Heavenly Father,
I bow down before you with a heart that is heavy and sorrowful. I want to tell you how much I love you and how thankful I am for your great sacrifice, which has saved me from the punishment of my sins. My sins are great. They are many. But they are forgiven because I believe You have cleansed me, they are as far from me as the east is from the west. I praise You for that! I rejoiced this weekend as I reflected on Your miraculous Resurrection. You have conquered sin and death. You are not dead, You are alive and at the right hand of the Father. You intercede for me. You love me with an everlasting love. I praise You for that!
In Your word You have told me that all things work together for good to those who love you and serve You. I cannot always see that as I live my daily life. But I believe it to be true, nonetheless. I pray you will cause all things to work together for good in Terri’s life and for her parents. Both are suffering greatly. Be merciful to this family, provide for their needs, comfort them, and give them peace. Bless them through this trial. I pray that Terri will be safely home in your arms very soon, if it is Your will for her to join You at this time. May Your will be done. I can’t help but hope for a miracle though. I believe Terri’s life is in Your loving hands. I ask You to save her. I thank you for her life.
I pray for our country. We are in perilous times. I pray for judges and lawmakers. Draw us closer to You, Lord. Break us of our pride. Humble us. May we turn our hearts to You, repenting of our wickedness and our sins against You. Help us to love as You love. Help us to value human life as we should. And then to make and enforce laws that protect life, rather than take life.
My prayer is not eloquent. I don’t always know how to pray, or what to pray for. But I come boldly before the throne as your daughter, and I ask for Your intervention. Thank you for hearing my prayer. Thank you for answering prayer. Thank you for loving me.
In the Precious Name of Jesus,
my Saviour,
Amen
Monday, March 28, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Ancora imparo!
I've been a bad girl and neglected my blog. Once again, busy living life.
Visiting friends.
Reading books.
Cleaning house.
Doing laundry.
Reading to my boys.
Playing with my boys.
Grocery shopping.
Checking emails.
Talking to my mom on the phone.
And not taking the time or energy to write! Aarrgghh! I don't know why I do that. But I have found there are phases of writing. Times when you have many things to write about. And other times when the brain is empty of words and the heart feels like there's nothing of real importance to share.
I like this quote:
"Ancora imparo!"
Which means "I am still learning!" Can you believe that Michaelangelo said this when he was 87 years old?
May we always be learning. Sounds like a good motto to me.
Rejoice evermore,
Marla
Visiting friends.
Reading books.
Cleaning house.
Doing laundry.
Reading to my boys.
Playing with my boys.
Grocery shopping.
Checking emails.
Talking to my mom on the phone.
And not taking the time or energy to write! Aarrgghh! I don't know why I do that. But I have found there are phases of writing. Times when you have many things to write about. And other times when the brain is empty of words and the heart feels like there's nothing of real importance to share.
I like this quote:
"Ancora imparo!"
Which means "I am still learning!" Can you believe that Michaelangelo said this when he was 87 years old?
May we always be learning. Sounds like a good motto to me.
Rejoice evermore,
Marla
Friday, March 11, 2005
A Good Week
I don’t know about you, but we’ve had a fantastic week! Today I heard ~D~ say that English is fun! His brother didn’t really agree with him, but that’s ok. I know they are both learning a lot. Whenever I’m tempted to wonder if they are learning anything, I think about all of the one on one my kids are getting. We have an awesome student to teacher ratio! ~N~ is working through the Shurley English lessons that teach how to use quotation marks properly. It’s been a test of his mental powers for some reason. So many tiny marks (commas, quote marks, apostrophes, etc!) to try and make sense of. Yesterday, I picked three sentences from a book he’s been reading that included quotation marks. I wrote them on our dry erase board along with the page number that I found them on. Then I asked him to make punctuation and capitalization corrections along with adding the quotation marks in the right places. When he was finished, he looked up the quotes (which he was already familiar with) and checked his work. He wasn’t thrilled with the “extra work,” but he did seem to enjoy this method, rather than correcting sentences from his English workbook.
