How We Organized Our Homeschool

Homeschooling is a work in progress for our family (as I assume it is for any home educating family).

I am learning what works for us, and what doesn’t.  We began this journey at around the time my now seven year old was about two.  So for five years I have tried my hands at different methods to see what worked for us, and what doesn’t.

The Lord is showing me through my journey of home education, how to meet the needs of these beautiful children He has placed into my life.  He is showing me about godly motherhood, and womanhood…how to really listen to His prompting me to say something, or not to speak at all.  I am learning about my own pitfalls and how my impatience leads to disaster for the entire family.

So He is working on my patience, bringing out that Fruit of the Spirit within me that so often would go unnoticed.  I cannot shove it under any longer.  I have to deal with it.

He is also showing me about priorities and time management.  As I manage my children’s lessons and their schedules I learn new things about what works for us and what will not be in our best interest for now.

So…here over at my homeschool blog I’ve written another pretty lengthy post about how we have gotten organized with our school this year.

HOpe you enjoy!

Click here to read my post on our homeschool organizing for 2010.

Becoming A Woman Of Prayer, pt. 3

A continuation of part 2 of this study, in this 17 minute audio, I chat about how that when we are disappointed, it is the best time to pray!

Find out more about the books I am using for this study at this book study post:

Job was abused and attacked by his friends, as well as losing EVERYTHING he ever had.  Despite these hardships, he continued to pray and reach out to God.

Check out Luke 6:4 to find four things we can do to LOVE and BLESS even when we are hurt.

Listen to the audio below to hear the rest…

 

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Becoming A Woman Of Prayer, Pt.2

This 11 minute audio teaching is the continuation of the first part of my study on becoming a woman of prayer.

In this podcast, (first recorded in 2006), I continued my book study on Elizabeth George’s “A Woman’s Call To Prayer”.

I talk about some of the reasons women don’t pray- and give some encouragement in the area of keeping passion for Christ.

 

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Becoming A Woman Of Prayer- Pt. 1

Sometimes we  just need that extra boost of encouragement to go ahead and begin the daily act of prayer.

I know- I’ve been there – still going through it.

Although I am not perfect, I would love to share with you some things God has shown me about prayer- mainly encouragement on the “how to’s” of getting started with a prayer life.

Here is the book (and study guide) I referred to in the podcast:

Listen in (click the play button below) to hear my “teaching” on prayer, first aired on my podcast Christian Ladies Talk Radio in 2007.

 

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Turning to Christ for Peace

In my journey of peace I realize even more than ever how important it is for me to actually KNOW the giver of peace.

Jesus is referenced as the “Prince of Peace” in the bible.  He is the One who ultimately gives me the peace that I need in order to deal with and be a victor in my life on earth.

Sometimes I fail to remember this all important truth.  When I forget that He is the author of my peace, I take situations into my own hands and try to solve problems in my own strength.  I fail miserably every time.  In attempting to “fix” my situations, I either end up messing up the situation…or I tend to get my emotions, intellect, and soul all warped and confused in the process so that I end up being an emotional, mental, and spiritual wreck.  Then how good am I to the Kingdom- or how effective am I in ministering to others, loving others, being a witness to the world of Christ’s love and peace…if I have no peace?

So, it is in Christ that I must learn to rest.

I HAVE to allow Him to solve my problems- any problems.  He is the ultimate problem solver, and …yes, I often forget that too.

My duty on this leg of my journey is to begin to trust Him as my “answer to all things”.  Whenever I have a problem, I must turn to Him immediately, rather than later.

If He is my giver of peace, then I don’t need to fix anything myself.  My goal is to turn to Him from now on to meet all of my needs.

ALL of my needs.

Fruit Of The Spirit-LOVE-pt.1

We all hear about how we need to “love one another”.

We hear this in church, and as Christians we tend to either say this to one another or think about this phrase all of the time.

How many of us realize that practicing what we preach is a whole different dilemma altogether.

Love.

We think we know what it is.  But do we really?

