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."

March gifts and heartaches

March was a terribly hard month for us, as B.'s mother passed away. 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.

800. Hand made quilts
My mother-in-law Joy made so many beautiful things. She used to own a ceramics store, and she gave B. and I a beautiful nativity set which she then helped me paint in my favorite colors (green, red and brown). In the last five years she fell in love with quilting, and before she died she made B. and her other four children beautiful quilts. She even finished several for the older grandchildren (Stars's quilt is shown below), and picked material and designs for the rest of her grandkids (her three daughters have promised to finish them)

801. Revelation 21:1-7 "there shall be no more death"
The last words my mother-in-law said were "hi baby," when she saw her five month old great grand daughter, Jocelyn. How wonderful it was to have this sweet baby to lift all our hearts during this hard week, a gift of new life as another life passed on. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law each read from the Scriptures at her funeral, and asked me to read from the Scriptures, too. I read Revelation 21:1-7 "and He will wipe every tear from their eyes; and there shall be no more death."

802. Attacking cancer cells
Blaze and Dreamer and I were studying in science how white blood cells attack germs. Blaze says: "what if you could stick germs to cancer cells, so the white blood cells would attack them and get the cancer cells too. Wouldn't that help Grandma? (this was a few weeks before she died). I told her she needs to become a doctor!! what a brilliant idea.

803. Bambi's children
One of my most favorite and most re-read books when I was a child, and not as sad as the more famous book, Bambi, by Felix Salten. I was reading it to the girls at bed time, but the night we were supposed to finish it, I was out late somewhere with a friend and B. put the girls to bed. They talked him into reading them the end of the book (he'd been surreptitiously listening to it all along and was kind of keen to hear the ending too)

804. What book to read the girl next? hey, how about my book?
After finishing Bambi's Children, I started to think about which childhood favorite I wanted to read to the girls next.  Blaze is 12 years old, and she's getting close to the point where she'll be switching from reading middle grade to young adult. Right now she still loves animal stories and will read anything with horses or dogs in it (or unicorns).  I tried out the first four chapters of my unicorn story (the first story I ever wrote) to see if they liked it. Liked it?? They begged for more! Ah, even if I never get published, this was worth it all!

 color pencil illustration for my book (2001)

805. By faith, not by works
We've been studying American history and we had a lesson on the Mormons trail to Utah. Which led to a discussion of the Mormon religion. Which led to a great discussion of how different religions believe you get to heaven (usually by doing good things), and finally, to how the Bible says you get to heaven: not by anything we do except believing that Christ died for our sins, and "by faith you have been saved through grace, and this not of yourselves, not by works, lest any man should boast." This! This is why I love homeschooling!

806. Russian coins, paper rubles, and Lithuanian amber
Another Laramie homeschooling mom invited other homeschoolers over for an slide show at their house about Lithuania, where they had recently moved from because the government does not permit homeschooling there. We loved learning about Lithuania's history and culture and the family even gave us old rubles and little pieces of amber.

807. Talking like a cat
One of my big goals with homeschooling is to get the girls to love learning, and sometimes the only way I can think of to do that is to make them laugh. I'm not above acting ridiculous to make them laugh (pretending to be someone, including a silly voice). Today I could tell the girls needed a break from the history stuff we were doing so when they started playing with the cat, Cleo, tempting her with a piece of string, I narrated Cleo's take on the situation: "oh no, they've got the string out. I can resist; I will resist! But oh, look! I love the way it twitches when it moves... must POUNCE!"

808. A gift for teaching children
Our children's ministry director at church watched me teach my three year old class and gave me a wonderful compliment afterward: said I had a gift for teaching children and he even learned some thing sfrom watching me, ways to engage children more. Now if I could just apply this home school (Lord help me to teach my own kids with more energy, enthusiasm and creativity!)

809. "This is ready to submit"
Of all my writing and critique partners I've had over the years, the one who has helped me the most gave me her critique of my fourth novel (the science fiction one) and said "This is ready to submit!" The way she described my main character was exactly how I'd envisioned her.  I had edited my opening chapters based on her first critique, and when she saw my edits she said I was an "editor's dream". 

810. An English tea Lipizzaner
While making birthday cards for Grandma and Grandpa H, whose birthdays are within two days of each other, Blaze wanted to draw them things they liked (Grandma, tea and flowers; Grandpa, sailing and golf), but she also wanted to draw horses for them too, because everything she draws is pretty much a horse (just like me at her age!)  So she drew Grandpa's horse on a golf course with a sailboat sailing on a nearby lake (his horse was a mustang). Then she drew Grandma's horse next to picnic blanket with a tea cup and plate of cookies, and flowers (Grandma's horse was an English Lippazaner. I told her it should be a Spanish Lippizaner or an Austrian Lippizaner; but she insisted it must be English, because of the tea)

811. The conference call in real life
Heather shared this with me, and in turn I shared it with everyone at work... makes me laugh everytime. I can relate to every single one of these things during conference calls.

812. Seahorse tails
I took the girls into my favorite aquarium store in Ft. Collins, and we were especially delighted by the tank of seahorses, how they would wrap their tails around water plants and even around each other, like their own version of holding hands

813. Bible game - what part is false?
In my endless quest to make Bible study engaging for the girls, this is one thing that worked: the girls like it when I read them a passage from the Bible in which I change one thing, and then they have to figure out which part is false

814. A love note "blog"

Often times when B. asks me what I'm doing on the computer, I'll say I'm writing on my blog (besides this personal blog, I also have a writing blog that I post at least once a week on). I'm not sure he really gets what a blog is about, but one night I found a love note on my bed-stand from B, titled "My blog".

815. 2 Samuel 22: 29-30 "You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light"
This whole song of David is amazing (see below for another verse); but this one really struck me, how personal it is: my darkness. He can take my dark times, and turn them into light.

816.  2 Samuel 22: 11 "He mounted the cherubim and flew; he rode on the wings of the wind"
This is speaking of God! God riding... made me think of the cherubim as a sphinx, or an angel horse. (yes, my imagination can get carried away. But I love how God's words can set my imagination on fire!) Verse 9 is also fuel for imagination: it talks of God breathing fire. Breathing fire! like a heavenly dragon.

817.  1 Thessalonians 4:1 "live in order to please God"
A dear friend of mine from church in Laramie (Lisa M. S.) now lives in Nebraska, just a half hour away from my in-laws house in Springfield, South Dakota. We went to church with her and her family during our time in South Dakota during Joy's last days: much needed encouragement. The pastor preached on 1 Thess 4:1, about pleasing God. "If you try to live to please yourself it puts you in constant conflict with others. Living to please others also causes conflict because you can't please everyone. Living to please God is the answer."