The Ocean Dwellers

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Once upon a time, there was a group of people called The Ocean Dwellers. You would not find these people on a warm, tropical island, or near the sunny beaches of a peninsula. These people were not natives of a warm climate nor were they residents of The Land Where the Sun Always Shines.

No, these people lived their very lives on the ocean. Not on house boats or expansive yachts or even clinging to a hodge-podge of floating driftwood. When storms came, they were tossed and thrown about. When the sun beat relentlessly on their aching shoulders, they had no shelter. And when they grew tired, they could not sleep because there was no place to rest their weary heads. They could not even depend on one another, because every single member of The Ocean Dwellers was as tired and exhausted as the next.

As generations of The Ocean Dwellers came and went, bits and pieces of letters would pass on the surface of the ocean. These letters contained conversations between people who were discussing The Light. The Light was One who could save any and all of His chosen people. The people talking about The Light would always refer to encouragement they had received from reading The Book that The Light had written.

Over the years, The Ocean Dwellers would speak amongst each other. “We want to know The Light. How can we get The Book so that we can know more about The Light? He will save us from our tired life of being tossed and turned about on this water.”

One day, a boat came! This boat drew close to The Ocean Dwellers. The crew aboard called out to the wet and weary people. “Hello! We see you in your distress! We want you to know that there is One who can save you!” “Yes! We know,” replied The Ocean Dwellers in one long shout. “The Light! He can save us and give us a stable and strong place to cling. How can we know more about Him?”

The boat crew began shouting down to The Ocean Dwellers all the beautiful, wonderful truths of The Light. They explained that The Light was not just a story, but an amazing, loving Father of people of all colors and languages. By and by, the boat crew invited the people to come aboard and become Dwellers of Solid Land. The boat crew would share with them more about The Light and set them down on a land of their own. Best of all, the boat crew had many different copies of The Book that The Ocean Dwellers could read when they came aboard.

Elation could not describe the overwhelming feeling The Ocean Dwellers had when they heard those words. They wanted to know more about The Light and they wanted to read The Book that He had written. They wanted to find rest for their weary souls and experience the shelter that could not be found on the choppy waters of the ocean.

Eagerly, they discussed together. Not everyone wanted to go. Change, it seems, was too scary for them. Others preferred to be their own masters. They did not want to give their lives over to The Light. But for the small number who did want to serve The Light, they nervously climbed up onto the ladder offered them and stepped excitedly onto the boat of the deck. The boat crew hugged and kissed The Ocean Dwellers who were brave enough to start this journey and welcomed them into their arms.

The Ocean Dwellers were bursting to touch and read The Book for their very own. They wanted to see the words The Light had given them. They wanted to see what He had done and what He promised to continue to do. And so they trembled as the boat’s captain handed to the eldest Ocean Dweller his most favorite copy of The Book. He took the book into his hands and opened it. The rest of The Ocean Dwellers waited with trembling. As they looked expectantly, he squinted down at the words and then stopped.

“I cannot read this. What are all these squiggles and shapes?”

One member of the boat crew came up behind the old man and jutted his finger at the words. “You must be very tired from floating around on the ocean for so long. Look here a minute and then the words will come together and you will be able to read them.”

The old man closed his eyes, opened them, closed them again, rubbed them and then stared down hard at The Book. He looked to where the boat crew member still rested his finger. He started trembling when he realized that the words of The Book looked nothing like the words of any of the books he had read.

“I cannot read this. This is not in my tongue.”

The faces of The Ocean Dwellers fell. What were they to do? If they could not read The Book then how could they find the rest that came from The Light? How could they see in which way they were to live? How could they know The Light? Excitedly, the boat crew searched all over the boat and came up with dozens of copies of The Book in many languages. The elder would begin to read each one but grew more and more discouraged with each realization that yet again, this language was not his people’s.

“Are these all the languages that are available for The Book?” he asked. And the sad fact of the matter was, that yes, these were all.

As the boat drew close to the new land upon which The Ocean Dwellers would soon live, all aboard were very somber. The Ocean Dwellers stepped upon dry land for the first time but still felt the bitter disappointment of not being able to read The Book for their very own.

“Here, now,” said the old man to the boat crew, “why don’t you come live with us here on our new land. Since we cannot read The Book you can read it to us!”

“Oh, no! We cannot, “replied one of the boat crew, “for our job from The Light is to search for other Ocean Dwellers such as yourself to bring the message of The Book. We must leave you. But we will be back.”

As the boat crew sailed off, The Ocean Dwellers began to make home the land which was now theirs. They were no longer Ocean Dwellers but now Dwellers of Solid Land. They repeated to one another the stories and truths they had learned of The Light. But their hunger was strong and overpowering. They wanted to know more about The Light that they now served.

Months and months went by. One day, they noticed in the distance a boat. They had not seen a boat since that day when they had been brought to Solid Land. The watched as the boat grew larger and larger. It finally docked. The eldest Dweller of Solid Land extended his hand towards the person descending the ladder. It was the captain from the boat who had delivered them to their new home.

