THANK YOU LORD!!

Thank you Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you Lord, for making me whole
Thank you Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free

IT IS THANKSGIVING ALREADY!!! better start planning for next year!

Well it is Thanksgiving already. Is it just me or did October and November only last about 3 days each?!? Where oh where does the time go? In school we have been plugging right along. I just took the time to look ahead at all of our lesson plans and it appears that we will be finished by the beginning of May(if not a tad sooner). I have started making plans for our next year. I have decided(for now-all decisions are subject to change without warning or reason at any time) that we are gonna add Apoligia science next year. I have been reading up on them and am really excited. I LOVE SCIENCE! I did not realize there were science classes available for the beginning grades and I can't wait to get started. The girls will start the Exploring creation with Astronomy. I am sure I will learn tons from this elementary class because I never had any type of astronomy class myself. I can name the big dipper but that is about it. I am sure Kenyon will be involved with most of their studies as well. That is really how it works here with any science-Everyone is involved in the figuring out how things work and experiments part. Kenyon will start on Zoology 1 Exploring Creation with Flying Creatures of the 5th day. I wish I would have discovered these courses earlier because we may have to skip the zoology covering creatures of the sea since Kenyon is so old. We will have to see. It is always possible to squeeze things in so we may be able to get to it somehow. Also for next year we will be adding Math-u-see-at least for Kenyon. Math is really his best and favorite subject but he really gets bored and frustrated when he has to just sit and do worksheets. Math was always the cause of meltdowns for him so for now we have thrown it out. I know some of you think-I must be crazy to throw math out for a while but we needed the break. He was always able to do each part. It was never an issue of him not understanding it-he just hates doing it. I think adding the manipulative's and making it more hands on will really work for him. He loves to DO stuff and worksheets just do not make him feel like he is doing anything. He does still do math related things-he helps lots in the kitchen and works with fractions in recipes, he has to keep track of our running totals in the grocery store, lots of things like that-just no worksheets for now. I am not worried at all about his math skills. I am not yet sure what route to take with the girls math-wise. As for right now we are planning on staying with My Fathers World for the rest. I really love it and the kids are doing great with it. It is a lot of fun. The decision I have to make is whether or not to run Kalysa through the 1st grade program that Keslee is doing this year or start them off together on the same unit. The system is set up to where all the kids in the family can work on the same unit and be learning the same things after they can read. Well both girls are starting to read now and Kalysa is actually reading a bit better than Keslee so I am afraid having her go through the 1st grade will be redundant because the main focus is getting them to read. Either way-we have time to figure that out later.
Well that is what I have been thinking about for our homeschool. Have you already started planning for next year? Maybe I am a little weird put I always like to have a plan in place. It feels good to have an idea about what we will be doing 9 months from now. Since we are out of school today for Thanksgiving break, I have had extra time to think about what we can do next.
Those are my thought for the day. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! We are off to Nana's house in the morning(Monty's mom).

BRAZIL-CHRISTIAN HEROES-AND WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO DO?

We are finishing up our study of South America tomorrow(we just have some reading to do and we are trying to make lapbooks). We have had a very interesting time in Brazil. The animals around the amazon jungle are just amazing. It is just crazy how many different types of monkeys or birds there are that we have never ever heard mention of-and they are so beautiful. It would truly be the most amazing experience to get to see it all first hand. And that brings me to our church. We have a missionary, Brother Musgrave, that spent about 30 years in Venezuela. He is just amazing!! We are reading the Story of Nate Saint and I was talking with Brother Musgrave about the jungle and he told me he had spent a week in the Amazon Jungle clearing an area for a landing strip-he has witnessed to jungle tribes-WHO IS GONNA WRITE BROTHER MUSGRAVE'S STORY?!?!? I am serious!! The world will truly miss out if there is not a book written about the missionary life of Howard and Naomi Musgrave! Ok, so back to Nate Saint...the kids and I enjoyed this story even more than Cameron Townsand. It is just amazing. If you know nothing about Nate Saint(which I did not) I would really recommend you read up on him. It is just so wonderful and inspiring to see what Christian Heroes have gone through for the Glory of God. Kenyon and Jacinta wanted to look up pictures of Nate on the internet and I found something written by his son. I think you should all read this. Just makes ya wonder-Will I have a faith strong enough to stand up for my Lord even when the going gets real tough? I pray that I will and I pray that I am able to instill it in my children so that they will because I believe the tough times are comin.

