A New View Out My Window

When I look outside my kitchen window, this is what I see:

I'm rather pleased with the big hill in the background!

Grammy's B-Day Party!

40 Days for Life

During the season of Lent, cities around the U.S. are participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign against abortion. Here's a quip from their website www.40daysforlife.com:

40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:

* Prayer and fasting
* Constant vigil
* Community outreach

On Wednesday morning, I bundled up my kiddos and we joined many other Christians at a vigil outside of Planned Parenthood, and we prayed.

A lady by the name of Abby Johnson from Houston, TX, also joined us. She used to work in a Planned Parenthood clinic for almost a decade, until Christ changed her heart. She tried talking to the men and women who were going inside for an abortion, telling them that there are alternatives. I admired her boldness.

So I would encourage you to check out the 40 Days for Life website, and see if there is a group keeping constant vigil outside of your local Planned Parenthood. I bet there is! And GO JOIN THEM!

This Week in Pictures

Saint Patrick's Day Dinner: Corned Beef slow cooked in beer, Mashed Potatoes, and Irish Soda Bread

My last day teaching at our homeschool co-op. Bittersweet. These are my geography students underneath our Papel Picado. We had just finished studying Mexico.

Flan. The first time I've made it and the first time I've eaten it. I made it for the above mentioned geography class.

Goodbye party #1...our Baxter Parish.

Some of our Baxter Parish kids.

Rocks in the rain on my back porch.

I Packed A Box!

I'm not sure about my packing progress. Three days ago...I packed my first box. And that was the only box I packed. The next day....one more box. Then the next day, I had helpers and they packed several boxes for me. And then today...I packed 1 more box. I figure that at this rate of 1 box a day (not including those days in which I may have more helpers), I will have packed a whopping 24 boxes by the time the moving truck pulls into our driveway!

For those of you a tad clueless as to WHY I'm packing one box a day, we're moving to the Tri-Cities. Still in Washington, 2 1/2 hours away. (No...we are not moving to Kirkland, as one kind saint prayed for us on Sunday.) We are very blessed to have been offered the position of pastor at the CREC congregation there.

Sorry, no pictures of my boxes.

Oh yeah. My sister informed me that no one can view my "Little Rocker" video posted a few posts down. I think I fixed that...so please check out my little dude dancing

Eager Guitarest

Andreas was in the bath tonight having a jolly good playtime. But then...he heard his Daddy playing guitar, and he was so eager to get out of the bathtub and go help play the guitar. So Hannah popped him out and could barely get a towel on the cute little tush. He was just standing there playing the guitar, and Hannah kept trying to keep the towel around him. What FUN!

Little Rocker

Andreas was totally gettin' down right after his bath time (in case you can't tell...this is a video):

All in today's work...

Today during history lesson: Me, "What is the capital of Hungary?" My 3-year old, "Yeah, I'm hungry too!"

Working on subtraction with Elijah: He is trying to figure out 9-2=, so he says, "If you have nine babies, and you sell two of them, how many would you have left?"

It's a good thing he's not in public school...they'd probably pigeon hole him as having deep emotional trauma with his siblings or something.

Somebody must be learning a lot around here, because the table sure is a homeschooling disaster!

Baby Squish

Hannah tonight, "Mom, do you ever get the feeling that you just want to squeeze a baby so hard because they're so cute and you love them so much?"

Yes...I have felt that many a time!

Who wouldn't want to squish and squeeze this cheesy guy?

Up and Coming Baker

Hannah purchased all the ingredients necessary to bake these cupcakes, and then baked them herself...with a little help from me. I thought she did quite a fantastic job!

Valentine's Day!

Every Valentine's Day, for a number of years now, I create a scavenger hunt for the kids. I didn't mean for it to become tradition, but I did it once, and then the kids assumed it was tradition. I think I did it for the first time when Hannah was about 4. So the next year, I overhear her informing one of her friends at church that every Valentine's Day her Mom does a scavenger hunt! I'm glad that I overheard that conversation, otherwise she would have been without a scavenger hunt that year! So, it has become tradition. And since my kids are getting older, I get to be more tricksy with my clues. Yesterday, I had them running around the house chasing down clues for 45 minutes until they finally found the grand prize!
Here they are Finding the treasure at the end of the hunt:

Here's Andreas quite delighted with his Valentine from Granny:

Here is one of Hannah's cooking creation...a Valentine tower:

My Astronomy Class

This year at our homeschool co-op, I've been teaching Astronomy to 2nd-6th graders. Here's a pic of my students (three are missing). We just completed this book:

"Exploring Creation with Astronomy" by Jeannie Fulbright. The kids and I had the BEST time going through this book. I was a little skeptical when I first purchased this textbook. The lady at the homeschool bookshop said that her kids would read it for fun in their freetime. When she told me that, I thought to myself, "Oh. You have THOSE kid of kids!." But then, I couldn't believe it! Because throughout the semester MY kids were ACTUALLY READING THIS TEXT BOOK FOR FUN IN THEIR FREETIME! And let me tell you, I don't have THOSE kind of kids! So that says a lot for this text book. There are others in the series that I can't wait to try: botany, anatomy, animals, and more.

