Blessed Are The Peacemakers....

"Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. His kingdom is one of peace, and the mutual greeting of his flock is a greeting of peace. His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce all self-assertion, and quietly suffer in the face of hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. But nowhere will that peace be more manifest than where they meet the wicked in peace and are ready to suffer at their hands. The peacemakers will carry the cross with their Lord, for it was on the cross that peace was made. Now that they are partners in Christ's work of reconciliation, that are called the sons of God as he is the son of God. -Bonhoeffer page 112-113 Cost Of Discipleship

Crazy FAM Update!

Reading: Sometimes you need a little Harry Potter (Half Blood Prince), a Little history (Mila 18), a little Austen (Mansfield Park), a little WWII epic (The rise and fall of the third Reich), and some kids books you are doing with your homeschoolers (Encyclopedia Brown and Milly-molly-mandy).
Listening: to Adie while my chillens are supposed to be napping! haha! Yeah it is as crazy as it sounds...time change is ridiculous!

A Crazy Party...NOT Thrown by Us!! :)

 

Is the Book of Leviticus Really Boring?

Sorry, Baby, I couldn't resist! Throw back time!

"Jesus is the offering, the priest who performs the offering, the altar of sacrifice, and the example to follow. Basically Jesus is the book of Leviticus all wrapped into one." ....Will Douglas

Provision AND Paradigm!!

I guess this means that the book of Leviticus isn't boring, it just points to Jesus! Like the rest of Scripture does too!

While it's been a busy year and we are getting back into the swing of homeschooling we still have plenty of time for fun and relaxation! We have been lucky enough to spend some much needed time with our grandma from california and also the family we have here ins Va, so it's been a really good summer/fall! We are excited for Christmas to arrive and especially thanksgiving when grandma in cali comes back! :) We have been busy doing all our math, phonics, handwriting, reading, spelling and other things this year. There are still many things to learn and to master.

Book Recommendation Propelled by Conviction

I love reading, as many of you who have read this blog in the past probably already know, and I do a good deal of it; when I am not teaching, parenting, cooking, driving, sleeping, or other things that being a mom-at-home entails I read! I read all sorts of genre's from fiction to mystery or biography and theology. I try hard to be varied in my choices of reading as so many good stories are available! But very few books hit me in the gut, wrench my conscience and motivate me to complain a whole lot less--aka being more holy!

Yup, I said it; I am a complainer! I look at my life and at the disdain I am forced to face from the choices I have made (i.e. Not having a career, having five children, supporting my husband, living from one day to the next, being a christian, etc). I honestly think about (probably at least 10 times a day) "Why me?" Haha, yeah it's not very funny, but it's true! I look at truths of my life and how it has been a struggle to hear and how other's have noted "Ever since you wanted to be a missionary," that my life has taken on an unalterable pallor. But this is good news, I can honestly say I have LOST MY LIFE! I have! My life as I knew it, lived for my goals and my expectations is long gone. I don't live even for the revival of that life, because it's ideas are so foreign to me now, but I still wish at times my loss wasn't so apparent and that's why I complain. "Does it have to be hard, God? Can't it be a little less hard?"

Elections, Disagreements, Christianity are They Disconnected Topics?

In the wake of the second presidential debate my facebook wall is blowing up. I see people threatening to blow others up, arguing in ugly ways, give a blow by blow, getting angry because "gosh darn it, people died so you could have the right to that vote!" and it got me to thinking....

October Smiles

inside the maze...

Religious Liberty?

You may or may not know, but being anything but Anglican in Virginia used to be illegal. Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists were all persecuted, run out of their towns, arrested, forced to pay fines and generally made to feel that they were not equal unless they were Anglican.

End of Summer Laughs....

Blankman?? 

the more the merrier??

would you be ready, ready, ready, ready to ride?

The Mission of Jesus?

"Suffering was not just a consequence of the Master's obedience and mission. It was the central strategy of his mission. It was the ground of his accomplishment. Jesus calls us to join him on the Calvary road, to take up our cross, and to hate our lives in this world, and fall into the ground like a seed and die, that others might live. We are not above our master. To be sure, our suffering does not atone for anyone's sins, but it is a deeper way of doing missions that we often realize." --John Piper

Funny Family Quirk...

The month of September tends to be a busy one. With getting back into the groove of  school and birthdays galore. But it's also a fun reminder of a funny quirk in our family.