DISCIPLESHIP-ASSURANCE part 2

I want to encourage each of you to read every scripture reference for yourself and let God speak to you.

How I Know I am Saved....

1.I Believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 16:31
2.I have the Son. 1 John 5:12
3.I have a love for the brethren. 1 John 3:14
4.I desire to keep God's commandments. ! John 2:3
5. I desire to turn from the world and all it's sin. 1 John 2:15
6.I am overcoming the world. 1 John 5:4
7. I have the witness of the Spirit within. 1John 5:10
8. My life is evidencing good fruit. Matthew 7:17,18
9. I hear the Lord's voice through the Word of God and desire to follow Him. John 10:27

We all may have doubts about our salvation but we must remember that satan is a LIAR. John 8:44 reminds us satan is a liar. Genesis 3:1 is his first recorded words in the Bible and what was he doing then? Casting doubt on God's word. Here are some ways to deepen your assurance in what God has done for you.

1.Learn the Word of God. Read and study your Bible for yourself. Salvation is based upon what God has said not how you feel or what someone else thinks. Read 2 Timothy 3:14,15
2.Thank God for His Gift of Salvation. Thanksgiving is evidence of faith. Romans 6:23 says you have received the GIFT of eternal life. Thank God for the GIFT He GAVE. read 2 Corinthians 9:15
3.Make a public testimony before others. TELL SOMEBODY! Let others know you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a relationship between confessing Christ to others and your assurance. One way to confess Christ is to go forward during the church's invitation and speak with the pastor. He will gladly assist you. read 1 John 4:15 Matthew10:32 Romans 10:9,10
4.Attend church as much as possible. Fellowship with other believers is encouraging. Many of them may have experienced the same doubts. read Hebrews 10:22,25
5.Live a righteous life. Isaiah 32:17 tells us the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance forever. When God sees us living for Him, He will bring assurance to us.

What happens if I sin?

Can Christians sin? YES-1 John 1:8
Does God want us to sin? NO-1 John 2:1
When we do sin, what should we do about it? Confess it to GOD-1 John 1:9
1 John 2:1 tells us that when we sin, Jesus Christ the Righteous appears before God the Father on our behalf.
Read 1 John 1:6,7 and answer for yourself...What do I lose if I sin?

Can you Lose Salvation?

1.John 10:28 says we shall NEVER perish.
2.John 10:29 says no man is able to remove us from God's hand.(that would include yourself)
3.John 6:37 says God will in no wise cast out those who come to Christ.
4.John 6:39 says the responsibility of keeping us saved is the Lord's, not ours,and that Christ can lose nothing.
5.John 5:24 says the kind of life I now have is everlasting.
6.Romans 8:38,39 says that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
7.1 Peter 1:5 says we are Kept by the power of God.
8.Jude 24 says Christ is able to keep us from falling.
9.Philippians 1:6 says that Christ will continue his good work in us until the day of Jesus Christ.
10.Ephesians 1:13 says our salvation has been sealed with the Holy Spirit.
11.Ephesians 2:8 says that our salvation is a gift of God. (a gift is not a gift if it is taken back.)
12.Ephesians 2:9 says we have done nothing to gain salvation. If we do nothing to gain it- we can do nothing to lose it.
13.Ephesians 2:2,3 and 1 John 3:10 tells us before we were saved we were in the control of satan but after salvation we have a new relationship with God.
God is our heavenly Father(Romans 8:15).
Christians are the Sons of God(1 John 3:1).
Just like in our own families, when a child does wrong, his parents will correct and chasten their son but he is still their son. He is not cast out of the family.
When a Christian sins, he is not cast out of the family of God. He does not lose his salvation. Hebrews 12:6 tells us that God will Chasten an erring Christian-just like any loving father does.