“I have come with a gift for you. You see, as we sailed away from you after we had deposited you on your new land, our hearts were so heavy. We could not eat nor sleep. Fresh water tasted disgusting to us. We knew that we left with you with no way to learn more of The Light and we had no knowledge of how to help you.

“But that is no longer the case. We have brought you this gift.”

And down from the ladder descended a group of about a dozen people. They came up to the elder Dweller of Solid Land. “We were Ocean Dwellers once, too, such as you were. We speak your language. We will help you translate The Book into your language. You will be able to hold The Book in your own hands and read it in your own language. You can read it when you get up, or in the middle of the day, or before you go to bed. You will be able to continuously learn and grow in your knowledge of The Light.”

The Dwellers of Solid Land wept as they realized the enormousness of the words. This gift was so precious. They would be able to read The Book in their language and take it into their own hands.

The elder spoke: “Friends, this day is one of celebration. The Light will become even more dear to us as we read of His love and goodness. But I have a confession to make. The happy, hopeful attitude I have had since inhabiting this new land was all a facade. You see, as soon as I realized that I could not read any of the copies of The Book on the boat that day, I started believing the lie that The Light does not care about me. If He did, I would be able to read His words. How could The Light love me, love our people, really and truly, if His words were unreadable. But He does, friends, He does. What a gift!”

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Did you know that “nearly one-third of the world’s language groups representing 340 million people are still waiting for God’s Word in a language that they can understand clearly”?

Does this not blow away your mind?

Do you realize, friends, the significance of this?

We go about our daily duties at home and in our paths go across bibles in all different places. On book shelves, besides beds, on top of tables, beside our favorite, most comfy chairs. They are everywhere. Beyond that, we can go into any christian book store and begin to read a Bible straight from the shelves.

We can read God’s word in our own language.

But millions of people cannot. It isn’t that they cannot afford a Bible or because they would be persecuted if they owned one (though many people do face this). It isn’t because they do not realize how important the Bible is to a Christian.

It’s because their does not exist one in a language they can read.

I want you to watch the below video. Pay attention to what these people are saying. Notice what the man says beginning at 0:52 through 1:00. (If you cannot see the video, you may need to refresh your page)

Friends, this is not the time to sit around saying “Oh, how I wish I could DO something” and then walk away to go make dinner.

These people, these fellow believers with no Bible in their own language, are YOUR brothers and sisters. They are not nameless, faceless nobodies because to the One who is Father to you both they ARE people with names and faces. These people are YOUR family, made in God’s image just as you are.

OneVerse vision is to make a way for those of us who do not know how to tangibly help to help. For $26 monthly, you can sponsor the translation of one verse into the language of someone who does not have a Bible in their own tongue. Folks, this is attainable. Have a garage sale, sell some books, write an eBook, give up coffee at Starbucks, whatever.

Your family of families needs you.

Hop over to OneVerse to learn more.

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This story I made for my children to illustrate the fact that there are many people today who do not have “The Book.” I crafted it when I learned of OneVerse and their mission to bring the Scriptures to people all around the world. I hope it impresses upon the hearts of those who read it how serious it is that we have many brothers and sisters who cannot just pick up a Bible. I am also entering it as my “creative blog post” to win a ticket to Relevant ’11.

Photo credits: BeverlyLR, johnnyberg, Sarej, salsoul

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Conversation

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Conversations are powerful. Words, gestures, and facial movements help to convey what is truly going on in a person’s heart as they speak. Rarely does a conversation leave those involved unchanged.

I often find that conversations bring about a period of soul-searching within myself. The words I spoke go through scrutiny as I mentally relive them. How could I have expressed myself better? How could I have listened better? Does what I presented to that person truly reflect my standing as a child in the ultimate family of families?

I recently had one of these conversations with a stranger in a public place. The whole of it transpired in but a few minutes, yet God never allows a single moment to pass where learning cannot take place. I’m given the beautiful opportunity to push out of my limited way of thinking towards His truth.

This particular evening, I was roaming the nearby Barnes and Noble store. An employee asked if I needed any help and I gave my usual answer: No. As he walked away, I changed my mind because, yes, I actually did need help.

“Where are the books on. . . writing?”

Turns out, that employee worked in the exact section of the store I needed to look. As we rode the escalator to the second floor, he asked me if I had written a book before or if this was my first one.

“This will be my first one.”

We arrived in the reference section and then he asked me what type of book I would be writing.

“Nonfiction.”

In order to help me further, he asked what specific nonfiction I would be writing.

Ah.

That is where I could hear my mind start working it’s typical response to questions I am ill-prepared for.

“Uh, I am going to be, um, writing, um, about. . .”

It seemed like I was on a stage and everyone was staring and wondering what my answer would be. I wanted to sound confident and happy that I was writing about my particular subject.

Instead I fell flat. My words came out in a whisper.

“Me,” I said softly and I started fumbling over my words as I do when nervousness sets in. “I am writing kind of about me and something about my being a homemaker and something like that.”

The words coming out of my mouth were ridiculous. Here I was trying to answer a simple question about the what of my book and I melted into a stuttering woman who had no straight answer.

