Good and Busy Days!

We had a busy week last week. The first part of the week Joshua and Ruth worked on their projects for the Scholar’s Exhibit. Then of course Wednesday night we had church services. Then Thursday night was the Scholar’s Exhibit and Recognition night. Then Friday night we went to the rehearsal for my Sister’s wedding. Then we had the wedding on Saturday. After the wedding we left for the Church of which my husband is now the Pastor.

I am so glad that we will soon be settling down in our new community. Scott is a lot happier fulfilling the calling that God has given him. He does not mind hard work but he prefers the work that God has called him to do as a leader and a shepherd. That is what he went to Seminary for. He has been needing a church to help guide. We do not make very good pew warmers as we like to tell people. We need to be working in the calling that God has given us as a preacher’s family. I have a lot of ideas for our small church that we are now a part of. I hope to see the youth in our church doing more and taking an active part in our services. There are not very many members but there are enough and it is a great number to actually work with the children during services. I hope we are blessed with many years serving the Lord there.

Above is a picture of Joshua holding an Anole Lizard. This is one of the pictures we put on Joshua’s display.

I hope to get a few pictures of the wedding onto my computer so that I can show some pictures of the girls dressed up in their beautiful dresses and Joshua in his suit. They were really cute!

This week should be a little slower I am imagining. Scott will be moving some building material from a house that we had originally planned to rebuild. But when plans changed we had a few things still sitting over there. So we need to move it before that house gets bull dozed.

Wednesday, Jonathan has a Dr. appointment. I anticipate that it will go well. He has been growing well and seems to have no problems with the Baby food that we have been giving him about once a day. So his appointment should be fairly uneventful, except for maybe some shots.

Thursday, there will be another homeschool event. It is a field day. I don’t know what all the events will be but I do know that their will be hay hurdles. So I imagine that the kids will have a great time with that.

Other than that it should be a pretty easy week. I am planning to go to the store sometime this week and buy a few things for the parsonage where we will be living in a couple of months. We will be slowly moving things that direction. This week I want to move some dressers that we have not been using in our present location. I am also thinking of taking a few of our dishes over there. I am looking forward to getting over there full time.

Well, Jonathan is not happy so I must go for now. I need to start putting more Bible verses on here again. I will try to get some passages for next time.
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Busy Days!

I just finished another busy day. Scott started the day sick. I was hoping he would get to feeling better but he wound up having to leave work early. I am hoping that he feels better tomorrow.

The kids were good today. I was trying to print them off some lessons I wanted to start them on from the internet. However, since my laptop is not working and Scott had set up this computer for me to use, I didn’t have Adobe Acrobat on here. So the kids patiently waited quite a bit of the day for me to download all the files I needed. It gave me so much trouble. I even had to restart the computer at one point, which meant I had to re-download all those files I was trying to load. Thankfully, I have that done and should be able to print those papers for the kids tomorrow. I highly recommend http://www.learningpage.com. This is a wonderful resource that I have used with my kids a lot. You can find lesson plans and worksheets. They have lesson themes that have always captivated my children whenever we use them.

I have so many things I want to teach my children that I sometimes don’t know where to begin, I just throw in a new lesson whenever I find an open opportunity. Thursday, I will be taking my children on a field trip to a Planetarium and an Art Museum. This is an activity that is planned with a homeschool group that we are a part of. My husband may accept a church soon and if he does I want to find another homeschool group like the one we were a part of here. I like the support we receive from other homeschoolers in the area. I also like how we can get discounts going to museums and things as a group. It also helps our kids see that they are not the only ones that are learning in their home instead of in a Public educational setting. So if I am able to find another Christian homeschool group, I will be really happy.

Yes, a church has finally voted to call my husband as pastor. He will be preaching there next Sunday and is planning, Lord willing, to accept their call. I won’t name the church at this time but will just say it is another church in Texas. Some reason the Lord has seen fit to have us stay in Texas all these years. Churches are seeking Pastors all over the place. It is hard sometimes to just pick one location and say this is the place we are suppose to be. We just keep following the open doors that God gives us until he opens a new one.

