Reading God's Word and.....

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” Deuteronomy 6:5-7 KJV.

 Teaching and reading God's word to our children is something that is so very important if we expect them to continue on with their journey of living for Christ and studying his word when they grow up. Children do what they see. If they see mom and dad indulging in God's word and praying they are more likely to do it themselves. Then if we include them with us, God's awesome mighty word and wisdom will be firmly set within their hearts. This is something that will be with them long after we are gone. When we pray with our children, we are showing them that God is not only our God, our savior but also our friend. They also see that there is more than one way to pray. Sometimes just talking to him like a friend is all that is needed. It shows them that God is approachable and is a part of our everyday life. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33 K.JV.

Instilling his word into their hearts is a goal that we take seriously. It is our hope and prayer that they will have a heart to serve the Lord as they grow older. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6 KJV. We see this happening within our older sons. They make us so proud, showing that they have faith in Jesus. They obey his voice when he speaks to their hearts. There are times just as with any of us they don’t obey the first time. I think it’s a human thing to doubt what you are feeling or hearing is truly God. Sometimes we feel the need to ask for more proof is it really in fact him. It’s the carnal side of us all. As we mature in our relationship with Jesus we still struggle from time to time with these carnal feelings. It’s so easy to doubt but to step out in faith is much harder.

 While we know that there are things that we do as humans that are counterproductive in our walk with God, we know that he is mighty and he loves, ready to forgive us.  For our children to see us in our Christian walk and know that we are not perfect, when they see us struggle but in the same turning to God asking him for forgiveness and wisdom. We believe we must be proactive in teaching our children about Jesus and to make God’s word and prayer a part of their everyday life. If we would leave our children to learn these things on their own the results would not be as we would hope. God’s word tells us in Proverbs Ch. 29: 15 KJV “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame”, we have to make God an intricate part of our lives, to make his living word and holy sprite to intertwine within our spirit.

 By making God’s word and daily prayer a part of our children’s lives we are faithful they will be wise in making decisions in their lives for the future as well as the present. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” I Cor. 15:33 KJV. With a firm foundation of the bible, Jesus and the Holy Ghost, we believe that this is vital in guiding them through their lives.

God Bless,
Tammy

Reflecting on 2011

photo source:tssphoto.com

It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost over and 2012 is about to begin. As I sit and think about 2011 and all that has happened. I find many joys and blessings and a few heart aches along the way. Looking back I can see how God has been there through the good and the bad. He has given me strength when I had no strength left, he gave me wisdom when I was at a loss, he comforted me when I was hurting, he is truly the father I always wanted and so very blessed to have him as my savior, friend, and father.

I have lost my earthly father to a sinful world but gained a son that I adore. I have gone from teaching to homeschooling, a decision I love and have been blessed beyond words for making it. My oldest son Jason graduated and started college, he has completed his first semester and did awesome!

I have learned many lessons and new things. I have learned to let go even when you really don't want too. When my dad left us, it hurt me deeply. I felt I was at a loss and couldn't believe what was happening to us. After trying to give him another chance and getting deeply hurt yet again, I had to come to the realization that I must walk away and let him go, that is exactly what I did. I still pray for his soul but I no longer have any contact with him. I have learned to forgive and not hold onto hurt or bitterness, it is very damaging to our overall body and health and just not worth it.

I have learned to be more soft spoken and kind ,a lesson I would have never been able to achieve without God. The product of this lesson has been remarkable. Our home is lighter and brighter, the feeling is much more comforting and relaxing. I'm not perfect and I still make mistakes but I have learned it's OK to admit your wrong and ask for forgiveness. Showing my children my humility by asking for forgiveness when I'm wrong is showing them the right way to handle themselves when they are in the wrong.

So many things have brought me to where I am today. Some if I had to choose I would have chosen another route but all things happen for the good of those that love the Lord. And through my trials in the valley and my cheers on the mountain tops God has been there each step. I called out to him in my pain and he carried me, I cried out to him in joy and praised with me.

