Homecoming & House Guests... and the true meaning of fellowship

Homecoming weekend is often a whirlwind but more so this year than any other.  This weekend was (what would have been) my tenth college reunion.

This year, my college roommate- one of my dearest friends- came to visit!  It was the first time I'd seen her in nine years.

The last time we were together, she and I were both married, and each pregnant.  Jess with her second child, me with my first.  This weekend we not only saw each other, our husbands and Jess's son Austin who was just a baby at our last meeting, but she got to meet our three sons and we met her three daughters.

In preparation for their visit, the boys and I talked a lot about Jess's kids.  We went over their names and ages, looking at pictures, and tried to imagine what they may be like.  We talked about how they too are home schooled, how they too have just moved to a new home.  The boys began referring to them as
"our friends we-haven't-met-yet".

The day finally came.  They arrived, after a several day long car trip.   Their little girls were car sick and I'm sure they all were just happy to be out of the car!  The boys ran out to meet them and much to both my and Jessica's surprise, they were all off playing in the backyard within minutes.  We watched in the window as the older children chatted... and chatted... and chatted.  The little ones, both two years old, mostly stared at each other.

We quickly began to see commonalities between our children.  The third time five year old Ella said, "I'm hungry!"  I knew she was a grazer... much like Elijah.  The older boys... and eight year old Abby... are all fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and came in announcing that they were Peter and Edmund... and Abby was Susan.  Play continued right up until bedtime.

I was so excited, and somewhat surprised, that Jessica's children were being raised so similarly to ours.  There was no bickering between the children.  They all treated each other with respect and kindness.  They all were well mannered and helpful.  The older children each looked well after their younger siblings.  They were not selfish, they were able to entertain themselves with very few toys and great amounts of imagination.

One morning we had a family game of back yard wiffle ball.  Jess needed to practice for the alumni softball game that took place on the weekend.  Having once been the star pitcher, she needed a bit of warming up and wiffle ball seemed to do the trick.  Haha!

Dan had to work while our friends were in town, and while he was out Steve, Jessica's husband, went out in the woods with the boys to make fly fishing rods, then took the kids down to the pond to try them out.  The memories they made in one weekend will surely last a lifetime.

There is something about great friends.  Especially those you've lived with, shared every part of your life with.  Those friendships centered on Christ.  No matter how far they live, no matter how long between visits, we always pick up right where we left off.

After spending Saturday at Homecoming, we all had to say goodbye.  The goodbyes were much harder this time around, with our children having grown so close in such a short time.  Our boys were crying, one exaggerating a minor injury as an excuse for the tears streaming steadily down his face.

Jess said, "you know... if we wait another nine years, I'll be staying with you when we bring our son to college!"  Can it really be?!  What a short piece of time it is when our children are young!

Just after the most miserable of goodbyes, we met up with other really wonderful friends.  Friends who live just one state away.  Too far for our liking, but close enough that we get to see one another occasionally.  We joined with them and their four children for a fun dinner out.  There wasn't enough space in the restaurant for a large table so we settled on two small tables pushed together.  Normally this space would seat 6.  We fit 11.  Noone cared.

These friends, Beth and Brian, were our first married friends.  They paved the way for us in many ways, and we are still in awe as they challenge us to live in a way remarkably different from the norm.  They stayed with Beth's brother that night and we headed home.

The next day, more friends Rodney and Brooke came in from a ten hour drive away.  Friends with three young daughters.
The men had planned a football party and Brooke and I took all the kids for a walk to the park before bringing them all home for dinner and baths.  These friends too, as great as the rest.

Monday was a holiday and Beth and Brian and their crew, the ones we enjoyed dinner with on Saturday, stopped early Monday morning to visit with us all
(Dan, Rodney and Brian were all college roommates).
They stayed much longer than planned and Monday became another great day with a house full of friends.

They all push us, challenge us, hold us accountable to living a life marked by godliness.
These friends, not just friends any more, but family.

How thankful we are to be blessed with the most wonderful friends.  Friends with whom we can be ourselves.  Friends who love us and accept us for who we are, and who push us to become who God wants us to be.

The house feels empty now.  Much quieter... and we continue to give thanks for the most wonderful, faithful friends, and for the sweet fellowship that's been had.
All this.  This weekend, encompasses the 
true meaning of fellowship.  

A family brought together and unified in Christ.  Love and acceptance.  Confession and forgiveness.  The bearing of another's burdens.  Encouragement and availability.  Flexibility and informality.  The sharing of life...
and coffee and donuts too, of course.

Homemade Fire Starters

A beautiful day, with crisp autumn air and blue skies clear... we are thinking ahead.  Ahead to the chill of stormy winter nights.  Nights when there is nothing better than curling up in front of the fire with good books.

