How About a Drink

Have you ever been outside on a really hot day? You would give just about anything for something to drink, wouldn't you?

Even though any kind of drink is appreciated, nothing will quell that incredible thirst the way a tall, ice cold glass of water will. When you are that thirsty, Mt. Dew, Gatorade, or anything else only offer a temporary solution. Before long, you are thirsty again.

Life is a lot like that glass of water.

Too often, we travel through this life looking for something, searching for something, needing something. Every single one of us go through this desire.

Most of the time, we don't realize we are even doing it.

Some people fill this void with drinking, drugs, food, abuse, material possessions, fame, or power. The Samaritan Woman at the well chose to fill her void with sex and attention from any man that made her feel special for more than 5 minutes.

Her life was changed forever when Jesus went out of His way to cross her path. He filled that part in her heart and soul that she didn't even realize she was missing.

How amazing is it to know that someone is out there looking for you, wanting to help you, offering you the greatest gift you can imagine. Someone who thinks you are worth dying for.

Jesus has that thing that you've been hopelessly searching for. He is the only one who can offer you something that will satisfy your soul. Best of all - it's FREE!

Salvation will change your life, if only you will allow it too.

{If you are new here, feel free to connect with your inner Bad Girl. None of us are perfect, we are just forgiven!}

How Many is Too Many?

Almost a year ago, I came to the great conclusion that I had entirely too much laundry to do. I couldn't make everyone stop wearing clothes & I certainly couldn't stop washing them. I had to figure out a different solution.

So, a little bit before Logan turned 1, I started having Austin & Makenzie hang up their own clothes.

Of course this didn't go over quite as smoothly as I had hoped it would and their closets will never look the way they did when I hung up their clothes, but hey, it took a little work of of me.

Or so I thought.

I am always getting behind on washing clothes. Therefore, I am always behind on sorting them out. Therefore, the kids are always behind on putting them away.

Yet another vicious cycle.

Austin is decent at getting his clothes hung up, even though he needs to be reminded several times and shirts tend to be more wrinkled when he pulls them from his closet than before they went in.

Makenzie is another story all together. It never ceases to amaze me at her level of thinking. She changes clothes 5 times a day & doesn't even entertain the thought of hanging something back up when she has only worn it 10 minutes. No matter how many times she is reminded, there is ALWAYS a pile of clothes in her closet floor. No matter how many times she is reminded, there is ALWAYS dirty clothes among the clean ones. No matter how many times she is reminded, I ALWAYS have to say it again.

This gets so old. I DREAD even walking into her room.

But, I went in to help, again.

Before I even began, I made her get all the clothes out of her closet floor & anything that magically appeared under her bed.

Lord have mercy. This is what that amounted to!

"How many times do I have to tell you?" "How many times do we have to go through this?" "Do you remember that the last time I promised you a spanking?"

Halfway through her pile, while I was wondering if things would ever change, I was thinking on "how many times?". I was reminded of another incident where "how many times?" was asked of another man.

Matthew 18:21-21 "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

Have I really went over the laundry issue 490 times? Do I really have to?

That made me wonder if this was a hidden message. Does Jesus only agree to forgive our sins 490 times? Or maybe He will forgive the same sin that many times?

How close am I to that number? Or have I gone WAY passed that many?

I don't know about that part, but I do know that His grace & forgiveness is far more than we deserve.

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ A Week Off?

This is officially week 7 since we started back to work after the extended Christmas break. You know what that means.....a week off! YEAH! Nothing structured, nothing planned, just time to relax, play, & get my house in order.

HOLD UP.

Yeah, that's what I get for thinking!

Yes, this had been a week off from "real" school. But somehow relaxation hasn't happened. Oh yeah, I remember due to emergencies, injuries, & illnesses, resting has been forced.

(in case you missed it, check out From Snow Bibs to Swimming Trunks)

Other than the absolute minimal, housework hasn't happened this week. I have caught up on laundry - Did you SEEEEE Makenzie's pile?!?! That's another story altogether. I have washed just enough dishes to have something to eat on. I can count the times I have cooked on one hand.And I finally got tired of the dirt so I swept once.

I suffered from the stomach bug for over 3 days. 72 hours. Is that normal? I still don't feel back to myself yet, but at least its not as bad as it was. Justin & Austin have also dealt with it, but not nearly that bad.

We did finish reading The Railway Children. It was all I could do to keep reading it. I know it is supposed to be a children's classic, but this is one book I can do without. It wasn't horrible, just hard to read & L O N G.

Austin has taken advantage of his freedom to further his plumbing knowledge by helping his grandparents at work a few days. He has also helped construct a new pig pen for our sow. She is expecting piglets soon!

And to top it all off, I have been summoned. That's right - jury duty. If you know me, you KNOW how much I DETEST the thought of this! This dreadful little card states that "Jury service is the solemn obligation of all qualified citizens." REALLY? Since when is it my "obligation" to sit in judgement on someone else?