I step into 2012 with eager anticipation to see what God has in store for our family! He is the driver and we are his passengers!

God Bless,

Tammy

I am now a HOMESCHOOLING MOMMA

photo source photobucket

I have been praying about this decision for over a year,but have felt the nudge to move forward with it for many years. But out of fear I doubted myself.

I love the school that I teach in and my daughter goes to. It's a faith built Apostolic one God school. But with that said since my nephew/son has moved in and I have been conducting summer school here at home. I have found that he is terribly behind in many areas.

The public school that he attended since pre-k has sadly pushed him along each year and each year he has become increasingly behind. Then they wondered why he was easily frustrated and restless. He was not catching on. I was very surprised when I found out they actually passed him to move onto the 3rd grade. When he can barely read at the first grade level,his math skills are very low and more. The good thing and I thank Jesus for this is that he is catching on. I am taking things very slow with him and he is responding.

He gets down on himself sometimes when he sees my daughter excel so quickly at her tasks. I just reassure him that she has had more one on one and private school education but that he will get better,he only needs to believe in himself and work hard. I know I'm going to.

I am so excited I feel like I have finally made the right decision. I have a peace in my heart that I have not had before. My husband is 100% backing me up and my oldest son even wants to help teach Spanish. I know there will be pumps in the road but as long as we keep Jesus as the center of our lives in all areas he will give us the strength and wisdom to continue on.

God Bless,

Tammy



Our trip to Amish Country

We had such a nice time. It was so relaxing. No cable,no phone,no internet,we loved it.
This was the scene from our room in the b&b.

We went sight seeing. The Amish were so nice and a lot of fun to talk to.

Here are a few pictures from the b&b we stayed at.

this is the back of the b&b,as you can see it's a stand alone cabin divided into 2 rooms.

side view

From the front

Cute little pond behind the b&b. We took this from the deck on our side.

The root cellar of an 1866 Amish home. The next few pictures are of this home.

Sink,where water was carried for washing dishes and other things. On the counter you can see a little bowl of white stuff,this is lye soap. They used it for everything. Washing dishes,clothes,hair and body. They said it works great on poison ivy and bug bits too.

The cooking stove where many loving meals and yummy loaves of bread were made.

It's a bit sidways but this is the heating stove they used. The pipe went all through the house to heat the lower and upper floor.

Pedal sewing machine,you can see a basket of roled rags that they used to make rugs.

Master bedroom,you can see on the floor one of their homemade rugs. This bed is made of straw. Very hard and no comfort.

Another bedroom they said it was a girls room,straw bed and chest to keep clothes and other things in it.

Little boys room,I love the rug on the floor lovely colors

chest for storing things. Here you can see the black pipe pertruding from the floor boards through the ceiling. This is the pipe from the heating stove in the lving room.

Next few pictures are of a more modern home. This is what you would find if you were to go into an old order amish home today.

Nice big kitchen!

Large living room. Here you can see the wood heating stove,it looks a lot like the modern ones that you see in stores today.

This is a battery operated lamp. On the other side by the couch was a propane lamp but I didnt get a picture of it.

I thought this wood toy was cute

My silly husband! Like his new wheels!

One more carriage.

The name and date of the family that built this barn.

Baby horse only 2 months old

These goats were so cute!

Donkey,he was a friendly little fella

Lots of lambs

John hand feeding this little one oats.

And so I trip had a lot more than just these pictures but maybe that will a post for another time. So for now Good night! God Bless!

Oh my goodness it's been that long.....

Wow,I didn't realize I haven't updated my blog since August LOL. I have been so busy. I was working at our Christian school,Apostolic Christian Academy,between that and taking care of things at home I had very little time to work on my blog.

Now that summer is here I can update you with a few things that have been going around here.