Well, it is very late and I am very tired. I’m not even going to review for typos right now. I hope there are not too many. I will try to post another blog later. Good-night.

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Doing More for God!

It is easy to get comfortable with things the way they are. If you own a shoe that is comfortable and you like it a lot it is sometimes hard to stop wearing it, even if it starts to wear out. It’s easy to say, “This is my favorite shoe. I’ll just patch it up and it will be fine.” I know that it can be that way in life as well. “I don’t want to change what I’m doing. It’s been fine so far.”

The day we are saved there is a change in our hearts. We should not be the same people we were the day before our salvation. We should desire the change and want to grow from the beginning of our new walk with Christ.

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

If a person prays for salvation but does not have that change of heart, are they truely saved? Or were they just praying for fire insurance? Now maybe a person did have a change of heart after they were saved. They may have become on fire for God, but then over time they become satisfied. “I’ve learned all there is to learn. There is nothing more I need. My friends and family know that I’m a Christian. I’m a sermon in shoes. Look at me! Life is good!”

Then they are satisfied. There is nothing more a person with that type of attitude can learn. They are content and do not want to change. They have done things that way for so long, they are afraid that it would mess something up if they changed and did something different.

I’m afraid that that might be happening to many of the Lord’s churches today. Are we becoming complacent. Are we afraid of change? As I sit here I can think of at least 5 preachers who desire to pastor, but yet are without a church. They are all good doctrinally sound preachers. They have all been taught how to study their Bibles for themselves. They all have expressed a burning desire to reach the lost for Christ and seeing people grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The only problem that a church seeking a pastor could possibly have with any of these men, is the fear of change.

If people start seeking God with their whole heart, there is going to be change! It is going to happen, there is no stopping it. A good pastor will preach from God’s word what God has laid on his heart to preach. That pastor should have a desire to see the people in his church grow spiritually. He should not be satisfied with his church not doing more. His sermons and guidance may cause the membership to feel uncomfortable with the change, however it is for their good.

A good parent should want their child to grow. They should teach their child to work hard, and to do the things that are good, even if it is hard at first. What they learn as a child will make them what they will be as an adult. My son does not like to write, however I make him write for his good. I cannot allow him to be content with just drawing pictures. I realize that he needs to develop his writing even if it is not comfortable for him. He may not like the work it takes to change, but I realize that that change is necessary, so I must as a parent lovingly push him to write more.

Shouldn’t a pastor want the same for his church members. He knows what is good for them. As he studies God’s word and tries to make changes in his own personal life, shouldn’t he also desire the best for the flock God has intrusted to him. Should he stand back and allow them to not do what he knows deep in his heart would be better for them to do. But then there is also a fear that if he tells them what they need to hear, they will cast the man of God aside and seek another one that will not push them to change. This treatment has even happened to many prophets in the Bible. And will continue to be a problem according to Paul in his letter to Timothy his son in the faith.

2Ti 4:1-4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; (2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Scott preached a sermon last night from Revelation 3:14-20 on Lukewarmness.

Rev 3:14-20 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Too many of God’s people are satisfied with being lukewarm. They need to change, but that change is uncomfortable. Jesus is standing at the door of churches today, knocking, desiring to come in. However if it requires change to allow the Savior into their midst many churches will not open their doors.

My prayer is that we allow God to work a great revival in our hearts and in our churches, and that His churches will listen to His messengers and will seek His will with their whole heart. If that does not happen now, one day it will happen at His return.

Rev 22:20-21 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

May we not get caught napping. (Mark 13:33-37)

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Joshua and Ruth are making a calendar right now as I write this. It was their idea, which I thought was a good one so they got out notebook paper and commenced to writing. When they get done with that, I’ll be starting them on their reading lessons. Hannah turned my ironing board into a drum. She was tapping on all different parts of it with her pencil to see what different sounds it makes.

