We'll Send You Some

Everyone out West has been complaining of no snow. We have several feet laying on the ground (and recently shoveled off the roof) that we would be happy to send you.

Gretchen and Peter John with friends on one our our snow drifts.

PJ skating at the park in December

Read Through the Bible in a Year

This is a great resource to help you read God's Word on a daily basis:

http://www.esv.org/resources/reading-plans-devotions/

There are several plans to choose from. We used the M'Cheyne plan last year. The Gospel Coalition website also has a great daily devotional by D.A. Carson called "For the Love of God" that uses the M'Cheyne plan as a basis for the Bible commentaries. I highly recommend it.

When I was in high school I began reading the Bible on a daily basis using a reading plan. It has been instrumental for getting to know God and for my spiritual growth. You should think about trying this! It is well worth the 20 minutes every day.

Summer Dreamin'

My missionary friends, the Haydens, once posted on their blog a video of their kids observing some bugs they bought in the market. They said this is what delights kids without TV. Well, my kids don't have TV either, and part of the time the result involves plenty of mayhem and fighting, but many sparks of GREAT creativity. They play outside a lot, do a lot of creative activities, and there are some frustrating moments of boredom at times. But, for the most part, they have done a lot of healthy playing and creating.

This video brought a smile to a weary mother's face today. It is an example of some of their creative moments playing outside, and it made me long for summer during today's snowstorm here in central Minnesota:

All I Have Is Christ

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life --Jordan Kauflin from another favorite Sovereign Grace song

If there is anything good that can come from loss it would be finding joy and fulfillment in Christ alone. I honestly cannot think of a better way of tearing down our idols than having them sovereignly taken away, leaving us to search for something deeper, longer lasting, and eternal. God has brought me to this place over and over again through difficult trials, and though they were extremely painful, I can rejoice over them.

My husband prayed a prayer once that has had eternal impact on us:
Lord, reduce me to Christ.

Were we prepared for the impact that would make on our lives? Jesus is the bread of life. If we have Jesus, we have everything we need. This Christmas season has been especially meaningful to me as I remember the significant gift of a Savior to save us from our sins. Praise God for Immanuel, God is with us.

Family

It's Been TOO long..

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I have posted anything on this blog. When we were missionaries, I felt like I actually had something to write about. Now that life is pretty much about education (homeschool and Ethan's seminary classes) I have restricted my blogs to photos of the kids and Ethan's wonderful mission trip this past summer. Plus, in general, I do not have the gift of writing that my husband's first cousin once-removed has on hesowsshesews.com. Yet, I can follow Gretchen's blog and in some ways feel her writing reflects many aspects of my life as a mom.

Homeschooling has been going much better than I expected at the beginning of the year. Now that things are well organized and we are in the flow of our work, my anxiety level has decreased to pretty much nothing. This has its exceptions however, especially when one of my children becomes very frustrated with his work and does not wish to endure through a difficult assignment. After a strong emotional reaction from this child, I do begin to wonder if I am doing the right thing in teaching this child at home, however, when I see the progress the kids are making, I don't doubt it any longer. They truly are making excellent progress in all areas. Now, if we could see some progress in the area of maturity and character. May God be strong in my weakness of instructing my children in this area. Parenting has to be the hardest job ever.

The School of Choice at Adams School has been a fantastic addition to homeschooling. I have been so very thankful to God for this program. Mrs. Torkelson and Mrs. Heikes have about four times my energy and are tremendously gifted teachers and communicators. In many of the ways I lack in teaching, they make up for it in many wonderful creative ways. Last Tuesday, the families of the co-op got together for a Thanksgiving Party with authentic food and dress. Gretchen, Lizzy, and Amy dressed as pilgrim girls, and Peter John was an indian. I baked two huge 9 x 13 pans of pumpkin pie (in the bar form so that it could be served more easily), and the kids sang songs that Mrs. Torkelson had taught them.
Unfortunately, I missed the entire event due to the stomach flu that has been bothering me for several days now. The kids performed beautifully from what I could see of the video Ethan shot.

Ethan's classes are going well. He has been swamped with papers and tests for weeks now. He has barely had enough time to breathe, and the Thanksgving Break has given him time to finish some papers that were due. I am sure he is looking forward to the end of the semester coming up in a few weeks. God has so graciously provided our daily bread, and I am truly thankful for his goodness. Now that things are slowing down for him at work (his work is primarily seasonal), Ethan will probably need to find another part-time job over the dark winter months of December and January. Until then, we pray for God to continue to provide in the miraculous way He has done so far.

This past week we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday and a wonderful Thanksgving holiday. These two events have turned my mind and heart to God and His goodness and steadfast love that endures forever. Our memory verse for last week was from I Chronicles 16:34 "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever." God is good.

My Little Darlings

Lizzy and Amy are my two youngest: