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My Christmas Wish: A Devotional Prayer Journal for Kids ~ review

Written by Joy
My Christmas Wish: A Devotional Prayer Journal for Kids ~ review

Disclaimer: I received this ebook in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own thoughts. Affiliate links are included in this post.  If you purchase anything, I will get a small percentage.  This does not affect your price at all. 

As a parent, it is important for me to teach my kids the true meaning of Christmas. While we talk about Jesus being the true meaning of Christmas and we read the bible to show the kids, sometimes, it is nice to have something for the kids to write and look at on their level.  This is where Heather Bowen and her “My Christmas Wish: A Devotional Prayer Journal for Kids“, come in.

So what is My Christmas Wish: A Devotional Prayer Journal for Kids?  This devotional is a fifteen day journal that will help restate what you have been teaching them.  How does this Christmas journal help reiterate what you have been teaching your children?  Over the 15 days of this journal, you and your children will read scripture, pray, games, puzzles, journaling, crafts, baking and even service projects.

I mentioned that one of the ways your children will be learning about the true meaning of Christmas, is through journaling.  Heather uses an acronym WISH (write, investigate, share and hear).  For example, on the first day, the kids will write ways they can obey, they will look up scripture to investigate more, they will share with someone what they have learned and then will hear more from scripture when a parent reads to them.

My Christmas Wish: A Devotional Prayer Journal for Kids is a 69 page devotional that is written for ages 4-12.  However, it can be adapted for any age.  I found myself enjoying reading the journal.  While I haven’t started using this with my kids just yet, I am truly excited to have found a fun way to help the kids understand even more, the true meaning of Christmas.  I am looking forward to digging more into scripture, sharing with my children and learning with them ways to not only for us to focus more on Jesus during this Christmas season, but learning ways of sharing with others, the true meaning of Christmas.

Heather, at UpsideDown Homeschooling is having a sale right now for My Christmas Wish: A Devotional Prayer Journal for Kids.  You can purchase this great devotional for you and your children for $2.99.  Be sure to look at her Gratitude journals while you are at her blog.  I know you won’t be disappointed in the product!

 

 

2013, family, God, review, , , , ,

Teaching Creation Thursday at Creation Conversations

Written by Joy
1 Comment
Teaching Creation Thursday at Creation Conversations

I am so excited to be a part of a new group on Creation Conversations.  It is called Teaching Creation Thursday.   I will be helping out Carolyn Reeves from Underground Paradigm.  While Dr. Reeves will be doing the majority of the writing and having guests post, I will be heading up the social media for this amazing group.

Each Thursday, there will be a post from Teaching Creation that will help parents navigate a sometimes difficult, confusing pathway about the origin of life and humans. We live in a wonderful world that was planned, designed, and created by God. We want to be an encouragement to you that this can be taught to your students with confidence.  Advanced degrees in science are not needed. Be sure to check out the free resources and giveaways you will find on Teaching Creation Thursday.

So, how do you join? Sign up at www.CreationConversations.com if you have not already done this. Look for Teaching Creation Thursday under “Groups” and click the invitation to join this group.  Also, be on the lookout on Facebook, Twitter (using #hashtags  #teachthetruth and #HScreationThurs) and Google +, for updates and new articles from Teaching Creation Thursday.

We look forward to having you join us at Creation Conversations in the Teaching Creation Thursday group!    Here is a look into what Dr. Reeves will be discussing:

There are two accounts of the origin and history of the world. One account provides a naturalistic explanation of how everything in the universe began. Supposedly, a single spot in space rapidly expanded, producing all the matter and energy of the universe, an idea known as the Big Bang.  Stars, planets, and moons, condensed and cooled out of a swirling expanding nebula, along with energy and basic chemicals. Finally, one-celled forms of life arose on Earth from random, chance combinations of chemicals. Over millions of years, these first living cells became multicellular organisms, which continued to evolve into organisms with more specialized tissues and organs. Finally, some kind of ape-like animals evolved into modern humans. The primary mechanisms for these changes were natural selection, genetic recombinations, and genetic mutations. In this account, God is irrelevant or false.

The other account tells us that everything in the universe was planned, designed, and created by God with great wisdom and power. The first man and woman lived in a perfect garden in harmony with their Creator. Early in the history of the earth, these first humans disobeyed and rebelled against God, introducing sin, death, and imperfections into the world. Although they probably developed many kinds of advanced technologies, most people had little regard for their Creator. As violence and evil corrupted this civilization, God decided to destroy them and the things they had built, except for one man and his family, along with a sample of the land animals who were preserved in an ark. A catastrophic flood covered the world until that first civilization was destroyed. The Flood was a unique unrepeatable event, as was the Ice Age that followed it. A few generations after the Flood, there was a failed attempt to build a great one-world government, and people dispersed to all parts of the world.  But, in spite of man’s rebellion, God chose to redeem men and women from sin, eventually sending His Son Jesus to complete His plan for redemption. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is celebrated by Christians as the greatest event in human history.

 The account of history we choose to believe form one of the basic planks of our worldviews and many of our fundamental Christian beliefs. There are a number of resources and great writers who will be sharing ideas about teaching the Creation version. We invite you to visit Teaching Creation Thursday often to find understandable ideas that will help you teach the Truth of the Creation account.

 

 

2012, Creation, God, homeschooling, , , , ,

from a country girl to a city girl

Written by Joy
5 Comments

I never thought this would ever happen, yet it is happening this week.  I, who grew up in the country, will be moving to an apartment in a city.   I grew up in the middle of one of the smallest county’s in the state of Florida.  My parents and grandparents owned several acres of land which was also surrounded by family who owned land as well.  We basically had free reign of all that land to roam and play on.