We finished reading about Clara Barton this week. WOW. She inspired us. Several times as I read the book, tears welled up in my eyes, especially when I read about Clara being in Fredericksburg and helping so many wounded soldiers during the Civil War. There is a local chapter of the Red Cross near our home and I’m thinking of calling them or dropping by with the boys, just to help make the connection with Clara “real.” I don’t think it’s a big enough facility for a tour, but maybe we could talk to someone or just bring home some brochures to help solidify our learning.
These experiences are what excite me about homeschooling. My imagination is beginning to run wild with ideas. My energy level has probably never been higher. My own love of learning has been rekindled and it feels like the sky is the limit right now!
This morning ~D~ was using binoculars to study some robins that were in our back yard. I grabbed a bird book to show him a picture of a robin and read to him its description. I mentioned that I have many times enjoyed watching robins and other birds in our yard, but I have never seen a bird catch a worm and eat it. Lo and behold, less than 20 minutes later, he hollers at me in a very excited voice. “Guess what, Mom? I just saw a robin get a worm and eat it!” Well, the unfairness of it all. Why did I have to go to the bathroom and brush my hair and miss seeing the early bird get the worm??
I joined a homeschool co-op group. We have classes on Friday mornings together. ~N~ has classes in Critical Thinking, Spanish, and Geography. ~D~ has the same ones except he has Science instead of Critical Thinking. I wasn’t sure if I’d like being in a homeschool group, or participating in co-ops, but I do. It is great to have a network of other homeschooling families, and with this group, we all go to the same church, an added benefit.
I finished reading “The Goldsmith’s Daughter” (an excellent mystery!), and have now begun Jan Karon’s 8th novel in the Mitford series, “Shepherds Abiding.” I love the Mitford books. The characters are like old friends of mine, so real and so fun to be around. I like Father Tim’s outlook on life and how he enjoys the simple things, like the banging of pots and pans he hears while his wife cooks him a meal.
Makes me mindful to do the same….
to listen as the rain falls,
to take in the scent of my children’s freshly shampooed hair,
to be thankful for my handy-man husband
to say a prayer for my mother
and to rejoice, always, for all things.
Marla
We finished reading about Clara Barton this week. WOW. She inspired us. Several times as I read the book, tears welled up in my eyes, especially when I read about Clara being in Fredericksburg and helping so many wounded soldiers during the Civil War. There is a local chapter of the Red Cross near our home and I’m thinking of calling them or dropping by with the boys, just to help make the connection with Clara “real.” I don’t think it’s a big enough facility for a tour, but maybe we could talk to someone or just bring home some brochures to help solidify our learning.
These experiences are what excite me about homeschooling. My imagination is beginning to run wild with ideas. My energy level has probably never been higher. My own love of learning has been rekindled and it feels like the sky is the limit right now!
This morning ~D~ was using binoculars to study some robins that were in our back yard. I grabbed a bird book to show him a picture of a robin and read to him its description. I mentioned that I have many times enjoyed watching robins and other birds in our yard, but I have never seen a bird catch a worm and eat it. Lo and behold, less than 20 minutes later, he hollers at me in a very excited voice. “Guess what, Mom? I just saw a robin get a worm and eat it!” Well, the unfairness of it all. Why did I have to go to the bathroom and brush my hair and miss seeing the early bird get the worm??
I joined a homeschool co-op group. We have classes on Friday mornings together. ~N~ has classes in Critical Thinking, Spanish, and Geography. ~D~ has the same ones except he has Science instead of Critical Thinking. I wasn’t sure if I’d like being in a homeschool group, or participating in co-ops, but I do. It is great to have a network of other homeschooling families, and with this group, we all go to the same church, an added benefit.
