Things on my heart this summer

Five things on my heart this June and July:

Dreamer riding Tuffy at a show in June

1. Scripture study
2. Horse showing
3. Bible game
4. Surrendering
5. My dad, care center, sharing my faith at work

1. Scripture study
Earlier this spring I was convicted to study the Bible on my own, instead of doing a Beth Moore Bible study or some other person's Bible study. It's been a while since I've done this (a couple years). I have done this in the past with Romans, 1 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Peter.  In May I started studying 1 Thessalonians. My method study is usually to read the same chapter in full every day for a week. At the end of the week on a day when I have plenty of time, I take two or three verses and really dig into them. Look for key words, themes, repeated words, and work through the who, what, why, when, where, how questions. Some verses I will look up in the Blue Letter Bible to see the original Greek meanings of words.  My favorite part is looking up reference verses, to see where similar words and themes are found through out the Bible.

The first references I looked up were for 1 Thess 1:9, "you turned from idols to serve the living and true God." I looked up all the references of "living God". I found eleven verses that each gave a different view of God, and taken altogether completely awed me.

These are just a few:

•  1 Sam 17:36 (story of David and Goliath) "who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
• Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 
• Jeremiah 23:36 Every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the word of the living God 
• Hebrews 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God
• Rev 7:2 Then I saw another angel coming from the East, having the seal of the living God

I did the same exercise with 1 Thess 2:13 "you accepted the Word as it actually is: the Word of God which is indeed at work in you" - my Thompson Chain Reference bible linked this to a chain of verses under the heading of the "power of the Word" and it was fantastic reading through dozens of verses about the power of God's Word.

2. Horse showing
We've taken the girls to several horse shows this summer, and to the intense 3 day 4H Horse Camp in Douglas, Wyoming, which was an incredible learning opportunity. Blaze rode Spring, and Dreamer rode Tuffy, and there were four classes in the morning and four in the afternoon: showmanship, trail, equitation, patterns, barrel racing, pole bending, English, ground work (lunging), saddle fitting, first aid for horses, conformation, shoeing and hoof care, knot tying, even sorting cattle!! B. and I took turns going to the classes with Blaze and Dreamer, and the twins climbed over and under every fence, grand stand, pen, etc across the entire facility and actually managed to not get hurt or hurt anyone else (phew!) The third and last day was  a little practice show in the morning, and both Dreamer and Blaze placed about in the middle of the pack (Dreamer is in the Junior division, ages 8-10; there were about 25 kids) and Blaze is in the intermediate division, ages 11-13, about 35 kids).

Of course there were tears and frustration because they wanted to win something, and it wasn't much encouragement to tell them that they were competing from kids from all around the the state of Wyoming, and probably some of the best riders, too, because it takes some serious dedication to get to and through horse camp.

B. and I struggled, too. B's very competitive and I claim I'm not that competitive, but turns out that events like this make me really itch to push the kids. But both B. and I know that pushing the kids is only half of the equation. They also have to really want it and be willing to do the daily practice to get to a competitive level.   I struggle with knowing how to balance it all: how much to push them, how much to let them take their own initiative. And I struggle with my own attitude. It's so hard not to get bitter with the rich families that can afford to buy expensive, well trained horses, and keep them well trained with expensive trainers, and have their kids take $50 an hour lessons. When you are up against those odds, it's so frustrating. It IS possible to compete with people like that, but you have to work twice as hard, and make due with second hand equipment that isn't as flashy and pretty as the rich kids' stuff (at least English equipment is standardized; but Western show clothes and saddles can range from plain jane to all decked out with silver and sparkles; easily costing thousands of dollars). 

When faced with what sometimes feels like a sport dominated by the rich and requires so much money that maybe ought to go more important things like missions and the poor and orphanages and such, I also question what values this is teaching my kids. But on the other hand, learning how to work as a partner with a horse is also an incredible opportunity. It teaches patience, kindness, self control, responsibility, consistency, sensitivity, to name a few... (also physical benefits like balance, coordination, flexibility and quick reaction).

After all the hard work with horses this summer, and seeing my own emotions and my girls' run so high, it was good to go for a walk this morning and talk to God about it.