Reading assignment is the Gospel of John and then 1st John.

BLESSINGS!!

OK so I have been bad the last few weeks about keeping up with my blessings list. I will try to get on and stay on track STARTING.....NOW

1.Seeing how God provided for the church to get over 3000 sq feet of tile work done in the new building for next to nuthin-I still don't know how it happened but it looks beautiful!!
2.Brother Deandre-of course for his tile work but more so for the messages he preached. He had such a way with bringing the Bible to life and making me see how REAL it is. It is not just a bunch of stories. This is history. These things really happened just as sure as Pilgrims sailed over on the Mayflower. I could SEE it and FEEL it on the ark and going up the mountain with Abraham and Isaac. WOW! What an impact God made on my heart through him.
3.Heather and the baby making it to church-I missed her so much(and boy isn't he a cutie!!)
4.Nathaniel getting to go home for good! I am so happy for Mamie and can't wait until Jeremiah is returned as well.
5.Casey and Gabby getting saved on Sunday and Kalysa asking more questions about it daily.
6.My son the witness for God-He came to me and told me"Jonathon and Cyrus know!" I said Know what? He said"know about God. I asked them who made the World and they said God! They know it was God and not evolution!" He has also been drilling Kalysa on getting saved and making sure she understands-he even got out our "Story of Jesus" video to watch with her and explain to her as the story progressed.
7.Kenyon (again) I often wondered if the day would ever come with him but the last few weeks he has really been listening during church. That is why he is feeling such a sense of urgency about Kalysa getting saved. It is just so wonderful to see him on fire for the Lord.
8.Keslee wanting to serve(or at least play with babies) at church. She asked why I have to sometimes work in the nursery. I explained that being a member of the church, I shared the responsibility of taking care of the babies so their mamas could hear the message too. She said"I'm Saved! I got baptized! I am a member of this church! Why can't I work in the nursery? You know I could do it! You know I can take care of those babies!!" (truth be told-she probably could)
9.getting to talk to my sister or my sister in law or my brother or my grandma or my dad or all of the above just about everyday. So many people don't have good relationships with their family and I just really cherish the relationships we have even when we don't all agree all the time. (and of course I talk to mom-we do a paper route together everyday)
10.Homeschooling!!! We are almost done with a semester and it is still going really well! Both of my girls are reading and Kenyon and Jacinta(and I) are really learning a lot about geography and other parts of the world. It is so hard to imagine that just about 2 years ago I was one of those mom's that really couldn't stand to be with my kids 24/7 ans now I can't imagine not being with them. We have a relationship that is completely different than it was a few years back. I truly believe I was "created 4 homeschooling" and I thank God all the time for opening my eyes to that. I could not imagine going through life and missing out on what we have gained as a family through homeschooling. I LOVE IT!!!

Ok- so I went a little long on explanations of each blessing-does that make up for my lack of listing the last few weeks? I hope you are all feeling and seeing blessings of your own. Have a great rest of the week!

NOW THAT IS TRUE LOVE!!

On Tuesday nights, mom usually stays(and John and Jacinta) for supper. Tonight mom brought with her some hot cocoa mix. Of course this is a real treat for the kids. Everyone loves hot chocolate!! so after supper we all had our cup of hot chocolate and Kalysa says...

Kalysa-If daddy comes home right now, I'm gonna put my cup down and give him a kiss.

Now that is love! Even though it is still several hours before daddy is due home, she is prepared to put down her hot chocolate just to give him a kiss. I told ya she is a daddy's girl!

God protecting His child!

