Memory Verses...

We, my family and I, have been setting some new goals for the upcoming months and year. The children and I have started working on memorizing a new verse everyday in homeschool. It is real neat how it has been getting easier and easier for them to memorize their verses. It's amazing how much their minds can retain. Some people may think that it would overload the mind to keep putting that much information in it. But it seems like the more we put into our minds, the more our minds seem to grow and the easier it is to remember.

The amazing part is I'm not just teaching the children just parts of verses, or even just verses. I am actually having them memorize whole Psalms and chapters. Right now we are memorizing Psalm 23. A few weeks ago, I had them memorize Psalm 117. They have that whole Psalm memorized. Of course, Psalm 117, is only 2 verses long, but they were happy about it. Last week, my son, Joshua, wanted to stand up at church and quote Psalm 117. So I told my husband and he announced a guest speaker and let Joshua come up and quote the Psalm. It was great hearing him quote it flawlessly.

We're not even using a "kids translation" that puts everything in simpler terms. I'm having them memorize it right out of the King James. I simply teach them new words and add them to their vocabulary. It's pretty amazing. We were talking about how many verses they could memorize and I told them that if they worked on it, they could even have the whole Bible memorized. That would be neat.

I also have them quoting their Bible verses before meals and before we pray at bedtime. This has been a good practice time for them. We'll first discuss which verse we are about to quote, and then after we quote the verse or verses, we have prayer. This has been real good. It gives them a chance to practice and then when they see their Dad after work, they are excited to share their verses with him. By the end of this week they will have the whole Psalm 23 memorized. Right now we know the first 4 verses and the sixth verse. Tomorrow, we will work on the fifth verse.

I also plan on trying to teach them some Hebrew. I'll need plenty of prayer on this one, since I'm still trying to learn it myself. But maybe as I'm teaching them, I'll learn more as well. I'll have to, in order to keep up with them. They learn things so quick. Who knows, one day they may start teaching me.

Psalm 117 "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD [endureth] for ever. Praise ye the LORD."

The Finer Things of Life!

While living in this 40' travel trailer, I have learned so much about the finer things of life. Some people may think I am talking the things that we miss out on, not having a bigger house. But that's not what I'm talking about.

The finer things of life are really just what you make of them. Doing dishes by hand can be the finer way of life. I have a small double sink in the kitchen, so when the sink gets full, which only takes a couple of meals, I wash the dishes. There really aren't that many dishes to wash. And over time, I have even been able to get the dishes cleaner faster than I used to. I have learned to enjoy doing dishes!

I have also learned to appreciate hot water with good water pressure. When we first moved into this trailer, our water pressure was terrible. There was a valve that was broken in the line that would shut the water line off to the trailer. We would have to go outside and turn the water off. Then we would undo the hose and let the pressure out. Then we were able to put the hose back on and turn the water back on. Once my husband figured out that problem, we had good water pressure again. Now whenever something in the trailer breaks, we both smile as my husband reminds me, "At least we have good water pressure!"

I also appreciate air conditioning. Although we did pretty well, with only one decent air conditioner for a time. I found that around 4:00 p.m. or so there was a nice evening breeze that would pick up. I always enjoyed the evenings when the breeze would cool the house down. Now our house is cooler all day, since my husband fixed the other airconditioner. I told him he was going to be an expert handyman, by the time he gets done with this trailer.

I also enjoy sewing by hand. My daughter needed a dress lengthened. I do not allow her to wear dresses above her knees, but she really liked a special dress that was too short for her. So I took the shirt part of the dress off and let her keep it as a shirt. Then I bought her a longer shirt that would lengthen the skirt of the dress. I do not have a sewing machine but I was quite pleased with the fact that I was able to sew the skirt onto the shirt by hand. I was incredibly slow at first, but the farther I went, the faster I was becoming. I was so excited that I was able to make straight small stitches that looked nice. I had never tried that before.

I could go on and on, with the things I have learned to appreciate! But I'll save those for future blogs. For now I'll leave you with a couple of verses and a thought that I find quite fitting...

Philippians 4:11-14 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Hebrew 13:5-6 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Can we fully learn to appreciate things the same, unless we do without for a time? I can be glad when we go through these "hard" times, because we have to depend on God to provide for us. When we do have more, I hope I will never forget the times when we had less, so that I will always remember to Praise the Lord!

Highlights!

There are certain things I look forward to each day. There are also certain highlights I have each week.