3. Bible game
Blaze is not as negative as she was at the beginning of the year about church and the Bible, but she still struggles with it - "why can't it be more fun?" She likes to help me in the 3 year old children's church rather than sit through the main service, even though the lessons are way simplified for 3 year olds. Recently I came up with an idea to teach Blaze and my other girls some Bible lessons and important verses through a board game that we all love: "SORRY!" In the regular game, the cards have numbers and instructions on them, like move ahead 7, or move backwards 4, or switch places with an opponent. So I made an identical set of cards but with Bible questions on them like "What is the Gospel?" and verse fill-in-the-blanks like "The ___________ declare the glory of God". This was such a fun project to work on and I can easily add or change out the cards with new ones to expand their Bible learning. The girls like playing it and even B. played it with us, though with him playing the game really slowed down as we got into more discussion (but that's a good thing too!)

4. Surrendering
My theme this year has been Surrender  (NOT surrendering to temptation, but surrendering to God's will). Though I continue to go to Overeaters Anonymous at least 3 times a month and get great encouragement from my accountability team, I haven't lost any weight in over a year. The first 20 pounds was a big step, but more needs to go! Lately I have really been trying to remember surrender DAILY. Faced with a less than healthy food choice - a few times this past week I have remembered to surrender to God and not to the temptation.  My OA buddy C. has also had some success with this in the last week, too, and we are trying to text/email/call daily to keep each other going, and track everything we eat to share with each other for accountability too. I feel like every little effort I put in, even remembering to write down what I ate, or murmuring "surrender" as a reminder, or thanking God for blessings several times a day, gets me a little further away from bad habits and closer to good habits.

5.  My dad, care center, sharing my faith at work
This I almost don't want to mention because I have been a failure in these three things. I had a long weekend taking care of my dad while my mom went to visit her sisters and brothers, and I hoped to talk to him more and share the Word with him. I also can't get it out of my head that I need to volunteer at our local senior care center, even just one hour a week, visiting folks there - but I keep putting it off.  I want to share the Word at work, and that hasn't happened, either, because I'm too afraid, or lazy, or both. But I want to be someone that people would say first of all: "she loves the Lord" rather than just "she's nice" or "she's positive." But even more important, I want to not even think about me and how people perceive me, but be thinking about God first, and others next, before myself.

Late addition: how could I forget to mention writing? I've have my query and sample pages out to seven agents. So far one rejection but rejection is part of the game. I have seven more agents I'm getting ready to query, too, but then I read this amazing book, Writing Twenty First Century Fiction, by Donald Maass, and it gave a whole list of ideas for how to make my story stronger. So am I working on these "enrichments" and will query more agents after the edits. The thing that I loved especially about Maass' writing advice is that he really pushes you to work timeless questions or mysteries of life into your stories; to use your writing to impact readers with significance and meaning.  This is  my main motivation in writing (besides the great sense of adventure and fulfillment it brings me): to convey the glory of God and the mysterious ways he works in our lives... but this books shows you practical ways to accomplish this: to be high impact without overbearing.

June gifts: summer camp

Now that I finally have some space from March and April and May - those months were filled with loss (though also filled with many blessings), I'm catching up with my 1000 gifts list. These gifts are from June.

845. New 4H friends
This spring and summer we've  been going regularly to 4H horse nights and both the girls and I have made some new friends there! So thankful for Tage and his granddaughter Raine who have taught us so much (especially in Western pleasure/equitation, which B. and I knew almost nothing about) and always had sincere compliments for the girls and their horses.

846. 4H horse camp in Douglas, Wyoming
I wrote about this earlier, but mostly about the horse parts; also wanted to mention the other "non-horse parts": so much of this camp (even the horrible cafeteria food!) brought back fond memories of my years of Girl Scouts summer camp including climbing trees and silly camp songs and water balloon fights and tie dye shirts.

Dreamer with her horse Tuffy at 4H horse camp

What I loved most was being able to participate in all the camp activities with my girls. We brought our camper along which added to the camp fun and made some great friends (April and her daughter Jaedyn were already friends, but not they are REALLY friends). Had great fun with them at the Douglas swimming pool after camp, too where there was giant water slide.

Starlet climbing the tree at our campsite

847. Spanish bar cake
Every year I've been working on perfecting this recipe for my Dad for Father's Day. He used to buy Spanish Bar cake in the summer for us to eat on the deck behind our house on Morris Ave, it was our favorite. You can't buy it anymore (at least not out here in the West) so I've been trying to get as a close as possible to our memories of this yummy treat.