It was painful to me and the helpful man in front of me had to put my halting answers together and come up with some kind of helpful book for a writer who was writing nonfiction about: a homemaker memoir or “something like that?”

And in my being of being I know exactly what I am going to write though it honestly has nothing to do with being a homemaker. Yet for the first time I had acknowledged in public that I was a writer and instead of owning that fact and thanking God for His gift of my love for words, doubt and fear presented.

There are many words to describe me and one of them is an awful word. Perfectionist. When there seems to be no way that I can accomplish my project so that nothing will be wrong with it, I tuck it under some papers and unfinished dreams and say “later.”

Only “later” never comes. It comes and goes and I feel a bit of relief that I never did try what I had wanted to do because that inevitably would have led to failure. And one thing that knocks me down and out is failure.

Failure will happen but fear should not. My God has commanded me to fear not.

If I had gone into that bookstore now, after much time has been spent on how I should have answered helpful-bookseller-man, I would had said this:

“I am writing a book. It is nonfiction. My book will be accomplished after much prayer and continual stops to remind myself that God is in control of my words. Not I.

This book will be about one of my most intense passions. It will contain my heart and will challenge me as I write it. My genuine hope and desire is to encourage women who are walking the walk I am putting my feet to. I want to meet these women where they are at because I am there, too.”

Maybe the kind of book I am writing is not going to end up on a best seller list. And if I were to answer the name of it to the average person they would respond with apologetic acknowledgement of never having heard it. But if my heart speaks to one, one person, one woman who can feel that someone is finally understanding her circumstances, then God has used me.

And so my confidence comes not from words but from my Father who loved me enough to use me for His better purposes. The fear and doubt and perfectionism and people pleasing will slide into the place where they belong right in the cabinet entitled “finally overcoming.”

Perhaps one day you may “see [my] name on these shelves” as the helpful man cheerily encouraged me as he left to help others. Perhaps not. My chief end is to glorify my God.

May it ever be so.

Photo credits: theo1krie stockers9

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Trust.

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I had to say it and it had to come out. “I’m done.” There I was, surrounded by noise and chaos and clutter. This wasn’t the life I had wanted. This was not what I thought it would be like. My dreams as a new bride, my visions of perfection, were gone and instead I was right in the middle of child people who always took but rarely gave back. I was their mother and this was my home but it was too much. Who could I hand in my resignation to?

“I’m done.” This time I knew that something would have to change or this life, this journey I was on, would be nothing more than a mess.

I stepped into the laundry room and shut the door. “I’M DONE!” I did not elevate my voice to a yell but I wanted to. I wanted to scream, yell, stomp my feet.

I sat down next to the piles of dirty towels. What else could I say? What could be done that would help?

I could not give an answer.

“God. Father. LORD!” I whispered in the dark. “Where are YOU?”

“Have you left?”

Waiting on the floor, I sat. I sat. And sat.

Where was He? Maybe He had abandoned me as it seemed everyone else had. But no. That couldn’t be possible. I had just read it in His Word today. Where was it?

I walked over to the maroon Bible and thumbed through it. There.

“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” -Psalm 9:10

Trust. A hard term for someone who wants to steer her life into that earlier vision of perfection. Reality had set in and I had lost my vision and my grip on what was true. Trusting Him implies the total and perhaps painful sacrifice of my way and recognizing God is and always has been the holder of my life.

It is not a one-time giving over of control. No. This trust requires daily and conscious squelching of our internal power struggle. Yet it has to be done. After all, why would He forsake one who implicitly trusts Him with her very life and work and desires and tears.

He does not. He will not.

Laundry will overflow. Children will fight and lie and do all of the things we sinners seem to do best. Dinner will be late. You will have arguments with your spouse. You will get sick. People will hurt you.

This will all happen. But He will not forsake you.

Will you trust?

Photo credit: yenhoon

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Book Report Helps

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When I was homeschooled, my mom would have me do book reports for school. I know I didn’t care for writing them at the time but looking back, I can see the various benefits. Book reports force the student to read the material carefully and to think about what they are reading. It also is hugely beneficial in that it gives plenty of writing practice.

Sally, my oldest daughter, loves to read. She does not do so well at necessarily relating back to me what she reading. To remedy this, the memory of my own mother giving me book reports to complete will turn into me asking my own daughter to begin the book report journey.

I have searched around and around to see what help is available in teaching my children how to correctly write a book report. Hopefully the following links will be as useful to you as they are to me.

How to Write a Book Report, part of Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, OWL – Before I go any further, all kudos for this link goes to my friend, Joy, at FiveJs. I asked her if she had any helpful links and this was her answer. This link provides enough information that you could get any writing student started in book reports at their level. Check this one out first.

Beginner’s Book Report Template – I only recommend this for beginning readers/writers. This is a basic sheet that asks the child to fill in some information on the book (Title/Author/Illustrator, as well as what genre the book would best fit), two questions about the book (What is the Story About? and Who is Your Favorite Character and Why?), and has an area to draw the student’s favorite part in the book at the bottom.