So I drive down to the courthouse in the hopes of presenting my "hardship" only to be told that I cannot get out of it. I pled my case but it seems that our local authorities don't care that I am the only one available to watch my children or that someone else would have to miss work in order to stay with them or that I am having to bring 3 children with me in order to appease our system.

Can you IMAGINE how miserable my kids are going to be cooped up in a little room ALL day - possibly longer? Better yet, can you imagine how miserable everyone around us is going to be?

Hmmm.....on second thought, I think I will hype them up on sugar just to prove a point!

No, I can't do that, but trust me, I thought about it!

And it All Turns to Salt

In this week's chapter of Bad Girl's of the Bible, we read about Lot's wife.

Here is another well known Bible character who is not even given a name. I have a couple thoughts about that lack of information.

How many times are you referred to as so & so's wife or Billy Joe's mom or Big Daddy's daughter? A lot of times we lose ourselves in the shadows of other people. We feel insignificant. We wonder if we are even important.

That's one theory, but dear Bad Girl, God knows your name even when others forget. God loves you through your faults and failures.

The real reason I believe God chose not to tell us any more information about some very notorious people throughout history was so we could identify with them that much more. Think about it, these no name individuals could actually be any one of us.

How many times have we looked around us & thought everything was perfect? How many pretty knick knacks bring a smile to our faces? How often do we find ourselves immersed for hours in the latest gadget? How far in debt do we continually fall just so we can keep up with that proverbial Jones family?

Now, how often, when we start bragging about how fabulous we are & what shiny goodies we have, do we take all the credit? Look what I did. Look what I have. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.

Even though we are blessed with more than we deserve, how often do we give credit where credit is due?

Lot's wife forgot about good & evil, right & wrong. She was more concerned with the here & now. When she thought everything she held dear to her was being threatened, she didn't look to God for guidance. The only thing she could think about was saving her precious existence. She wanted her home, her things. I'm sure she was concerned for her family & friends, but she was much more worried about herself to see the lasting consequences.

Have we ever fallen into this trap?

We need to get up earlier in order to make it to work a few minutes sooner. We need to work later because we need those overtime hours to pay for that thingy we bought last week. We have to swing by a drive through because we worked too late to cook supper. We need to stay up later to do one more load of laundry. Oh yeah, we have to get up earlier the next morning to try to finish that project for work that we didn't have time to do last night.

Oops, we meant to study our bible . Oops, we meant to check the kids homework. Oops, we meant to call that friend who has been sick. Oops, we meant to kiss our husband goodbye before he left. Oops, we meant to let our family know we love them. OOPS! Maybe there will be time later.

Unfortunately, later never came for Lot's wife.

Take time for what really matters. Tell your loved ones what they mean to you. Quit holding onto the material things that won't matter when life is over. Don't look back with longing in your heart at the sins of the past. Give God glory for the miracles in your life.

Don't let your life turn to salt before your very eyes.

From Snow Bibs to Swimming Trunks

It has been a wild and crazy weekend. Thankfully we are off of school this week.

As I write this post, I am lounging on my bed, surrounded by laundry and thinking about how sticky my floors are, while resting my knee on a few pillows. Hold on & I'll tell you all about that story.

Saturday started E A R L Y with a trip up to Jonas Ridge in Boone snow tubing with the church. If you are local and haven't tried Jonas Ridge yet, you need to! The slopes are fun, the drive isn't too far, and the price is reasonable.

This is the 3rd year in a row that my family has been to Jonas Ridge, but it was the first time in 5 years that I was going to get to actually tube. Pregnancy & nursing a baby knocked me out 2 years running. YEAH finally, I get to have fun too!

The first hour and a half went by without a hitch. Kids and adults alike took turn after turn zipping down the slippery snow white slopes and creeping back up the moving sidewalk. Squeals of delight and fear could be heard all over that mountain.

I took a break to snap as many pictures as I could.

I should have stopped while I was ahead.

The very next trip down, my foot found a rather large snowball that tried its best to keep me up on that slope. My left knee was snapped outward & I have been limping since.

I seriously considered a trip to the ER, but my wallet talked some sense into me.

Here's praying for a quick recovery!

Saturday night was our sweetheart dinner at church. I really wanted to stay home with my leg up, but I'm glad I went. We played the Newlywed Game & I haven't laughed that hard or seen that many red faces in a LONG time.

Monday also held a special treat for all of us. We took off with a ton of kids to Ray's Splash Planet for a little "summer" fun at their indoor water park. As I was thinking about all 10 children that went with us, I realized that we had 8 different grades/age levels represented. (I know, weird, but it fascinated me) 9th, 7th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, K, and 20 months - 6 boys & 4 girls. They got along great and had a blast, except Logan.

We got down there at nap time & the water was a little chilly, so Logan was not happy. Less than an hour into the fun, Logan was all wrapped up in a towel & asleep in my arms. That's ok, I got to rest my knee, take lots of pictures, and read while snuggling with my baby.