848. Imaginative dragons
Blaze and Dreamer have had so much fun playing the Dragonvale app on their tablets and I've had fun seeing their proud dragon acquistions - they are so imaginative! A glacier dragon! A flying tree dragon!

849. More horse show friends
Took the girls to a little horse show in Cheyenne and was really pleased by how small and friendly the "competition" was. One family whose daughter was Blaze's age and in all the same classes even helped us by lending Blaze an English show coat, because she'd out grown  her coat from last year.

Blaze (on Spring) starting her trail class at the Cheyenne show

849. First real barrel race
Blaze placed second in her first real barrel race - she didn't win any money because she was in the junior event, not the open event, but she did win a blinged-out Western saddle accessory. She rode Strike for this race.  


850. Getting to see Ally again

Also at the barrel race, we ran into the lady who bought our horse Ally last year. Dreamer was especially excited to see Ally again (Dreamer loved to ride Ally, who was kind of nervous horse with everyone else, but for some reason very mellow and gentle with Dreamer). It was also lovely to hear Ally's owner praise her and say she would always have a "forever home" with her.

851. Chubby bunny
I taught my girls how to make a chubby bunny face, which brought us endless peals of laughter

852. "Don't you go writing this on your calendar"
B. knows that I like to write all my blessings and fun things to remember on my calendar (which I later transfer to my 1000 gifts list on this blog). One day he did something (I can't even remember what it was!!!) that made me laugh and he said "don't you go writing this on your calendar or telling your friends you've got me trained!" (so of course I went ahead and wrote it... but lucky him I can't remember what prompted the comment!)

853. S.O.A.P bible study
At an OA meeting, C. told me about SOAPstudy.com, a tool for using the SOAP acronym for daily devotions: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. Here is an example of my entries from June:

Scripture: "you accepted the Word not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe."  1 Thessalonians 2:13

Observation: I read this in my Thomas Chain Reference bible, and I looked up the "chain" that went with this verse, dozens of amazing verses about the Word. How it is indestructible, food for soul, divinely inspired, written on our hearts, is a light in the darkness, loved by the saints, powerful in its influence, a blessing to those who reverence it, written with a purpose, its study commanded, is seed for the sower, absolutely trustworthy, profitable for teaching, and ignorance of it perilous.

Application: Would love to cover all these categories with my girls, maybe one category a day. Really struck by the section on powerful in its influence... how it works within us... and how it is a light in the darkness. Jer 23:29 "is not my Word like fire?" says the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, let your Word do its work in me. Let it grow and spill over into all that I say I do, especially to witness to others. I need to witness to Nick at work before he leaves later this summer. So convicted by Sam's message at church this Sunday and also reminded of I Thess 2:19-20. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? [our brothers and sisters in Christ, esp. those whom we have discipled]  Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

1000 gifts: twenty two years of memories

I'm really late with this gifts list from May, just as I was with March and April, because these months were filled with loss (though also filled with many blessings). These gifts  are part of my 1000 gifts list.

833. Birthday broom races
Twins birthday party (6 months late!) but at least we could have it outside, beautiful weather, the horses behaved for pony rides. We also did broom races which was just adorable!

834. Reading by flashlight
Blaze stayed up late reading Bambi, until we made her turn off the light, but the next morning she confessed she finished it by flashlight. I love that she fell in love with this book that was a childhood favorite of mine. It's not the easiest book  to read, either, as it's very pensive, contains quite a bit of death, and much is not fully explained... but that is also what makes it a powerful story.

835. Fur trader rendezvous
I took Blaze and Dreamer to our school district's re-enactment of the famous fur trader rendezvous which occurred annually from 1825-1840, many times in Wyoming. I loved for this chance for them to learn about this part of our Western history and I learned a lot to! It was very hands on, with the kids getting to see how hides are tanned, touch all the different kinds of furs, play actual Indian games and see what the inside of a teepee looked like, how the Plains Indians decorated their clothes (porcupine quills and elk ivories) and horses, throwing tomahawks, the meaning of different patterns for face painting.

836. Unicorn pinata
Dreamer's birthday was the same weekend as her cousin Taryn's graduation, so we were in Kansas, and B.'s sister Monica planned a birthday party for her, with cake and a unicorn pinata. Her other two aunts also got her special presents: Aunt Melissa gave her a backpack and Aunt Crystal gave her a girl's Bible devotional (which Dreamer loves). I love B.'s family like my own family, these women are truly my sisters.

