Monday, November 2, 2009

The End of the World

I've been interested in the end of the world, lately.

If that sounds odd, it shouldn't. You see, it all started with a trailer for the movie 2012. Apparently it has the world ending with another flood. Then I happened to see in a video store the move "Waterworld." Also about lots of water. And I thought, Haven't these people read the Bible? God said He wouldn't destroy the earth with another flood. So water is out.

I began reading chapter 21 in the Book of Revelation, actually for a different reason than what I'm going to mention here. But verse 1 says something like [I'm quoting from memory, so bear with me], "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And there was no more sea." When I read that, I was intrigued. I mean, I probably have read that verse countless times before. But this time I really read it, if you know what I mean.

There will be a new earth and a new heaven. What will they be like? Pink sky instead of blue? What will the landscape be like? It does say that there will not be a sea anymore. So does that mean no more oceans? That lets out a lot of cruises. Guess if you want to go on a cruise, you'd better do it soon!

The other thing to think about is this: If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and follow Him, then you'll be here in that new heaven and new earth. Won't that be different? Our finite minds need time to process that kind of stuff, but if your spirit can grasp it, look out! It gives you a different perspective when you look out your front door.

Till next time,

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Year of Freedom

What did Jesus really preach?

I was reading a book the other day by Dr. Leroy Thompson in which he talked about the passage in Luke 4 where Jesus read from the book of Isaiah at the synagogue. The quote from Isaiah ended with "to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (I'm going by memory here, so bear with me.)

Do you know what the acceptable year of the Lord is? It's the year of Jubilee--the year when slaves were set free, property returned to their owners, and debts canceled. Well, in Dr. Thompson's book, he mentioned about Jesus preaching the acceptable year of the Lord, and then in parentheses he said something like "(the year when all debts are canceled)."

Have you ever read something and a light bulb goes off in your head? You hear a "ding!" and the bell rings? The understanding of something dawns on you, and you get it?

I had that type of moment when my eyes read that parenthetical statement. Jesus preached debt cancellation. Hello! Did you get that? Believers, Christians, the Church, disciples--however you want to call it--are supposed to experience Jubilee, the acceptable year of the Lord. We're supposed to be enjoying freedom from debt!

Wow. If you didn't get that "ding" moment, don't worry. Just keep reading Luke 4 and studying about the year of Jubilee from the Old Testament. It'll come!

Till next time,

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Coffee, Anyone?

After having declared that coffee was "stinky" and that I wouldn't drink it, I have a new favorite "chick" beverage. I was at a restaurant on Monday night with another gal and decided to expand my tastes. I ordered a Frozen Mocha.

Okay, it was good. Not too strong on the coffee. More like chocolate with a little bit of coffee taste. So now that's my new thing.

John David, my now 7-year-old, also has developed a fascination for coffee. Only his was about opening the bag of his daddy's coffee grounds. Of course, the inevitable happened. The coffee spilled. Only I didn't know it until I walked in the kitchen, smelled it, and saw John David running to the bathroom, his shorts and legs covered in coffee grounds.

Can I say, "mess"?

John David promptly had a lesson on the suctioning power of the vacuum. He got quite interested in how the coffee grounds moved when he placed the nozzle near them.

Coffee, anyone?

Till next time,

Monday, September 14, 2009

Recent Vignettes

This blog post is a hodgepodge...little vignettes of my life from the past few weeks.

Of course, the biggest news was the passing of my father. He was 86. I won't go into details. Let me only say that I highly recommend staying healthy and out of nursing homes.

One thing I have been pondering since the funeral, though, were the images captured in photos of my aunts and uncles that I saw. For the first time I saw pictures of my aunts when they were young and newly married. The photos were the old sepia versions, but what caught my attention was the sparkle in their eyes. We get so used to seeing older people as they are at the moment that we forget that they too were once young and full of dreams for the future. Those images of my young aunts have really stayed with me.

Since then my husband and I have "celebrated" our 13th wedding anniversary. And I had a big zit on my face. Is that important? Yes! Who wants to go out to a nice restaurant for an anniversary "date" and have a big fat red circle that can't be hidden? It's like a neon sign: "I'm in my forties, my hair is going gray, and look at this big zit!!"

Ah well.