German Pancake

My family has been loving this German Pancake on Sunday mornings:

GERMAN PANCAKE
Feeds a family of 7

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Grease 2 9X13 pans.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together 6 eggs, 2 cups milk, 1 t. salt, and 1 tsp. vanilla with a wire whisk. Add 2 cups flour and beat with whisk until no lumps remain. Divide evenly into the 2 pans, and put into preheated oven for 20 minutes. I turn the oven light on so my kids can see the pancake puffing up really high towards the end of its baking time.

Serve with butter and lemon slices squeezed over the top, and powdered sugar (and syrup if you must). Also good with berries.

I will also usually throw in a baking sheet of bacon into the oven to cook while the pancake is cooking too.

A Riddle

Here's a riddle to inform you of what we have had this week:

An esophagus working backwards, producing UFOs into the seat of the throne in the library.

Yes...we have had the influenza this week...topped off with (what I hope is) one last trip last night to the Dr. for an ear infection.

However, I am very grateful for a few modern conveniences that make sickness more barable:

*plastic mattress covers and plastic pillow covers
*washing machines
*toilets (can you imagine having to use an outhouse during times like these?)
*bath tubs with running water
*Tylenol and ibuprofen
*antibacterial wipes...Costco size!
*Kleenux with lotion
*a Christian, pastoral pediatrician
*movies
*recovery!

Such Simple Salvation

I love the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. He has leprosy, so he goes to Elisha the man of God, and asks for healing from his disease. Elisha tells him to go wash seven times in the Jordan river. Naaman is angry about this command. But then Naamman's servants say (what wise servants he has surrounded himself with, by the way), "If he had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, that he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean.'?". So Naamman does go and wash, and after the seventh time, he is healed! Remember...in the Bible, seven indicates creation...so Naaman has been "recreated". What a beautiful picture of the simplicity of salvation! So often we want some great deed to perform to earn our cleansing/salvation. But great works will accomplish diddly....only faith can accomplish healing from our disease of sin. This faith obeys. And the cleansing waters of the Holy Spirit and baptism cleanse us from all sin!

If that were not enough, Naaman still doesn't get it though. After he has been cleansed of his leprosy, he goes back to Elisha and offers many riches and goods to Elisha, as if to pay for his healing. Elisha refuses. Salvation is simply God's gift, and can be bought with no amount of money or great works. It is by faith. How simple. How beautiful!

And that is Good News!

Nitty Gritty Homeschool Tip #5

NEWS FLASH: Raising kids is HARD WORK...and if you are homeschooling them too, then your work is definitely cut out for you!
Do you ever hear your kids whining this phrase, "It's tooooo haaaarrrddd!" I do...but let's face it...I say the same exact thing sometimes, or if I don't say it, it's what I'm thinking. The only difference between me saying it and my kids saying it is that it's much worse coming from me, because I'm over three times my kids age!

So Nitty Gritty Homeschool Tip #5 is: DON'T WIMP OUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE HARD WORK OF RAISING YOUR KIDS.

I started realizing that sometimes my problem is not that I need more time out by myself (which sometimes I do, of course), or that I need the kids to be better learners, or________________ (you fill in the blank), but sometimes the issue is simply that I'm lazy, and I don't want to work hard. And to do a good job raising/educating kids requires hard work...and lots of it. So don't shy away from hard work. Roll up your sleeves and dive in...looking to that glorious harvest day when we will cash in all of our hard work for delicious, beautiful fruit!

This verse comes to mind:
"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Gal. 6:9

God, give us daily strength and grace for the task You have given us!

Nitty Gritty Homeschool Tip #4

Here is Nitty Gritty Homeschool Tip #4: CHANGE SOMETHING.
Actually, this is actually a hard tip for me to follow! I don't like changing things because I WANT THE WAY I'VE ORGANIZED MY LIFE TO WORK, AND I WANT EVERYBODY ELSE IN MY LIFE TO MAKE IT WORK TOO! So if I've made a schedule, I do not want to deviate from that schedule. But I'm learning that sometimes things have to change...especially on those days when nothing seems to be going right. Sometimes the schedule needs to be tweeked, sometimes I've been lazy in the "discipline-of-the-kids" department and I need to repent of that and put the rod into good use, sometimes I need to throw away the homeschool/household to-do-list for the day and actually be okay with that. Sometimes, I need to make boxed mac-and-cheese for dinner twice in one week...and be okay with that too! I suppose it all comes down to being flexible according to the needs of the day. So if a day is falling apart, and my emotions and wits are also falling apart, I need to be DISCIPLINED to ask myself the question, "What can I change for today (or for this week, or permanently)that would make this a smoother ride for all involved?"