The firewood is plentiful.  Uncle Mark has delivered more than enough, all split and stacked.  This will be our first winter in this house.  Thinking through the things that need to be done before the cold winds arrive  requires a bit more effort when in a new place.

For the past five years we lived in a house in the city.  Well, in what I call the city though others call it the suburbs.  There weren't any woods around us in which to collect kindling so fire starters were necessary to light a good enough fire in the old place.

They work well but smell terribly like chemicals and do get quite costly.  We did a bit of research and have actually
found a use for dryer lint
and cardboard egg cartons!

Today we filled the egg cartons we've been saving with the lint and melted down some old wax candles.  Some that had been around a while, some that had broken at the bottom of the candle tin in our recent move.

We melted the wax down in a small saucepan and poured the hot melted wax over the lint.  We allowed the concoction to cool and cut out each individual egg space.  Each individual egg space filled with lint and covered with melted wax.

We gathered a large glass jar from the garage and placed each homemade fire starter in the jar and gave the jar a home on the hearth.
We then had to test out our little project.
We went out to the fire pit outside and lit the edges of the cardboard.  The little homemade fire starter burned quite brightly for about ten minutes at least.

It smelled like cinnamon; like Christmas.  

Spontaneous Praise

It was a rushed dinner.  A family dinner at the table, as always, and as always it began with the insistent prayer of the two year old, "Dear Dog... Tank you for my food, my friends my fam-a-yee and Jesus.  Amen.", but it was rushed none-the-less.  Dan had come in from work, long enough to share the meal with us, but then had to head back out for a meeting.

He wouldn't be here for family worship time.  I'm not sure he had thought that through, having had a busy day and a busy night ahead.  Regardless, we'd finished eating and before we got up from the table he suddenly started singing "Father Abraham".

Perhaps you remember... Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham.  I am one of them, and so are you.  So let's just praise the Lord - right arm, left arm, nod your head.... "

The giggles and laughter of the little boys permeated the dining room.  Everyone acting silly, up and out of their seats, spinning and nodding, arms and legs waving.  Poor Noah, still in his high chair trying hard to follow along... while laughing and chewing a raw carrot.  The only interruption was me saying, "don't choke honey!  Chew what's in your mouth!"

The song ended and more songs of praise sprang forth.  Isaiah and Elijah, while singing along, hopped back out of their seats to gather paper and pencils and both penned another of their very own songs of praise.  Isaiah planned to lead family worship time, as he does, in Dan's absence.

While we were all around the table, singing old sunday school songs that Dan and I were recalling from childhood, it occurred to me.  Perhaps this is what it looks like, an attitude of praise.

The days are long again with Dan working extra hours and the autumn air creeping in, the sun lower in the sky.  The kids have had never-ending colds, mornings seem to come too quickly- kids up coughing at night, money is tight, the kitchen floors were sticky thanks to spilled apple juice and chicken broth, the laundry is undone and the hour is late.

I'm far less bothered than I would have been years ago.  Dan was able to join us for dinner and should be home soon, the kids are getting better, our needs were met today as always, the floors got mopped, the laundry can wait, and the kids are all asleep; the house is quiet...

...and I smile, songs of praise continuing to play in my head - and I can still hear the sound of the children's voices praising the Lord along with their father and I.

Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared above all gods.

1 Chronicles 16:23-25

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Contentment

"But godliness with contentment is great gain."  

 1 Timothy 6:6

Contentment in motherhood.

Can it be had?  Can one truly be content, fulfilled, while cleaning toilets and wiping noses?

Day.  After day.  After day?

Everywhere you look, the general message given to younger women is "get out and get away".  "You need to recharge and catch your breath".  "You need to pamper yourself and have some fun!"  Many even offer, "your marriage will never last unless you leave your kids weekly and get out!"

Younger women often express that there is never enough of what is needed...  There is never enough time to be alone, time to spend with their husband without the children, time to spend with girlfriends, to travel, to get to the gym, to the spa or to the beach.

If our God supplies all our needs, if he is our provider, then why are we in need?  Or are we?  Are the things we lack necessities?  Is our attention on that which it should be on?  Is our attitude adjusted as it should be?

What about our focus?  Is it on Christ... or is it really on ourselves?

When women do go and leave their family and responsibilities behind in search of a break, what is the reentry like?  Are they rejuvenated, or left wanting more as they enter back into the reality of unclean laundry and hungry children?

Unfortunately, the advice often offered to women and the messages our culture gives leads to wanting more time away, as does the sinful nature.  We are told we are deserving of more freedom, yet doesn't freedom come with obedience to Christ?  We are led to believe we will lose our sanity if we are cooped up at home, particularly with small children.