837. Cat hanging out on top of the kitchen cabinets watching us.
Monica's black cat, Bear. He is full of personality.

838. Starlet charms everyone on her school evaluation
Met with the district child psychologist who evaluated Grace to see if she needed any special education/assistant. He said there is nothing wrong with her cognitively, in fact she's one of the most charming children he's ever met! He says she processes instructions a little slower than some kids, but they may be because the right and left sides of her brains might be "cross wired" - but he assured me she's very smart

839. Buried socks in the potted plants
Tried to get the kids to confess one of them buried their sock in the pot on the back porch. Only later when I found more buried socks in our garden did I realize it might have been our dog, or a neighbor's dog. Still, the girls can be blamed for leaving their socks outside!

840. Memorial  day mountain drive
We went for a drive along the Cache La Poudre, which was so full of snow runoff that the picnic ground we stopped at for lunch had become an island! Then we hiked a half mile up the Big South Trail of the river, which was spectacular.

We continued up highway14 to Chambers Lake (still partially frozen), which is the source of the Laramie River, and then followed the river along 103, Laramie River Rd, which cuts north to Wyoming, passing through Glendevy, which used to be a small town (part of the story of the Green Grass of Wyoming is set there in the 1940s). B. used to stay at the old lodge there with a snowmobiling friend until it burned down. Then we passed all the big ranches along the Laramie River - B. has done work on most of them, esp. the Diamond Tail Ranch and Hohnholz Ranch. I've never been in this valley when the river was so high, flooding all the meadows.

841. Last day of school! we have officially done a whole year of homeschool!

842. Free gift of God
Thinking on my walk this evening about how every religion is about what people need to do, or need to give God, but ours is the only one about what God freely gives.

843. Twenty two years of memories
My beloved old horse Rebel died on May 24, at the good old age of 32 years. I am trying to focus on all the wonderful 22 years of memories I have of him, and how he was the horse all 5 of my girls (even my stepdaughter Stars) learned to ride on. A couple of my favorite memories: how Rebel used to come right up to our back door and stick his head in the house, asking for his grain! (oh his beautiful whinny!) And a much older memory, from when we lived on Windwood Farm in New York: riding him through the woods along a familiar path when he suddenly stopped and I couldn't get him to take another step forward. Then I realized a tiny speckled fawn was laying motionless in a patch of tall grass, right at his feet!

844. Multiplied, by NeedToBreath
This song has brought me much joy this month, that and the Word (I've found many Wonderful Things in the Word this month). 

Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wildfires singing your name
God of mercy, sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to your design
May this offering stretch across the sky
These hallelujahs be multiplied

False teachings, or not?

On my blog I have often made references and quotes to several authors and their books and Bible studies that I have read and gained insight from.

At least three of them, I have recently learned, have been seriously questioned by some who are concerned about false teachings, contrary to the Word of God, being presented.

1) Ann Voskamp, in her book One Thousand Gifts: concern as to some of her wording implying panentheism or the oneness of God and nature, that is contrary to the Biblical truth that God created nature and is separate from it.

2) Sarah Young, in her book Jesus Calling: her statement "I knew that God communicated with me in the Bible, but I yearned for more" and sharing what God has supposedly communicated with her in direct revelation. She later  wrote in her book Dear Jesus: "I've continued to write with the help of Christ's Spirit, who guides my thinking while I listen in His Presence. I believe the Bible is the only infallible Word of God. My writings are based on that absolute standard, and I try to ensure they are consistent with Scripture." 

 3) Beth Moore, concern that some of her Bible studies exhibit legalism; that some of her statements indicate that she believes she receives direct revelation from God ("I received a word from God"); that she teaches men (in my experience, she always makes the disclaimer that her teaching is to the women, however men may be present); and that she condones mystic practices such as contemplative prayer (a dvd called "Be Still")

Anything that contradicts or is in addition to the Word of God, or taken out of context, is false teaching. So I do not ignore any claims of false teaching, but take the time to research them. We should ALWAYS test the teachings of men and women to see if they are in agreement with the Bible.

For the past month, I have done some research into these claims, and will continue to do so. I think some of the claims are taken out of context, and some maybe unfortunate choices of words; however some of the concerns may be valid.

I haven't come to a conclusion about these claims of false teachings yet. I'm praying about them and consulting other Godly men and women about them.  I am still using Sarah Young's "Jesus Lives" as a daily devotional and I am certainly continuing my 1000 gifts list (which I started long before I ever read Ann Voskamp's book). But I am also really digging into the Word more on my own, rather than relying a guided Bible study, such as I've done with a lot of Beth Moore's studies in the past.

