Rather than reading this and wishing that I could do anything I please, I’m choosing today to be thankful that God is on His throne and I’m not.
It might please me to sleep all day and eat peanut butter chocolate ice cream all night. It might please me to thumb through my Facebook feed for hours and bingewatch HGTV shows. But God … God is good and what pleases Him is always good … so I’m choosing today to be thankful that He is God and I’m not.
How about you? What are your thoughts about God’s total sovereign power … and your lack of it? ❤❤❤
“If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as well as we can, we certainly will not submit to His discipline.” – Elisabeth Elliot (Nor His Word or His plan for our life.)
The more we know the Lord’s loving goodness and mercy, as well as His almighty power, the more we will trust Him and His plans for us.
You can know God. Imagine that! God has given us His Word, so we can know and trust Him. The more you know and trust Him, the more closely you will follow and obey Him.
Having graduated my oldest two and now looking at my 11th grader and 8th grader, I took the time to write down a list – 6 pages long – of the skills and habits I’d like to help them develop before leaving home. Can you think of anything I missed? 🙂
Bible reading
Daily Bible Reading and Prayer Journal
Genesis – Deuteronomy
Joshua – Ruth
1 Samuel – 2 Chronicles
Ezra – Esther
Job – Psalms
Proverbs – Ecclesiastes
Isaiah – Daniel
Hosea – Malachi
Matthew – Acts
Romans – Colossians
1 Thessalonians – Revelation
Scripture Memory
John 3:16
Romans 5:8
Romans 6:23
Books of the Bible
Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
Psalm 1:1-6
Psalm 23:1-6
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Philippians 2:1-16
Colossians 3:1-25
Romans 12:1-21
Matthew 5:1-16
Books to Read
Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, Gladys Aylward by Benge (or other Christian Heroes books)
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by Lewis (The whole Narnia series)
Mama’s Bank Account by Forbes
Man of the Family by Moody (the whole series is great)
The Hiding Place by Ten Boom
The Knowledge of the Holy by Tozer
Knowing God by Packer
The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions
Hymns
Amazing Grace
The Doxology
Come Thou Fount
It is Well with My Soul
Take My Life and Let it Be
Be Thou my Vision
How Great Thou Art
To God be the Glory
In Christ Alone
Before the Throne of God Above
Silent Night
The First Noel
Oh, Holy Night
Little Town of Bethlehem
Joy to the World
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Missions
Support a missionary in prayer, as well as financially and corresponding with them
Visit a missionary or serve with a local outreach ministry
Share the gospel clearly in 2 minutes
Social skills
Serve others – an elderly neighbor, a sick friend, your church – however the Lord leads (write a letter, cook a meal, help out)
Answer the phone properly and take a message
Set the table properly for your family
Use proper manners eating at home using silverware and a napkin
Order and pay at a fast food restaurant
Eat at a fancy restaurant using proper table manners
Express thanks consistently when others serve you
Greet and converse with adults with eye conduct, proper voice volume and listening attentively
Make a phone call to order pizza or other food delivery
Make a phone call to set up a doctor’s appointment
Life skills
Childcare
Play with, change diaper, feed bottle, make lunch, clean up, child development
Woodworking
Hand saw, table saw, miter saw, electric drill, hang a picture, repair nail hole, repair dry wall, caulk sink or shower
Electrical work
Check breakers, understand types of light bulbs, install a light fixture or ceiling fan, change outlet, install light switch
Plumbing
Plunge a toilet, unclog a drain, understand how a toilet works, turn off water to house at street, turn off water at a sink or toilet
Organize a closet, cabinet or dresser and your bedroom
Iron a button-down shirt and dress pants
Sew on a button
Mend a hole in a sock or shirt
Healthy Living
Plan a week of meals as well as make a list of meal and snack options
Grocery shop for a week’s groceries
Cook dinner for the family
Understand a variety of over-the-counter medicines and supplements
Know the name and phone number of your doctor, insurance and medicine you take
Learn how to store food – fruit, vegetables, fridge, freezer, pantry
First aid skills (choking, fainting, heart attack or inability to breathe, cuts, burns, fractures or sprains)
Make a First Aid kit
Academic skills
Tell time using an analog clock
Use a dictionary, a thesaurus and an encyclopedia
Read a book or story aloud to a group
Speak in front of a group
Find a book at the library using the Dewey decimal system
Put books on hold online
Check out and return books on time
Check out and listen to a digital audiobook
Computer skills
Keyboarding skills of at least 25 wpm
Type a chapter of the Bible
Write a letter to a political representative
Write a cover letter to apply for a job
Write a resume
Write a family newsletter or Christmas letter
Make a blog
Make a PowerPoint presentation
Build a computer from parts
Financial and Time Management Skills
Discuss stewardship – stewarding our time, talents, treasure and testimony
Make a daily schedule
Make an online annual calendar with important dates and birthdays
Open a bank account
Write checks, use a debit card at a store, use an ATM, set up auto pay, track your expenses and check your bank balance online
Learn about car insurance and health insurance
Discuss paying taxes
Discuss tithing and giving offerings
Memorize your social security number and know why you need it
Make a weekly, monthly and annual budget
Clothing shopping on a budget
List and price what you need to buy other than food and clothing (shampoo, deodorant, cosmetics, feminine care, shaving, laundry soap, dish soap, TP, first aid …)
If we believe that God is our Creator, Lord and King, then we should see ourselves as stewards for His kingdom. Using practical examples of stewardship, Kim explores the importance of being stewards of the time, talents, treasures and testimony which God has given to us.
