I have realized that through it all, man will let you down, friends will let you down, & you will let yourself down more times than you can ever count. God will never let us down. BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I AM WHAT I AM!
I witnessed something the other day that I have never seen before. My child passed out!
I'm not talking about from sickness, from stress, or from over working the body. I'm talking about from pitching a holy fit, holding your breath until your fingers turn blue, falling out in the floor, & hitting your head passed out.
I'll give you one guess which child it was too.
If you guessed that the child with the major temper issue was Logan, give yourself a cookie. My sweet baby has turned into a screaming banshee.
Now, he has done this 1 other time, but nothing quite like this. Justin & I just stood there watching as he held onto the chair and slowly went down. I told him to breathe like I always do when he gets mad. It was almost comical. (No, I am NOT a sadist & YES, I most certainly DO love my children! But I have NEVER, nor will I start, catering to their every whim!)
As soon as he hit the floor, I picked him up to love on him & calm him back down.
I hope this is not an indication of what the future holds!
Today is the first day in well over a week that it has not rained!
Everyone is talking about rain. Everyone is complaining about rain. Everyone is posting pictures of rain.
We rode out to the local dam and were amazed at how high the water level was. Flooded parking lots, flooded play grounds, flooded camp sites.
This is the latest report from their Facebook page "Lake update: Current lake level at 11:00 is 1049.68. That is just shy of 20 feet above normal. All boat ramps, swim beaches, and all trails are closed. Do not go beyond closed gates, barricades, or caution tape. W. Kerr Scott Lake is conducting its primary purpose which is flood control. Lake conditions are very unsafe. Yadkin River is swift and high due to increased releases from the dam. All trails are closed to bikes and foot traffic. * Closures for at least one week - maybe longer."
I also found out that the record height for the lake was 1061.20 ft back in 1977.
Now, granted all of this rain has put dampers on most everyone's summer plans. People are joking about making plans to build an ark, becoming a duck, buying rain boots instead of flip flops, etc. BUT, I really am trying to be thankful. We could be on the opposite end of this weather pattern. We could be experiencing droughts of Biblical proportions.
As a grown woman, I find myself looking at kids today thinking "What in the world....?" more often than not. The things they say, the way they say it, the music they listen to, the way they act, & the clothes they wear - it all begs to ask the question "What planet are they from?" .
But alas, believe it of not, I was once an alien too. I belonged to that strange elusive cult known as the teenager.
I remember wanting to look cool, wanting to act older, wanting to defy everyone around me. I remember thinking that my parents were about the dumbest people I had ever met & there was no way they had fun when they were my age. I remember lots of excitement during this time, but I also remember way too many things that I would rather forget.
I look at these young people today & see them going through the same situations I went through. I have several young people in my life that I like to think I have an influence over. I want to reach out to them & save them from some of the heartache I experienced years ago. I want to keep them from messing up their lives. I want to see them make better choices.
We are right in the middle of summer here in the south. Families are grilling out, kids are staying up late, people are taking trips. Everyone seems to be enjoying the carefree attitude that blows in on the hot southern breeze.
With the rise in the mercury, there seems to be a drop in common sense. People go to town dressed in clothes that should never see the light of day. Guys drive around showing off their muscles. Girls wear shorts, skirts, & dresses that appear to be missing several yards of material. And bathing suits now cover less than underwear does.
I remember thinking I looked good wearing certain things. I remember wanting to show myself off. And I remember thinking that certain someone would look at me like I was beautiful.
Oh he looked at me alright, but beauty was NOT on his mind! There probably wasn't a whole lot of cognitive thought going on in his brain when he was looking at me.
Around the same time, Darlene Schacht featured guest writer Lisa Jacobson on her blog Time Warp Wife who expressed her thoughts on modesty. "I noticed a pretty girl nearby and wondered if she realized how difficult she was making it for a guy."
Now, I'm not for one minute saying that I am against a bikini, BUT I did find all of these to be fascinating publications. It makes you stop to take a second look at the ways things are presented today.
We ALL know that sex sells. If it didn't, why would the professional cheerleaders wear so much make up & such little uniforms? If it didn't, why do most beer commercials have scantily clad women in them? Both of these fields cater to hot blooded men.
I'm not trying to remove all responsibility from men today either. Men, both old & young, need to guard themselves so they do not look at the female species as sex objects. Women & young girls need to guard themselves as well. They need to love themselves enough not to run around looking like they forgot most of their clothes or are headed to the street corner for the night.
I have the privilege of raising both boys & a girl. My desire for them is that they always want to look their best. Always act their best. Always present themselves in a way that would be pleasing to God, their father, & I.
Girls, next time you buy a dress, put on an outfit, or want to go swimming, please take a few more minutes to consider what you have on. Is it appropriate? What message does it convey?
Boys, next time you see a young lady dressed in less than her best, please think more of yourself & her to look the other way.