My dad is not an avid reader. If he were a child today, he would very likely be diagnosed with some sort of learning disability. He CAN read but it does not come easily to him and he has to really concentrate and take his time. Several months ago he called me and said he was reading a book that came highly recommended to him from his brother, my uncle Paul. I asked what the book was and he said it was Joel Osteen's book. I told him to really listen to what he is saying in the book and if he chose to read the book, do so with his eyes open. A day or two later, he called back and told me he stopped reading the book because Joel "didn't say anything, he just goes in circles and doesn't make sense". It was then that I shared with him some of the Biblical inconsistencies with the Olsteen's ministry.

Well tonight my dad and that same brother went to the mall and each came home with a book. Dad told me again he is gonna try to read a book and pulled out The Secret. Again, I was concerned that my dad would be reading something so unbiblical but I took the book and began to look through it....

me-Dad, you can't read this book.

dad-Why not?

me-It's in spanish.

dad-What? I looked through it at the store and didn't notice that, the check out girl didn't say anything, and the one Paul bought was not in spanish and we got the same book.

me-Maybe it wasn't in spanish then but it is now. God said you aint readin this book! It will tell you that you are in control and now I'll show you I am.

Then I pulled up some info online for dad about the book including" The Secret tells readers and viewers how this is possible: ‘You are God in a physical body ... You are all power ... You are all intelligence ... You are the creator’ (p. 164). Incidentally, the author of The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, thanks a group of spirit guides called Abraham for ‘their inspirational teachings’ (p. xv). "

Dad decided maybe he should stop trying to read books. I let him know that he should just stop going to Paul for books, I have shelves full of books he can read and I loaned him When God Whispers Your Name by Max Lucado.

clarification:I just found out Paul did not buy his book tonight. He has already been reading it and so recommended it to dad.

GROWING A SERVANT'S HEART

Having the heart of a servant is something I really want for my children. I want them to serve the Lord and their community. I don't want them to do it because they have to. I want them to want to. I want them to feel the need to serve out of love. Not for recognition, not for financial gain, but just because the Love of Jesus pours out of them onto others.

Our neighbors across the street, Mrs. Barbara and her husband, are elderly. My kids love her(her husband doesn't come out much and none of us have really gotten to know him at all.) She makes them candy and they can't wait to take some of whatever we bake to her. Last fall Kenyon decided he liked raking the leaves. He spent a few days on our yard and then recruited his sisters to help him conquer Mrs. Barbara's yard. Last year it was fun and I figured it was a chore they would not embrace for long. Today, my kids went outside to play. I went to check on them and found them across the street raking the leaves. They are not doing it for recognition, obviously, because the neighbors are not even home so no one can see them doing it. They are not doing it for money-again, no one is home so they have no reason to believe they are getting paid for this job. Why are they doing it..."because Mrs Barbara is too old to do it." They believe she has a need even though she has not expressed that need and asked for help. They got together and took it upon themselves to fulfill it.

They took their bag and hug it on the back of Mrs. Barbara's truck and are filling it up with her leaves. I still believe that the chore of raking leaves is one they will not embrace for long. I can tell this by the fact that my yard is COVERED in leaves. Oh yes, they have made piles-but only to jump in and play in and re-scatter across the yard. The bag they are using across the street is the bag I gave them to pick up our leaves a few days ago but it never happened. The chore of raking the leaves is not fun for them. Serving a neighbor that they love when they believe she has a need-now that is a whole different story.

Update:I did not know what the kids did with the bag after they filled it. Well I learned they brought it to our yard and DUMPED IT!! It got full and they still have leaves in Mrs Barbara's yard to get so what else were they supposed to do?!? I am pretty sure our leaves(plus the ones brought over) will never be raked and discarded but we have plenty for jumping into!

NOW THOSE ARE SOME REALLY STRONG EGGS!!

