A Little More Lovin ~ Bad Girls of the Bible

We all love to be complemented, right?

We all love to be told we look nice, right?

We all love to be desired by someone, right?

There's nothing wrong with that.......or is there?

How far are you willing to go to get that compliment?

How much are you willing to lose just to have others tell you how beautiful you are?

How much are you willing to sacrifice to feel desired?

Is our need to be desired more important than all the things we used to hold dear?

Potiphar was a man who seemingly had it all. He had a prestigious job in the palace guard. He probably lived in luxury. He more than likely had many friends. And his wife was beautiful, I'm sure. 

Potiphar's wife was a woman that many others envied. She had an important husband. She probably had every "modern" convenience available. And she had the attention of almost everyone.

Everyone except the one person she sought after the most.

Genesis 39 doesn't tell us the whole triangle of Potiphar, his wife, & Joseph, but if we can use our imagination for just a few minutes, we can see the bigger picture & the underlying problems.

I believe that Potiphar had become so important in his job that somewhere along the line, he forgot to keep his wife close to his heart. In turn, Potiphar's wife felt neglected. She had everything she could ask for, except her husband.

How many times have we been there?

Potiphar's wife started seeking attention from every possible source in an effort to repair that missing piece of her heart. But when her efforts didn't turn out the results she was looking for, she sought to destroy everyone around her.

Have any of us tried to substitute other things or people for what we were really needing?

Think about Potiphar's wife before you put on that outfit, fluff your hair a few extra times, reapply your lipstick, or bathe in that intoxicating scent all because you know there is a chance that a certain someone might see you. Especially a certain someone who is completely off limits.

Are you interested in learning more about this strange little love triangle? Come join us as we study the Bad Girls of the Bible over at Christian Momma and find out more.

God's Word in My Heart

I had the privilege to review the ebook God's Word in My Heart recently. Yeah, what fun!

Jennifer Thorson from The Purposeful Mom wrote this little treasure in the hopes of making scripture memory easier for everyone. It includes lots of fun ideas to help your children (& you) learn God's word.

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:"

We, as parents, have a responsibility to our children, ourselves, & God to obey His commandments & share His word.  

Most Christian parents that I know already incorporate scripture memory into their lives, but I'm sure we could all use some fresh ideas & a little encouragement.  

God's Word in My Heart shares some of those new ideas. I LOVE how Jenn listed ABC verses. How fun would this be while teaching your little ones their letters?!  

We have actually been using one of her ideas in our Keepers of the Faith group. The kids are memorizing a few verses while adding motions to it.

My family actually uses a scripture memory box that I found out about from The Homeschool Classroom.

As you can see, we are still a work in progress, but it has helped tremendiously with my memorization skills as well as a constant reminder that we need to say our verses. I am the world's worst person to forget this part of my day!

If you are looking for a little extra encouragement in walking closer with God, check out Jenn's blog or her page on Facebook & give her book a try! 

Click here to visit The Purposeful Mom.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Hard Work, Candy, & Dirt Bikes

Hmmm....well now, THAT ^^^ is an interesting title for our week.

First, I am VERY thankful to say that Logan is feeling better! He was still a little fussy at the start of the week, but he is back to his usual mischievous self now.

I "allowed" my kids to be pimped out for child labor on Tuesday. We were down to the last of our wood pile & winter is not over yet, so they gladly volunteered to be woodchucks for the day.

We had Keepers & Contenders on Thursday. The girls had a tasty time making candy while the boys discussed exchanging letters with pen pals. The girls dipped teddy grahams in chocolate & worked on peanut butter balls. Of course the best part is always eating the finished product. YUM YUM!

During 4H, the older kids worked on their presentations. This was a first for Austin so he chose something he can do with his eyes closed (not really). Austin taught everyone about proper dirt bike safety & modeled all of his gear.

I came across a website this week that you REALLY need to check out. Kids of Integrity offers FREE lesson plans to help develop better character in families. We really need to improve our obedience & respect in this house.

We had our quarterly support group meeting Friday night. I enjoy these meetings because we get a chance to "just be". There's not any pressure, no time lines, no demands. We get to fellowship with like minded people who understand & only want to encourage each other.

Oh & my personal favorite, I got to go to Gullions Friday! YEAH!

The Original Bad Girl

Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Do you ever think that everyone is watching your every move? Do you ever think "Why me"? Do you ever wish you could change the past?

You are not alone.

I can't see the past & I can't predict the future, but I understand a lot of things. No matter the make, model, or year, people are still people. We all feel pain. We all feel fear. We all feel disappointment. We all make mistakes that can haunt us for much longer than they should. We all hold grudges when we should just let things go.