Sunday, we start our week, with worshipping and praising God at Church. It's a time where we get to share with others, the things we have learned throughout the week. It is also a time, when we are able to encourage others in their walks with God, as well.

On weekday mornings, I look forward to starting my kids on their lessons, and seeing what they will accomplish in the day. Then when my husband comes home from his study, I enjoy hearing my children, quoting the Memory Verses for their father. Then after he has left for work, I enjoy letting them go outside and ride their bicycles or just play. I enjoy watching my toddler play and explore in the yard, while I hang the fresh washed clothes on the line. Then around 8:00, I enjoy our Milk before bedtime. I fix the children and myself chocolate or strawberry milk before they go to bed. I give them a bedtime devotional, and try to get them to bed by 9:00.

My favorite part of my weekday is after 9:00. No, the highlight of my day is not the fact that I finally got my kids to bed, it's the after 9 phone calls I get to make to my husband as he is working. He is a delivery driver in the evenings Monday through Friday, and after 9:00 p.m., we get extra free evening and weekend minutes. I so enjoy getting to call him and hear his voice.

In a similar fashion, I enjoy the end of our week. Every Friday evening, the kids and I work really hard to get our home extra nice for the weekend. We prepare a special Friday evening dinner, set the table with a pretty table cloth, and sometimes even flowers. Then, we anxiously await my husband's arrival from work, so that we can spend the weekend together as a family.

Then Saturday comes and with it comes the highlight of my week. I enjoy all of us sitting together with our Bibles open, reading and discussing the Bible together as a family. Even though we study our Bibles throughout the week individually, it is extra special to me that we stop and study together. It's our special family time with God.

We need that special time with God. It brings us closer together as a family, and brings our family even closer to God. It is one part of our week that helps us focus on what God wants for our lives.

Lamentations 3:25-27
"The LORD [is] good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him. [It is] good that [a man] should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. [It is] good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light."

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Psalm 25:5 " Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou [art] the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. "

We have so much to look forward to!

A Perfect Record?

I could also label today's blog training wheels part two. You may be wondering how Ruth is doing without training wheels. It's been one week since we took her training wheels off. And so far you may be amazed that she hasn't fallen off her bike while riding yet. How could she have such a good record? When Joshua first had his off, he was falling everyday until he got the hang of it, and now he can ride perfectly. The only time he falls off now is if he is trying a new stunt.

So is Ruth a better rider than her brother? Not exactly. You see you don't fall down, if you're not even trying to ride your bike. Every evening I ask her, "Did you ride your bike at all today?" Her answer each day has been, "Not really." Upon deeper inquiry as to the reason she hasn't been riding, I found out that she was nervous, because she was shakey on her bike, and was afraid she might fall. I told her that if she would practice riding and ride everyday, that soon she wouldn't shake at all.

Yesterday, I went outside and insisted that she put her helmet on and get on her bike. She did, slowly. I told her that I needed to take the trash down to the dumpster and that I wanted her to ride down there with me and Joshua. So she climbed on her bike and rode. She didn't fall, although she almost did around the curve.

The reason she almost fell was because she quickly threw her feet down, stopped, and walked her bike to the dumpster on tip-toe. I asked her why she stopped and didn't just keep riding. She said that she couldn't turn without falling. I don't know how she came to that conclusion, since she never tried. So I insisted that she not stop on the way back. I told her to take the turn slowly without stopping. She did and sure enough she didn't fall down at all.

When we arrived back to our home, she smiled and said, "Mom, I turned and rode all the way here without stopping, and then I turned again!" I told her that she did very well, and that I wanted her to ride her bike more, so that she won't be afraid of it. She assured me she would.

It's amazing how often I've been afraid of making a mistake. There is a lot, I'm sure I miss out on, because I'm to afraid to try. God gives clear instructions for our lives in his Word. Why do we get scared to even try to do His will? Sure, if you don't try you won't fall down, but you don't get very far either. So does that mean, by not trying you've already fallen?

James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

Training Wheels!

Monday, my husband took the training wheels off of our daughter's bicycle! A big moment in a six year old's life. We were all outside cheering her on. We knew she could do it. She was scared at first but she had been practicing a whole week for this day.