Kenyon and Jacinta had another experiment today. We have learned that the arch shape is the strongest shape in architecture. We have also learned that you can not break an egg in your hand by squeezing it because the force of your hand is spread out over the entire egg. Keslee has started going through the days of creation and Kalysa has been learning about how God made everything wonderful. He thought of everything in regards to everything he created. There is no way it could have all happened just by chance. So today's experiment really tied into everyone's studies. We had 4 empty egg shells standing on their open ends and stacked books on them to see how much wieght they would support. The kids were all amazed that they did not break after the first book and were really surprised when we got 7 big books to set atop the 4 egg shells. They stayed for a minute and then the back corner gave in. I believe they could have held more if it weren't for human error. Only one egg crushed and the other 3 did not even crack. When I drained the eggs and broke one end off, I could not get them all 4 exactly even. I believe that is why the one did not make it longer. Either way, we put the books on the scale and discovered the egg shells held 24.5 pounds. Pretty Amazing!!

EVOLVING INTO A NEW ADDRESS

I am guilty of being naive. Naive about the condition of our world. I was raised in a small Texas town where everybody went to church somewhere and our science teachers actually taught evolution as a theory. I know that there are people that do not know about God but they are all in far off lands-right? I know that lots of people do some really horrible things but they all really know they are wrong and feel the guilt and-even if they refuse to-know they should be asking for forgiveness-right? I know there are people that say they do not believe in God but deep down they really do and even as they reject him they know he is there-right?

WRONG!!

This election has opened my eyes in more ways than one. I have listened to more people flat out deny the existence of God on national tv and make fun of Sarah Palin JUST for her faith. I have read blogs where people will argue and fight for someone else to have the right to kill a baby(the most disgusting thing I have seen was when asked about tax payer funded abortions, a women said she was fine with her money paying for that because it pays for births through medicaid and abortions were cheaper births). I have heard Obama supporters listen to his own words and then deny he said what he said.

I know that when you accept Jesus Christ he will open your eyes. My eyes have been opened wider and wider the past few years but now I know that because I was saved at an early age my eyes were never completely closed. I may have had bad eyesight because I was not actively seeking the Lord's truth but I never realized before what it meant to be truly blind. THERE ARE A WHOLE LOTTA PEOPLE THAT ARE IN TOTAL DARKNESS! I mean darkness darker than any darkness I have ever not seen before. I have been in shock for sometime now as it sinks in just how far gone some people are into the abyss. I just never imagined that it was really that bad and for that I ask my Lord to forgive me of my ignorance.

Because of that ignorance, I would never think twice about calling my kids my monkeys. They are so cute and they climb on EVERYTHING and they make messes and they are loud. I love monkeys and I love my kids. My kids make me think of monkeys. It wasn't until I saw homeschool blogs with big labels claiming "I am an EVOLVED Homeschooler" that I even thought about it....someone may really think I think my kids actually are/were monkeys. Evolution is the most ridiculous theory I have ever heard. I have never for a minute of my life thought that it could be true. There are sooooooo many things that disprove it that I really believed the only people that still held on to it were scientists because they just did not want to admit how stupid they sounded. I have never called my child my rowdy little monkey actually thinking that people once were monkeys; just like when Monty calls me deer he doesn't believe that we started out as deer at some point in history; and when I call him honey I never believed that he was once made by a swarm of bees. The Bible tells us to avoid giving even the appearance of unrighteousness so for this reason, I will be changing the address of this blog. I would not want ONE single person to think even for a moment that homeschoolingmymonkeys was some reference to us evolving from nothingness to monkeys to us. I do not want to give ONE single person the impression that I do not know my CREATOR. I pray that anyone that reads my blog will know that I know and love the Lord Jesus Christ but there are too many opportunities on the web for someone to see only the address and not the content and be misled. I have not yet come up with the perfect name to change it to but I will email anyone in my address book with the new name. If I don't have your email address or you have any suggestions for my new name, please leave me a comment. I don't know that I have any real loyal readers, but if so, I really am sorry for the hassle the name change may be.

update:As you can tell, the new name has been decided and the entire look of the blog was updated. Thanks to anyone that reads and I hope you enjoy your glimpse into my head and home!

