Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Reading through the bible and Life as we know it!

Nehamiah
Publix and haphazard shopping
Spring Break



Nehemia
Nehemiah's prayer is so soulful in the beginning.  In my small group just last time we met, we talked about praying from head to toe.  This prayer was head to toe and back again.  I often find my prayers rushed and incomplete.  They should be satisfying and from deep inside, yet I am distracted and I do not fully communicate with God what is way down inside.  In chapter 2 he is in front of the king.  The king asks him what he wants and he prayed before he answered.  I immediately thought of all the times I should have done that.  That would have saved my foot in my mouth I am certain!  He trusted that God would have his wishes granted by the king and they were.  The wall of Jeruselum was rebuilt because he followed what God called him to do.  Again, this was followed by opposition, but in that time (and this time for that matter), what wasn't!?  He fought for the poor and stood up for the wrong that was being done to them.  I love how when he received a message from Sanballet saying that it was understood that they were buiding the wall inpreparation for a fight, he says, "you are just making that up out of your head."  Cracks me up!  He just kept praying for strength and it was completed and the exiles returned.  After everyone was settled, Ezra read the Book of Revelation to the people.  They lamented as he read and but Nehamiah told them not to mourn or weep because it was a sacred day.

I will continue with Nehamiah next time.


Publix and haphazard shopping
I went to Publix this week.  I spent $73 and save $65.  Not the best trip but it was decent.  I have been so busy lately that I have been a little careless and this will be proof to you of why efficiency will save you money.  While my coupons and emails are organized, I am better able to access the things I need to find the deals.  I have fallen several weeks behind in organizing my envelopes of coupons.  I also have not printed from coupons.com as I should before they reset.  (If you have no idea what that means, send me an email and I will explain.)  I absolutely need to de-clutter my desk, my coupon box and my email inbox.  This will be a project I accomplish one at a time.  In the meantime, my shopping trips will be minimal so I do not spend money I do not need to spend.  I have been doing awesome cooking and planning meals ahead and not wasting food.  Meals are not pre-prepared and they take very little time to make because I plan!  This saves money, so again, I point to being efficient!  My mother gave me an amazing tip when she found London broil on sale for $1.99 and bought a bunch and got some ground up by the butcher right there in the store!  Mom' s are amazing for tips like that!  At least I am not calling her from my college apartment asking her if the chick is supposed to be pink when its done!

Please look here and fill up your inbox with a bunch of great freebies!


Life as we know it
Times are crazy right now, but it is all good crazy.  I am still trying to find an agent.  I am frustrated and need to figure some technical things out still.  Homeschooling is amazing and Madi is so unbelievably smart.  I am so proud of her.  I am halfway through the Insanity 60 day workout program and it is exactly as it is titled.  I  love it and am looking toward the next program after this is over.  Mike is still working 7 days a week and we are coming up on what we pray to be his contract RENEWAL and not contract end!!!!  Mackenzie is completing the antibiotics she was prescribed for 21 days but is still messing with her ears.  This could be bad...tubes seem to be in our future.  But we are still hoping and praying they clear and we have a healthy, sleeping little girl.  What a trooper.  Madi starts soccer this Friday!!! 

Here is to getting organized and de-cluttering so I can get back on track! 

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ezra and my life is taking over!!!

 In this blog:
PICTURES (We had a Paige day!!  Some fun pictures of birthday weekend too!)
EZRA
HOMESCHOOLINGREADING/WRITING
LIFE


 



EZRA
The book of Ezra starts off with the Jews who were not following God's law and...SURPRISE! He allows them to be attacked.  Central theme once again?  I suspect so!  There was the opposition to the rebuilding of the temple and finally it was completed anyway because Cyrus issued the building permit.  They had building permit issues even then? 

Ezra prays about intermarriage and because he knows what they have been subjected to with war, death, humiliation and captivity, were because of their unfaithfulness.  His prayer in Ch 9:6-15 really stood out to me.  It is a prayer worth reading a few times.  What can we say to our forgiving father when we have failed him?  Would he not be angry enough to desert?  Yet he stays.  He forgives.  He loves.

I am far past this in my reading, but have to go back to refresh as I write!  This is a challenge!  I have had a little down time from my blog, but I am back at it now.  I will keep you posted on my reading progress.

HOMESCHOOLING

I have begun bringing MAdi up to the local elementary school for specials classes everyday.  This has proven to be a task as I have to get all of our schoolwork done before lunch and then off we go.  The upside is she is getting subjects I don't really teach like PE and Art!  I hate art!  I can't draw to save my life.  I can't duplicate PE because there is only one student.  She also gets to take computer, science, Spanish, instruments and voice.  School is really going well and our weeks are packed.  Soccer starts next week along with girlscouts.  We have our first girl scout camping trip coming up.

READING/WRITING

This blog is all about being balanced right?  Reading and writing are passions of mine.  I have begun a little program, which anyone who has a blog can start, called Book Sneeze.  Here, they send you free books with the agreement that you will review it on your blog and one public forum like Amazon.  Free books baby!!! 

As for writing, I am still on the hunt for an agent.  It is getting rather frustrating because I have made no progress.  I truly believe in my books, but I have had some technical issues and may have hit a brick wall.  My approach may have to change and this does not make me happy. 

