Praying for our sons.

I am joining  the 21 days of prayers for sons challenge.  As you know I have been blessed with 3 young men ages 10, 6, and 4.  I have a huge God given responsibility along with my husband to raise them into Godly men.  If you have boys.  Please consider taking this prayer challenge with  me for the first 21 days of May. 


Change the world. Pray for your sons! Join me in the 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge. Get a free book today! Details here http://bit.ly/GFP6Sv

Walking with God.

Today I was reading in Genesis. Yep right from the beginning through chapter 10. Something struck me that never did before.  I knew it.  I was aware of it but never really understood the significance of it.  God literally walked with man and talked to him.  Even after the fall he came and said to Cain "Where is your brother?"

This is the way it was intended to be. God made a garden and would come walk through it and communicate with us.  Or commune. He did this I am sure because he enjoyed spending time with us.  How sad to think that we lost all of that due to sin.  I have worked really hard lately to hear God's voice.  It isn't easy. For me it is hard. There is so much noise and distraction in the world. Places to go, people to see, things that must be done.  If only he would come walk and talk with us.  He does but it takes much more intentional effort on our part to actually be in the presence of God. We really have to work at it and want it. At least for me it doesn't come easy.

We need to actively seek and look for that quiet and still space where we can talk and walk with God.  Maybe in our home on the sofa, maybe a walk through the field, maybe watching the joy in our children's faces as they run and play in the yard together.  All of these and many more.  Looking, seeking and watching. Finding that joy and presence of God.  It is there we just must look.

So begins a new year :)

A new year has begun for us all. I try not to make resolutions. They always seems to end with disappointment. I do try to make some life changes it just sounds better and more successful.

My website will be launching in a few weeks with great anticipation. I am hoping to be able to drive consistent traffic to it for a more consistent income then just selling doll clothes in the fall. I have hopes to also show the boys how to pack and ship product, print the postage online and help with some book keeping. Even though doll clothes are a girly thing running the business is not and I do believe these skill will help them in life.

Today the boys are out sledding before we start school work. I am thankful they are home and have the opportunity to burn off this energy before having to sit.

This is a year of growth and change for our family we can feel it coming.  We are not participating in the local fairs this year.  It takes all my husbands vacation time and then we do not get to do family things.  Rabbit breeding has come to a stop.  All things around animals are coming to a halt at Jubilee Mini farm and the focus will be on non animal food production.  This will allow our family time to enjoy the summer with out being tied to the house because of animals.  It is a big move for us but a necessary one.  We will still have all the fruits and veggies just not meat production.

We are still on the fence with many other activities.  Cub Scouts and Archery will stay but the rest is up for a potential chopping block.  With Amanda in college we have to shift our focus to what will produce positive results for the young men in our house.  Helping them to develop into what God has set for their future.  We have noticed that many young men today are allowed way to much time interacting on computers, televisions and gaming systems.  We believe that is not a positive God given course for their life.

Here is hoping to a great new year. With all God's blessings and guidance and our willingness to follow his commands.  :)

Lot of things going on.

It has certainly been awhile since my last post. My days have been filled with a lot of busy things.

As most people know we currently run 2 family business ventures. We are getting ready to take one to the next level so to speak. We are launching a website with a store front for the doll clothing. This is a super exciting and scary time for us. We have prayed extensively that if this is to be that the Lord would make everything fall in line and so far he has. I found a great local web design team to work the website out. I am excited however this will mean much more dedicated time to sewing for me. If you know any other home school moms who really do run a full time business also let me know please I would love to pick their brain.

Mike is off for the next 10 days and we will enjoy some wonderful family time together without a doubt. As we head into the new year we are revamping the way everything works in our home and as a family. As many know when Joshua was an infant we took the Financial Peace series. We were humming along and Mike's job moved downstate. We added little Micah and we rented our home out to some people who failed to pay rent and pretty much destroyed the place. We also had a medical/dental procedure done with Noah to the tune of $13,500 YIKES! Here we are 6 years later. We totally lost focus and should be done by now.

Satan is a great distracter.... however God is better at reminders of how to get back on track. We will be restarting our financial freedom plan on Jan 1st. It will be hard and ugly and not something we want to do. However I know this is what God wants from our family and will bless it. My blogs this next year will most likely be about our journey towards financial freedom and how things are going with homeschooling and running a business. I hope everyone has a super ending to 2011 and knows the peace of the Lord God Almighty heading into 2012. If not give me a call it is never to late.

