Third World Thursday

Let's pray for the third world.

Today, I'm thinking about Juarez, Mexico.  It's not the first place I think of when I think of third world.  And some may argue that a better word for Mexico is developing.  But developing doesn't alliterate with Thursday.

Furthermore, my friends are preparing to go to Juarez on a mission trip.  And hence, it is on my mind and in my prayers.

When I think of Juarez, I think of crime, especially murder and drugs.  But, as I've been thinking about it, I think it is really more important to think about people.  Juarez is a town, just like my town, full of people.  And God loves people.

Micah 6:8 comes to my mind.  "He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

And so I pray for justice in Mexico.  I pray for mercy for Mexico.  I pray that the Lord's gospel would move forth powerfully in Mexico that they may walk humbly with Him.  And I pray for the people who I know going to Juarez.  May the Lord's will be done and may He work His good plan and receive His glory which is due only to Him.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.


*****Update:  Please pray for my friends.  One team member had to drop out because of rare health concerns and another couple's brother is fighting for his life.  I pray that the Lord will help them  set their faces toward the goal and that He will battle for them and give them strength to fight a good fight.  Praise Him that we already know that His is the victory.

Wednesday in the Word

Being January, I was thinking about time.  I looked through the concordance under time.  The Lord drew me to Hosea 10:12.  It says, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you."

For it is time to seek the Lord...my spirit says yes to that.  But how do I sow for myself righteousness when I am unrighteous?  And how do I reap the fruit of unfailing love when my love so regularly fails?  And am I willing to break up unplowed ground?  That is a lot of hard work.  Yet my spirit resonates with that invitation for new growth and God's promise of showered righteousness.

I love the agrarian tone.  And coming from a farm background there is an understanding of the cyclical nature of the earth.  I think God is communicating the cyclical nature of abiding in Him.  I think that by the power of His Spirit he will pour unfailing love into my earthen vessel and shower his righteousness into my unrighteousness by his grace.  But there is a partnership intoned in the verse, something I must do.  I ask for ears to hear, eyes to see, and a soft heart to respond to this beautiful verse.

Another reason this verse delights me is because it is a little call and a little beacon of hope in a passage of filth. The rest of the passage is recounting Israel's offenses and unfaithfulness.  And isn't that just the reality of the battle of our fallen lives?  And yet God calls to us for relationship and renewal.

In my Bible study, this verse arose.  Isaiah 30:18 says, "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!"

God's love is a powerful thing and a precious thing.  His love can change the world and certainly little old me.  And so I'll leave you with a link to a song to meditate on God's love.  And maybe He'll use it draw us and mold us.  This is How He Loves by David Crowder*Band.

To Learn Something Tuesday

Today we ate string cheese for a snack.  My daughter asked, "Mom, how do they make string cheese?"  So our self directed learning led us to a video.  We enjoyed our string cheese as we learned about it.  Here's a link if you'd care to learn about it as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qvrVxq1WvM

My Weekly Menu

          Hi!  I'm trying to get back into the swing of this.

          So I thought I'd start with a menu Monday. 

          Here's what we'll be eating at our house this week

          from Monday through Friday.

Monday lunch          leftover barbecue shredded chicken buns, chips, carrot sticks, orange slices
Monday dinner        baked chicken, kale quinoa and black bean salad

Tuesday lunch         spaghetti and salad
Tuesday dinner        minestrone soup, canned peaches

Wednesday lunch     deli meat sandwich, pretzels carrot sticks, apple slices
Wednesday dinner    tuna noodle casserole, pineapple

Thursday lunch         popcorn shrimp, fries, corn, and orange slices
Thursday dinner       chicken quesadillas and lettuce salad

Friday lunch             leftovers
Friday dinner           frozen pizza and apple slices


Lord, thank you for the food we eat.  Please bless it to our bodies.  In Jesus name, Amen

I. Timothy 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Fun Kindergarten Math and Reading

Today we began our Kindergarten learning.

We started by coloring a circus picture for our counting bears. Some exploratory play ensued.  We continued the activity with counting and sorting the bears by colors.  We also did an estimation investigation.  Bears at the circus was pretty fun!

Next we made some wands for sight words.  Feathers, curl ribbon, colored straws, sticky notes and tape make some fun wands.  Today our kindergartener looked for the words I and a as we read our book.

I am delighting in the eagerness for learning that this little darling is bringing.  Fun times!

Goodbye May...Hello June!

You may be surprised, but I am not sad to see May go.  It is so busy!  While I enjoy all the new blooming things--the magnolia, the forsythia, the TULIPS, the daffodils--I do not enjoy the pace of the month.  There was one week this past month where I was scheduled to be 3 places at the same time 3 nights that week.  This past week, since so many of our activities had ended I was home for 3 nights straight.  It was heaven!

And since this May was so weather weird (snow, 98 degrees, and flooding all in the same month), I can honestly say that I hope that June will be more moderate.  And that June will allow my basement to dry out.

Last night, the last evening in May, Brad and the kids made a lovely fire in the fire pit.  They enjoyed some s'mores.  When I arrived back from work, Brad and I sat out back for quite awhile.  The sky was clear.  Through the circle in the sky the tree leaves make back there, you could see the Big Dipper.  It was a wonderful end to May. As we started to go in, we could see a lightening show to the north.

Today, laundry is going and the refrigerator is being cleaned.  The kids are working on cleaning their rooms.  They made a library trip.  We, of course, are signed up for the library's summer reading program.  Next, it's off for some groceries.  Hoping to get the van washed and cleaned if the rain would abate.  And the kids are hoping to take their bikes to Grimes Farm to ride around a little bit.  The boys have signed up for summer band/orchestra lessons.  And my daughter is participating in T-ball.  (I still have to sign up for swimming lessons.)

All that to say, "Summer we hope to enjoy you well."

God bless you this summer in your wanderings and wonderings.  What plans do you have?

There's Some Learning Going On

The children finished their moon unit in science and worked together to create their version of the pinterest sensation:oreo moon phases. I love any project that includes sweets.  Here's a picture.

 



And they've almost completed the Mars unit.  We'll finish the project/journaling soon and hopefully I'll have a picture to post.

The kids had their book club again.  The month's theme was an adventure book.  My daughter did Magic School Bus: Twister Trouble.  She made a tornado in a bottle.  My son did Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket.  He made a box of riddles.  Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of those.

There are a couple of things that have pleased me lately.

Zoo to You came to my daughter's preschool.  By the grace of God, and possibly positive peer pressure, my daughter petted a snake and a duck.  This is the same child who has been known to be afraid of ants.  So that is a big deal to me. She's decided she likes snakes. I was also very pleased with the information she internalized and retold to me after school.

A parent of another student came and talked to the kids about guitars.  My daughter remembers the parts of the guitar now.  She also got out the toy guitar at our house and has been playing it a lot lately. 

My grade school daughter independently (and without suggestion) downloaded a free app on the ipad for practicing math. I love it!

My middle school son is totally into Minecraft. (Actually, all of the kids are.)  But, he's been really connecting with a friend in relation to the game.  And, while I am waiting for the day when he independently limits his time spent in this pursuit, it is pleasing to see how happy he is as a result. (Minecraft, his drama group, and orchestra have this effect on him.  He is always really happy after participating in each one of these things.  I'm so thankful for these outlets for him.)  And I think they're sneaking some learning in on him, because today he was telling me that the part he was doing "works like a free market...Everyone had a lot of these items, so we could get them for a really good trade."

My oldest had a jazz concert this past week.  It was paired with the show choir's performance.  I really enjoyed the show!

These have been our wanderings and wonderings lately.  I'm really looking forward to spring break this week.