Hope you enjoy it!
Tonya

our little sweetie

2010-11-12T16:25:00.002-05:00

The Goodness of God

2010-11-09T21:38:00.004-05:00

I have always wished I had a way of allowing others to hear how God worked in the life of one of my dear friends I met during our time at Boyce College in Louisville, Ky. Thanks to the Boyce Podcast you can now hear my friend, Heath Lambert, share the amazing goodness of God in the lives of him and his mother. Heath was severely abused by his mother as a child and talks of the hatred he had for her for years. As the story unfolds you will hear how God saved Heath, taught him to forgive his mother, allowed him the privilege of leading his mother to Christ, took her into his home to care for her as she was dying of cancer, and eventually counseling her in the hospital during the last hours of her life.
I have always considered my friendship with Heath and his lovely wife Lauren a tremendous blessing from God. Please take the time to listen to his testimony and thank God for His goodness in all of our lives!

Because of His Mercy,
Taj

cutie

2010-11-07T22:22:00.001-05:00

he is here

2010-11-04T19:40:00.002-04:00

Wyatt Michael

November 3, 2010
8 pounds 4 ounces
21 inches long

waiting

2010-11-01T09:06:00.004-04:00

only a few more days …

adorable

2010-10-31T00:50:00.002-04:00

He is just too cute!

the high calling of motherhood

2010-10-27T21:13:00.002-04:00

Mother: You have a mission field

Our first and primary mission field is our children. God values our children. Jesus became indignant when the disciples didn't embrace the worth of children in God's expanding kingdom (Mark 10:13-16). God tells us that children are his blessing to us (Ps. 127:3). And he places great importance on our teaching our children to love and serve him (Deut. 6:7-9). Don't feel guilty over making your children your primary ministry investment in their early years. Your availability, sensitivity, affection, and unhurried attention are irreplaceable. There are no neutral moments in a young child's life. Someone is going to be influencing your children, inculcating values and imprinting standards on their impressionable young minds. Let it be you! Accept your calling from God to serve your family. As a mother, you are helping to shape the souls of your children for Christ and ultimately influence the world. Your children are your gift to the future.

Stay on mission

Does this mean you will never invest in others outside your family? Goodness, no. But if you are a young mother, stay on mission. Use your primary ministry of mothering to serve Christ now. Don't let anything diminish your unique role as a wife and mother. It is not godly guilt that would call you away from a wholehearted investment in your little ones for his sake.

"Don't feel guilty over making your children your primary ministry investment in their early years."

This season in your life is just that—a season. And each season is a divine calling from our creator and king. Organizing a new event at church is important. Teaching your little boy to be kind to his sister is also important. But which one can best be done by you during this season? Serve God well by ministering to your children first. Very soon they will be grown and gone, and you will be unable to recapture the teachable moments you have now.

Mothers, listen to Psalm 78:4-7: "We will . . . tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done . . . that the next generation might know . . . so that they should set their hope in God."

Excerpt taken from Jani Ortlund .. to read the entire post, visit here.

the "W" conference

2010-10-26T20:38:00.002-04:00

Overview of the conference from SBTS:

God has called women to discipleship, evangelism and service to the church.

“But I feel pulled in a hundred directions? …Where do I find wisdom on which way to go?”

Being a woman is complicated, especially being a young woman in this mixed-up world. If the questions above enter your mind then the W conference was created just for you. W wants to help you apply the Bible’s teachings on womanhood to the situations that women often find themselves in. Being all that God has designed you to be isn’t always easy and without tribulation. W is intended to help and encourage you to live out your calling to make an eternal difference in His Kingdom.

W will encourage you to grow deeper in your faith and conference speakers will also address the biblical teachings on purity, relationships, dating, marriage, balance, wise spending, spiritual walk, making a difference, and more.

W is designed for young women, high school and college students and young adults. This Friday night and Saturday conference will be held on the campus of Southern Seminary on Nov. 19-20, 2010.

For more information, please go here.

my sweet family

2010-10-23T23:07:00.006-04:00

Had a great time this evening snapping some photos of my in-laws. The kids were so cooperative!

baby news

2010-10-22T10:39:00.004-04:00

We have a beautiful baby boy!

Wyatt Michael Eaton

two weeks

2010-10-22T00:07:00.004-04:00

the official countdown is on.

two weeks

baby clothes washed

pampers stocked

excitement is rising

names ready

carseat cleaned

sleeping while we still can.

found Baby Magic lotion.

boy

girl

we cannot wait to find out

sneak peek

2010-10-16T17:31:00.002-04:00

Had a session this afternoon with an adorable baby girl! She was so happy and we had beautiful weather.