1 Corinthians 13:4 gives a pretty thorough explanation of love.

In my attempt to study the Fruit of The Spirit in detail, I have to start with the very first Fruit mentioned in this passage of scripture. I want to know what love is and how I can truly apply it to my life.

Don’t give me frills and thrills. “Tell me if I’m wrong, because I want to be right.” That is how I feel. I like my spiritual info cut and dry.

Here we go:

⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (1 Corinthians 13:4, New King James Version)

Okay. So now I know love is patient.  Or at least that’s what “suffers long” tends to mean.  Patience.

God, help me to be more like you in the area of patience.

I also know that the word “love” or “charity” (same thing in this passage, just depends on the translation you’re using) is derived from the Greek word “agape”, which means the following:

1. brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence
2. love feasts

Hmmm.  Do I feel this way about people in my life?  Do I feel brotherly love, affectionate, or benevolant toward my brothers/sisters?

And where do I draw the line between showing love, and allowing myself to be taken advantage of?  That’s a classic principle among Christians – we give, give, give and until we can’t give any more…and many times it becomes a state of bondage.  Could that be what true love is about?

It couldn’t be…and yet, what did Christ do?  He gave all on the cross, at the expense of losing His life and his momentary earthly integrity and dignity.

But look what He gained.

He gained His kingship, the keys to death and hell, victory over death, a place seated beside God the father at His right hand, eternal glory with His heavenly Father and all that God has which belongs to Him, and which He can now impart to us!

So, here I can see that His benevolance gained HIm an eternal reward, though His earthly sacrifice was huge.

And, in turn, (if I am to be like Christ), then I should expect my earthly sacrifice of love and servitude toward my brother/sister/fellow man to be sacrificial (meaning I may or may not receive a nice pat on the back, but instead a vast dose of criticism), but I should also expect that my eternal reward will be great.

So, it is not becoming a doormat.  Jesus was wise.  If you’ve read any of His interactions and conversations with the Pharisees and Sadduccees throughout the Gospels, you’ll see…He didn’t fall prey to their tricks.  He knew what was up.

But He also knew which sacrifices He had to make.  He knew for whom He came.  He knew who would accept HIm and who would not.  He made Himself readily available for all who thirst and hungered after Him and His words.  He loved on them.

Sacrificial.  Brotherly.  Good will.  Benevolance.

That was my Christ.

That is how I am to be. That is how we should be.

What else?

Love is kind. Not rude, not mean, not loud and boisterous.  Not yelling and screaming.  Not rough.  KIND. Jesus was kind.  He was human just like us, and yet he placed His emotions under control and strove for kindness, when in fact, He had every reason to have been unkind.  But He chose kindness instead.

Love does not envy. That means we don’t have room for jealousy. The Pharisees were jealous of Jesus.  Even as a baby, the birth of Jesus evoked the spirit of jealousy in King Herod.  As Christians, we are not to wish to be like any one else.  We have to accept and love who we are.

Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. Wow.  This is a good one to reflect on in our society where thoughts like this are rampant: “I am better than you, deserve more than you, etc.”  Arrogance has no part with love.

Jesus knew who He was.  He was not arrogant, but knowledgeable about His identity.  He claimed to be who He was.  Exactly.  No frills.  But the Pharisees misunderstood and called Him pompous and arrogant.

As Christians, we have to know who we are. We cannot allow the art of humility keep us from stepping up and standing strong in our identity. And yet, there is no room for being puffed up.  We don’t brag.  We don’t allow our gifts to become or define who we are.  We don’t compare our gifts with the next person’s.  We let another person praise us, rather than ourselves.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a resume.  That’s not to say that you have to HIDE your identity in the cloak of humility.  If you have abilities, USE them.  Use them for the glory of God, and don’t be ashamed.

We just need to balance humility and identity so that God is being glorified and not we ourselves.

Reflections on attitude…

Today was lovely.  I am learning how to appreciate my children more.

Baby Z (my toddler) has a cold, and despite the fact that she isn’t feeling well, her sunny disposition makes me smile.

