Nothing is Wasted...

Yesterday, Evan and I were driving to PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) on Randolph.  We almost always listen to KLOVE or his Brinkman Adventures CD's.  While listening to KLOVE, Jason Gray's song "Nothing Is Wasted" came on the radio.

"Mommy, what does that mean...that nothing is wasted?"  

I love those moments, because in those moments we have the deepest discussions about Jesus.  

Here is how I explained it:  "Evan, when brother died, it was very sad for us.  Daddy, you and I, and all of our friends and family hurt and cried for our loss.  In the Bible, God tells us that good comes from bad.  I believe this with all of my heart.  When brother died, there were people at the house (the scene of the accident) who either didn't know Jesus, or who had fallen away from Him.  They came back to Jesus because of the impact Ethan's passing had on them.  Does that make sense?  God used our sadness and our loss for His glory."

"Really, Mommy?  People came to Jesus because of Ethan?" (in a very excited voice)

Yes, Evan...there were quite a few who were changed because of Ethan's passing.  God used it to further His kingdom.  You see, everything that happens that is bad can be for His glory.  It's in choosing to see good from bad.  It's in choosing Christ.  Do you understand?

"Yes, Mommy."

As we approach the 3 year anniversary of Ethan's Passing/Home Going, sorrow comes upon me. It's in these times that I need to cling to Romans 8:28, because God has not only changed others but myself and my family.  God indeed does use bad for His good.  

It doesn't make things easier or make the grief disappear, but it's extremely comforting that despite Ethan's short amount of years on earth, his life was still important and served a significant purpose for God's glory!  

Remember, nothing is wasted!  No matter what you've been through, God can and will use it for good.  Believe it!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28 

On This Glorious Homeschool Journey: Review and Giveaway!!! Doorposts Newest Book!!!

Visualize the beauty of spring.  Beautiful fields of newly bloomed flowers.  Trees green, as far as the eyes can see.  Sunny days, with perhaps an occasional rainbow or two.  We too, can be refreshed as the beauty of spring...if we seek Him!

Dear Mama:

When is the last time you've refreshed your soul with the only Food that satisfies our pangs of hunger?  Do you feel flustered, weary, spiritually empty?  You're not alone...I've been there too...all too many times.

I want to share quickly with you.  I'm not sure what your circumstances may be...your hurts...your worries...the path in which you've walked in this life.  Trust me...I know hurt, as many if not all of you do.  This I do know:  Christ is our everything!  Life is busy and messy.  However, we must carve out some time to give our souls the Daily Bread we need. 

Introducing a fabulous resource from Doorposts, a company that I've trusted for several years now!  

Thirty Days of Bible Study for Busy Mamas:  Colossians 3

I just want to begin by saying that I adore Pam Forster, a veteran homeschool mama, and a woman after God's heart!  Pam has inspired me for several years!  She loves the Lord, and you can see by the books she has written (and this one in particular) that she seeks Him, and loves to share Him with other busy mamas.  Even though I've never met Pam (I really want to), she is a dear sister-in-Christ to me!  

Let me take you on sort of a tour of the book.  Pam first of all, gives you all the the "tools" needed to make Bible study a real thing that CAN happen in 5 minute chunks.  She literally holds you by the hand, and takes you easily step by step, day by day, encouraging you along the way AND giving clear and explicit instructions!  Sounds easy, right?  Well it really is...but you must be willing to do the work.  But it doesn't feel like work...I actually got excited on this new endeavor!

• Day by day instructions given clearly.

• Catch up days (yes, Pam gives you much grace if you fall behind)!

• Suggested ways to mark your Bible effectively.

• Introduction to using other resources, such as online Bible commentaries, etc.

• Ideas on including your dear children in your studies...and more!!!

Want to win your own copy???

Doorposts has very generously and kindly given one of my readers a chance to win a copy! (choice of print, PDF, or Kindle edition, but print books can only be mailed to US addresses)

Contests ends at 12:00AM 15 April 2013.  Winner will be contacted via email.  Sorry, no reply bloggers or anonymous replies, please!  Winner must reply within 48 hours, or I reserve the right to draw another name.  Thank you kindly!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full Disclosure:  I was give a complimentary copy in advance to review.  I only review products that I feel are in line with my faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, I wish to glorify the Lord with an honest review.  In no way was my opinion swayed by other persons.  Thank you! :)

Praying for Caleb

Can you please pause and pray for Caleb, and his family?  You can read his story here.

Thank you!

Making Easter Meaningful

**Please not the lack of photos...I shall post photos of ALL of our art created from each lesson later on.  Thank you!

This year I wanted something different for reflecting upon what Christ did for us on the Cross.  It's easy to read the Story (of The Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection) and just go on with our daily life. 


It's easy to forget just how much of a gift He gave on the mount of Golgotha.  At least, that has been my experience.  I've really never taken Easter quite to heart as much as I should.  When I was a kid, I remember mostly Easter being about dressing up in a new dress, going to church, and having a large gathering with family, followed by an Easter egg hunt.


When Josh and I started having children, we tried really hard NOT to make Easter about the Easter bunny, etc.  But there was a gap...


This year, I decided to open my Bible and read the real story of Easter to Evan aloud each morning this past week.  It made for deep, meaningful discussions in which we've never had before.  


I think at times we underestimate the intelligence and comprehension of what children can grasp.  And because of this, we keep our Bible readings to ourselves.  May I encourage you to just go ahead and read with your child, no matter their age.  They "get" more than we think!  


Another thing we stumbled upon on sale was The Crossmaker DVD set.  Let me just tell you that this Bible story integrated art lesson is absolutely amazing!  (P.S.:  the sale is over on the set)  We watched the Crossmaker story, and I absolutely never felt more touched by Jesus' sacrifice than when we watched that story together.  It's that good!  We will be watching the story again this week!