Tonya

little helpers

2010-10-13T23:30:00.002-04:00

I went out to the field behind our house to try to take some fall pictures of the trees. Had my two little helpers along! They were more interested in being silly and wanting me to take their photo.

Tonya

Kaci rides a horse

2010-10-03T21:57:00.004-04:00

Who would have ever thought that Kaci would fall in love with riding horses? I wish I could have been on the trail to watch her. Taj said it was unreal how much she enjoyed it! She wanted the reins, told the horse to "go" and even learned how to guide the horse right and left. I will post about our overall experience at Rawhide Ranch but just had to put Kaci on here first!

ready to go

love the safety hats the kids had to wear

one happy little girl after her ride

The video won't load so I will have to try again in the morning.

Tonya

rawhide ranch

2010-10-01T23:17:00.003-04:00

We just got home a few hours ago from our short family vacation at Rawhide Ranch in Brown County. We had a great time and the kids didn't want to leave! More details and photos coming soon. Just wait until you see Kaci riding her horse!

Tonya

little birdie

2010-09-26T17:24:00.003-04:00

how we love her!

Jesus Thank You

2010-09-26T07:42:00.004-04:00

my life

2010-09-25T00:13:00.003-04:00

There would be no words to explain how much I love these four. And in just a few weeks, there will be five. I am so thankful to be a wife and mom!
Tonya

counting

2010-09-24T07:54:00.005-04:00

Mia is learning how to count by 5's and Kaci loves to try!
Tonya

Mia turns six

2010-09-22T09:15:00.002-04:00

photos from her party are coming soon!
Tonya

cursive first

2010-09-16T21:52:00.003-04:00

Here are the reasons behind teaching Mia cursive first. She is doing great with writing her letters and I am so glad we decided to go this route. Cursive is flowing so naturally for her!

"Cursive helps curb reversals letter reversals. It provides a clearer distinction between b and d or p and q. All cursive letters start at the same point (at the base line.) Manuscript letters start at six different starting points. Cursive eliminates confusion and directionality. All letters go up from the base line. Manuscript move in three different directions: straight to the left (e), curving left and up (o), or straight down (h). Cursive requires fewer stops and starts to write a word. To write "broken" in manuscript requires 7 pencil lifts. To write "unbroken" in cursive requires no pencil lift. Writing ball and stick letters is more stressful for someone with newly developing small motor skills.

We were programmed to think that cursive is harder because we were taught manuscript when we were young and introduced to cursive in second grade. We assume there was so reason for this sequence.
That is not the case. For centuries students started with cursive. The shift to manuscript first was not linked to any evidence that this was a better way to teach initial penmanship. The shift came with the progressive school movement. The word "progressive" sounds like some form of advancement, and was used to hide a goal to weaken the education of the masses. This movement gave us look say as a replacement for phonics. With the changes came an assortment of new issues such as dyslexia and remedial reading classes."

by Wanda Sanseri, author of Spell to Write and Read

Tonya

why sing so many cross-centered songs?

2010-09-12T07:43:00.002-04:00

Excellent response by C.J. Mahaney. May we never cease to make much of Christ!

cursive first

2010-09-07T22:35:00.004-04:00

Mia is learning how to write her letters! We chose to do cursive first for several different reasons. I will try to find time to write more about it soon. Seems like the hours just fly by now that I have two to teach.

Tonya

before the throne of God above

2010-09-02T22:18:00.001-04:00

thirty weeks

2010-08-28T22:48:00.004-04:00

Some are thinking another girl ...

Some are sure it's a boy ..

...but the question still remains.

We can't wait to find out! Only nine more weeks.
Tonya

growing in grace

2010-08-26T08:26:00.001-04:00

"He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it." Charles Spurgeon

sixth grade

2010-08-26T08:19:00.003-04:00

It's hard to imagine that this is Grazzin's last year of elementary school. Junior high sounds old! He has some fun activities planned this year to help make school time enjoyable. One of them will be creating an ocean box to go along with his science study. (More info about the ocean box to come) Another thing he is really looking forward to is the swimming at the YMCA each month for part of PE.

Tonya

k is for kindergarten

2010-08-25T15:47:00.000-04:00

God Saves Bad People

2010-08-21T15:45:00.001-04:00

our first week of school

2010-08-20T23:16:00.010-04:00

Wow, I am tired! We finished our first week today. For me it is usually the toughest one since it's hard to leave the summer routine behind and get into the books. I love teaching my kids but it requires discipline.

