Pumpkin & Spice & Everything Nice!

If you look really closely, you can see the Emergency Exit sign!  If I drink all of this tonight, I'll need that exit!  lol

Here in Oregon, the days are getting shorter, the evenings cozier, and the mochas are calling.  Sharon gave me a wonderful pumpkin spice candle, which spices up the evenings.  Add to that a delicious hot drink, and you have an instant cozy evening.

The lighting is not real good, but the sign behind my husband is a sign of giving thanks to the Lord!

It was quite an opportunity to present our ministry, sing and preach (my husband! lol) at a church near Portland on Wednesday.  It is a storefront church, which is near and dear to our heart.  Everyone was so gracious to us, and kind.  If half the people who say they will pray for us really do, then we're very blessed.

Keep your days full of spice by keeping on serving Jesus, dear ones!

Free E-Book!

Something for your homeschool!

I am a bit new to the Charlotte Mason style of home education, but what I've seen so far I really like.  I found a really good web site, Homeschooling Down Under, and it seems to be full of all sorts of really good ideas.  I especially think it is great to have someone from New Zealand who has a vision to create a special homeschooling space just for her own people.

You can download their free e-book, which is a geography textbook written by Mason revised in 1925.  Elementary Geography, Book 1 was written to introduce young children to the study of Geography in a step by step, reasonable and interesting manner.  Even though my youngest is 8, this book has been a great read-aloud!

Keep the homeschool fires going, folks!

Watch out for those low sinks!

We passed a few very strange creatures in a field!  I think they're baby llamas!!

It was an uneventful Sunday here in Oregon, where we need to extend our time while my husband has  some very important dental work done.  On our way to church this morning, we enjoyed the beautiful changing leaves and crisp fall weather.  There were also some odd sights that made us smile, like baby llamas!

This buddy keeps those baby llamas in line...

Of course, we know who's REALLY in charge!

We were enthusiastically greeted by church folks as soon as we entered the door!  It was quite a blessing and an encouragement to all of us.  There was such a positive air in the church, and excitement about the things of God.  It was apparent by the signs that were plastered all over the walls:

At church, we were greeted by a sign that has the greatest message about the greatest Pewrson!

It's wonderful to know that we serve a God that can do ANYTHING!   Just like the angel Gabriel said to Mary, "For nothing is impossible with God."  Mary's response is mine, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy will."

Here's a strange thing we often see on the west coast: unisex bathrooms!

After church, we stopped at a burger joint to feed the hungry masses.  While I was there, I noticed the unisex restroom (yikes!).  I don't know about those low sinks with the really strong smelling soap!

Keep rolling on for Jesus, dear ones!

Created for a Purpose

God never made us to fit in, He made us to STAND OUT!

Keep rolling on for Jesus!

Jonathan & Brooke!

I doubt anyone out there doesn't know by now, but just in case there's someone who's been in a remote corner of the world and hasn't seen a computer in awhile, here are some pictures of my son, Jonathan, and his fiance, Brooke!!

I was going to put up just one picture, but I liked all these so well that I had to put all of them on.

We are thrilled for them, and thankful to the Lord for His working in their lives.

Interestingly enough, I've been praying specifically for (and writing to) Brooke for years, long before they began courting.  I look back now and see God's handiwork and am amazed at His wonderful workings.  

The wedding date is set for December 10!  Lord willing, it will be a tremendous time to have all my family together again for the first time in years!!

Their plan is to settle in Mississippi for awhile, and then Jon will be, Lord Willing, continuing to prepare for ministry as a missionary bush pilot.   Please pray for Jon & Brooke as they prepare for their new life together!

Update - December 2011: Jonathan and Brooke are now married!  Read about the beautiful wedding here.

What an exciting day!  The Lord worked out the details that we were able to video shoot another part of the ministry presentation of my husband for the ministry!  And, to top it off, we were also able to shoot a video for the trailer for my new book!

Lionproof: Overcoming the Sudden Disappearance of Our Second Generation, Based on exclusive interviews with the young people who survived!

is getting closer to being finished.  I'm almost done with the manuscript, and will be sending it to the proofreaders within the next few weeks.  I'm really excited about the prospect of it being done, and out to  many young parents who could use the information the Survivors have.

Please keep praying for wisdom and guidance as we continue to work on this project.  Thank you!

Ministry Update

It's been three rainy, dismal weeks up here in the northwest.  Unfortunately, the humidity is not good for my husband's Lyme disease symptoms; arthritis and pain is his constant companion.  Thank you all for praying for him and his health, though we continue to seek God for strength.

The military projects here are stymied by difficulty in securing a chaplain that will work with us.  We haven't been given a "no," but we haven't been given a "yes," either.  Perhaps it's just the weather, but perhaps there's spiritual opposition.

There are plenty of workers who are willing to minister on base, if only we can gain permission.  To this end, my husband has been developing another outreach tool, a seminar on Biblical Resolution of Worry and Stress, which we feel will be very applicable to the military in their current deployment and battle status.

And continue to pray that we will be effective while we go on base and try to talk to folks about the Lord.  The vast majority of people have a tremendous need and don't even know it.

Thank you!

What's an Educated Woman to Do?

What's an educated woman to do?

I've been reading a very interesting book by Charlotte Mason, an educator from the 1800s.  Charlotte was actually the original home education proponent, turning the hearts of the parents to the children, and encouraging parents, especially mothers, to use their talents to educate their children at home.  Her writings are refreshing, insightful, and encouraging.  I've been tremendously challenged and blessed by what I've read so far.


Here's an interesting quote I read earlier:

We are waking up to our duties and in proportion as mothers become more highly educated and efficient, they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children during the first six years of life is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own.  And they will take it up as their profession - that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow on their professional labours.

Looking back now on all that's transpired in the past one hundred and ten years or so, we see that Mason was perhaps a little idealistic, ready to believe in all that is good in people.  Really, we can't fault her, but it's sad to see that just the opposite has happened - mothers have become more highly educated and efficient and instead of benefiting their families with their talents, they have taken them and given their best energies for the purse, or the pocketbook, or the self-esteem.


What's an educated woman to do?  Give of her best to her Master, and give her very best years, talents, and labors to her family.  What better reward can there be for her labors than that her children would rise up and call her blessed?  

Invest in her children!