I finished reading “The Goldsmith’s Daughter” (an excellent mystery!), and have now begun Jan Karon’s 8th novel in the Mitford series, “Shepherds Abiding.” I love the Mitford books. The characters are like old friends of mine, so real and so fun to be around. I like Father Tim’s outlook on life and how he enjoys the simple things, like the banging of pots and pans he hears while his wife cooks him a meal.
Makes me mindful to do the same….
to listen as the rain falls,
to take in the scent of my children’s freshly shampooed hair,
to be thankful for my handy-man husband
to say a prayer for my mother
and to rejoice, always, for all things.
Marla
Thursday, March 03, 2005
More on Reading
Thanks for the nice comments on my last post!! Sure was great hearing from all of you! I also want to thank Dy for the Notepad tip. That has helped a lot!
We have had better luck with our internet service lately. I think we might have had a virus or something. After uninstalling Netscape, and then re-installing it again, it has worked much, much better. Yahoo!!
I recently purchased “Drawing with Children” (by Mona Brookes). I originally thought I would use it to as a tool to teach my boys how to draw, since I’m no artist. But as I’ve read through the first couple of chapters, it has convinced me that maybe, just maybe I can learn to draw too! (I’ll let you know how it goes…)
Another book I recently purchased (hey, you can’t go wrong with Amazon’s used books!) is “Home Educating With Confidence” by Rick and Marilyn Boyer. Also “The Hands-On Dad” by Rick Boyer. Anyone heard of the Boyer’s? Anything I should know about them?
While I’m on this topic of books, let me tell you about a sweet moment that took place a couple nights ago. ~N~ was on his top bunk, getting ready for bed. Daddy was just about to turn out the lights when ~N~ declared he was going to read. (Never turn out the lights on a kid who wants to read, I always say.) Becca, our kitty, was curled up beside ~N~, where she always sleeps at night. ~N~ pulled out a library book about volcanoes and began reading out loud. He noticed Becca appeared to be interested in his book, because she was looking at the pages he was reading and then looking at him. So he read several pages in this way. It was the cutest thing! He was so INTO it!!
I’ve noticed since we moved here that ~N~ has had more interest in reading. Its not like pulling teeth anymore! Also, both boys are starting to talk more about the things they are learning, which shows me that their love of learning is returning. I still have my doubts and worries. But I have much more confidence and hope that we are on the right track.
So, life is good.
The sun is shining.
My boys are outside playing.
And I am...
Rejoicing,
Marla
We have had better luck with our internet service lately. I think we might have had a virus or something. After uninstalling Netscape, and then re-installing it again, it has worked much, much better. Yahoo!!
I recently purchased “Drawing with Children” (by Mona Brookes). I originally thought I would use it to as a tool to teach my boys how to draw, since I’m no artist. But as I’ve read through the first couple of chapters, it has convinced me that maybe, just maybe I can learn to draw too! (I’ll let you know how it goes…)
Another book I recently purchased (hey, you can’t go wrong with Amazon’s used books!) is “Home Educating With Confidence” by Rick and Marilyn Boyer. Also “The Hands-On Dad” by Rick Boyer. Anyone heard of the Boyer’s? Anything I should know about them?
While I’m on this topic of books, let me tell you about a sweet moment that took place a couple nights ago. ~N~ was on his top bunk, getting ready for bed. Daddy was just about to turn out the lights when ~N~ declared he was going to read. (Never turn out the lights on a kid who wants to read, I always say.) Becca, our kitty, was curled up beside ~N~, where she always sleeps at night. ~N~ pulled out a library book about volcanoes and began reading out loud. He noticed Becca appeared to be interested in his book, because she was looking at the pages he was reading and then looking at him. So he read several pages in this way. It was the cutest thing! He was so INTO it!!
I’ve noticed since we moved here that ~N~ has had more interest in reading. Its not like pulling teeth anymore! Also, both boys are starting to talk more about the things they are learning, which shows me that their love of learning is returning. I still have my doubts and worries. But I have much more confidence and hope that we are on the right track.
So, life is good.
The sun is shining.
My boys are outside playing.
And I am...
Rejoicing,
Marla
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