You know how bad you feel after you have just made, what seems at the time, the biggest mistake of all time. You spend hours, days, sometimes even years, dwelling on those few moments of utter stupidity. You spend time, energy, even money trying to fix things or change the past. You cry, scream, beg, & cry some more trying to fugue things out.

Of course, we are all over reacting.

That moment where it seemed our world stopped turning, somehow, didn't stop everyone else's world from turning.

But what if it did affect everyone else? How would we react then? What if that bad judgement call changed the world as we know it?

One colossal blunder rocked Eve's world. One slip altered her very existence. One single decision changed the future for every single person.

How would you like to deal with that for the rest of your life?

Compared to her, our sins don't seem so serious.

Eve was the original bad girl. She had everything she could possibly ask for - a handsome husband, a beautiful home, the best food to eat. She lived in paradise. But somehow, she wasn't happy. For some reason, she wanted more.

Isn't that the way we all are? Even when we have more than we need, even when we have more than we could ask for, we are never truly satisfied.

I've heard it my whole life..."If only Eve hadn't eaten that apple." "If only Eve had said no." "If only Eve walked away."

We are so quick to judge other people because we KNOW that we would behave differently.

I hate to break it to you, but you have no idea how you would react in a certain situation until you have to face it.

Don't just assume the worst because someone has a less than stellar moment. Don't throw stones when someone handles things in a different way than you would.

Most importantly, don't forget we are all "BAD" at one time or another.

We will be studying the Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs over at La Toya Edwards' blog for the next few weeks. I hope you can join us. Maybe you will discover your inner "Bad Girl" & learn from her mistakes.

How Bad Are You?

All of us have a past. Most of us have more than our fair share that we are ashamed of. Some of us have made smart decisions most of our lives. None of us are perfect.

I love reading stories (whether from the Bible or where ever) about strong women with good morals, but I identify more with the prodigal daughter. Yes, I realize that in God's word, it is the prodigal son, but in all actuality, so many of us are prodigals in our own way.

I am excited about the Bad Girls of the Bible book club starting tomorrow over at La Toya Edwards' blog Christian Momma.

I hope that you can find time to join in this study either on her blog or over at her Facebook page. You might learn something about yourself that you never knew before.

Be My Valentine ~ Who Needs to Breathe

This week in the Be My Valentine marriage challenge may be a little hard for some. Trust me, it will be worth the effort.

Sometime in all of our lives we find someone special. We go out of our way to catch that special some one's eye. We dress nice, we fix our hair, & we wear perfume. We flirt, we say sweet things, & we let them know how special we think they are.

We fall in love, we get married, we live happily ever after.

But when do we stop making that extra effort? When do we stop caring how we look? When do we stop pursuing those private intimate times with our love? When do we get comfortable? And why?

Every single one of us falls victim to this ageless game. Don't you think its time to break this tradition?

Don't take that man of yours for granted anymore!

Don't be lounging in sweatpants with a greasy pony tail when he gets home.

Don't neglect to tell him you love him.

Don't wait for him to make the first move. 

Put on something sexy, fix your hair, & wear that scent that still makes his pulse race. Kiss him like you can't live without him until both of you are breathless. And the minute the kids are fast asleep - seduce that man of yours like you did when you were dating!

He'll thank you for it!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Blue, Grey, & BLACK

It feels like a black cloud has been hanging around this week. I didn't realize it to begin with, but by the middle of the week, it had reared its ugly head.

School has been nothing extraordinary this week. We added, subtracted, multiplied, divided, & counted. We have wrote, read, poked, prodded, & played. We drifted past World War I, swung into the roaring 20's, discovered the Harlem Renaissance & jazz. We fed the animals while it was 70 degrees & we fed the animals when it felt like 15 degrees.

We did make it to see a play about the Civil War. Reliving the Emancipation Proclamation & Johnny Marching Home along with finishing Ruthie's Gift were the highlights of the week.

Like I said, nothing extraordinary. Just another day in another week in this crazy thing I call life. I was counting down the days & looking forward to the weekend.

THEN.....that cloud broke loose.

Logan got sick & I mean S I C K. We still don't know what is wrong, but for 3 days now he has had a fever, a snotty, stuffy nose, & he has refused to get out of my lap. Its a little hard to get much done with a toddler in your lap.

So there went my plans for the weekend.

Just what does the weekend have to do with a homeschool post you might ask?

Well, I was planning on attending a Homeschool Mom's Retreat with many Christian ladies & friends. I have been anxiously awaiting this weekend ever since it was mentioned a few months ago. Not only did I need the extra encouragement, the reassurance, & the knowledge that I am not alone, but I could really use some plain old silly girly fun.

So, unfortunately, I missed out on the retreat and I still have a sick baby on my hands but such is life. This is the life I have been granted & I wouldn't change it if I could.