Strike Three...He's Out

of the Bible quiz that is! Today was Joshua's first ever Bible Quiz Meet. He was so excited...and I, to my shame, was D.R.E.A.D.I.N.G. it. First of all, I have real issues with saying we are doing something for the glory of God when what we are really trying to do is outdo someone else. YIPPEE...I am so godly and now I know more than you...and now I can outdo you. If pride weren't part of it, then the winning team wouldn't say,"Yippee! WE won! And I quizzed out - and how many questions did I answer right? And how many did you miss? And...I only missed.." What a godly way to lead our children to the sin of pride. Todd and I talk and pray about this a lot. Let's teach our children Scripture, and let's teach them to sin at the same time. YUCK! We are praying through this, so if any of you have any godly insight, please feel free to input. I have already heard that "The Word of the Lord never comes back void." Yes, I know. I also know that pride comes before a fall...and ummm...well...we are sending in the kiddos to beat the others up...ummm...isn't that going to lead to...ummm....PRIDE!!

Anyway, I am letting it go...I have to because I just don't get it and Joshua is having FUN! So, even with my ill feelings about it, I was such a nervous mama bird and just kept committing him to the Father. He did great...UMMMM...if you count erroring out two of the three quizzes great...and if you count his team losing every session great. Seriously, though, God let Joshua serve Him today, and that was good. He led the session in prayer, and he answered questions right, he celebrated with the winning team and he did his best. He was not afraid...he was strong and courageous and the Lord his God was with him. And... he was EXCELLENT at jumping off his seat...ahh...too good, obviously, because he got three questions wrong in each of two of the three quizzes and so, "quizzed out" twice. To me, it is kind of like striking out in baseball. Poor baby! Seriously, though, he didn't care. He was so excited to be there and be part of his team.

A Gift from my Father

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?? Well, I do...and I especially love that it is neither a plan of my making nor of my orchestration...it is just God, being God...doing far more, abundantly, exceedingly more, than I could ever ask or imagine. So...here it goes. I so love using Heart of Dakota curriculum. I did not have the money to buy it last year, so I just bought the guide and whatever books I could not get out of the library. I was sure that this year would be different. I have a scholarship, the books will be 50% paid for...etc. The only catch is that I have to pay for the books up front.

Enter the problem: I don't have any money to pay for the books up front. Oh, I could have used a slew of different curricula. My friends all offered theirs to me, but I just knew that God wanted me to use HOD. So, I prayed...and I prayed...and I prayed...and I waited...and I waited...and I waited....for what? Well, certainly I did not know what it was going to look like, but I knew that it was going to be a God moment, and He would intervene. That much I was sure of!

And today, He made it clear to me that He has heard my prayers and has answered! I received a package. ..and in it was...drum roll please....the Creation to Christ Instructor's Guide and The History of the Ancient World! Praise God! He hears me when I cry and He answers. He knows my desire to raise my children to know Him and honor Him...and He has led me to HOD because of all the curricula I have tried or used, it is the one that helps me accomplish this goal! Oh, how amazed I am and how moved to tears. I celebrate the faithfulness of my Father, my Redeemer and my King! Praising God!!

An Amazing Provision

God is so good!! I am often overwhelmed by His loving kindness and goodness to me. I have done NOTHING that would cause me to deserve His loving kindness or His forgiveness...and yet, His love for me is so great that He chooses to make a way through Jesus for me to be forgiven, for my sins to be cleansed. Then, not only does He give me forgiveness, cleansing me, but He also provides for my every need...and generously gives me so much more than I could ever ask or imagine!

One of my devotionals this weekend was about seeing all of our circumstances through that truth. Whether difficult things are happening or wonderful things, we can be assured that His intentions toward us are loving, good and kind. My job is to not let my circumstances dictate my understanding of God, but to let the Truth about who God is interpret my circumstances, constantly looking for evidence of God's goodness...it is there! His Word is TRUE regardless of my circumstances.

And, here is one example of His goodness in the midst of difficult financial situations.
We had a great "work" weekend. And, being Labor Day, we had an extra day together, celebrating and enjoying our family. Saturday we drove an hour to pick up an INCREDIBLE swing set that someone chose to bless us with (God in action!!). Then, zipped on home and Todd and Joshua began "shop class"...a two day adventure in assembling this massive wooden structure. Finally, this afternoon, the boys enjoyed it together. Josh likes to climb up on top of the monkey bars and sit...just like his mama used to do when she was a young girl (am I really old now??). Jacob uses the sandbox under the wooden deck as a house. He invites us in and shows us around with pride. The boys are just too cute! And...we just praise God for His abundant provision of this swing set. It is so much more than we could have imagined! At a time when we can not afford to do the smallest thing for our boys, God is busy doing BIG things for them. He is building their faith and ours in ways that we could not even begin to imagine if we could just go out and buy everything on our own.

School News

Well, our first and second week of school are behind us. I, as always, am exhausted. Joshua is THRILLED with CHOICE...our Friday co-op. He gets to take Logos: A Study of Latin Roots, Spanish, a writing class (IEW), leadership, music and choir. He is such a "social butterfly" that he thrives there. I have the privilege of returning to my roots and teaching Spanish. I have been out of the classroom since Joshua was born, but it is always good to use God's gifts for His glory.

Our weeks have been filled with Heart of Dakota's Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ - I am just using bits and pieces until God provides the funds to purchase all of it. Actually, He has provided the funds through a scholarship (Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund), we just don't have the money to pay up front yet - they reimburse. We will...God will provide it. Anway, We LOVE HOD. It is exactly what I have been looking for in a curriculum. The focus from the beginning of our day to the end is God. We get to read great books and discuss them in comparison and contrast to God's Word. We are studying history and science from a biblical perspective. Oh, I am so excited to find a curriculum that so wonderfully fits our family!

I am eventually going to begin the preschool program, Little Hands to Heaven, with Jacob. He is only 2, but he likes to sit in on our painting projects and our read alouds...well, sometimes. He also likes to be read to. Last week he began recognizing some letters and actually said "Squirrel" and "Spider"...YIPPEE!! For those of you who don't know, he is a late bloomer when it comes to speech. He has not been talking, but he understands everything perfectly. Oh, and he went to co-op with us on Friday. He had quite the exciting day and even attended one class. I think it was the Playdoh class (ahmm - can you actually call that a class??). Unnaturally, when I went to get him he threw a fit and cried - it is usually when I leave him he cries. Obviously, he really enjoyed it and did not want to leave. At two, Jake really likes to be with other kiddos. It is so fun to watch him blossom!!

Looking forward to another great week focusing on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! And, prayerfully, ordering the rest of my books.