Grazzin is in 6th grade this year. He doesn't really care for school in general. Loves history and science, so I am thankful for that. I am going to try and post what curriculum we are using here in a couple of days for any of you that might be interested. I know that home school is an unusual concept to many in this area and are curious to know what it looks like. I'll be happy to give you a peek into our home! Home school is great

Mia started Kindergarten. She was thrilled! She's already been doing some school since last year ("just like Grazzin") so it hasn't been too much of a transition to get used to two children doing school. Now things might get interesting when we have the baby in November! lol

Kaci likes to get involved whenever she can. Otherwise she is content to play with her baby dolls and cook food in her little pretend kitchen.

Kaci likes to play with Mia's math linking cubes

Mia, working on her tangram shapes

eating lunch outside on our first day of school

taking a little movie break

Grazzin, at work in his room

more photos to come soon!
Tonya

update

2010-08-19T07:40:00.002-04:00

I know the blog has been neglected for the past couple of weeks. We are getting back into the routine of school and for me that requires a lot of planning and organizing. I have photos to hopefully post tonight!

Mia is loving kindergarten and can't get enough. Yesterday she did 3 math lessons and wanted to do a few more! I hope she keeps the eagerness to learn.

Grazzin is in 6th grade this year. Wow, last year of elementary school. He is looking forward to our PE days on Fridays.

The baby is doing great. I had my glucose test yesterday and the Dr. said he's looking at the beginning of November for delivery. The time has gone so fast. The kids absolutely cannot wait to see if this baby is a boy or girl (the suspense is too much!) If anyone has any cute name suggestions, feel free to share. I have such a hard time picking out names that both Taj and I like.

Well, it's almost time for school to start...praying that God will give me a gentle spirit today with my children.
Tonya

just in case you were wondering

2010-08-10T13:20:00.002-04:00

Why do the book face A and G look so different from manuscript? Early forms of printing worked like a sophisticated form of rubber stamping. What happens if we don't push all sides down evenly with a rubber stamp? Part of the image is not clear. When the bottom corner of the A and G did not print evenly, the A could be mistaken for an O and the G could be confused with the letter Q. Swirls were added to A and G to solve this problem.

So now you know!
Tonya

a muddled idea

2010-07-23T10:48:00.007-04:00

Here's an excellent quote from the Girl Talk blog today:

"[Feminism] is mixed up with a muddled idea that women are free when they serve their employers but slaves when they help their husbands." --G.K. Chesterton, The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, vol. 4, p. 440

Girl Talk is featuring a variety of quotes while they are away on vacation. Check them out here.

Here's an excellent video, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby", from Mary Kassin. She discusses feminism and it's role within the past 50 years. It's well worth your time to watch it.

Tonya

goofy

2010-07-13T18:06:00.001-04:00

for the young mother: ministry, guilt, and seasons of life

2010-07-08T07:37:00.003-04:00

Here's a wonderful article by Jani Ortlund. Paragraph headings include:

Don't Waste Your Guilt
A Young Mother's Primary Mission Field
Mothering: Plain Hard Work
What Young Mothers Need: A Heart for the Home
This Season is Just a Season

Here's an excerpt:

"Why does the apostle have to tell us older women to teach these things to the younger women? Because it can be hard to love your husband and children. In fact, it can be easier to minister outside the home. Why is it more rewarding for us to plan a ladies’ retreat for two hundred women than it is to plan an indoor picnic with our preschoolers on a rainy afternoon? I think it’s because the rewards are more immediate and the demands are not so steady.

Being a young mother is plain hard work. At times it feels like slave labor! Young moms can identify with the cartoon of a toddler looking at a wedding album with his daddy and saying, “So that’s the day Mommy came to work for us!”

But God has called you to this ministry. He knows there are no neutral moments in a young child’s life, whose experience is one of continuous need and development. Your children will bear the imprint of your mothering throughout their lives because much of human behavior springs from imitation.

You are the only mother your children have. Your ministry to them is the deepest expression of your love for them. Raising your children has to be done right the first time around. It is one of the few places in life where you can not say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

You have received this commission from God. As a mother your privilege is to teach them how to respect their daddy and be kind to their siblings, how to choose good nutrition and wholesome entertainment, why they should value courtesy and orderliness, and which causes are worthy of their efforts, their reputations, and even their very blood.

Are you discouraged as you spend day after day immersed in the mundane tasks of mothering? Then think of the honor of guiding the spiritual and intellectual and social development of young minds and hearts. Think of the thrill of teaching them eternal truths from God’s Word. Think of the importance of teaching your young children how to live under authority, and of preparing them for future relationships by teaching them about love and trust. Think of the delight of sending one more godly, vibrant, strong, secure, loving young person into this needy world with the courage to live well for Christ’s sake. What a worthy investment!"

To read the entire article, click here.

Be encouraged, young mothers!
Tonya