Tuesday, September 29, 2009

He Leads Me Beside Still Waters, He Restores My Soul...

Taking time out today to be alone: in order to readjust my thinking, refresh my soul and renew my strength; spending some time "forging solitude." Starting my day out with a long hike in the early morning cool weather, then going to a coffee shop to savor a cup of English Breakfast tea with a good book, maybe spend some time in Descanso Gardens... ahhh, a whole day...


Things I'm pondering and reading:


Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God from Paul David Tripp





Meditating on a post about a Mother's Work from Ann Voskamp@
aholyexperience.com:

Because all work is sacred work, worthy of the diligence, the effort, I pick up lost legos, dry the pots, whish the toilets and this serves God. For if I can’t meet God in my work, where do I meet Him? If I don’t serve Him here, where do I serve Him? Are we not called to serve God in the work – not merely in some imagined, mirage place outside of work?

In a model of Christian work, we live one-piece lives, all weaving together into a sacred
cloth as unto the Lord with no false seams between God and our days.

And in our work, sacred work because there is no such thing as secular work, we first serve God. I’ll put away the laundry, sweep the crumbs, polish the windows not to serve my family
primarily, but to serve God. Because, “whenever man is made the centre of things, he becomes the storm center of trouble,” writes Dorothy Sayers. The moment you think of serving people, you begin to have a notion that other people owe you something for your pains…. You will begin to bargain for reward, to angle for applause.”



Reading through a series on Spiritual Disciplines: prayer, worship, gratitude, meditation, journaling, etc.

Walk With Him Series




Monday, September 28, 2009

Sampling of Books We're Reading This Year

This is my favorite year of homeschooling! I did this with Zach and Courtney when they were younger. They both said that it was a year that really stuck with them and they still remember the wonderful stories they read. I'm deviating from our normal curriculum for Taylor and Ashley (Tapestry of Grace) to squeeze this in before moving on with Tapestry.

This is from Sonlight Curriculum. We're studying the Eastern Hemisphere and the countries that fall within the 10/40 Window. Here's a video explaining what that means.

While none of this information will show up on a SAT test, I do believe that developing a love of reading history and good writing, piquing interest in and gaining understanding of cultures other than our own, and developing compassion for the poor and unreached in our world will reap lifelong rewards.


























Saturday, September 26, 2009

First Dance

Here's a link to Andrea's Blog. She posted the audio of the song Zach wrote and sang for their first dance.

I think that was one of my favorite parts of the day!

Monday, September 21, 2009

More Wedding Photos

Here's a link to the wedding photographer's blog; she posted a sampling of pics from the wedding.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009