Donna Young’s Book Reports section – This includes the basics of a book report and what it should include (found near the bottom), book forms, and logs for the younger set.

Book Report Ideas for Primary Age – This one includes something I have never heard of: Art-Based Book Reports. In my way of thinking, this is actually quite brilliant. Before your young children become writers, they can still retain what they hear as you read-aloud to them using these artistic prompts. There are also Writing-Based Book Reports at the bottom.

Book Report Forms and Reading Log Printables – While this link does not provide the “how-to’s” of book reports, it does give some great printables that you can just print off and give to your kiddos who are learning the basics. I highly recommend these.

 

Hope these help!

 

Photo credit: nkzs

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Homeschool Curricula for Sale

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In the interest of clearing off shelves in my school room and for raising money for our adoption, I am offering the below for sale. Prices are negotiable. These have been used only a couple times and are in like new condition unless otherwise noted. Shipping to continental US(media mail) is extra; I will be willing to ship to Alaska and Hawaii as well, but I will need to add extra postage in addition to what is listed. I will add shipping confirmation and tracking for extra, as well.

To purchase below curricula, email me at wisdombegun @ gmail.com.

The Phonics Road to Spelling & Reading, Level One – $185 + $6.50 for media mail shipping

From Schola Publications, Inc.’s website:

The PHONICS Road to Spelling and Reading provides an enjoyable and fun presentation of the material, learning to build the English language in the same way a carpenter learns to build a house.

Throughout the study, the parent/teacher is the Foreman, guiding the student through various skill levels. The student is an Apprentice for the first three years, then becomes a Journeyman in the 4th year as he prepares for The LATIN Road to English Grammar.

The Apprentice begins by learning the tools of his trade – single vowels and consonants, vowel teams and consonant teams. After these tools are mastered, the Apprentice uses them to build words according to the Blueprints (spelling list). Along the way the Foreman shows that words are formed according to Building Codes (spelling rules). Rules are set to songs – Rule Tunes – for easy memorization.

Complete Package Includes:

Student Portion of Package Includes

  • Apprentice’s Building Manual: the student’s 3-ring binder containing…
  • Blueprints - customized paper for recording all spelling words.
  • Building codes - blank custom charts for recording various illustrations
    of spelling rules.
  • Composition - place for recording original sentences and final
    composition projects.
  • First Readers - 23 beginning readers for the student to illustrate.
  • Handy Dandy Clipboard – custom trace and erase clipboard for writing
    practice.
  • Student Tool Cards - his own set of color-coded cards for use in various
    activities.
  • Pencils and Wet-Erase Pen

WriteShop Primary Book A (Teacher’s Guide and Activity Set Worksheet Pack) – $15 + $3 media mail shipping

Helping students to write well is one of the most daunting tasks facing teachers and homeschool parents alike.

WriteShop Primary, our new early elementary level, offers your K-3 grader a gentle, fun-filled introduction to beginning writing skills. Book A andBook B now available. Book C coming very soon! WriteShop Primary for grades K-3 introduces beginning writing skills using games, activities, crafts, and one-on-one teaching time.

Rocket Phonics, Volumes 1 & 2 – $125 + $6.50 media mail

From Rocket Phonics website:

Hands down the best phonics program available today, Rocket Phonics is fast, fun, easy-to-use, over three times as effective, and half the cost of competing programs.

Rocket Phonics is a research-based, scientifically proven method of teaching reading—multi-sensory and game-based—for children ages 4-10 that takes your child from non-reader to 5th grade reading level in two years or less!

Imagine how confident your child will be when he or she is reading with ease, above grade level. And with Rocket Phonics you have no prep-time—plus it’s non-consumable.

Includes:
  • Volumes 1 & 2 of Teacher’s Manuals
  • Treasure Hunts x 2
  • Play & Read Cars – 1 deck
  • Bingo Chips
  • Blue Folder with Word Lists, Peeker & 7 Bingo Games

Peterson Directed Handwriting Grade One, Complete Kit – $20 + $2 shipping media mail

From Peterson Directed Handwriting’s website:

The teacher handbook provides an organized series of lesson plans in a daily lesson outline. Lessons are designed to last about ten minutes and focus upon process skills which can be applied directly to any curriculum. It is not about learning to draw perfect copies of a model letter. It is about a series of rhythm based activities leading to position skills and writing fluency. Develop the movement pattern, practice with rhythm to improve control and apply the skills in your curriculum activities as the child learns more about written language. Internalized movement patterns enhance the learning process for all language arts skills.

The student book provides models for communication of goals in an efficient way – with one child or thity. Fingertrace large movement models to develop rhythmic patterns. Move the pencil with your voice on unlined paper to practice the production sequence and improve accuracy. Move to paper with lines and learn how to use them to organize the writing for neat legibility. Children do not write in the book.