Right now my method for studying 1 Thessalonians on my own is to go verse by verse asking the who, what, why, when, where, how questions, looking at key words that are repeated, looking up reference verses, using different translations, and using the Blue Letter Bible website to study the original Greek and Hebrew for some verses or parts of verses.

Bible study takes time (I don't get it done everyday; some days I just read a Psalm or a few verses) but it is so rewarding.

Though I was very upset initially hearing about these claims about false teachings, whether they end up being proven true or not, I am so thankful for how it has drawn me back into deeper study of the Word.

Sharing testimonies

Our church had another Saturday ladies conference and luncheon, and the topic was on our expectations... versus reality (our pastor's wife found some funny photos to share on that one: what we wished our house looked like - neat and clean - versus the mess it usually is!

But my favorite part of the morning was where we were asked to share when was the first time you heard God call your name? I love sharing my testimony and hearing others! Someday we will begin the Great Story which goes on forever and every chapter is better than the one before (C.S. Lewis), but until then, the greatest stories we can tell our own stories of how God has worked in our lives.

I sat at a table with Heather and Susan and Susan's mother (my mom did come with me to the first conference, but hasn't wanted to since). 

Susan got saved when she was five years old, after her mother made her apologize to a store owner for stealing a peanut (yes, just one peanut!) from an open barrel of peanuts at a store! ... and she wanted Jesus to save her so she wouldn't make such a mistake again! She shared another big milestone moment in her life: right after she moved out of her parents' home, and realized her newfound freedom: there were so many different paths to take... she could become anyone she wished. But then she felt the Holy Spirit strongly reminding her that God's way was the best path to take.

Susan's mother said she got saved while she was living in a boardinghouse and sharing a room; she had no private place. One day she felt under so much conviction to surrender to God and ask for his forgiveness that she locked herself the ladies' bathroom and got on her knees to pray right next to the toilet!

Heather got saved a few weeks after her daughter, Natalie, was stillborn. You'd think this would be hard for her to share, but it isn't - she loves to tell this story.

I shared the "short" version of my testimony (a longer version is here).

We also had some great discussion questions during the conference:

1) What is a godly woman?
We shared various answers: such as the Proverbs 31 woman, "a woman who loves God", "a woman who makes His priorities her priorities"

2) Have you ever experienced Biblical discipleship?
I shared how after I got saved, I pretty much thought I was "good to go" - I had figured out the point of all. Didn't even think I needed to keep reading the Bible, since I had got the main point of it! But I was disatisfied with the churches I tried - always hungering for something "more" though I didn't quite know what I wanted... until I found the church I currently go to, which really digs into the Word. Within my second or third month at that church, another young woman, Sarah (actually two years younger than me, but very wise), asked if I wanted to do a Bible study with her. We went through John MacArthur's Fundamentals of the Faith over several months, and I loved every minute of it. I have been blessed with so many strong spiritual leaders and teachers in my church, but none that helped me on such a personal as Sarah did with her discipleship. (someday hope to do likewise for other young women... and my daughters of course)

3) What is your most challenging issue in pleasing the Lord?
My moodiness! I hate those days where I'm too listless to get into the Word or in prayer, and even worse those days when I'm snappy and short tempered.

4) How has God blessed you this week?
I shared how we had just come back from my mother-in-law's funeral, how hard it was seeing her die and her family grieving, many of them without the hope of heaven and eternity with God in their hearts; what a blessing it was to be back home and surrounded by believers during this wonderful conference. 

1000 gifts: old photos, dreams, life and death

7-year old "Serious" asleep in the church foyer

April this year began for us with a funeral, as B.'s mother passed away at the end of March. I'm only now able to write a little bit about it, and share the gifts God gave us to cheer us a little during this hard time. These gifts  are part of my 1000 gifts list.

818. Going through old photos and B.'s baby book
The whole family spent an evening going through a lifetime of photos, to create a slide show for the funeral. I caught this photo of my daughter Serious asleep next to the TV playing the slide show, at the moment when her own picture came up, with her Grandma holding her as a baby.
My father-in-law also gave me the baby book Joy had made for B. when he was a baby/toddler

819. Star's dream of darkness and light
Stars flew to South Dakota for her Grandma's funeral and shared a dream with us: she said it was a warning to stay close to God for protection from the darkness surrounding her. This is the first time in a long time she's said anything about God...