First off my little girl Carissa has the Holy Ghost! It was an awesome evening. She recieved this wonderful gift in October. I cried like a baby when she recieved it. That meant my whole family now had the Holy Ghost. I was beaming with pridea and felt so blessed I was overwhelmed.

Here is a picture someone took for me,while I was praying with her. It's not the best quality because it was taken from a cell phone but I believe it caught the power of the mement just fine.

Remember I said that meant that my whole family had the Holy Ghost,well little did I know how things would change. When you put your life in God's hands and put him in charge you never know where he will take you and how blessed your life can be because of it.

My nephew that I refer to as my son,is living with us. We are raising him. He is 8 years old and full of love and joy.

He is a blessing to our family and is absolutely tickeled to be a part of our household. He is full of questions and is eager to learn. I love teaching him and he just obsorbes as much information as he can.

I have been praying about something for a long while now. And the Lord has given me my answer. I will talk about that more at a later time though.

This brings me to our oldest son Jason's high school graduation. I still can't believe that he is old enough to graduate. In the weeks before his graduation my mind was flooded with memories,all the little things that we don't think much about at the time and many of the monumental things as well.

The night of his graduation I was emotional of course. I cried and smiled at the same time. Now he is going onto his next phase of life,college. He has been accepted in a university around here and starts in August.

Time really does fly. We are so proud of him and know he is going to do great in the future.

Well that's all the time I have for now.

God Bless,
Tammy

Future homemaker in training

I spent the day yesterday with Carissa by my side,helping me around the house. She got so excited when I told her we were going to make some cookies. As you can tell by the picture she was all ready to go!

Add the butter now

This was her first time using the hand mixer! She is such a wonderful job!

Now time to slowly add the dry ingredients!

Stir and mix well. Then add the chocochips,she kept trying to sneak them. She loves chocolate!

All that work and her very first batch of chocochip cookie dough,yum!

she worked so patiently and dilegently!

First batch done! As it cools on the rack I know what is on her mind!

Yum! Warm ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies.

The Happy Homemaker

I'm Back!

Good Thursday Everyone! I am finally back,I'm still praying about everything that has happened in my life lately but the Lord has instilled strength and some joy that would have never been possible if not for him. My mother is doing better,she still have some bad days but they are less than before. The Lord has strengthened her as well and she has a renewed faith that brings a smile to my heart. To see her talk about the future and moving on oh my that is like sweet music to my ears. She knows that she would not be where she is right now if it wasn't for the Lord! What an awesome God we serve! He hears me when I praise his name and loves me enough to sit beside me when I'm crying,what more could a girl ask for.

No my dad is still not talking to me nor will he even look at me. As a matter of fact he runs from me. That hurt me terribly but I know it has nothing to do with me personally,he has issues of his own. The devil has hold of him,I continue to pray for his soul and will not stop. I still love him and I'm trying very hard to let go of the anger I have toward him but it's hard and I'm human. In time maybe the wounds will not be so devastating but for now I can only do what I can,I'm not super woman.

Church is going so great! God is moving in a mighty mighty way. We are into the busy church season. We had a 3 day revival weekend before last. Brother Mark McCool preached,awesome is the word,the power of the Holy Spirit was powerful! Loved it! We traveled to Hunnington Wv for a youth rally,it was great! I love going to these type of services,to see all the young people there to worship the Lord is well more than words can express! This is the future of our faith and to see the mass numbers of young people earnestly seeking Jesus,filled with the Holy Ghost,I stand in awe of God's mighty power! We will have many of these type of services this summer and we will go to as many as we can.

Jason has been down this week the silly boy went swimming without sun block and now has sun poisoning. Yes he knows the risk  he has taken and how dangerous the sun is,because I have been drilling him about how stupid this was since. He is in a lot of pain and blistered up really bad,he is in steroids for the inflammation and lots of TLC from momma for the pain and itching. Needless to say he will not do this again.