I just took a short excursion while typing this to help them with their calendars. They started them on the wrong day. Oops. 🙂 I told Ruth hers would work for June. But she was almost near tears over it so. I got them started on a better foot. I just went to the marker board and explained the month to them. They were just trying to copy the calendar on the wall but got confused on where the first day should be. So I got them straightened up. They know there months from a previous days lesson. They knew the days of the week but I am having them further their knowledge. After today they will know that the week should always start with Sunday. And they will remeber that there are 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. At least I hope they remember that. I plan to drill it real good in their heads, so they won’t forget.

Interruptions like that are good ones. I guess that is why blogging takes me so long. I answer kids questions, play with Jonathan, or hold Jonathan, or feed Jonathan, while many times typing one handed. And then I am constantly having to reconnect the computer, because Hannah knocked the phone line out of the wall or the computer. So if I don’t get a blog done in a day, everyone knows why.

On to another topic. Scott has just about gotten the gas tank off his truck. He has only had a couple of hours this week to work on it. But he should have more time today. The tank he is removing has a hole in it. He found a tank at a junk yard for $50. That’s a lot cheaper than a new one would be. So everyone pray with me that he is able to accomplish this task and the truck runs better than ever. If this happens he’ll save us at least $200 dollars. I think he’ll also gain a good sense of accomplishment as well in doing it himself. Of course his time can be a problem, it will help with the days getting longer, but if his time gets too cut short to allow him to finish working on the truck, I told him that it was o.k. with me if he wanted to take it to the shop. Maybe a little less pressure will make the job feel easier.

We’ve been getting quite a few preaching appointments. So far this month we have two Wed. night appointments filling in, and one Sunday in view of a call. We also have an appointment made with a church in Indiana in April in view of a call. I’m hoping we will have our van running by that time. Even if the van gets bad gas mileage it will be more comfortable for the kids.

Well that is all I have for now. I’ll try to write more soon.

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Catching Up on Memories

Alright, alright, so it’s been 6 days since I posted! 🙂 So for my brother, I’ll try to catch up. This past weekend we visited a church in Oklahoma. We enjoyed our visit with them. They put us up in a real nice hotel with an in-door swimming pool. The kids really liked that. We let them stay up a little late Saturday night to swim. Jonathan was the only one who didn’t seem to like the water, but I think it’s mainly because he was tired and wanting to go to bed.

Sunday, we stopped at a gas station on our way to church. The gas station wound up having a computer glitch and so he wound up charged twice but they wouldn’t be sure of it until they counted the till later that day. So Scott told them he would be back after church and they can give him his money back if he was over charged. Thankfully we made it to church before Sunday School started even though waiting on the computer took a while.

The kids made a few friends at the church. We got to see a 9 month old baby, which got the kids dreaming of when Jonathan will be big enough to do that much. The church had what Scott and I call canned music. Their piano is played over the sound system off of a CD. We didn’t tell them that I played the piano at the beginning. We don’t like churches calling a pastor because of what his wife can do. Some churches may say they are seeking a pastor when they are actually seeking a piano player. I think more people should learn to play piano. I am going to have to get out my keyboard and start teaching my children how to play as well. They can play the Ukulele pretty well but I need to teach them the piano. I’ve never taught piano before but I figured it would be worth trying with my kids. It would be a good part of their education.

Let’s see, what else is going on? Instead of blogging I need to be outside working on the trailer. After lunch I will probably start working on that again. I worked on it some yesterday but had to wait on some boxes. I now have the boxes and can finish the task. We are glad we have the trailer available to be used. We will be delivering it to it’s new temporary location at the end of this week. I have a lot of fond memories of that trailer. We lived in it for a year. Even though it was small, we were actually able to manage quite simply. The only problem I had was figuring out where to put our 4th child.