Includes:

  • Animated Letter Cards CD-ROM (unopened)
  • Song CD
  • Teacher Handbook
  • Pupil’s Book
  • 1 Finger Fitter Pencils
  • 1 of the two Self-adhesive Position guides

The teacher handbook provides a series of lesson plans for six weeks of pre-writing activities. The manual contains wonderful reproducible pages for use in the lessons which are designed to introduce a young child to directionality concepts, rhythmic movement, position skills, and participation in directed activities. The activities allow the child to learn how to relate directionality to his or her workspace and eventually to a piece of paper and the use of a pencil on that page.

Unique exercises are included to help to build motor control skills including training of muscle groups for good pencil holding, paper holding and good posture. The challenge of rhythmic movement engages the child to improve attention span, listening, focus on task, sequencing and field of vision. The directed activities are fun because you do it together.

At early ages gross motor activities are critical. Airwriting with the animations on your computer screen and fingertracing the huge letter models in ABC’s and 123′s book provide rhythmic experiences leading to internalization of movement patterns that will support the reading pattern of our written language. Both airwriting and fingertracing are rhythmic activities because we move to the voice as “action words” are chanted. The book is alphabetically arranged so you can correlate the physical instruction into your reading/phonics program lesson sequence.

Starting with basic strokes and then combining them to form letters with rhythm is much more than fun. The effects on development of sequencing skills, attention span and language processing is powerful indeed. Combine the sounds of letters with these exercises, pictures on the pages make it easy, to enhance phonemic awareness. You can even practice American Sign Language for fingerspelling the letters and numerals if you wish.

Includes:

  • Teacher Handbook
  • Pupil Book
  • Two Finger Fitter Pencils
  • Two self-adhesive position guides

Sonlight Instructor’s Guide for Level A, Kindergarten (2008 edition) – $30 + $3 medial mail shipping
This is only the Level A, Kindergarten, Instructor’s Guide. It comes with the schedules, spine stickers, and time line figures. No other books (or readers) come with it. You can purchase those on their website.

Christian Kids Explore Biology (Damaged*) – Token donation towards our adoption via PayPal + $3 medial mail shipping

From Bright Ideas Press’s website:

This user-friendly, unabashedly Christian, one-year science curriculum for elementary students includes teaching lessons, gorgeous coloring pages, hands-on time, memorization lists, review sheets, creative writing assignments, and an awesome supplemental book list! Written for 3rd through 6th graders, it can easily be scaled down for younger students, making this an excellent choice for teaching all your elementary-aged kids together. The schedule of 35 weekly lessons calls for teaching twice weekly, allowing a family time for projects, exploration of resource books, field trips, etc. The conversational style gives students the basic information they need, making this an ideal first course in life science; especially useful for those following a classical approach!

*Unfortunately, when I received this, it was badly damaged during shipping on the bottom lower left corner. The book is still usable, it just isn’t as pretty looking as it could be, and it does make it a tad bit harder to open the book. If you would like a picture of the damage, email me: wisdombegun at gmail dot com. Because of the damage, I only require payment plus a token donation of ANY amount towards our adoption fund. You can do that here.

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Four Ways to Quiet Time for Mothers of Little Ones

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I have seen over the years many posts and articles written to the mothers of young children on “how to accomplish quiet time.” Lists are made that encourage mothers to make sure they get some daily time in the Word. These tips typically involve spreading Bibles all over the house and reading here and there, taking the time to read during nursing sessions, and the like.

While I appreciate the thought put into these hints, I want to put out there that I think these lists are less than helpful and are actually detrimental to a woman’s spiritual health.

Look, I am the mother of five children who are aged eight and under. I understand that it is hard to do anything at this phase of life. The constant needs of young children make it virtually impossible to accomplish much outside of the necessaries. And that is okay. I personally would not have my life any other way.

Yet. Yet. Before you are a mother, and yes, before you are a wife, you are a child of the heavenly Father. This relationship with Him is ultimately your greatest responsibility. You are in no less need of being spiritually fed than your husband, your pastor, or your single female friends. The need to be nourished in your soul is still there. It does not diminish when that first child is placed in your arms. It does not automatically go away when subsequent children are added to your home.

Think of it in this way: in our society, people generally eat three meals a day with snacks in between. This is because our bodies require nourishing meals in sufficient amounts. Grabbing a handful of food here and there may work for some, but for the average person it will not fulfill the needs of our bodies.

Even more so, our spiritual nourishment requires more than “snacking.” Grabbing the Word of God here and there is not enough. There is not time for digestion, no time for proper chewing of what God is feeding to us.

“Well, sure,” you may say, “this is all true. But what about the practicality of all of this.”

This is my list on how to practically apply this to our lives. Some of these will work for you, others may not.

Just do it.  This is the one that some may wish to throw me under the bus for. That is okay. I am here for encouraging but at the same time, I may say some things you do not want to hear. But before you leave me because of this first tip alone, let me just say: you will get accomplished what truly matters to you. If blogging matters to you, you will somehow make time for it. If reading matters to you, you will find a way to prop open that book. If quilting, scrap booking, gabbing with friends matters to you, you will find a way to do it. Our time with God should be no less important.