On the home front things are going well. We put a small garden in. I had lots and lots of help. My uncle rototilled it for us,Jason helped me fertilize it and John,Jason and Carissa helped me plant. So you could say it's been a family event. Brandon runs from garden work he hates it. We use to have a large garden each year but since my surgeries and problems from that we haven't had one. I have really missed it,it's relaxing to me to work in it almost therapeutic. I go out to it every morning to see the progress and each morning I am surprised at how fast things are progressing. I love it! I can't wait to be able to pick fresh the things I need to whip up a tasty garden salad!

I am about out of time so until next time,God Bless
The Happy Homemaker

Catching up

I normally don't blog on weekends (God and family time) but since I haven't blogged since Tuesday I thought it would be a good time to send in a post.

I have been so busy this week it's crazy. Since my mom is in the hospital I am taking care of her things as well as mine. Paying her bills,running errands for her and such. And visiting her every chance I get. She is doing much better but it's when she is released and she has to deal with everything once she's home. That will be the hardest part. I have told her I will help as much as I can and if she needs to she can stay with us for a few days. She said OK but I know my mom and she will want to be in her own home,which I don't blame her. She has a lot of things to do at her house,things to go through,etc. I have told her I will gladly help her,hopefully she will accept my offer to help.

The sun has finally made it's way over the hills and it's filling this little valley up with light and warmth! Something much needed after last nights thunderstorms,they brought them a chill to the air. My uncle is coming over today to till our little garden. I can't wait to get started,I enjoy gardening of all kinds to much. I haven't been able to do any gardening since my surgeries and I miss it. My oldest son Jason has offered to help me and I gladly accepted. I am not sure how much I can do but I am eager to find out.

On the home front well I am officially behind in laundry. I think I may be able to hang some out to dry if it's not going to rain any more. The floors all need to be mopped. And I am going to be going through everything in the master bedroom. I am trying to simplify our lives more. And as a part of that getting rid of things we don't need or use. It's just stuff that is taking up precious space in our tiny humble home.

I have been asking the Lord to help me with our budget. John has a great job but he is at the lowest pay in the plant for the next 16 months. Then he gets bumped up to regular pay. But in the mean time we are living off of a lower pay and I'm OK with that. But it's taking some getting use to. I have asked the Lord to help me as I open my mind to new ideas and to give me an understanding of money that I never had. I am good at budgeting but there's always room to improve.

One area I am extremely interested in and have always been and that is in the kitchen. Cooking more and more from scratch and learning  about soaking grains. I would love to get our grocery spending cut by 30 dollars a week. With some learning and determination I think I can do it.

The Happy Homemaker

At my house

Yesterday was a rainy day so no time outside,well I could have made it to the front porch but didn't seem to get there. My oldest son Jason had a bit of a stomach bug,nothing big just a stomach ache,but he did help me. He bathed our dog Princess,she is old and well getting that old dog smell some dogs get,so we have to bath her more often. She hates but it's a necessary evil.

Monday's are always catch up for me since we rest on Sunday,I do minimal work. I usually have tons of laundry to get caught up. To be honest I have still to understand how this happens. I try to make sure all laundry is done Saturday,so with that we should only have the clothes for Saturday and Sunday. But come Monday morning I am bombarded with huge heavy loads and I am in the laundry room all day,or at least it feels that way. When I am able to hang some laundry out to dry I get much more done,but there are times when that is impossible for me.

Monday is the day I deep clean the bathroom (s),so my deep cleaning is fairly fast and thank God it's that way with all the catch up I have.

Carissa is doing so well in school,she is now doing long addition and subtraction and cursive writing. She is so proud of herself when she gets a letter right. Her whole face just lights up! I love it!

I would love to say that my day was so great but I am still dealing with an extraordinary about of pain. A little history,you all know that I have had 2 spinal surgeries last year. And my awesome out of this world Jesus healed me of scar tissue that was wrapped (ing) around my spine and the muscles,tissue,and nerves in my back. I couldn't move without severe pain that would make me scream out.