My family had all sorts of animals.  We has chickens, geese, turkeys, dogs and cats.  We raised on occasion hogs for 4-H.  We grew a garden almost every year.  My grandma lived about 100 yards from my house.  I practically lived at her house during the summer months.  We didn’t have a whole lot of money, but we had each other.  My parents loved us a lot.  I grew up with 3 brothers and loved being the only girl.

I got married at 17 and moved to a small town of about 350.  When our oldest was 4, we moved out to my husband’s mothers’ land.  Which was surrounded by more land.  We got us a dog and had a garden.  I loved it.

The time came though that we needed a change for our family and that is when my husband received a job in Sylva, NC at the local community college.  While we were moving to a larger area, it was still in the mountains and we still had a sense of being out in the country/mountains.  When we bought our house, we had wild animals come in the yard all the time.  Huge flocks of turkeys crossed our path often.  We saw bears and even a deer on occasion.

Times change though and we felt God calling us to move again.  This time, it was cross country to a much larger city.  This has scared me, but also has challenged me in many ways.  I love the openness and the freedom of living in the country.  I love seeing the wildlife.  Most of all, I love the peace and quiet that comes with being in the country. I feel like I am closer and more connected to God.  Life just seems to be at a slower pace in the country.

However, I feel like God is trying to grow me.  He is definitely pulling me out of my comfort zone.  I have already had comments about my southern accent. Sometimes I feel like people are making fun of me, however, I know they really don’t mean it and I need to just let it go. I can’t grow if I am in a comfortable place.  While I will miss this little piece of heaven in this vacation rental that is out in the mountains, I am excited about what God has planned for me.  Am I scared?  Yes!  Am I a little apprehensive about moving to the city?  Yes!  However, I know God will be with me every single step of the way.

One day, I know I will be back in the country because I feel like that is where I really belong.  For the time being, God has something in store for me and I can’t wait to see what it is.  In the mean time, you can take the girl out of the country, but can’t take the country out of the girl. 😉

 

2012, Faith, God, , , , , , ,

a season for everything..

Written by Joy
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a season for everything..

Even though I am not writing for Seeds of Faith anymore, I will plan on taking part of their iFellowship day.  In the past, for iFellowship, I have always shared scripture that has spoken to me during the previous week.  I would love to continue to do that.

What scripture is on my heart now?

Ecclesiastes 3

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Yes, there is a season for everything.  Lately, God has been telling me it is time for me to move on from a few things.  For example, I will no longer be writing for Seeds of Faith.  It was a hard decision, but I must obey.  Another position I am moving on from is being the leader of a local homeschool support group.  I helped start the group and have been the leader for 5 years.  Again, this is a hard thing that I am doing, but it is time for me to move on.

God has been speaking to my heart and I must obey and keep glorifying God with all my might, even if I don’t like what He is saying.  I know that if I obey God, He will open other doors for me. The key is to listen and obey.  There will always be seasons and changes.  The good thing about that?  God will always be there with us as well.  I am learning to embrace and enjoy each and every season that God is allowing us to experience.

Are you leaving one season and entering another?  I would be more than happy to pray and even encourage you on your new season of life!

2012, God, iFellowship, , ,

2:1 Conference – An Amazing Weekend..

Written by Joy
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2:1 Conference – An Amazing Weekend..

It has been a week since the end of the 2:1 Conference.  All I can say is it was a amazing.  I went scared to death, knowing I was going to be meeting people who I have been reading for a while.  Meeting these Godly women who love Jesus as much as I do and who love to be at home with their children and teach them.  My husband kept telling me to relax, that they are normal people just like we are.  And you know something?  He was right.  Everyone I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with were Christian homeschooling momma’s trying to raise and teach their children in the way of the Lord.

(Tabitha, me, Stef and Jennifer)

First off, I need to once again say thank you to my sponsor, See The Light.  I don’t think I would have been able to go without their help.  Also, I want to say thank you to Stef of The Homeschool Village and Educating Laytons.  She helped connect me with See The Light.  Also a big thank you to my wonderful husband.  He believes in me.  He knows that I have a heart for Jesus and for homeschooling moms.  He knows that I love helping others and supported me in going to the conference.

(Tabitha, Lena, Jennifer and me)

On to the conference.  Like I said, it was amazing.  I have used the word amazing so much this past week.  I just don’t know how else to explain it.  While I had already started making changes in the way we homeschool over the last few years, this confrence was like a confirmation for me.

(Tabitha, Jamerrill and me)

I needed to get God back to the center of my life and our homeschooling journey.  For without Him, I am nothing and neither is our homeschooling journey. My goal is to teach my kids in the way of the Lord.  If we don’t get any other learning accomplished, then that is okay.  If we are having issues with behavior, then that is an issue with the heart.  We need to correct that.  We will sit aside books and focus on that.  If I am having a bad day, then the kids will have a bad day.  I need to focus on getting God first in my life.  That starts with my prayer and study time.

(Kela and me)

God gave my children to my husband and I.  However, they belong to Him.  They are only on loan to me while we are here on this earth. There fore it is important for me to teach them to glorify God.  If I do that, then all else will fall into place.

(Cheryl and me)

I know it seems like I am rambling, but like I said, I am still processing all that the speakers said and following up the scripture they all shared too.  I also loved the connections I made with others.  It was truly wonderful meeting those who have inspired me to keep writing and to keep helping and encouraging others.  I will definitely be writing about the conference here and there, but wanted to get something posted for those who have been wondering about my trip.  I also have plans of having my oldest daughter write about their field trips they took while I was in the conference.  I am looking forward to hearing about all of their adventures.  They keep telling me stories of their fun weekend!

Be sure to stop by the 2:1 Conference recap page to hear what everyone else is saying about their weekend!

Have you listened to anyone lately that has inspired a change in the way you homeschool?

 

2012, God, homeschooling