The Etravagance Of The Father

My Emma had a birthday party yesterday. As she was opening gift after gift my brother mentioned what I had just been thinking, that was a lot of stuff she had been given! He was right, it was a lot for one little girl! Later, that got me to thinking about the joy of gift giving, the meaning behind it, how much is enough or how much is too much? Not certain of all the answers something struck me. What an extravagant father we have in God! How much He give us that is absolutely not necessary. More than 10,000 species of flowers, over 10,000 species of trees, approximately 20,000 species of butterflies,20,000 species of fish, 6,000 species of reptiles, 9,000 birds, 1,000 amphibians, and 15,000 species of mammals. The list goes on and on. God doesn't just give us what we need to survive, He saturates our world with beautiful, wonderful gifts! He actually wants us to feel the pleasures of His gifts.
This doesn't quite answer my question of how much is too much in a numerical sense but it does remind me of an important fact. It is a good thing to give others joy and to enjoy the gifts we have been given. No, I wouldn't want to 'spoil' my child into thinking that material objects should be our focus in life but neither will I begrudge them the joys of simple things and experiences. I will make room for the new and exciting things by getting rid of some of the older, less exciting ones. So what if the excitement doesn't last for the entire year, at least they are able to feel the joy in a single special moment.One of the best things about having young children is being able to see the world through their eyes. Having a small child is like seeing the world for the first time, and really,truly seeing it.
Life is made up of many small moments. Our greatest memories of childhood are often small things to the adults involved. We need to remember the value of wonder !
We go through this life in such a rush that we don't notice even a fraction of the bounty and beauty that God has put here for us to enjoy. I want my family to really see God in His creation. Slow down, drink it in and wonder at Gods blessings, His gifts.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning."
James 1:17 (KJV)

Emmas Teapot Pinata

My Emma Darlin Turns 5

Daddy had to work on her birthday so we will have her party late.Although she wasn't getting her cake we still made her a special treat. She wanted a giant sundae with a cherry on top and that's exactly what she got!

Birthday Shopping

I got to spend the day birthday shopping for my little lady. She and Isaiah spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa so that daddy and I could go with just Noah. K Mart and Office Max didn't have much worth writing about. I did do VERY well at Kholes. I had one of their 10.00 cards from a mail offer so we decided to go in there today. They had a 'buy one get one half off' sale on toys so I was able to get her 2 Princess Barbies and a shirt for a total of 4.76! I wish I always had coupons for toys and clothes! We also got a few things from other places, like nail polish, makeup, playdough and markers. It's so nice when they are young and easy to please. :)

What's Important

I have read a lot of interesting books, magazines and blogs. Often I learn an important fact and sometimes an important principle. However, very often, I am reminded of how easy it is to get carried away with our own personal ideas and opinions without stepping back and comparing it with the complete truth of Gods Word.
In the church world today there has been a major shift. A shift from focusing on true holiness and shame for sin to a focus on personal opinion and temporary happiness. While most sins are ignored or even embraced, smaller issues and ideas are filling up the minds of Gods people. Things like adultery, divorce, pride,dishonesty,the socialist training of our children, immodesty and false salvation are seen daily, even in "the church". And yet, I am seeing so much negativity and condemnation put on people for small things, like drinking coffee, time on social networks, Veggie Tales, music styles and other side issues
. I recently read a blog about the demonizing of Dora The Explorer. Now, if the article had been focusing on the use of magic in the cartoon I would have given the author kudos for their desire for righteousness based on actual Biblical truths. This was NOT the focus. The author wasted a great deal of time explaining that Dora is bad because the 'bad guy' in the show is a fox and foxes represent evil. Good grief people, GOD made Foxes! He also made every other animal that satanist have used to represent evil; goats, snakes,cats,frogs,cows...
This makes another important point, Satan always tries to use Gods creation for his own purposes but God actually can,and does, take what the enemy intends for evil and uses it against him!
Rather than focusing on the bad in relative things, such as animals, social networks and music styles why not take that time and energy to focus on things that God took the time to tell us are evil? Better yet, why not take the very things that Satan is trying to use for his own gain and use it for his destruction?
Titus 1:15
To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

Learning Together ~

Happy Home Schooling !

I have really been enjoying 'school' this year. Sometimes I get overwhelmed or worried, just like all caring homeschool parents, because I want my kids to learn well AND love learning. Thankfully, I am pretty relaxed so far and having fun with my babies.
Isaiah felt that time4learning.com was too childish and easy. He is someone that needs to have pressure put on him in order to excel. If it's too easy he gets lazy and distracted. We went back to Abeka and are using a timer to keep him on the ball. If he takes too long he doesn't get to play the xbox. (Thank you Uncle Josh :))
Emma is not quite 5 yet and is starting to read. She actually read half of a book last night! I read the harder words for her and help her sound them out.
Science and history will be done as a family from now on. No more sending Isaiah off to his room with book after book. I will be reading the lessons to them while they do a corresponding project, such as drawing, construction or coloring, etc.. this keeps them both interested and active. I like this MUCH better! We will still watch educational videos as well. Discovery, History Channel ,Animal Planet, Nova, BBC ,National Geographic and PBS have some wonderful programming.
My goal is to maintain creativity and joy throughout the year. My babies are growing so very fast and I cherish all of out time together!