Get up early. Ah. So here I go again hitting on another sore spot. The whole “getting up early” thing. Friends, let me tell you, I have been where you are. You have a newborn, four other young ones, and all you want is s-l-e-e-p. Nothing else seems to matter and you will do almost anything to get two hours put together. I understand this. But disciplining myself to get up has been one of the most beneficial traits I have had to learn. This quiet, peaceful time is treasure.

Throw out the devotionals. I’m going to say this once and then get a shield ready for all of the tomatoes thrown at me. Those devotionals that look so neat and nifty and purty in the Christian book store? They should not replace the reading of God’s own Word. If all you are doing is reading these devotionals and calling that your “quiet time,” then you are eating candy and not even bothering to down the good stuff. Put down that easy-peasy one-page-a-day devotional and dig into the word of God.

Pray. Really, this one should have been first. If you cannot seem to find the time or support or energy to spend with God, then ask Him to provide it for you. Believe me, He will and when He gives you that time, you need to make sure that you use that time exactly for what He has given it for. No “oh, wow, I’ve got unexpected time to read the Bible. First, let me read my emails and then. . . .” No. No. No. Read your Bible with the time you have been given.

 

These are four ways that have worked for me. Share with me your thoughts and feelings on the importance of making the time to have a true quiet time with your Father.

 

Photo credit: 3888kj

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How YOU Can Help Us Bring Our Child Home

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You probably know by now that this crazy family of seven wants to add to our family through adoption. It has come to our attention that people would like to know how they can personally help us to bring home a child who needs a family. Below I will give you ways that you can help this child. This is by no means begging for financial help, but rather a way to give those who want to express tangibly their commitment to help orphans avenues in which to do so.

Feel free to email me at wisdombegun @ gmail . com for more info, or use the contact button above.

Specific ways you can help us bring our child home:

A dear friend of mine will be holding an adoption fundraiser for us, the Russell family, and another prospective adoptive parent from August 1 – 21, 2011. If you like Mary Kay, know someone who does, or just want to try, please consider buying through her link.

Here is the necessary info:

Adoption Fundraiser

When:

August 1-21, 2011

 

What:

A fundraiser to help the Crouch and Russell families raise the money necessary to each complete an international adoption.

 

Who can help:

Friends, family, co-workers, church family, neighbors, anyone else you can think of that has skin or knows someone who has skin. Obviously, everyone can participate, even the guys. Mary Kay has great men’s products and great gift ideas.

 

How to help:

30% of all purchases made from my website from August 1-21st will go to help the Crouch and/or Russell families. Shipping may be up to $5.00 (direct from Mary Kay) per order depending on whether or not the order can be picked up/delivered by the families. If the post office is cheaper, I will do it that way. Please place an order on my website or email or call me. I can accept Master Card, Visa, Discover, and American Express. When you order you can specify the Crouch or Russell family or ask for an even split.  The products will all be ordered on August 22nd and delivered as soon as possible after that. Credit cards will not be processed until right before ordering.

 

Where:

www.marykay.com/debbieburgio or

email me: debbie.burgio@verizon.net or

call me 410-531-2271

 

Why: These two loving families are committed to loving and raising the children that God has given to them, even though they have not yet met them.

Wild Olive Adoption Fundraiser Tees

 

 

Wild Olive Tees:

Until August 24, 2011, Wild Olive Tees will generously give us a certain amount per tee-shirt towards the adoption. All you need to do is look at the tees they have available for our adoption fundraiser, pick which ones you would like (remember, these would be great gifts! And start thinking ahead, because Christmas is already less than 6 months away), and enter the following code in the coupon code box in your shopping cart: RUSSELL0629. Please note that this does not give you a discount. The code only helps Wild Olive Tees track sales for our fundraising efforts.

It would also be helpful if you added our code in the notes section of check-out.

Just Love Coffee:

JustLoveCoffee.com has graciously accepted us into their adoption fundraiser program. When you are looking to buy some coffee for you and your household or friends, please consider purchasing through this link. We will receive a portion of all sales.

Through PayPal, by clicking on the donate button below.

Official PayPal Seal

 

 

 

 

By purchasing through Amazon.com: Buying through either the Amazon.com link on my right sidebar, or through the one just above this, will earn me a percentage of the sale. The proceeds from these purchases will go straight towards the adoption fundraiser.

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Teachable Moments (Guest Post)

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As part of the Ultimate Blog Swap, Paula, of The Tween and Me, has agreed to guest post for me today. I am sure you will find her advice strikes home and is practical to most of us. Make sure you visit her at her blog after you read this post.

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I love being a parent. There are so many intrinsic rewards, one of which is watching my daughter, Ariel, mature and learn. I treasure our time together. She’s a bright, fun child with a zest for life. We spend a lot of time together, shopping, exploring, and just hanging out. I actively look for ways to incorporate skills practice in our everyday activities.

