Next week.....

School: We studied George Washington on Monday (his BDay was Sunday and we study each on his birthday, not on "President's Day") and did some games about "Truth versus Fiction" concerning that great man. We also celebrated Handel's BDay by listening to the "Hallelejuh Chorus" on youtube while we were eating lunch. Tuesday we admired the works of one of my most favorite artists, Winslow Homer (I have two prints in my living room by him which tells you how much I like his artwork!). We've also done the "normal" reading, phonics, math, etc. Social Studies has moved us over to The Netherlands and my daughter is longing to wear wooden shoes and grow tulips :) ! Science has included a new unit about diseases and health and we are planning a trip to both a Health Clinic and a Dairy Farm (to see how they sanitize the containers, etc.) ... Maybe we will get a chance to go next week....

Books: I am almost finished with "In God's Underground" by Richard Wurmbrand. It never ceases to amaze me how a book about one subject can truly challenge you in a totally different area of your life. Here is a wonderfully amazing story of how one man stayed true to Christ in unthinkable conditions, and it really challenged me to do more to stand up for my faith and my Savior. I'm really ashamed of the fact that my life is so easy compared to his and that I spend so little of it in true fellowship with the One who Loves me most. I'll try to do better next week....

Farm: We have struggled to keep the remaining trees healthy with temps below freezing, a gas heater that sputters out on us in the middle of the night (it's like having a baby in the house, except you have to go outside in freezing temps to check on it in the middle of the night :) !) and we are certainly ready to finish getting them in the ground. Unfortunately rainy weather on Friday and Saturday will keep us from doing so this weekend. Maybe next week....

Work: D's company had another series of layoffs, and although he still has a job he now has about 7 people's responsibilities to do, which is causing him to work many long, long hours and weekends. We're thankful for the job but personally I'm worried that all the stress is going to wear on his health. Maybe next week will be better :) !

I'll let you know how things go - "next week" always looks better!

CS Lewis Quote

Our Sunday School teacher read this quote during our class this morning. We were reading from the New Testament and discussing the need for Christians to show true, genuine, Christ-like love for each other and for our fellowmen. As an admirer of both CS Lewis and good quotes, I just had to share it here with you:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

-C.S. Lewis

When death comes knocking...

I have not lost a husband so I cannot tell you what that pain is like. I have not lost a grown child, so I cannot share that pain with you either. And although I have watched 4 precious grandparents, numerous aunts and uncles and cousins, both my parents, my Father-in-law, and three of our own unborn children die, I cannot share exactly whatever it is you feel. For just as every person is unique, every relationship is unique and therefore every pain of separation is different. My sister- and brother-in-law are going through different kinds of grieving for the untimely accidental death of my niece. They both lost a daughter. They both lost the same daughter. They shared more memories of her than anyone else, but they had different relationships with her and so, of course, are grieving differently.
But for all the differences of people and feelings and memories there is a common thread that we all share when we lose a loved one. A common denominator of pain - deep, throbbing, stabbing pain in our hearts and souls. Through the many funerals where I have stood in line and received hugs and words I could tell you some really dumb things not to say, but I have yet to find the perfect thing to say. Because grief is not shared in words, it's shared in hearts. Grief binds us together because although some grieve deeper and longer and we all grieve differently, the fact remains that we all know that the pain of death is one of the worst pains of all. And somehow the fact that we have others sharing our pain does lighten the load of it a little.
And when we share that pain on our knees with the One who bears all pain of every kind for us, who loves us with a love so great that our aching hearts can never begin to understand it, who carries us in His loving arms and whispers directly into our souls that He is, has been and always will be able to comfort us, our grief is a grief of hope. Of ultimate joy. Of brightness of tomorrow. And that makes an eternity of difference. "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings are mine with ten thousand beside. " His faithfulness is truly great. His love and comfort are indescribable, and yet it is unthinkable what grief would be like without Him. Great is thy faithfulness, O God My Father, especially when I am grieving.

In School This Week

We have had several "field days" so far this week. My children have learned:
1 - Horticulture - how to properly plant and water in pecan trees; differences in varieties of trees; proper depth for planting; how to mulch, etc....
2 - Ornithology - found a killdeer nest, marked the location so as not to disturb it, and watching daily for any signs of eggs! Also saw two geese fly over flanking a wounded one - very amazing to see first hand!
3 - Agronomy - the study of soil composition and water tables; decomposition - "Wet clay from down in the hole stinks really bad, Mom! Why??"
4 - Team Teaching - working together to be more efficient and enjoyable
5 - Perseverance - (planting 400+ trees one at a time will do that!!)
6 - Meteorology - they have learned to listen to weather forecasts, study the local conditions and make decisions about how percentages really work (10-20% chance of rain means go ahead and do what you have planned :) !)
7 - Entomology - found several interesting live millipedes and exoskeletons from other "critters" from last summer; chased some grasshoppers; discovered that it only takes 36 warm hours before the local gnats have emerged!
8 - Being neighborly and friendly - a relative and a neighbor both have spent part of the week helping us plant (without any pay) just because they are good friends/neighbors!
9 - Perseverance - did I mention this already??
10 - Hard work is really, really hard work, but is lots more fun when doing it with people you love!

May This Day Be a Prayer to You, O Jesus

As I open my eyes this morning,
Let me praise you for sunlight, breath, eyes to see.
As I rise slowly out of bed,
Let me praise you for a beating heart, legs and feet to walk.
As I listen to my children waking,
Let me praise you for ears to hear their voices.
As I see their sleepy faces,
Let me lift my very being to you in praise for each one.
As I fix their meals,
Let me be truly grateful for You have provided.
As I wipe up messes,
Let me praise you for children healthy enough to make them.
As I help the young ones to dress,
Let me praise you for your clothing of righteousness.
As I do the dishes,
Let my heart rejoice to know that you are the Living Water.
As I finish the laundry,
Let me never forget that you have washed me clean of my sins.
As I pick up toys,
May I be reminded of the many times you pick up the broken pieces of my sinful life.
As I put things away,
May I never forget that you have put away all my sins on the cross.
As I tuck the precious ones into bed,
May I rejoice that I have rest in You and You alone, O Lord. Forever and ever. Amen.

Missionary Monday

I'm ashamed that I have not been good at posting my "Missionary Mondays" for a while. And much more than that, I'm ashamed that I haven't prayed for these dear, precious people as much as I should have lately either. So here's a new resolution just in time for New Years (Chinese New Years ;) that is). Won't you join me in praying with Audrey for the lost in Japan? If you think they do not feel a spiritual void, just look at the outpouring of prayers here and know that each one is written by an anxious soul that yearns to know peace and comfort that only the Truth of Jesus Christ as Messiah can give them.

Pray that there will be workers for the harvest, and that hearts of the hearers will be open.

Then move your heart and mind half-way around the world to Africa where Jena has recently (and quite abruptly) been moved to another location. Pray for a smooth transition and that she would make friends and have doors opened to her quickly so that she can make the best use of her time there. And pray that each of us, each moment of each day, will have the eyes and heart of Jesus for the lost souls around us right here at home.
As Audrey recently reminded me through her blog ---
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14