I am so grateful my Lord healed me of something the doctors could do nothing but treat the symptoms of. He is so awesome like that!!! I was so happy to be able to rejoice and praise and dance for the Lord like I was never able to before. I felt so free to worship him without the pain I had before!

Then all of a sudden the muscles in between my shoulder blades started to spasm without warning or cause. I was still seeing the pain specialist,it was suppose to be my last appointment with him because I was healed. I told him what was going on and he put me on strong muscle relaxers and some pain medication. He put me in outpatient and did some target injections directly into the knotted up muscles. That worked great for about 8 hours then I felt them spasming again.

Since then the spasms have gotten worse,they are in my neck,shoulders and the muscles that lay on top of my ribs (those are extremely painful). Most of my days are spent sitting in our recliner with a large heating pad set on the highest setting on my back and still it's severely painful. I do still clean my house as I refuse to be defeated by this. I know the Lord can and will heal me in his time. There has to be a reason I am going through this,maybe it's the reach someone to witness to that I would otherwise not be able to reach, I don't know but he knows. The pain was so bad yesterday evening that it actually made my spine hurt,it took all I had in me not to pull my hair out. We are in limbo right now as my husband's benefits don't kick in until June 23,talk about a long wait when your in severe pain on a daily basis. I'm not asking for pity I know I will be healed one day. I just get so tired of living this way. I get weak sometimes,especially in the evenings like last night,then I look back at how far God has brought me and I know he still has me in his hands I just need to trust in him and I will make it through this.





The Happy Homemaker

photo supplied by chantelleiia_x on http://www.photobucket.com/

Our recent Bible study

This week we have been doing an extensive study on what God's word says about dating. This has been a very interesting study and my sons have had many questions. When we talk about dating as Christians,we are not talking about the kind of "dating" that the world promotes. What we are talking about is more like courting than dating. It is in the bible to do this not to play the feild until one sticks. Not to go from one boy/girl to another. To get involved with someone to early and/or moving into intimate phases of a relationship that should be kept for marriage while unmarried or even worse a teenager.

God tells us in his word to pray and find a wife/husband. Not to maybe sometimes pray when the mood hits me or maybe not pray at all or promise to pray and wait for God's choice for you but then run with your flesh as soon as someone comes along that tickles your fancy. The earliest example that the bible gives us on courting is in Genesis 2:18 It is not good that the man should be alone;I will make a helpmeet for him. The Lord didn't tell Adam hey go play the feild and be full of lust of the flesh and act on it. He made him a helpmeet from Adam's own rib. She was perfect for Adam because Eve was chosen by God for Adam. This is still true today,how do I know. Well first off  the bible tell us God is the same yesterday today and forever. So if he has not changed why would you think that his views on the proper way to find your future husband/wife would change. Why do you think he is going to turn his head and not look while you do things that you know you should not do as Christian young men/women.Young people today are making horriable mistakes by giving of themselves to whomever they feel an attraction to for the moment. How sad is it that our sons and daughter believe this is just how they are suppose to do things. When Jesus himself has made someone just for them and when they don't trust in him to bring he/she into their lives when the time is right,well why should he reward the weak in faith with a prize of the RIGHT man/woman.

God made marraige to protect us. God made marriage to keep us from fornication with the opposite sex. Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all,and the bed undefiled:but whoremonger and adulterers God will judge. In other words going from boy/girl to boy/girl and doing things you know is meant for marriage is a sin we all know it. But the world wants our young people and parents to believe this is normal. Noone courts anymore dating is the norm. How is someone suppose to find a wife/husband if they don't date around? How about praying?! God has a mate for our sons and daughters if only they show obediance to him and us (the parents) and be faithful. Keep themselves pure for their future husband/wife.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the worlds way of finding a husbadn/wife is not working it's a very broken system. Based on feelings and attractions that are led by the flesh not the spirit are leading our young people into very dark places. Divorce rates in America are rediculous. According to divorce rate.org the first marriage that ends in divorce in America in 2010 is 41%,wow and we are only 4 months into the year. But if a second marriage is in the work the rate goes up to 60% and a thirld 73%. I think we can see it's not working. Wanting to have a husband/wife is natural but going with the world and following your flesh is very much the wrong way to do it in my honest opinion,and from what I read daily and see on the news I think I'm right for believing this way.

