Homeschool Blog

I am sooooo behind on our homeschool blog, I don't know how I'm ever going to get it caught up. The problem is that I like to put lots of photos on it, and that takes forever. Of course the fact that I am bordering on overextended probably isn't helping either. Who'd have thought life as a "stay at home mom" of 1 child could possibly be so darn busy? The worst thing is I just want to do more!

On Fire

I am on FIRE tonight! Woohooo!

God is truly awesome and I'm so proud to be able to serve Him. Tonight the excitement is just overflowing out of me!

A link you might enjoy

I don't know if anyone reads this blog LOL... but i thought that there might be someone out there who would enjoy this:

www.achievingpeace.wordpress.com

Problem or Blessing

I've been learning a lot lately about how the way we choose to look at something affects how we see that issue, and the effect it has on our lives. Like most people, I've heard this millions of times, but lately I have realy come to understand it and see just how much our perception can change things.

We can choose to view anything that happens to us as a problem, or as a blessing. Even those things that seem like hardships teach us and help us become better people, sometimes the moments that seem the hardest in our lives are also the most defining. Likewise, even with the most wonderful things that can happen to us, if we search we will find problems in them. That wonderful new responsibility that we were so excited to get takes time away from something else we enjoy doing.

Today I was looking at some music on youtube and came across the song "Breath of Heaven", which is one of my all time favorite songs. It is basically sung from Mary's point of view when she is pregnant. Anyways, that got me thinking. Mary is generally viewed as one of the most blessed women of all time, I mean this is the woman who gave birth to and raised Christ, what an incredible priviledge. And what a nightmare! Think of all the things that poor woman went through in her life. She could easily have wondered why God did this to her. What did she do wrong that made God give her a son who she would have to watch struggle just because of who He is? What did she do wrong to have to watch her innocent son get tortured and hung on a cross by the very people he'd been trying to help? Imagine what she must have faced. Did she view it as an awesome priviledge? An awesome burden? A punishment? I really can't tell you, we don't know much about what life was like for her. It was her decision though, certainly she could very easily have justified any of these answers.

My point is that everything that happens in our life can either be a blessing or a burden, it is up to us to decide which it is. I am really going to try to work much harder to view life's situations as blessings rather than problems.

Classes

I'm considering offering a few classes. Haven't quite figured out how they are going to come together, or when, but if I can find enough interested people I will definitely be moving forward with them.

Couponing Class : Learn the basics of couponing including tricks of the trade, websites to help making couponing easier, organizing your coupons, seeing the most benefit for your effort. Learn to save big bucks on your shopping.
Class Size - no more than 15
Number of Sessions: 2 The first class runs approximately 1 to 2 hours and covers the information above, the second class meets for aprox. 1/2 hour followed by a couponing shopping trip.
Cost: $5 (includes both classes)

Forgiving Through Faith class: Learn why it is important to forgive, and more importantly HOW to forgive the people who are the hardest (you know, those people you don't think you really should have to forgive, or who you don't think you can forgive). This is a faith based class but is not geared towards any one religion, if you believe in God, you should be comfortable at the class.
Cost: Free
Class size : 15 person limit
Number of Sessions: 1

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Praise

Isn't it amazing how God will often give us a job or project, and in the end it will benefit us as much as or more than the person who we do it for? I've had a case of the blues lately, and have been struggling to get rid of them. Not so long ago, God had me start work on a blog project (not this blog), and one of the things I wrote about is how much praise helps with overcoming sadness and/or depression. I know this, I've experienced it, and I just wrote about it, so what did I do when I had the blues? NOTHING!!! Well, that's not entirely true, but nothing helpful, I just kept thinking how much I needed to snap out of it. Suddenly yesterday, I remembered that I know what to do, I know how to snap out of it. I pulled out my favorite praise music, and within 10 minutes I felt fantastic! I'm so glad God had me write that, I apparently really needed the reminder.

Today I'm feeling so thankful for the wonderful people in my life that taught me how to truly praise God with my whole heart and my whole being. Over the years it has been one of the things that has most changed my life.