Oatmeal: Buffet Style

I finally figured out a way to get my kids to eat oatmeal regularly without me making them eat it...and without resorting to those highly sugared instant oatmeal packets. Every morning, I have about fifteen minutes to get breakfast on the table for 7 people. I like oatmeal because it's healthy and cheap and fast! Finally, I was inspired by Starbucks oatmeal. They give you a bowl of oatmeal, and then little packets of toppings you can sprinkle in: brown sugar, nuts, and dried fruit. So this week, I've been making a big batch of rolled oats on the stove top in the AM...and then I put a few bowls on the table full of sliced almonds, craisins, and raisins...with a jar of honey and a gallon of milk on the side. The kids get to pick what they put into their oatmeal...and it worked! They gobbled it up...and then asked if we could have the same thing again the next day! Wow!

Elijah: Man of Death and Resurrection APPLIED

Just a note: if you haven't read my previous post, then read that one first!

I wanted to provide some application for my previous post "Elijah: Man of Death and Resurrection". I should have said PROPHET of Death and Resurrection, because he was most definitely a prophet, not just a man. And that is important. Because in that he was a prophet, he represented Israel. He is a picture on legs of what God was doing with the nation of Israel as a whole. I think that maybe all the prophets in Scripture are pictures of Israel, or of Israel's king. (Ezekiel really demonstrated this relationship). So since Elijah was a picture of Israel's deadness because of their sins and idolatry, he was also a living testimony of God's recreating and resurrecting them. So how does this apply to us?

Well, it's important to know what Scripture is trying to teach us, and not just try to come up with little morals that we can apply to our day-to-day lives. The point of 1 Kings 17 when Elijah is fed by the ravens is not just that if we are ever in dire straights, God will provide for us. God has indeed promised to provide for us, and 1 Kings is a good reminder of that, but there is a bigger picture going on too. And in order to see the bigger picture, we must know how to read our Bibles. For example, learning what certain numbers mean in Scripture (like I mentioned below), offer us hints as to the big picture. And it is from these hints that we can accurately apply God's word to our lives.

Since Elijah is so obviously a shadow of Jesus Christ, we can look to Elijah's role, and to Jesus Christ's role as prophet, for one of our applications. (I'm sure there are others, but this is the one I can see). As our Prophet, Jesus Christ represents us (the new Israel) in our sins and idolatry. And He becomes THE picture of death and resurrection, just like Elijah demonstrated for the nation of Israel. Furthermore, being in Christ and in His death and resurrection, I know that He takes each and every one of my daily deaths, and will bring them to fruitful resurrection. So we die daily...in hope...of resurrection and recreation! Now that is GOOD NEWS that I can hang my hat on TODAY!

Elijah: Man of Death and Resurrection

I have been studying 1 Kings lately, and have discovered some interesting things. I thought I would share some of those findings with you! The first is about Elijah, and after studying him more, I am so glad we named our first son after him. One of the things I noticed about Elijah is that he is a walking picture of death and resurrection, which means that he himself is a shadow of Christ. Nowhere do we get a better picture of this than in 1 Kings 17 + 18.

First, we see Elijah pronouncing drought upon Israel (death), and then three years later (in chapter 18) Elijah prays, and it rains (resurrection). By the way, most of the time in Scripture, when you read the number 3, you can think "death and resurrection", as seen in Christ being in the grave for 3 days, and resurrecting on the third. Then, after Elijah announces drought, he goes to the brook Cherith where the ravens provide food for him. While there, the brook dries up that he was drinking from (death), so God tells him to go stay with a widow and God will provide sustenance for him there (resurrection). So Elijah finds the widow, who is making preparations for a last meal with her son before they die of starvation (death), but Elijah causes the pot of oil and the bowl of flour to not be exhausted (resurrection). Then, the son of the woman becomes sick and dies (death). Elijah stretches himself upon the boy THREE times, and comes back to life (obvious resurrection).

Going now into chapter 18 where we have the story of Elijah having a competition with the prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal call upon their god to send fire three distinct times, verses 26, 28, and 29 (death). Then its Elijah's turn. He rebuilds the altar of the Lord which had been torn down using twelve stones (this is a picture of Israel being rebuilt). Then, he has them pour four pitchers of water on the altar THREE times. This altar is a picture of Israel being dead in their sins and idolatry. 4 pitchers of water three times equals twelve, the same number of the tribes of Israel. In verse 37, Elijah prays, "Answer me, O Lord, answer men, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, AND THAT YOU HAVE TURNED THEIR HEART BACK AGAIN.". This is an obvious picture of Israel being recreated (I'll explain more in a little bit). Fire falls from heaven and consumes the sacrifice and altar (resurrection). God has restored fellowship with His people. Then, Elijah goes to the top of Mt. Carmel, where he crouches down. He sends his servant SEVEN times to go look toward the sea to see if there are any rain clouds coming. On the SEVENTH time, he finally sees a cloud, and then heavy showers fall upon Israel after THREE years of drought (resurrection). Most of the time in Scripture when you see the number 7, it refers to recreation. This is yet another picture of Israel being recreated.

So there is a little Bible lesson for you. I hope I haven't communicated it in a confusing way. If so, please let me know, and I'll try to be clearer. I'll post some more about Elijah in another post!