Surveys and Science

For some reason, Monty LOVES to do surveys online. He can spend hours answering surveys from everything to t.v. shows to laundry soap to what and when you drink anything all day long for a week. I just don't get it. I don't have the patience. I have to be in a REALLY good mood when I get the "This is not a sales call mam and will only take 2 minutes of your time..." call or I am hanging up. But my husband loves to do them(actually he doesn't care for the phone surveys as much but he will still do them.) He has several companies that he regularly takes surveys for. Our email is loaded daily with new surveys for him to fill out. I have learned not to complain because they have actually paid off many times. We have gotten samples to test and fill out surveys on. We have gotten 2 big bottles of Tide laundry soap, instant mashed potatoes, crackers, chicken broth, bottles of flavored water, shampoo, and more. Some surveys pay cash and we often receive checks in the mail for $3, $5, $7 or $10. He has done a few surveys that require the company to send him a palm pilot to record info on daily and when they receive it back he get $60-$100. The companies that he uses on a regular basis give him points that he can redeem for merchandise. We used all of his points last year for kids movies or books for Christmas presents for the kids and are doing so again this year. So that brings us to science. When going through the books available, we found The Everything Kids Science Experiments Book. It came in the mail this week and the kids were SOOO excited. There are experiments that pertain to biology, chemistry, physics, the earth and the human body. The have lots of little fun science facts and jokes throughout and even some puzzles and games. Each experiment has a question, material list, procedure, and then an explanation of what is happening. I have just browsed through it, but it seems like most of the experiments are things we will be able to do with things we have around the house. Kenyon was eager to jump right in and just opened the book and started reading...

Question: How can you peel a raw egg?

LET'S DO IT!

So we have an egg sitting in a cup of vinegar and are watching the acid eat away at the shell until we have a "see through" egg held together only by the membrane that holds the egg inside the shell. Our egg is very soft right now (we started it yesterday) so another day will probably do it. The kids are having a blast watching the slow chemical reaction and check on the egg periodically during the day.

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING MY KIDS!?!?!

update:our egg was almost see-through. the book said we may have to gently rub the remaining white off for it to be completly transparent. Well, I did that and had about 1/2 a clear egg and then I got a little too eager and rubber too hard and it busted! The kids still got to see it and hold the shelless, soft membrane that was left.

DISCIPLESHIP-ASSURANCE part 1

Satan often tries to get Christians to doubt our salvation. The assurance of salvation study is to show us that when you accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you can KNOW for sure you are saved forever. Salvation is not based on a feeling. After you get saved you do not always "feel" saved and especially when you sin again(because ALL men do-saved or not!). Doubts will come but the Lord does not try to trick us. He wants us to know and he shows us how we can in His word.
Assurance of salvation is the intellectual and spiritual certainty that you have eternal salvation, that you are a child of God forever.

2nd Timothy 1:12 says ".....I am not ashamed: for I KNOW whom I have believed, and am PERSUADED that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

1st John 5:13 says"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God"

God tells us right there that we can KNOW we have eternal salvation and not only that but he WANTS us to know. It is not something we have to guess at. He then tells us why we need the assurance of our salvation. Read 1st John 1:4 1st John 3:19,21 Colossians 2:2 and James 1:8.