And my oldest daughter, my little princess, is forever amazing me with her intelligence and willingness to help out her dear mama whenever possible.  For example, today we shopped for an hour at our local Winn Dixie (I was crossing my fingers for a few coupons at the checkout counter, which never happened…but I digress)…and the whole time NyGirl (as I like to call her) strolled her baby sister around for me as I pushed the shopping cart.  Baby Z had been sleeping for some time and (thankfully) slept throughout the entire shopping trip…but she isn’t so light any more, so after about 30 minutes of pushing the stroller I volunteered to help NyGirl, but she responded, “No, mom…I can do it.  I’ll help.”  Her answers for me all week have been “Sure, anything else you need?”   And, as is her character, I never have to worry about a hidden agenda up her sleeve, like “okay…now can I have five bucks?”  It just never happens.  At least so far.  I hope it will remain that way.  And needless to say, after observing her actions I had to look at my own.  Truly, this is what inner beauty is all about.

My heart has melted.

I begin to wonder how God, our Heavenly Father, must feel when we remain sunny and cheerful as my dear BabyZ, despite our physical ailments or emotional pain.

I wonder how Jesus must feel when we, like NyGirl, respond to His requests with “Sure, is there anything else you would like for me to do?”

Must it brighten His day?  Cause a smile to light His countenance?  Assure Him of our faith in Him?  Cause His face to shine upon us?  Cause Him to work on behalf for our requests even sooner than we had expected (though He is always on time!)?  Does He rise up on our behalf, determined to ensure that we have not only what we need, but exceedingly, abundantly above what we even dare ask or think?

All because of attitude…

Attitude.

Lord, help me to have your attitude.

So Holy- by Lori Bell

A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview Lori Bell for my podcast, Christian Ladies Talk Radio.  She was a pleasure to talk with – humble and yet very talented.

Lori is an extremely talented independent artist who has been singing since the age of 7. She has had many opportunities to share her talent- from the east coast to Japan, to Italy and back again.

Lori was a featured lead vocalist on a recording project by Duranice Pace of “The Anointed Pace Sisters” (CD Titled “He Did it All”) and opened concerts where Kirk Franklin and the Family and Fred Hammond and Radical for Christ were the headliners.

1.)  Click the 1st play button below to listen to my interview with Lori R Bell, then visit her site for more information about her music and ministry.

2.)  click the 2nd play button below to listen to Lori’s song, “So Holy”

Be blessed!

 

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Where Are The Saints- song written by Demetria Zinga

I was inspired a few years ago to write this song, when I thought about God’s heart. I realized He has been looking for people to call His own, people who care about HIS heart and His desire in their lives on this earth.

God has a tremendously wonderful plan for redemption, a plan which He has already set forth on the cross on Calvary.

He also has a plan to come back for His people …and this will require a choice to be made – God or the ways of the world.

Sometimes that means we have to “fight”. We fight in the spiritual realm. When things come against us, we hold up God’s Word as our weapon against the words of the enemy. We say, “No, I won’t be defeated!”

 

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Moving With The Lamb- sung and home recorded by Demetria Zinga

This is a song that I love to sing because it reminds me of my place in the kingdom of God. I am “moving with the Lamb of God”. He brings me to the place I want to be and need to be, but only through my obedience to stepping in line with Hiis will. As I take step by step, my hand in His, I can move with Him, flow with Him, and ultimately reap the benefits of peace and joy in this life with Him.

Lyrics:
Moving With The Lamb

Verse:

For I’m moving with the Lamb moving with the Lamb I’m surrounded

For I’m moving with the Lamb moving with the Lamb I’m surrounded

I’m strolling with the Lamb I’m strolling with the King of Kings

Stepping with the Lamb stepping over my sins

Chorus:

For I’m dressed in a holy robe of God I’m surrounded

By the Host from Heaven’s court and the King of Kings

And I drink from the holy cup of God I’m surrounded

Bridge:

I’m moving with the Lamb

I’m strolling with the Lamb

I’m stepping with the Lamb

 

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