How do I do that? Shopping is easy. I hand her my purse (I’m standing right there!) and let her pay for our purchases… and part of the experience is making the correct change. If the total is $6.14, she needs to know to use a $5 bill and a $1 bill… and also a dime and four pennies. It’s not the same if you just pull out a ten dollar bill! However, I have pulled her aside (not in the check-out lane!) and asked her to calculate how much money we should get back if we don’t have correct change. One way is money skills practice and the other is subtraction. Both great practical applications for real life. Sometimes I toss in a coupon or two to see how she’ll figure it out. I can’t wait until she’s learning multiplication and fractions and we’ll get to practice % off sales!! (she already does understand that a sale means she stands a better chance of getting something she desires and that a BOGO sale at the grocery store means she’ll get two of whatever snack she’s craving!)

Exploring around town gives us a chance to practice map skills (“If I am headed north and turn right, which direction will I then be going?”), observation/relation and direction-giving (“Tell me how to get home, turn-by-turn”), and measurement (“If it’s 5 miles from the mall to our church, and 1 mile from our church to home, how far is it from the mall to our house if we go by the church?”) It’s also fun to play word games with the license plate letters from the cars around us. (“Oh, CLR 123 could stand for Cathy Likes Rocks”… “or, Crispy Little Raisins”… “or, Count Logs Rolling.” We revel in seeing who can create the wildest combinations or who can use recent spelling words. I like to use words Ariel doesn’t yet know so I can introduce new vocabulary words.

We enjoy watching Wheel of Fortune as a family. It’s not every night, but usually several times a week. Ariel has become amazingly good at solving the puzzles on WOF, filling in the letters, guessing phrases and learning idioms, proper names, and even comprehending some strategic thinking. (“No, don’t buy a vowel!”… “Don’t guess a consonant when you have a Free Spin!”) I’m sure she would have figured a lot of it out on her own, but it’s been a valuable teaching opportunity for us to have a DVR, so we can pause the live action, let her process the words, sometimes with a little assistance, and then we can also take the time to explain the phrase or name, pointing out tidbits of social studies or literary significance.

Those are just a few of the ways I encourage thinking outside the classroom. What ways do you incorporate skills practice with your child? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

(photo credits: lusi, iprole, poison-yvi)

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Year of the Staycation – Roundup

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Yesterday I posted my part of the Year of the Staycation. In it, I highlighted cheap and free things to do in McKinney, TX. Today I am going to give you links to posts for other cities around the country that my fellow bloggers have put together. It is my sincere hope that you will be able to find some family-pocket-book-friendly items for fun this summer in your part of the country.

 

New England

Connecticut – Parenting Miracles
Boston, Massachusetts – ? Maven of Savin’
Manchester, New Hampshire – Common Sense with Money
Western Maine – Bubblegum and Lollipops

Mid-Atlantic

Erie, Pennsylvania – Growing Kids Ministry
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania – Somewhat Crunchy
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Family Balance Sheet
Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York – Coupons, Deals and More
New Jersey – Oh! Diane

Midwest

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Indoor Garden Musings
Mansfield, Ohio – Live the Adventure
Cincinnati, Ohio – Savings Lifestyle~Cincinnati
Mount Vernon, Ohio – Living Better One Day at a Time
Dayton, Ohio – Savings Lifestyle~Dayton
Grand Rapids, Michigan – Kitchen Stewardship
Metro Detroit, Michigan – “Cents”able Momma
Oakland County, Michigan – Bargain Shopper Mom
Warren, Michigan – Saving Dollars and Sense
Grand Forks, North Dakota – Frugal Front Porch
Indianapolis, Indiana – Bargain Briana
South Bend, Indiana – Excuse The Mess
Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri – Kansas City Mamas
St. Louis, Missouri – The Pickledpigsfeet
Branson, Missouri – Getting Freedom from Debt
Springfield, Missouri – I Think I Can
Rochester, Minnesota – Everyday Notions
York, Nebraska – Heavenly Homemakers
Omaha, Nebraska – Mom Endeavors
Madison, Wisconsin – Many Little Blessings
Oshkosh, Wisconsin – A Little Bit of This and That
Chicago, Illinois – Chicagoland Homeschool Network
Champaign, Illinois – Chambanamoms
Black Hills, South Dakota – Little House on the Prairie Living

South Central

Checotah, Oklahoma – Blessed With One Income
Tulsa, Oklahoma – Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Gadsden, Alabama – Aint Mimi
Dallas, Texas – Funky Faith Girl
Dallas, Texas – Grocery Shop For FREE
East Dallas, Texas – Surviving The Stores
Fort Worth, Texas – Smockity Frocks
Austin, Texas – Stetted
Houston, Texas – Moms Travel Tales
McKinney, Texas – Wisdom Begun
East Texas – The Full Pantry
Murfreesboro, Tennessee – Life in a Barn
Nashville, Tennessee – The Country Chic Cottage
Mobile, Alabama – A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
Birmingham, Alabama – iGoBOGO
Alpharetta, Georgia – Cuponeando
Atlanta, Georgia – See Jamie Blog
Augusta, Georgia – Hyperactive Lu
Athens, Georgia and Mississippi – Tractors and Tire Swings
Little Rock, Arkansas – It’s Real Life

South Atlantic

 