These versus tell us that assurance brings us JOY, CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD, COMFORT OF HEART AND STABILITY. Well that makes perfect sense!! When we are SURE of anything, we have joy, confidence, comfort and stability in regards to the thing we are sure of. It only makes sense that God would provide us a way to have each of these things in our life in regard to our walk with Him. When we have an assurance of our salvation it also enables us. Read 1st John 5:4,5 John 1:40,41 John 4:28,29 and acts 16:10. Assurance enable us to overcome the world and effectively serve the Lord by telling family, friends and strangers about Jesus. So we do not have to guess about our salvation-it is not something that we feel, our feelings can change daily, hourly and sometimes every minute but our salvation does not! God gave us His word and we can find the answers to anything he has for us to know. The Bible is His word-straight form Him to us and it is UNCHANGING. What was in there yesterday is still there today and IT STILL APPLIES!!
1st John 5:11,12 says "and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life."
There are 3 grounds for our assurance...
1.God-God said it so that settles it! read Titus 1:2 and it tells us that God CAN NOT lie. It doesn't just say that He wont lie but that he CAN'T. He is a Holy and Righteous God so He is not ever capable of telling a lie.
2.The promises of God-read John 5:24 John 6:37 and Romans 10:13. God promises that I have everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, Because I came to Jesus Christ, He will in no wise cast me out and the who ever calls upon the name of the Lord SHALL be saved. He says I HAVE everlasting life-I posses it, own it, it is mine to keep and he will not ever cast me out and anyone else that calls on his name SHALL, not might, not could but SHALL BE SAVED.
3.The presence of God-read Romans 5:5 and Romans 8:16. God tells us that when we are saved he gives us His Holy Ghost to dwell in our hearts and the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are in fact God's child. God gives us His Holy Spirit. He does not loan it to us or send it to us sometimes to check in-He gives us His Spirit and it dwells(stays, lives) in our hearts.

God Is Bigger than the Boogy Man!!

Don't really know what to say about the election yet so I will just put it to you all the same way I put it to my dear sweet concerned little six year old.

With election coverage playing on the tv, Keslee takes notice of something said and says...

Kes-Are we losing John McCain?
me-Yes we are.
Kes-Oh no! Now do we have to live in a cave? (fyi-she did not get that idea from me but from another child that is a bit older than her)
me-Of Course Not! Why would we have to live in a cave?
Kes-If we lose John McCain, Obama will be the president and we will all have to live in a cave!
me-Is God bigger than the Boogy Man(veggie tales song from a scared in the dark video)
Kes-YES
me-Well then God is bigger than Barak Obama too!!

End of Story!

just to clarify-I am not opposed to living in a cave if that need does arise but as of right now-I am not looking for one (YET!)

So Halloween is Really Over!