I am also trying to work some time into my schedule to begin work on my novel again.  I have finished it but have been working a long time to get it tuned up and then will most likely need to work some more to fine tune.  As it is now, though, with workouts and school to teach and naps to work around, some of this is proving to be taxing.  I have to work things in and out as they become too much. 

LIFE

Life is busy but we are strong, healthy and happy.  We are abundant in love and health and I pray with all of my heart and soul that it will stay that way. 


Moments are piled up but here is a snapshot...

-watching the new series LIFE with Madison.
-seeing Mackenzie putting things in and out of a small container (though she still doesn't walk).
-reading my bible in total silence.  (It is usually not so silent and rather distracting!)
-deep conversation with an amazing friend.
-Madi's entire birthday weekend and a visit with an old friend and her little girl.

I need a pause button!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Book Review of John Bunyan

John BunyanImage via Wikipedia
I am reviewing the book John Bunyan, by Kevin Belmonte.    His life was littered with struggle and war beginning at a young age with the deaths of his mother and sister.  His father was a brazier and he was expected to follow.  However religious his mother may have been, she instilled just enough in him to create a sense of morality.  He was permitted to go to school, which, considering his family's trade, was rare.  After his formal schooling, the end came o/f his intellectual expansion at that point.  This was where he developed his lifelong love of reading.

He truly struggled with his walk with Christ was on a bumpy road.  He spent time in prison and for his beliefs.  Despite wars and violent persecution, he became the author of one of the most famous pieces of English literature.  He ravished any book he could get his hands on.  His wife came to their marriage with 2 books as part of a dowry and were a pattern in his life as they would have a huge impact. 

The book it a quick and easy read.  It is a simple introduction to the life of the author of Pilgrim's Progress.  I read it in several hours.  The entire story is skimming the surface but it leaves me with the feeling that he felt he skirted the outlying areas of death, in the spiritual sense, itself.  He pleads with his readers to see Jesus as a merciful savior.  His intelligence was deep and intense and a basic staple in his life.  The book piqued my interest in his biography and Pilgrim's Progress.  I found myself thinking of Paul and comparing him.  It seemed like it would make a good book for a high school term paper or essay.  It was just enough to make me curious. It was clearly written with a strong spiritual message and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read or a very good summary.
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Saturday, March 6, 2010

2 Chronicles

The genealogy of the kings of Israel and Judah...Image via Wikipedia
I read through Chronicles and felt like it was Groundhog's Day.  If you have ever read through the bible, you may know that a lot of the books are a separate account of the same stories and events.  This book is a recount of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings primarily.  Most of the beginning of this book is lineage again.  I am so lost on lineage now.  I could devote a year just to making a lineage chart, which, for some strange reason, I think I would like!  Hmmm, weird!

I am still baffled at the kings and their inability to see what we never get to see.  God deliberately told them to do what he says and they deliberately did the opposite!  I could recap the stories that I read, but I just want to point  out a few things here as I feel like I am beginning to repeat myself a little.  All too often, we cry out for help when we need it.  They did too.  Just like the Israelites coming out of Egypt,  the kings cried out for help when things were not going so hot, yet they turned to their false idols and illegitamate ways as soon as things were smooth.  I do not mean to belittle the details that you read throughout these books (Samuel, Kings, Chronicles) because I could retell you a lot of the stories, but I am finding a common theme.  It is a historical and factual account with a common root. The truth for the kings of Judah is concurrent in everybody's life: obeying God and truly worshiping him brings blessings even if they are not to your specific satisfaction, (like, say, becoming rich), while the denouncing of God and resorting to false gods and idols will bring death.  Not death in the 6 feet under sense, but death in the sense of spirituality.   It also struck me that some of these kings started off so well and failed to finish off life spiritually.  This shows the difficulty a ruler or equivalent, in our terms, faced in doing what is right.  That turns my eyes to our own world leaders in wonderment of their ability to follow what is the moral path. It broke my heart as I read about the sad end of kings who started off so strong.
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Friday, March 5, 2010

Target and Save a Lot

I just wanted to give you a quick rundown.  I went to Target today after looking at http://www.totallytarget.com/ and left feeling like I had won the lottery!  I would post pictures but I can't do that on the "coupon" computer so I will just tell you.  I got 3 Johnson and Johson Soap Buddies, a trial size first aid kit, trial Hello Kitty Band Aids, Johnson's baby shampoo, and 2 pouches of Starkist Tuna all...wait for it...FREE!!!!  PLUS, the coupons were worth more than the item cost and I got that money back (which normally doesn't happen)  I also picked up a 4 pack of Activia for $.99, 2 1/2 lbs of chicken breast and some refrigerated lobster ravioli and spent a total of $8.99!!!! 

I also went to Save a lot and got bananas (3 lbs for $1), apples were .99/lb,  and Roma tomatoes were .89/lb.  I also printed a few coupons for their canned goods from here.  I got 8 cans of veggies for 3.00 total.  I picked up a few other little things making my total 9.80!!  Check out their website for anything that may strike you! 

Happy shopping!