Why a week? Well, she had broken a rule, we had set for her on her bicycle. We had boundaries that she was not allowed to pass. Her 8 year old brother had shown responsibility on his bicycle and was doing so well, that we increased his boundaries by about 10 feet. However she was to remain inside the original boundaries. That did not seem fair to her, so that Monday as her father was coming outside to take off her training wheels, he saw her way beyond her boundary. Needless to say, she was disappointed to find out that she was just about to get those wheels off, but by her own fault, she lost that opportunity. After her punishment was declared, she was told to sit and think about it. What was she thinking about?

No, not the fact that her parents were right and that she was sorry that she disobeyed us. Oh no, that wasn't what she was thinking about. I knew exactly what she was thinking, "Mom, and Dad are so mean... They let Joshua go across the speed bump, why not me? It's not fair!" I knew this because it's exactly what I thought when I was a kid, "It's not fair!" So I talked with her about that.

"Joshua is two years older than you, Ruth. Would it be fair to him to have to wait until you were ready, before we let him do anything new? It would be like if we told you that you couldn't play outside until your baby sister was old enough to play outside. Would that be fair?"

She seemed to understand what I was saying, if not completely agreeing with me. Toward the end of the week, she was behaving better, and staying within bounds. I mentioned to her that Monday, maybe Dad would take off her training wheels. She said, "Oh boy! I'm going to try very hard to be good and not get in trouble like last time." And she did! Now she is riding her bike without training wheels!

The smile on her face was so big as she rode without help. Later she came inside and told me, "Mom, I am SO excited!" She was really happy!

You know I wonder if that is what it will be like for us in Heaven. We will be able to do everything perfectly. We will be able to understand the Bible and do everything it says perfectly, without falling down. I'm sure we will even know every word in the Bible by memory and quote it without stumbling.

In the mean time, I'm going to keep on practicing, studying and doing all that I can to learn right now, preparing for that day. That will be a wonderful day to be able to do God's will, without training wheels!

Isaiah 40:29-31 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Homeschool!

I've started the children on their homeschool lessons again. I gave them a short break over the summer, because of a lot of different events we had going. Now we are back at the grindstone. We set up fold-up tables for both of our older two children, and a smaller chair for the baby with a folding chair set up for a desk. She likes to be just like her brother and sister.

It is really neat having them all three sitting at their tables with Bibles open. I have each of the older two read a verse a piece. They are really doing well. Then we focus on any reading problems they might have had. Today I focused on "me" and "my" for my 6 year old. Then for both of them we worked on when the "c" makes a "s" sound, as in "voice", "face", "nice", etc...

The Bible makes a good reading book. It has lots of words for children to learn. I have them reading out of the King James, because if they can read from the king's English, they'll be able to read anything. It also helps their vocabulary. We're not shying away from big words either. I believe a child at 6 and 8 can read the word "righteous" and know what it means as well. Why not teach it to them? They may not remember the first time they learn it, but after some repitition, they'll be able to tell me exactly what it means.

So I'm excited as we start our 4th year of homeschooling, to see how much more they will learn. Believe it or not, there are a lot of subjects covered in the Bible. Reading, writing, math, history, and good citizenship are all covered there. I do use other resources besides the Bible, but I think the Bible makes a good foundation for any subject. Don't you?

2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Sympathy Pangs!

My son, Joshua fell off his bicycle, yesterday, while practicing jumping over speed bumps. I heard a knock on my door and a couple of children were in our yard telling me that he was hurt. I hurried barefoot after them over the gravelled road. Joshua was sitting by the road crying. I told everyone gathered around him that he would be o.k. Then I quickly carried him to our home, where I could clean and bandage his wounds.

There awaiting us was his baby sister. She was very concerned over her big brother, who was crying. She watched as I put medicine and bandages on his wounds. Then she held up her hand and cried "Mah." She wanted a bandage too. So I put a bandage on her knee and her hand, just like her brother. I told Joshua that she must be having sympathy pangs. This caused giggles to replace the tears from her wounded brother, as I explained that sympathy was feeling bad over someone elses hurts.

Did you know that Jesus can sympathize with us?

Hebrews 4:14-16
" Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. "

Romans 15:1-3 " We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please [his] neighbour for [his] good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. "

If Jesus is willing to sympathize with us, shouldn't we do the same for others?

Gal 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."

It's amazing what we can learn from children. Maybe that is why the Bible tells us to be followers of Christ as dear children (Ephesians 5:1)

Shouldn't we all be more like my 1 year old?

Staying Home, and God's blessings!

I worked outside the home for six months from January through the end of June. I believe the Lord blessed me with the opportunity. We didn't know at the time I was asked, that we would be needing the money a couple of months later.