Homeschooling

Do you home school your children. We do. The great advantage is that all my kids have different learning styles and they don't have to be boxed into one method of learning or teaching.

My daughter who is now in college worked very well on the conventional model currently used in schools today. Her 10 year old brother not so much. He does well with work books but it definitely sticks better if he visually sees it first. The 6 year old..... well we are still trying to peel him off the ceiling to get learning done. We are required to do jumping jacks while we shout out the alphabet. Everything is done loudly with lots of movement. The 4 year old just rambles along with the rest of them at this point.

Some days I get worn out. Everyone does. The fact remains that my children would not be as well off if they were in school. For art we bring out the crayons and glue and tape and markers and scissors with unabashed enthusiasm. Yesterday we made paper chains. Yes it was a big hairy mess but they had fun for more than an hour doing this activity.

Most days my living room floor is covered with legos and once the snow flies the school day looks like this: Eat breakfast. Feed the outdoor animals, grab the sleds, slide down the hill for an hour, come in and drink hot cocoa. After this then it is time to start school. My boys literally go sledding every morning for an hour once there is snow on the ground. Sounds like gym class to me.

They get alot of work done and alot of play and alot of fun. This is the blessing God has given them through homeschooling. While somedays leave me feeling worn out. I would not change it.

Being Thankful

This week I have been been reminded to be thankful.

Not in the ordinary way but in many small and subtle ways. We have been enjoying incredible food around our house the last couple of weeks. Almost all of which we preserved or grew or raised at little to no cost. My grocery bill for this two weeks was literally $100 for a family of 6 people and a good chunk of that was non food items. I am thankful to know that if it became a real issue I have enough to provide for my family because I was faithful to do the work this summer and will reap the rewards this winter.

I am thankful once again that I have been blessed enough to have my boys home. I really feel like I need a break however I have seen huge growth in the way they interact and cooperate with one another. They are also showing more responsibility in several areas as well.

I am thankful for my newer vehicle. It has been such a blessing since May to be able to do so many things knowing that the car we are driving is dependable.

I am thankful for my husband. He hit a deer last week and ruined two main pieces on his vehicle. He went to Genes and bought both the pieces for under $80 and replaced them himself. This is an early 90's saturn kept for great gas mileage and not great looks. However everything now matches and looks like it did before he hit the deer. What a blessing.

I am thankful for my home and my incredibly low house payment. Way lower than we could ever rent and to be paid off shortly.

I have very much felt like God has been distant lately. Like he is not there. However as I look around at these blessings and much much more I am reminded how much he is with me and how thankful I need to be.

Living Like no one else?

Dave Ramsey fans understand this phrase... Live like no one else so that eventually you can live like no one else.

Lots of people are talking about this and it is great but are we really doing it. Do we still have to have the $50 jeans? I have heard a thousand excuses on why we can't bring our budget totally in line because some one will say I have to have this or that. Really? Will you die without it. Probably not.

Are you teaching it to your children? Are they financially responsible and ready to handle themselves by the time they are 18. Did they buy their car? Do they provide for some of their clothing. Are they responsible for college? If not my guess is we missed the mark. In wanting to bless our children we enable them to still be children rather then letting them stand on their own two feet.

I think in the end whatever excuse we have is made up to justify what we want, is to make us not feel bad instead of admitting I don't want to do it. I am not willing to give it up. With our children it is just the same. Things are so much harder for kids these days is a common excuse. If we teach our children to have a real job the 2 years prior to graduation they will be better equipped for life. If we make them pay for all or a significant portion of their college they are more likely to chose a job set that will result in a payoff rather than an "underwater basket weaving degree" as my husband likes to call it. If we make them pay for their car insurance won't they attempt to be more careful with that car they had to purchase.

It is all about teaching responsibility and we cannot complain when they are not making progress in their life because they have not been taught to do so. We can not send them into the world or out to be married if they are not fully understanding of all the financial responsibilities that go with it. We will have our children and their spouses and their children living in our basement otherwise. Teach them, guide them and make them responsible and they will thank you one day.