And, by the way, did I mention that our newest computer, which is probably four years old, died? So it took a week to figure everything out, but now we have the older computer, which is nine years old, hooked up to the Internet. And the ten-year-old computer is now being used for games by the kids. Why are the older computers outlasting the newer one? Hmm?

There's nothing like going to the public library to get on the computer to check your email, and being surrounded by young people on the other computers doing who knows what. Did I mention that my hair is more gray than brown, it seems, and there was a zit on my face?!

So that's the latest. Not very informative, but if, dear reader, you got a laugh, than that's fine.

Till next time,

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Which Way to School?

I've been thinking lately on why I have chosen to homeschool my children. What is at the core of this decision?

So far my main reason is as thus. (Forgive me if this is disjointed; I'm still processing things.)

As I have pondered this question, "Why?" I am considering what abilities and skills I want my children to have when they are grown and even while they are growing.

The biggest thing I want my children to be able to do is take responsibility for themselves and their decisions. In other words, I want them to be able to think critically and wisely about whatever faces them, then have the ability to make a decision about it that they can justify and life with and defend. And to not fall down in despair if it turns out to be a wrong decision.

It took me years of being out in "the real world" and the workforce and even after I quit my job to realize just how much I depended on someone else to tell me what to do. And I think in large part that is due to the current public school system where everything is structured and children go here, do this, then do that, etc. They don't have much input or say or responsibility. After 12 or so years, that gets to be a habit.

So I don't want that for my kids. I want them to have the freedom to take responsibility and be self-directed. To have the discipline and the self-confidence to do that. To be able to be spontaneous in learning.

There are other issues as well, but I would have to say this is the main issue for me. I'm still processing things, like I said, but this is at the core.

After all, I thought to myself, what is the purpose of education? To gain knowledge? Or to prepare for life?

I think the latter is the foundation for the former.

Till next time,

Thursday, July 9, 2009

My New Best Friend: White Vinegar

Our last women's meeting was very informative. We talked about natural cleaning products, as well as natural beauty products.

My biggest "find" of the night was distilled white vinegar. I was told that not only does it make a great fabric softener and "uric acid" remover in laundry (think potty training), but also that it makes a great floor cleaner. Since our dryer's motor died in June and it was a couple of weeks before it was repaired, we had to hang out our laundry. White vinegar, a half cup or so poured in before the rinse cycle, worked great! The clothes we hung out did much better, especially the towels. They didn't turn into hardened sticks, like they had before! I'm already on my second container of white vinegar for the laundry.

I haven't tried it on the floor yet, but I found out it works great on mold!

You see, our laundry room sink got all these splashed-up mold spores from the drain because JD kept playing with the sink and turning the water on full blast. A white sink with black spots where there are to be no black spots is not nice. Especially since just wiping at them did not remove them.

Then I had that "Aha!" moment. Why not use distilled white vinegar on it? I got an extra toothbrush, a cup with vinegar, and went to work. Let me tell you--those little spots literally melted in the vinegar. I'm serious. They melted. I felt like dancing around.*

Distilled white vinegar is my new best friend.

Isn't God good to have provided all these natural solutions in His creation?

Till next time,

*I still would recommend that the area be well ventilated when cleaning. After all, mold is mold.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Joy of Hearing Your Child's Voice

Can I just say how awesome it is to hear your child talk?

For all those of you who are saying, "What?! Are you nuts?" No, I'm not.

When you have a child who does not speak, express opinion, show emotion or affection, than when he does do any of those things, you are absolutely thrilled!

JD, who will be seven years old in September, actually repeated a bedtime prayer on Friday night. It was awesome, gratifying, and wonderful. Does it matter that he was just repeating my words? Does it matter that it was sort of "echoing"? Not to me!! He prayed. He talked to God. That's all that matters, in my book.

It was the first time he has prayed like that.

It is wonderful to hear him say emphatically, "No." It is awesome to hear him express an opinion by saying "no." It is great to hear him sing a little song about shapes that he likes. It is even more wonderful to hear him count to 30 by following numbers on the calendar. It is awesome to see him write letters on the dry erase board. But to hear him repeat a prayer? That is joy unspeakable. God's goodness abounds toward us!

I am expecting great things to come next!

Till next time,