A little about me

I have joined a blog group called Homeschool Memoirs and I am supposed to tell a little about me in hopes that other homeschooling bloggers will visit my Faith, Family, Friends blog and I in turn will be encouraged by theirs. So, here is a little about me, my family and our homeschooling journey.
I have 3 children. One in 8th grade, 4th grade and a preschooler. We live in the country, surrounded by farm fields and I love country living. I like to can, freeze, bake, cook. I am my husband's biggest fan in the kitchen department. I'd love to learn to sew but I have tried it and have come to the conclusion that garage sales are the way to go for me. My brain does not work well with patterns and garage sales are cheaper.
We have homeschooled from the beginning and we use the classical style. I love having my kids at home with me. Most days are busy with schooling and housekeeping and chauffering. I started with another friend a classical coop 6 years ago. Since the year we started, we have had an average of 20 families participate ranging from 80-100 people who were involved. It has been a great blessing in my life and my children's life. However, this year, we have decided to take a year off and just enjoy being a family with not quite so many commitments. I am looking forward to this.
I hope you will get to know me a little better. My blog is mostly entry's about how the Lord is working in my life. You hear from me on the good days and the not so good days. I find blogging to be therapeutic and I ask the Lord to make my entry's a blessing to others who read them. I am as real as you can get. I don't like fake or pretend. I don't try to act like my family is perfect. I realize I am a sinner saved by grace and that I am very inadequate but God uses willing vessels. I hope you will visit and that my thoughts will be a blessing to you.

Dependance

At church this morning I was reminded of some very important things that I often need to be reminded of on a regular basis. The topic was dependance. Who do we depend on? Do we try to do everything in our own strength depending on self or do we depend on God and draw strength from him? When I am doing things in my own strength, I am destined to fail. I get frustrated, angry, impatient and my sinful side is very apparent to all around me. I often fail to remember that God's grace is adequate for what comes to me everyday. There is no day, no circumstance, no happening that God did not allow to be a part of my day. When I start getting a "poor me" attitude or a "why me" attitude, it's my strength I am working in and my own selfishness. I was reminded that when we are not in ideal circumstances that the circumstances are not what need to change, it's who we are depending on. As christians, we can have peace and joy despite of our situations. God never promised that the christian walk would be easy. As a matter of fact, usually the christian life is very difficult. We can expect trial, tribulations and just plain difficult days. These are the very things that God uses to prune us. To grow us and to sanctify us.
Many christians today think that when you are a christian, you are supposed to be happy. Days are supposed to be fairy tale like. This is the farthest thing from the truth. There is no where in scripture that indicates such a thing. There is an internal peace and joy but it's not a fairy tale life.
One other thing that stuck with me today is our Sunday school teacher expressed his concern over why so many youth are being raised in the church, memorizing scripture, being taught in the ways of the Lord and then abandoning all of it, never to come back? Kids see hypocrites in a hurry. A parent needs to demonstrate their enjoyment of God in their life to their children. The children need to see their parents in the word, intercessory prayer on behalf of them and others. They need to see that God is not dry and dull but very active and alive! The Holy Spirit lives within us and he CHANGES LIVES! This is something to get excited about! There is no one who will have a greater impact on children than the child's parent. Church is wonderful but even if you have the most ideal church in the whole world, it will impact your children but not like the parents that they live with 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Parents have the strongest influence and leave the biggest impressions on their kids.
So, if your reading this, put on the whole armor of God. Read your Bible, pray for your kids and rely on God's strength to get you through even the toughest of situations. He promises that his grace is sufficient for us in all circumstances.