Next, we did lesson #1, which was a lettering lesson.  It was engaging, and Evan and I finished up with beautiful creations that glow under a black light!  The step by step instructions were very easy to follow, and the supplies needed mostly came with the set, and the other couple of items we already had (like a #2 pencil, white artist eraser, paper, and ruler).  


Crossmaker will definitely be a tradition that we will continue year after year as a family!  And of course, reading the real story of Easter in the most important book ever written...the Bible!


Thank you Jesus for the gift You didn't have to give!

It's A New Year???

All in sarcasm...yes, I'm aware it's 2013!  However, my lack of updates on our family doesn't seem as though I got the memo. 

December:

• Made a necessary trip to south Louisiana to lay Josh's grandmother to rest.

{Somehow my Nikon did not make it into my van.  I wish I could have grabbed some pics of family and of Evan seeing the bayou}

• Took a little afternoon/evening trip down to the Riverwalk, and enjoyed dinner on the river at Salt Grass Steak House.  Poor Josh was the photographer, hence the reason he's not pictured.

• Christmas Eve was spent at our home with family.

Gathered around the table reading about the Advent wreath, reflecting upon Christ.

January:

• Went by way too fast!  

And brought the bloom of this gorgeous and interesting plant:  an amaryllis.  We watched this little guy go from a small, uneventful plant, into a beautiful flowering bulb!  Evan received this from his Mimi (my mother) for Christmas.  

Every night as we tucked Evan into bed, we would stare over at the plant, in awe of how fast it grew!  It decided to bloom majestically and wonderfully in mid January!  I thank the Lord that He would create such a wonderful plant!  I recommend one for every single family.  You won't be disappointed!

January also brought Evan creating his own storm chase vehicle (inspired by the show Stormchasers), equipped with it's very own mesonet.  

And we had some freakishly hot days where we just had to go outside, literally, and drag the learning experience out of the 'ol house!  {That is the very table and chairs we use in our homeschool room.}  It was too deliciously tempting NOT to go outside!  And we have stickers all over our yard, so sitting down on the bare ground didn't sound fun.  So we opted to just drag everything out into the great outdoors!

February:

• A visit from a dear friend who is PCSing here (sorry, no pics), cousin fun/butterfly observing and catching, a unit study on cinnamon,  & quilting for a baby shower!

Cousins hanging out by the Carolina Jasmine, watching and catching Black Swallowtail butterflies.

Evan getting ready to put our cinnamon heart biscuits into the oven while sucking on a cinnamon stick!  All in fun for our unit study!  Yes, that's a pumpkin on the counter!  Evan took it outside to save the seed.  Oh yes, it lasted all the way back from Thanksgiving.

Our Cinnamon unit study!  So much fun!  Who knew you could learn so much about cinnamon?

The biscuits were yummy!!!

The baby quilt I made for a dear friend from high school.  She and hubby are adopting a baby girl, who is due to make her entrance any day!

I can tell you we also did a lot of Friday park days with our homeschool group, which is Evan's highlight of the week!  We also put in part of our garden, and have been taking lots of family walks up and down our county road.  Indian paintbrush and phlox have emerged somewhat.  The bluebonnets are hanging on, but haven't bloomed.  If we get rain this weekend, we shall see some bluebonnets.  

Have a blessed rest of the month!  Have a blessed Easter season.  Jesus is the reason--always!

Oh Happy Day

Today, Evan and I had a really good day of learning.  We were both patient.  Evan tried really hard and did all of his work without complaining.  He read so well!


When we were done, he said something that I will never forget.  After he was done reading in his McGuffey reader, I told him how proud I was of him, and how hard he worked without complaining.

"Mommy, I'm so happy I have tears in my eyes."

Evan and I at the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Those words made my heart smile.  It was a gift from God that reassured me that we are doing the right thing.  This homeschool journey IS what God willed for us, and we are so blessed!

Reviewing: God's Word in My Heart

I love when I stumble upon a Christian momma blogger whose heart is on fire to love the Lord!  One such lady is Jenn Thorson who blogs at The Purposeful Mom.


When Jenn offered to let me review her new ebook, Hiding God's Word in My Heart, I was so excited!

Let me start by what this book is NOT:

• unrealistic
• long and never-ending
• preachy
• confusing

What this book was to me:

• easy to read and understand
• useful and realistic
• insightful
• gentle 

Now here's my honest review.  I love the ideas that Jenn has incorporated throughout her book.  One such idea, which we have personally done for several years with success, is scripture music on CD.  She gives you ideas of what CD's to purchase (and some free websites too) and correlates them with her scripture ABC list (see more explanation below).

When she contacted me to review her book, she asked what version of the Bible I wanted to review.  Being that we read predominantly only the King James Version, that's the version I reviewed.  I love that she gives the reader the option of the KJV (and a couple of other versions too)!  

The one thing that I really loved was at the end of the book, she has a list of ABC Bible verses that have boxes underneath in which to stamp/check mark/place a sticker as a visual for a children to see as they hide God's Word in their hearts.  There is also a chart of Bible verses dealing with sin issues.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any mother who would love to hide God's Word in her heart along with her children's.  I especially recommend this book to any mother who is either a new Christian, or who doesn't know where to start in regards to incorporating the Bible into her daily routine with her blessings.

Today only, get this ebook for only $1.99!  Here is the link:  Click here to visit The Purposeful Mom.

After today, the ebook goes back up to the original price of $3.99, so hurry!

*I received an electronic copy of Hiding God's Word in My Heart in return for my honest review.  I was not paid any monetary amount to review this product.  I am also an affiliate for The Purposeful Mom, meaning that if you clink on my links above to buy her book, I will make a small portion.  This small commission made helps support our homeschool.  Thank you!