My latest YouTube video
For more study on this, read Matthew 6:24, Matthew 24:45-51, Matthew 25:14-30 (The Parable of the Ten Talents), 1 Corinthians 3:4-4:4, and 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
This morning I was honored to be interviewed for a radio program for a local pro-life ministry, so I went ahead and recorded a little video for my YouTube channel. I hope it blesses you.
God has used my experience of losing a baby after finding out he had a fatal condition at only 12 weeks gestation, followed by adopting our son a year later, to share the good news of HOPE in Jesus Christ.
This may not be your exact experience, but God has given you unique talents, trials and testimonies to share, too! I hope are encouraged!
It has been really hard for me recently to fix my eyes on the eternal hope of Heaven and on the joy that I have in the finished work of Christ. It is easy to be overwhelmed with the struggles of everyday life. When I read this passage yesterday morning, I was uplifted and I hope you will be, too.
The years of heat and drought will still come, but the man who trusts in the Lord can continue to bear fruit without fear, because he is rooted in the Lord. The desert shrub might survive the drought but that well-watered tree can thrive.
“Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
I love to memorize scripture, especially with my children! I’ve memorized several longer passages or even chapters of the Bible, but never a whole book! Right now we’re working on Philippians 2.
We use many of these same tips that Kim Cash Tate recommended in her video.
I’d love to hear what you’re memorizing now and any tips you have for memorizing.
After 18 years of homeschooling, I have rarely heard criticism about my choice to homeschool.
Rather, people say, “Well, I could never homeschool because …”
My husband / parent / child doesn’t want me to
I don’t have the time
I only want to do it for a year
I don’t have the patience
I’m not qualified
I can’t afford it
I want my kids to have friends and be socialized
My child is __ (gifted, dyslexic, autistic, ADD, an only child…)
I just finished a prequel along with a 8-part series on YouTube addressing these topics. You can check them out on my YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/formeratheist58
Here is the “prequel” to whet your appetite:
I also developed a 2-page PDF of my favorite homeschool resources. I hope it helps you!
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together [NASB: ONE ACCORD] you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 15:5-6
In Romans 14, Paul urged his brothers and sisters in Christ not to quarrel over petty opinions, not to pass judgment on one another, knowing that each one of us will have to give an account of ourselves before God. Paul exhorted the Romans to serve Christ as their master and Lord, living by faith and pursuing peace and mutual upbuilding. This exhortation continued into Romans 15 where Paul prayed that the God of endurance and encouragement would grant us to live in such HARMONY with one another, in agreement with Jesus Christ, that TOGETHER, in UNITY, in ONE ACCORD and with one voice we could bring God glory.
This word translated in English as “together” in the ESV or “one accord” in NASB or “one mind” in the King James and the NIV is the Greek word “homothymadon“
According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, homothymadon is, “A unique Greek word, used 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothymadon is a compound of two words meaning to “rush along” and “in unison”. The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ’s church.”
It is not a million clones singing the same note, mere robots uttering identical words. It is a million unique individuals coming together to GLORIFY God, made even more marvelous as we each share our unique testimonies, our unique personalities, our unique passions and experiences and gifts to serve Him as a united body of individuals. WOW!!!
The beauty of this song is magnified by the beauty of the unique individuals joining together to worship God.
Unique Creations United for God’s Glory When you listen to the audio, this is the surprise gift that I received. Notice how it matches the “Unique and United” image that I’d designed completely separately!
Teach What is Good 
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