From the experience of living in a trailer, I learned that a person can be content with little. Maybe we shouldn’t ever sell the trailer. We should keep it around and whenever I feel discontented, I should go out to that trailer and sit in there and remember what life was like that year.

I need to occasionally remember all the trips to the laundry mat with 3 kids in tow. Laundry day back then was a once a week, all day event.

I need to remember getting the kids to bed and hanging a curtain up to wash dishes, so I would not disturb the kids sleeping on pallets on the floor, while I was doing dishes.

I need to remember the kids folding up their blankets and getting out their t.v. trays in order to do their lessons.

I need to remember all of us sitting around that small table reading our Bibles as a family.

I need to remember having to put thick curtains around the windows to keep in the heat from the heaters in the winter time. And the air from the air conditioners in the summer time.

I need to remember the time our electricity completely quit on us on the coldest day of the year. I remember making bedrooms for us in the church, for a couple of days, while Scott got it running again with a little help from his boss who was a former electrician.

I need to remember all those things and how much we learned from the experience. Now any house will seem big compared to that. I’m looking forward to the day that we are again in our own house, no matter the size it will seem big in comparison. God has definitely blessed us with always giving us a roof over our heads.

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Jonathan Rolled Over!

Last Saturday Jonathan rolled over for the first time! I laid him down on the floor in the parsonage we were staying in for the weekend. I laid him on his back and I turned around for just a second and he was on his tummy looking around. I wish I had a camera! I told Scott about it and he turned him back over a little later and sure enough he rolled back to his tummy again. That time we saw him do it. They grow so fast! He’s even smiling at me right now. He’s too cute! I’ll have to put some more recent pictures on here.

We enjoyed our trip to Florida. We took a supposed short cut that Scott’s coworkers suggested but it took way too long. I think they had to have been speeding to go that route. We had to go 55 mph most of the trip because of the road we took. Although it was scenic it was dreadfully long. On the way home we took the Interstate and it was 70 mph the whole way. It was a lot quicker or at least seemed quicker since we were able to drive faster. It also helped on the ride home that Scott was able to drive more. He had caught a Virus and was not feeling well Friday, so I drove and let him sleep most of the drive. Thankfully he was better by Sunday.

Of course like a regular virus Joshua had to catch it as well. I thought of my mom the other night, while I was sitting on the floor scrubbing the carpet that Joshua threw up on. I thought about all the times my mom helped me when I was sick. You feel especially close to your mother in those times. Other than that we had a wonderful time in Florida. The members of the church were real nice. Of course I say that about everywhere we go. It seems like most everyone at our churches are especially nice. I’m looking forward to our visit in Oklahoma this week. The kids enjoy all these trips as well.

I took the kids to the zoo yesterday. They learned a lot. I had them read most of the signs themselves. They practiced following the zoo map. That was real good for them. They had to tell me which way we needed to go to see whichever animal we were wanting to find. So it turned out being a great learning experience for everyone. Joshua and Ruth got to participate in a class that the zoo had for homeschoolers. Ruth’s class learned about animal senses. Joshua’s learned about animal survival. Jonathan, Hannah, and I stayed outside with some other mom’s with toddlers and enjoyed visiting. Hannah even made some new little friends.

I guess that catches me up a bit on my blogging. Now I need to help the kids with their lessons and do the laundry I didn’t get done yesterday. I’ll try to write again soon.

Luk 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

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My Children and the Giant Popcorn!

I just had to share my kids lunch time conversation. I gave them popcorn to go along with their hot dogs today. Somehow they got into a discussion over “what if…” The question this time was “What if you had a giant popcorn the size of the whole house?” They discussed several possibilities as to whether or not they would share. Then they decided they could each have their own giant popcorn. So they commenced to discussing how they would eat it. First you would have to start from the bottom and let it fall as you eat it. Then they had a brilliant idea…A Popcorn House! So they were all satisfied discussing how they would eat rooms in their popcorn house. Aren’t children fun! They come up with the most interesting ideas. It reminded me of a book I read before of Dave and the Giant Peach. It’s a story of a boy that finds a giant peach and the adventures he and his friends go on.