When I say halloween is over, it has a whole new meaning to us now. I have never been convicted before about celebrating halloween or taking the kids trick or treating. Amy and I had just talked about it a few weeks before the big day. We were in agreement that it was just something fun for the kids. Who doesn't love to dress up and we never did the gory-scary costumes anyways. And of course who is gonna argue with free candy!?!? It was just a few days after my conversation with Amy that it hit me...What are we celebrating?.....Why?.... How is it benefiting the Kingdom of God-and for that matter-How is it actually BENEFITING my family? OH NO....ANOTHER CONVICTION!!!! I have already convinced enough people that know/knew me that I am a "crazy religious radical". Now I am supposed to take trick or treating away from my kids?!? Please God, tell me how I am supposed to do THAT! I prayed about it for a few days and then talked to the kids. I asked them if they could tell me how God is glorified at all during halloween? Kenyon, of course, is only concerned about the candy! I let them know that we can always do something with our own family that would be as much or more fun while others are trick or treating.
YEA RIGHT MOM! WHAT WOULD BE AS FUN AS TRICK OR TREAT???
Maybe we could make popcorn balls or caramel apples. Watch movies together. Just be together and do a family thing. We can do anything we want!!
Well the girls were all for the family together thing and were ready to abandon halloween right then but Kenyon was not yet convinced. Also there is one little problem....I had not even talked to Monty yet. Sometimes God doesn't give the husband and wife the same convictions at the same time. When I was ready to homeschool-Monty was not totally on board and I believe he thought me to be a little radical but he went along with it and is now totally on board. I really did not know what he would think about no halloween. It was also just about 3 days away! So one night(or morning) while laying in bed I just said...
me-There are a couple of things I wanted to talk to you about.
him-Ok. what?
me-I want to get a gun and I don't think we should do halloween anymore.
him-WHAT?! Why do you want a gun?
me-Well, I just don't know if a time may come when we CAN'T get them and think maybe we should get one before then.
him-Ok! So get a gun.
me-(thinking)wow! I did not expect that response. He has not ever been one to think we needed a gun around-this may be easier than I thought. (now speaking) Well I have been wondering WHY do we celebrate halloween. WHAT are we celebrating? Is there any reason for it and if so is it the right reasons? blah blah blah
him-grumble
me-would you just pray about it and see what you get please?
him-ok! ZZZZZZZZZZ (yes it literally takes him that long to fall asleep!)
So I told the kids my concerns again and decided we would trick or treat this year but I wanted them to be on the look out while we were out. I wanted them to let me know it there was anything they saw that brought glory to God with this "holiday." I also wanted them to see if they saw anything that did not.
Well we went out and I could see it on their faces! Every bloody gross monster that passed by-they gave me a look like "Ut-oh!" They knew it was over and it was not just because mom said so. They could not find a reason either! Why were we doing this? How is it helping anybody? I did not say anything while we were out but they did. Things like "I can't believe this is our last trick or treat" or "that's not right" regaurding a costume or decoration. Just little things through out the night that let me know they got it. God gave it to them and it was not just some mean momma that wanted to steal away their fun. They made out like bandits!!! Even Kalysa, who normally goes to the down town businesses and then sits in the car through the (safe) neighborhood we usually go to because her leg hurts. She walked the entire time-she hit every house with the other 2. They made the most of their last time.
Still Monty had not given me his input. That night we started hearing news reports of kids being killed while trick or treating. Monty said-Forget it! It is not worth it! I said that can't be our reason. It can't just be out of fear. Next thing I know he comes to tell me he has been reading up about halloween online. Something about Celtics fighting evil spirits with costumes and sacrificing and death and evil and spirits and and and "That is the end of it! We are done! No more halloween for us! It is not a celebration of anything worth celebrating! It doesn't have anything that glorifies the Lord! It is over!"
So I guess that's it! As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Halloween is out and everyone in this house is just fine with that.

Update:Amy called on halloween night and said when she was trying to get her kids(6,4,1) ready for trick or treat they just did not want to go. They wanted to stay home and did not feel like getting dressed up. She started wondering why she was trying to force a holiday on her kids that they were not interested in and could not figure out what they were "celebrating" either. So halloween ended for them right then. If you remember-we had BOTH decided halloween was ok before hand. It is amazing how God changed each of our minds independently. It is even more amazing how many times God has brought Amy and I down the same road at the same time.

I think we are all better now...

Well last Sunday night/Monday morning(about 1am) Keslee started us off. She came and climbed in bed with me and within about 3.25 minutes, was throwing up all over my bed. I got to clean that up plus clean the bathroom(she had been there before my bed), and also clean her up. Nothing like giving baths at 2 am! I finally got about 1.8 hours of sleep when Monty woke me up to go do my paper route and also let me know Kalysa had gotten up and was following her big sisters lead. He had been sweet enough to take care of that and let me get a little sleep. Monday evening Monty called from work saying he felt awful but was gonna stick it out. When he got home, he brought with him a fever of 101 and missed the next 2 days of work. Then it hit me as well. I believe we went through about 8 rolls of toilet paper in the last 5 days. Someone was always in the bathroom either "hugging" it or "sitting" on it. Kenyon was the only one that somehow escaped. He did complain of his stomach hurting several times and was extra gassy but he kept everything down. Yesterday was the first day that everyone was feeling better(although no one is still really eating much) so I went to the store and got Lysol-bleach-and toilet cleaner with bleach. My house now smells like a hospital but (trust me) it is way better than what it did smell like!! Hopefully I have killed any lingering remains of this evil virus that attacked us.