We had a picnic lunch outside and thankfully it was a pretty day and the wind wasn't too brutal.

Unfortunately, lunch ended up being anything but peaceful because my little dare devil wanted to be like everyone else sitting on the picnic tables, except he lost his balance and hit his head on the way down. So now we have a hysterical, bleeding baby who is holding his breath.

Its a good thing I don't get too excited! Of course having my EMT hubby and a nurse friend there helped a lot.

It looks like we didn't escape a trip to the ER this weekend after all, we just delayed it.

Hey, at least now I know how to get to the hospital in Charlotte!

So almost an hour and a half and 2 staples later, we rejoined everyone else back at the water park. It seems that the excitement didn't die down when we left. We also dealt with a cut across Makenzie's nose and another child with a bloody nose. Just about every one of our 10 darlings ended up having some sort of issue before the day was over. Due to the high chlorine content in the water, there were several coughing, breathing, and red burning eye issues. Headaches also seemed to run rampant through our group.

But all in all, I think everyone had a good time & they were returned to their families in relatively good condition.

Hey, we are planning a trip out of town in a few months, don't you want to go with us?!?!

Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ Parks, Chickens, & Hearts

Happy day after Valentine's Day!

Around here, we don't do anything very special for Valentine's Day. (Although the hubby & I are going out on a date tonight!) We didn't have any parties or anything like that, so thankfully the kids weren't too jacked up on sugar. We did celebrate with chocolate hearts & Mad Libs.

We are still reading The Railway Children by E. B. Nesbit. I'm struggling to get through it because of the way it was written. There are English phrases a plenty & lots of railroad slang, but its a fun story. The kids are really enjoying it.

Apologia Astronomy is teaching us that Earth is the perfect planet.

We have danced & indulged our way through the roaring 20s only to find out that the fun has to end sometimes. We are beginning our study of The Great Depression.

Unfortunately, Teaching Textbooks is having to be retaught this week & next. Mixed numbers & reducing fractions are just not sticking.

Makenzie is reading a little better. I NEVER thought it would frustrate me as much as it does. I'm still not sure if it is lack of effort or honest to goodness struggle.

We are still working on obedience. Somehow it seems that we will never learn this lesson.

Even though we have fought through getting our work done and focus problems, we have had A LOT of fun this week!

Several chickens got out of the coop so we had to chase them around.

We took off to the park to enjoy a sunny afternoon with swinging, sliding, & skateboarding. My dad even joined us.

Austin had the first poultry judging meeting on the year.

And the BEST part....we brought home new diddles. They are so cute. Logan doesn't know what to think of the little fuzzballs yet.

All Your Needs

I originally wanted to title this one "Here We Go Again", but the more I've thought on it, God wouldn't let me.

Justin got the news yesterday that his job was being terminated. WHAT? Yeah, that's what I said. I know he was only temporary, but when he was hired less than 6 months ago, everything he was told boiled down to the fact that one day soon, he would be made permanent.

It's not only my husband, but every temporary employee for this company will lose their position in exactly 2 months.

2 MONTHS

That's not very long to try to find something else in our gloomy economy.

That's not very long to try to save every nickle we can.

That's not very long to try to pay off a few more bills.

2 MONTHS

We were JUST starting to get caught up.

After Justin was laid off 2 years ago, we have struggled & scraped by. We have robbed Peter to pay Paul. We have been late on payments. We have denied our children & ourselves. We have borrowed money & sold possessions. We even considered giving up on homeschool so I could go back to work.

BUT, we never went hungry, we were never cold, we were never stranded, we were never alone.

Psalm 37:25 "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his offspring begging bread."

My very first thought was "God, why? God, what are we going to do?". Immediately He reminded me "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Yes, Lord, I KNOW, but........

As the day wore on, I felt worse & worse. There was even a time that I left the older kids to do their school work & I went to lay down.

Through it all, I couldn't get certain people out of my head. The family that is grieving the loss of their baby girl. The sainted couple torn apart by circumstance & technicalities. The families anxiously awaiting their loved ones to return from war. The parents watching their children struggle with life threatening disease. The friends looking head first at surgery. The marriages that are hanging on by a thread. The parents who don't care about the examples they set for their children. The people entrapped by drugs & alcohol. The lost on their way to Hell. The families being ripped apart by cancer.

And ALL of these are people I know PERSONALLY.

WHO AM I?! Who am I to feel sorry for myself? Who am I to question WHY? Who am I to doubt a God who has proven Himself to me time & again?

WHO AM I THAT A KING WOULD BLEED & DIE FOR?

So when your day takes an unexpected turn toward what feels like everlasting doom, remember those who are worse off than you are.

Please take a few moments & lift all these needs up to a God that CAN & DOES care about our trivial problems. Pray for my family that we will always follow His lead. I KNOW that He has something bigger & better in store, we just have to find it.