Brunswick & the Golden Isles, Georgia, Teri Lynne Underwood
Ft. Bragg, North Carolina – Military Wives Saving
Charlotte, North Carolina – The Carolina Clipper
Charleston, South Carolina – The Tween & Me
Greensboro, North Carolina – Mrs. Happy Homemaker
Jacksonville, Florida – Saving The Family Money
Orlando, Florida – Orlando’s Best Deals
Virginia Beach, Virginia – The Singley Fam Blog
Richmond, Virginia – Daily Dwelling
Hampton Roads, Virginia – A Home Made by Kiki
Charlottesville, Virginia – How to Have it All
Blackwater Falls State Park/Davis, West Virginia – Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling
Treasure Coast, Florida – The Cardamom’s Pod
Saint Augustine, Florida – Jypsie Visions
Lake Norman, North Carolina – Stretching Pennies Saving Dollars
Washington, DC – The WiC Project
Baltimore, Maryland – The Happy Housewife

Mountain

Tucson, Arizona – Saving with Pam
Phoenix, Arizona – Mom Endeavors
Albuquerque, New Mexico – The Chou Life
Kalispell, Montana – Our Family Adventures
Salt Lake City, Utah – Just the 2 of Us
Thermopolis, Wyoming – The McDonald Family
Denver, Colorado – Denver Bargains
Colorado Springs, Colorado - Colorado Springs Bargains

Pacific

San Diego, California – Life As Mom
Yosemite National Park, California -Handbook of Nature Study
Seattle, Washington – Queen Bee Coupons & Savings
Whidbey Island, Washington – Manning the Homefront
Olympia, Washington The Coupon Savant
Portland, Oregon – Frugal Living NW
Willamette Valley, Oregon – An Oregon Cottage

Frugal Vacation Tips

Vacation or Stay-cation: Eating without Busting the Budget – Eat at Home

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The Year of the Staycation – McKinney, TX

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Welcome to my part of the Year of the Staycation! I will be highlighting inexpensive or free things to do in McKinney, TX. Gas pricing are rising (ouch!). For most of us, this forces us to think a bit more local instead of a the usual family vacation that involves lots of travel.

McKinney is very family friendly. The majority of the events that the city holds are FREE. There are plenty of parks to go play in and some quaint little shops to visit on Main Street. Events for July 4th, Cinco de Mayo, and the like are planned every year.

Just because the usual family vacation may be out of your price range doesn’t mean you cannot have a great time this summer. Below you will find inexpensive or free things to do. Some are available to do all summer long while others are date-specific. Feel free to comment or email me via the contact form above if you have something to add!

 

To begin with, if you live in McKinney you need to check out the awesome activity guide. This is sent out three times a year and lists the city’s events, lessons and classes, and special happenings.

All Summer Long

McKinney has lots of parks. Al Ruschhaupt Soccer Complex, Aviator, Finch, Horizon, and Whisenant have free splash pads that the little ones especially will love. There are many walking trails and Towne Lake Rec Area is a favorite. North Park also has swimming facilities.

 

Farmer’s Markets are fast becoming cheap family entertainment. Whether or not you are there to buy fresh produce or homemade items, usually you will find live music and good food to make a great family outing.

 

This is a HUGE flea market. Get there early or you will need to park across the street!

 

Main Street McKinney boasts restaurants, quaint little shops and boutiques, and is also the area where you will find many of the year’s events held.

 

This is not expensive if you look at it as a whole, but for a family pass ($75) spread out over a year, this ends up a really great deal. There are also homeschool classes and the like available.

 

From 10-1 on Tuesdays, this farm (which boasts horseback riding lessons and a petting zoo as well as animal assisted learning) is open to the public. Be sure to call ahead to RSVP.

 

Specific Dates

 

Friday, June 10, 2011, is the opening of McKinney’s The World Collection Park. McKinney has some of the loveliest Crepe Myrtles and this Picnic in the Park is a great way to see them while eating outside as a family.

 

Held in Chestnut Square, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm on June 11, 2011, you can get homemade ice cream for $2-$3 a scoop. This is a great way to spend a hot Saturday!

 

If your family is of the musical persuasion, McKinney hosts three groups this June at Towne Lake Park: Vocal Trash, Acoustix, and Phares Corder Orchestra. Bring your own food or purchase meals there. Held June 16, 23, and 30th from 7:30 -9 PM.

 

“Come out and meet Traxxas (www.traxxas.com) – the fastest name in Radio Control on June 11 from 9am – 1pm!  There will be food vendors, live demonstrations, live music and all the race cars you could possibly hope to handle!  This event will be open to all of McKinney and is a great opportunity to have some fun for all ages – there will also be demo cars and tracks set up for guests to play”


Beginning at 10AM on July 4, McKinney is providing FREE of charge a full day of activities to celebrate Independence Day. Included are a parade, car show, family activities, music, and, of course, fire works beginning at 9:45 PM.

 

This is NOT a complete listing of all the free and inexpensive things to do in McKinney, however I feel it is a great start for those who want to plan their staycation. This list will be updated as I become aware of things to do that are affordable for families.

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