My husband's salary at our church was cut in April and then he had to get a second job as well. It is hard to do everything that needs to be done for your family and church while working outside the home. I worked mornings and he worked evenings and we found that we didn't have as much time for our family and our church as we needed.

It was hard to give my two week notice in June. But I was trusting that perhaps the Lord would provide for us. We had moved from the 3 bedroom house we were renting and made our home in a 40' Travel trailer. Then shortly there after I took a step of faith and put my two week notice in and resigned from my part time job.

How can a family of five live off of one income? Answer: The Lord's blessings.

Sometimes when things look tight, the Lord gives another blessing.

Blessing 1: I am not tired all day...
I used to get so tired and impatient feeling when I worked outside the home. I felt like I just had to have a nap and then felt guilty for needing one, when I needed to take care of my children. Now I get to enjoy those little lessons I can teach them besides just homeschooling.

Blessing 2: My husband's time is freed.
Instead of watching the children in the mornings, his time is freed up where he can study the Bible more. He still takes time for our 3 children, but now he has more time for Church work.

Blessing 3: I get to see the amazing ways God provides for us, when we trust in Him.
(Example 1) We sold a car that we owed money on. And with the first payment the person made on the vehicle we were able to pay off the loan balance. Isn't God good?

(Example 2) Then today we paid the rent for the trailer lot we are on. Right after my husband left to study at the church, the landlord came by and gave us an envelope with our money in it and said not to worry about August's rent. They said it was taken care of. A gift from our Landlord and his wife.

It's so wonderful, how when I begin to worry and pray over finances, the Lord provides so unexpectedly. Isn't our God good? We are able to make all our payments and pay all of our bills. All of those needs were taken care of on our present income.

I was just worried over the little extra expenses that I didn't think we would have the money for. Why did I worry?

Matthew 6:33,34 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof."

If God can take care of the flowers and birds, then he can take care of me too.

Psalm 9:1-2" I will praise [thee], O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High."

Today has been a good day. So far none of my children have gotten hurt, the baby is sleeping, and I have found a moment of quiet where I can blog. :-)

You know that I am a preacher's wife, but did you know that I am also a preacher's daughter, 2 preachers' grand-daughter, and a preacher's sister, and maybe one day a preacher's mom?
My son is a little young at 8 to decide he is called to the ministry. Right now he just wants to build robots. However, he has plans to build a robot one day that can preach. Hmmm...

So you may be wondering why I decided to marry a preacher. Well, I knew that I could only marry someone equally or even more committed to the Lord as I was. I did not want to have to beg my husband to go to church. I was also praying that he would love God as much as I did and had the desire to learn and grow. I enjoyed deep bible discussions with my dad, and so I wanted someone that could think logically and be on the same page spiritually. So my dad, knowing the kind of man I needed, kept his eye open while he was going to seminary.

One day, he gave Scott (my husband now) a business card and told him, "My daughter really wants to meet you." Meanwhile my dad had been talking me into meeting this preacher.
So Scott came to our church and a few months later he asked me to marry him. I like to tell teenagers when I tell our story, "So, who says arranged marriages can't work?" Now, Scott and I have been married almost 10 years. Our 3 children are 8, 6, and 1.

My advice to women who have asked me how they can find a good husband, is to work on themselves and be all that they can be for God, without a husband and then one day maybe God will provide the right man.

In other words, work on yourself first. If you want someone that is really wonderful and loves God, then be someone really wonderful that loves God. The ideal person may be out there, praying for God to provide them a spouse that loves the Lord and will be committed to God and their marriage. You should pray daily for the same thing. Maybe one day you will both meet.

My husband has always said I should have an article or column entitled "Thoughts from Stacie" and when I saw some of our friends with Blog spots I thought, "I can do that."
So here I am!

Most of the Blogs I have seen are by preachers. I find these very interesting, but thought that someone might like to see what goes on in the mind of a Preacher's wife. Now, this is not to say all preachers' wives think the way I do.

One thing you will not find on my posts is any super Personal Information. This is to simply protect myself and my family. You will not believe the number of men out there that think a woman is available even when she tells them that she is HAPPILY MARRIED.
So if I seem a little paranoid, please understand that in ten years of life as a Preacher's wife, I have found that I should trust the wisdom God has given me and be cautious.

So thank you for reading my post. As we go along you will learn a little bit about myself, my family, and our God which keeps us together. So keep praying for us.