820.  the book "Sailing Between the Stars" - a beautiful chapter on death and eternal life
I'm planning a whole post for this book by Steven James. But here is what I read, somehow (not coincidence!) the same day that Joy died: "While some cultures deal with death better than others, I'd say that overall, as a species, we pretty much stink when it comes to handling death in healthy ways. I think it's because the human heart was never designed to experience this kind of grief. In the beginning, God created us to celebrate life together with Him, not to mourn the loss of each other. Death and decay weren't in the original game plan. They came when Adam and Even thought God was holding out on them and decided to take things into their own hands rather than leaving things in His.... Our souls weren't fashioned to handle the razor-sharp shards of a broken heart.... never meant to be pierced with the pain of saying a final good-bye... Without God at the center of the universe, with this smile on the edge of dawn, life would all be vapor and mirage. But when He's present, all life becomes drenched with possibility; every moment becomes lined with purpose. The thief comes to steal meaning and moments away, but the Son comes to fill empty lives with the wine of God's presence. "My purpose is to give life in all its fullness" (John 10:10).  And there's the gift of eternal life, too.


821. a week without work unexpectedly paid for
B. doesn't have a benefited, so he wasn't expecting to get paid for the week we were in South Dakota for the funeral. But his company did pay him for that week after all, what a blessing!

822. Deuteronomy 30:20: clinging to God
"that you may love the Lord your God, that may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and length of days" - ever since I discovered the full meaning of "waiting on the Lord" in Isaiah 40:31 (hoping in, binding yourself to) and found hope for getting through times of depression by clinging to the Lord, I am struck by any other verses that speak of clinging to the Lord

823. taking communion again
Our first Sunday back home again after the funeral, Blaze surprised me by taking communion; she hadn't taken it at all so far this year because she said she didn't know what she believed anymore. Now she says she believes in Jesus, that He died for us; my heart is so encouraged. 

824. tea,  tea sandwiches, and scriptures
Had a couple of dear friends over for tea (Nicole and her mom), continuing the tradition... they have both had me over for tea and talk about God's Word many a time. We got to share our "wonderful things" from the Word with each other (such as Deut. 30:20, above, and 2 Samuel 22, from last month). The girls helped me make three different kinds of tea sandwiches to go with our tea, and I got out some of my pretty teapots (one made by my mother-in-law, one given by my dear friend Karen, and one made for me by Nicole's mom as a wedding gift almost 15 years ago!). Dreamer fell in love with the dainty little sandwich squares (cream cheese and cucumber, cheese and tomato, and cheese and pepperoni) and has started making them on her own.

825. A wonderful book hangover (Daughter of Smoke and Bone series)
Definition of book hangover: "when you've finished a book and you suddenly return to the real world, but the real world feels incomplete or surreal because you're still living in the world of the book." I just finished the last book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, by Laini Taylor,  and I'm going through a bad book hangover. I don't want it to be over! I want more mythical creatures, more clashes between our world and Eretz, a fantasy parallel world.  I want more of the characters: Karou and Akiva and Liraz, Zuzana and Mik and even Fake Grandma and the White Wolf. I want more of Prague and Morocco and Rome, and the Kirin caves and Astrae and the Far Isles. Chimaera and seraphim, Stelian and stormhunters.

826. my Australian saddle
It's getting to be good weather for riding again, and B. and I rode Tuffy and the Black up into the hills behind our house. We saw a little group of mule deer "sproinging" (bouncing on all four legs). Never get tired of the view up there and the moody spring sky, stormy in the distance. Love riding in my Aussie saddle, it makes me feel so secure, even on a still-jumpy young horse like Tuffy.

827. Nerf gun wars
B. got into a shooting match with the girls, and giggles and screams were heard through out the house! Serious got especially "serious" about hunting B. down. 

828. whoopie cushion
Dreamer bought a whoopie cushion at the dollar store and even more laughter ensued about the house as all four girls "passed gas" as noisily and as often as possible

829. our family style dinner conversation
One night while B. and I were making dinner, B. asked me if should add more milk to the mashed potatos and I said no, I like them thick and substantial. "Kind of like me, right?" he quipped. Grin. Then I opneed the microwave and discovered a bowl of canned peas, and slammed the door shut. "I did not need to see that!" B. just shook his head: he cannot fathom my fear of canned vegetables (I need mine to be fresh and raw).