We got our truck out of the shop yesterday. It seems to be running well. Scott is glad to have his work truck back. The man at the auto place told him of something to check on our van. We’re getting to know the mechanic and secretary pretty well now. They have been good to us and trying to help us out the best they can. But I now know that there are 3 fuel pumps on our van, 2 inside the tank and 1 outside. If the problem is the outside one it won’t be as hard to replace. We’ll have to check that out. Still thinking a bicycle built for 6 is a good option. Scott is starting to talk about getting us a car dolly eventually.

On the ministrial side Scott has 3 possible preaching appointments lined up for February. He tries to be fair to all the churches involved. He schedules them in the order they call and then considers them individually. Pretty much the first church that calls him, if he feels it is the Lord’s will he will accept their call and call the other churches lined up after that to let them know. He in turn offers to fill in for the already scheduled Sundays if those churches want him too. So far though we hadn’t had to go through all that yet. A lot of churches seem to prefer to hear several preachers in view of call before selecting one. So we just keep setting appointments and figure the right church will give Scott a call when the time is right.

We have our Midweek Bible studies tonight. So better go for now and get the children all ready for church. I’ll try to write more later. 🙂

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Much needed Update

It’s been a few months since I’ve written. Jonathan has now entered our lives and Scott and I have agreed we can’t imagine life without him. He is only two months old but he adds so much to our family life. I mean homeschool lessons wouldn’t be the same without the occasional “Isn’t that right Jonathan?” He just loves it when any of us talk to him. He usually returns a big smile in response.
He also loves the attention of his doting brother and sisters at least until he gets a little overwhelmed by them. Then they all say, “Oh, Oh! We’re making him mad!” then they run away from him. He usually calms down again when I pick him up.
I’m getting fairly proficient at typing one handed as well, being as the only time I really get to get on the computer is while I’m holding him.
Scott and I are very proud of our children. Every time I bring all four of them to Jonathan’s doctor’s appointment I receive compliments on how well behaved they are. The doctor told me that it is very unusual to have a room with that many children that quiet.

We are still waiting for a church to call Scott as pastor. We have been to several churches in view of a call but none have called as of yet. He is not the only preacher waiting for churches to call. We have friends who we go to church with on Wedneday’s and we ask them, “Have y’all heard from ___ church yet?”
And they say “No. How about y’all? Have y’all heard from the church y’all went to?”
“Not yet.”
So many churches say that they are praying for God to call more men to preach and yet there are men called by God waiting for churches to accept them. I don’t know what these churches are looking for. My husband has preached some really good sermons and has the salvation message in each one. He answers all their questions honestly and makes sure everyone understands the answers. He has even stated he is willing to take a part time while pastoring if needed. But he still has yet to hear from anyone. I think these churches should hear a man at least twice before assuming he’s not the one for their church. I don’t know though. Someone suggested that it could be Scott’s beard causing churches not to call him. That seems rather petty to me though. I personally like his beard and I don’t think it should matter as long as he keeps it neatly trimmed.
Scott said that a lot of churches are looking for Saul when they should be looking for a shepherd. The other preachers in our church seem to agree. I’m tired of church politics. It’s almost like preachers have to run for office in order to preach.
Anyway until God sends us to the church he wants us to be at we will continue to do our best where we’re at. I’ll continue to fulfill my purpose taking care and teaching our children and Scott will continue to work hard at his construction job and continue to organize materials for the house he intends to build for us. We will also do our best to help with any local ministries we are able to help.

Well, I must go for now I need to buy some more homeschool supplies. It’s amazing how fast pencils disappear when it’s time for writing lessons. Until next time!

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