If you are more interested in the swimwear by Jessica Rey, check out her website & on Facebook.
Living on a farm, we have an abundance of animals around here. We have a dog, a couple of pigs, about 12 cows, and around 100 chickens.We have plenty of song birds, crows, doves, bats, and untold amounts of flying critters. We have also been known to spot raccoons, possums, stray cats, groundhogs, and even coyotes wandering around.
Here lately, our abundance of pets has quadrupled. It appears that we are also housing & feeding countless ant colonies & enough flies to make napping a thing of the past!
Are you with me here? Do you find yourself singing "Where Have All The Flies Come From" to the tune of Paula Cole?
Well, if you are anything like me, you are ready to do just about anything short of hanging fly strips from your ceiling & lining the window sills with poison. So let's investigate some frugal, friendlier options to inform our special guests that they are no longer welcome at our homes.
Before you had kids, did you already have names picked out? Did you pictured what they would look like & how they would behave?
When you were expecting your children were you able to pick out their names then or did you struggle to find the perfect one? Were you one of those that never questioned the name you chose or did you wait to meet your miracle in the hopes that their personality would help determine a moniker?
What about pets, do you find yourself going with the same ole boring names? Or do you try to have a one of a kind pooch?
I named my oldest when I was still in high school before I ever met my husband. I knew I wanted a little boy named Austin Tyler and we would call him Ty. Well, I got my Austin but his middle name is Dale after his daddy & grandpa.
When I was expecting Austin, Justin & I settled on Makenzie Leah if we ever had a girl. Her middle name is a tribute to my grandmother Cora Lee & Justin's grandmother Grace Leigh.
We struggled for 7 months to name Logan. Nothing sounded right & we just couldn't agree on anything. Finally, Logan Reece just seems to roll right off the tongue.
Looking at my kids today, they "look" like their names. I couldn't imagine calling them anything else. I'm sure you feel the same way about your kids.
Does it REALLY matter in the long run?
Romeo & Juliet knew that a name wasn't nearly as important as their families thought. But a name & circumstances were what tore them apart.
"What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;" In the state of NC, it is a requirement to name our homeschool. I had a hard time with this. I wanted to find the perfect name for our family. Something that would tell our story, something that would express our beliefs, somewhere that our kids could be proud of graduating from. I kept returning to Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." This is one of my favorite Bible verses, but it just didn't seem right for us. Then something came to me. I told Justin to pray & tell me his thoughts because I wanted God to show both of us. Music is a big part of who I am & how I express myself. It always has been. Its nothing new for me to get a song stuck in my head for days or to listen to the lyrics & dive much deeper than your average person would with its meaning. When I realized that I had a song stuck in my head that I haven't even heard in years, it stopped me in my tracks. I asked Justin if he had given any more thought about our homeschool name. He didn't have an ideas, but he just couldn't get away from Grace. ding ding ding - We have a winner! I had clung to 1st Corinthians 15:10 sometime back, "But by the graceofGod I am what I am", so this became the verse that represented our school. So Grace of God Christian Academy was born. Oh, by the way, that song that was stuck in my head.....
And just for the fun of it....HERE is a post I wrote on names a few years ago.
Yet another hit for supper tonight! Well, the kids didn't care for the noodles, but that's ok. Everything else was delish!
I just haven't been in the mood to cook lately. I haven't been planning my menus & I haven't been very frugal when shopping. Oh, that needs to change!
So, its 5 o'clock & NOTHING is planned for supper. The hubby asks me what I have planned. Um....... yeah. So I go scrounging through the cabinets. The beginning of the month gets a little hairy because I usually haven't went to the store on my monthly shopping trip yet.
Hmmm, chicken? Again?
Sure, why not? I cooked chicken tenders with Grill Mates Spiced Brandy Marinade. I added Apricot preserves (instead of Peach) to the marinade.
I found a bowl of Sesame Teriyaki Noodles (which was an individual bowl - but I knew the kids wouldn't eat them so no worries), added carrots & mushrooms and popped it in the microwave.
I also threw a few frozen chicken egg rolls into the oven.
And viola! Supper thrown together without much thought but was still yummy enough for Justin to agree to take it for lunch tomorrow.
Ok guys. I need a little help here. I have committed to a monumental task! I have signed up for the Ultimate Blog Challenge for the month of July. Everyone who is participating has agreed to post every single day in July. Where you wondering WHY I was blowing up your notifications?! Yep, this is supposed to increase traffic to our blogs.
My regulars know me. You know what I write about. You know my passions. You know my comfort zone. You know my beliefs.
The newbies that are just stopping by, you might still be trying to figure out just who I am.
I want some honest feedback.
Is there a topic that you want me to address? Is there something that I talk about too much? You can tell me, I won't get mad. But just for the record, if you tell me I talk about homeschooling too much, I can't cut back on that. It consumes my life!