830. My dad: "Hold on, I gotta slow down for the corner"
This is what my dad quipped when I was helping him navigate the hallway with his walker. I love it when he gets into the mood to quip like this; he seems like his old self again. Here are some of his other quips from over the years that we still hear every now and then:
"See you later alligator... after a while crocodile"
"Up to the lips, over the gums, look out stomach, here it comes!"
"Don't take any wooden nickels"
"See you around the pool hall"
"Let's make like a tree and leaf (leave)"
"I feel like a million bucks... all wrinkled and green"
What he says to the girls when they ask for a cookie: "It'll cost you a dollar."

831.  Worst end-of-school-year mom ever
I about bust my gut laughing while reading this post by Jen Hatmaker. I can so identify with this, but with everything else in the post too...!

We are limping, limping across the finish line, folks. I tapped out somewhere in April and at this point, it is a miracle my kids are still even going to school. I haven’t checked homework folders in three weeks, because, well, I just can’t. Cannot. Can. Not. I can’t look at the homework in the folder. Is there homework in the folder? I don’t even know. Are other moms still looking in the homework folder? I don’t even care.

832. There is A Redeemer (by Keith Green)
An old favorite; I asked our church to play it the week after we got back from Joy's funeral.

There is a redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One
Jesus my redeemer name above all names
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah oh, for sinners slain

Thank You oh my Father for giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit 'til the work on Earth is done

When I stand in glory I will see His face
And there I'll serve my King forever in that holy place

Thank You oh my Father for giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit 'til the work on Earth is done

Trying to teach a Holy Week

Many years ago I read a book set in Greece and it really struck me how Easter is a huge time of celebration to them, much more than to us in America, much more important than Christmas. Which makes sense, since Christmas is about a promise - Christ being born; but Easter is about the promise fulfilled - Christ defeating death and rising again to life, so that we too can have hope of victory over death and eternal life. In Greece, everyone has a limited fast all week, with services and traditions every day, culminating on Saturday evening:

The Anastasi, the Resurrection, takes place at midnight and is the culmination of Holy Week. The whole of Greece, it seems, attends church for the midnight service and the lighting of the Holy Flame. The Priest passes the Holy Flame throughout the congregation and all light a candle with cries of Christos Anesti!- Christ is Risen. Fireworks are then let off in celebration. The people take their lit candles home and make the sign of a cross with the black from the candle flame in the doorway of their homes before entering. They break their fasts after midnight, starting with Mageiritsa – a meat soup, and red-dyed eggs. Feasting continues all day Sunday. (from the Greek Reporter, full article)

We have started some of our own Easter traditions over the years to try to emphasize everything that Christ went through for us this week. Some traditions have been more successful (longer lasting) than others. The kids, of course, always insist on dying Easter eggs and doing an egg hunt, and every year I remind them that the eggs are a symbol of the tomb, being broken open to bring forth life.

One tradition we've done every year is putting up a six foot wooden cross in our yard on Friday, with a black cloth hanging on it symbolizing Christ's death, and then replacing it with a white cloth Sunday morning.

Here's some more things I tried during Holy Week this year:

Palm Sunday:  we made tissue paper "stained glass" with palm leaves (well, sort of palm leaves) and read Luke 19:28-47 about when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem.

Monday:  We continued reading in Luke about Jesus teaching in the temple, and started this "wheel book" that is divided in seven sections for the seven days leading to Jesus' resurrection. (I recently discovered lap books and mini books as a great way to make home school a little more creative and hands on).

Tuesday: We made the scrolls above with verses inside from the reading in Luke today

Wednesday: Added to our wheel book about the seven days

Thursday: read the verses about the Last Supper and Jesus praying in the garden and being arrested; the girls helped me make dinner and we walked around our garden at night

Friday: read the verses about Jesus' trial and crucifixion; set up our cross outside

Saturday: dyed Easter eggs and opened the Resurrection Eggs set our church made for all the kids last year.  

Sunday: took away the black cloth from our outdoor cross and replaced with a white cloth; went to church; did egg hunt and my plan was make these empty tomb rolls with crescent rolls and marshmallows with the girls, but I came down with a cold (on Easter of all days!)

Next year I think we will study different Easter celebrations from around the world (including Greece) during our holy week.

My favorite verse from reading Luke this year was Luke 22:37:  "It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."