There is a way to insure you are going to have the right person the first time. Pray,parents pray for your son/daughter to, for their future husband/wife. Children listen to the widom of your parents. Jesus tells us he is the way the truth and the light,why on Earth do you think he would ever steer us wrong. Have faith he will reward you with a happy lasting marriage.

The Happy Homemaker

It's Friday!

The above picture was taken out of our picture window in our living room. We thought this was the prettiest little bird and it kept coming by to visit with us most every day. Even though it had secret motives,he was stealing cat food from the cats bowl on the porch. : ) I wish I would have thought to snap one of  it stealing the cat food. lol

I woke up this morning so disappointed. I started some buttermilk yesterday just like I have countless times before and it didn't turn out right.It was not thick and smooth like it normally is it had chunked up like milk does when it spoils. I can't think of anything that I did different except I used 2 % milk when I usually use Whole milk. I honestly didn't think that would make that much of a difference but I suppose I was wrong. Now I have to wait until I go to the store next week to get some more whole milk. : (

I have gotten away from so many of the things that I firmly believe in. I really didn't mean to,I suppose it was because I have been dealing with so much with my parents getting a divorce after 37 years,it has really hurt in ways I never thought it would. I haven't baked in what seems like ages,I feel like I have been going through the motions of keeping home but not feeling the fullfillment I usually do. Even my oldest son Jason told me he could tell I was sad. Yes I am I am grieving the loss of a once happy marriage and the fall of a good Christian man. I am not depressed but I am mourning and will mourn for some time to come. But I am starting to want to do a lot of the things I use to do. Like..... make my cleaning products,bake bread,quick breads,deserts,keep my home as clean and clutter free as I can. Teach my daughter how to keep a home,I was before all this doing Helpmeet lessons with her. Little things because she is still young but it's still important to start teaching young so they see the importance of our role in the family. She has learned how to sort laundry,load it in the washer,put the detergent in and start it. She has learned how to unload the dishwasher and put away the dishes as well as load them. She has learned how to clean the bathroom and make her bed properly. She was learning how to do some cooking,little things like she helped me make biscuits for dinners,she would stir something in the pot,she would knead bread for me and she helped me cook by adding ingredients for me. Then when all this happened it crushed me so badly I dropped it all and I'm ashamed to admit that but it's true. The good thing is that I see all I have lapsed in and felt the urge to pick it all up again and begin my life as it has been. God is so good to us when we are down he is there to comfort us and when he knows we need to push to get up again he does that. I am so greatful to have a father that loves me that much.

The plan for today is to cut up 1 - 2 cups of leftover turkey from last nights dinner and use it in the turkey n gravy for tonight. The rest I will slice up thin for sandwiches.I made up a delicious broth for the gravy using the turky carcass and herbs. I would like to make some cookies to it's been a while since I have done that,it would be nice to fill the house with the aroma of sweet yummy chewy homemade cookies. Brandon my youngest son wants me to make a pumpkin pie. Also I have laundry,I try to make sure all my laundry is washed up,Sunday is God's day and work is not a part of it. The cars need cleaned and the laundry room needs a good wipping down. Friday cleaning normally doesn't take that long so it frees up more time for special things like baking or a craft project or just some fun family time. Then later tonight we are attending a 2 day seminar at our church called Soul Winning, preached by Brother Sutton,I have never had the pleasure to hear him preach and I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend whereever you may be. May God bless you and your family.

Until Monday,

The Happy Homemaker