Discontentment rises.  There is never enough.  We are taught that happiness, joy, and contentment can't be had at home.

These desires, this advice all run contrary to scripture.  Life is not about us.  Me.

"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine...  Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,  and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,  to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."  Titus 2:1, 3-5


Jesus, the King, came to serve not to be served.  

If we are to be sanctified with Christ should we not follow his example?  As mothers, he has put husbands and children in our lives for us to serve.  Contentment must not be something we seek outside of our position as wives and mothers, but should be something that overflows from our joy in serving Christ through service to our families.  Joy, fruit, born of the Spirit's active work within and through us.

Again, following Christ's example, our time alone should be in communion with the Father, and spent with those who will encourage us to fulfill our calling and edify our families and our roles as wives and mothers.  Our time spent away should not be reserved for self indulgence.  Escape does not equal rest.  Fleeing from responsibility will not rejuvenate.

Our time is not our own.  An egocentric lifestyle does not achieve contentment.  Contentment can only be had when we learn to have it.  It takes action and intentionality, but Christ provides the strength.  The strength for us to do all things through Him.  The strength to be consistent.  The strength to not only get through the mundane, but to be joyful as we wash dishes and wipe bottoms.

It is not escape or avoidance that restores, that fills the void.  Christ alone can fulfill.

I am truly thankful for the privilege of serving the husband and children God has given me.... 

The apostle Paul said, "...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

... and I am learning.

Home Schooling - What to Teach?

As mentioned in my previous post, Home Schooling - is it Legal?, I hope to break down some common questions asked of us about homeschooling to provide a better understanding for those who may be considering homeschooling or those who are simply curious.

Common questions about homeschooling include questions about what is taught, and how we know what to teach.  They include questions about who supplies materials, where we get them and how we know what to use. 

Before these questions can be answered well, the question
"What is education?"
must first be answered.

When we first began to homeschool, our oldest son was an infant.  Yes.  An infant!  As new parents, we learned very quickly that our son was learning new things daily.  We were not schooling him, per se, yet we saw that he was learning regardless.

We began to process what education really was, apart from what we'd been taught from the American education system.  Was it simply reading, writing and arithmetic, perhaps with a little Bible instruction thrown in on Sundays?  We had certainly not taught the 3 R's to our infant, yet we found ourselves marveling at the way he seemed to have an innate desire to learn.

The years passed.  Years filled with the atmosphere of home, much training and discipline, and ... life.  

The boy was still learning!  

In the very early years of parenthood, I researched a great deal.  We read and read more about the approach we would take.  How would we approach this lifestyle that we felt called to, but was foreign? Many books proved helpful, then I read 

For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

In this I read, 

 "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline and a life" - Charlotte Mason

That was it!

That was what we'd already been doing.  Without completely realizing it, we had been educating our son just through daily living.  He was learning habits of discipline.  Moral, mental, physical, spiritual discipline.  He was in an atmosphere that fostered and encouraged a quest for information, for development, for growth.
He was learning.  Being educated!

He didn't need preschool.  He learned his colors just fine.  Banana's are yellow, oranges, orange and M & M's come in a rainbow of colors!  He learned to throw, catch and hit a ball by playing often in the yard with his Dad.  He could ride a two wheeler by age 5.  One cookie plus one more cookie makes two cookies!  He gardened and bird watched with Grandpa.

We spent hours and hours at the local audubon properties surrounded by nature - exploration led by he and his little brother.  Stopping as they wished to lay on their bellies and examine frog eggs with magnifying glasses or to turn over rocks in search of slugs.  One day they found two.  Each held one and they deemed themselves the "slug brothers".  This was when they were 4 and 2.

This proved far more suitable for young minds than four walls.  Isaiah learned to read by reading his field guide, wanting to identify all that he saw.  He learned very young to love and appreciate creation.

He is not exceptional, except perhaps to me!  He is a bright child, but not a genius.  In fact, at our recent visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame he remarked at how different basketball must have been when Dan and I played for fun in college, what with playing with a peach basket and all!  Does he really think we're that old!?

Most children are born with this desire to learn new things.  When given the proper atmosphere and discipline, a life that fosters learning, education, freedom to explore, to play and to create, there will be a spark.

Kindergarten was fast approaching...

Isaiah was nearing his 6th birthday when we began.  We had chosen not to start him early, though he showed what many would call signs of readiness.  We remain more than pleased with that decision!

Wanting something to guide us in our daily academic pursuits in the coming years, I spent hours prior to the start of Isaiah's kindergarten year pouring over curriculum options online.  Narrowing down and narrowing down more, then presenting Dan with the ones I most liked for him to help make a decision.  If you have not had this experience it can be overwhelming!  There are many many options to choose from!

{To help you with this process, feel free to view and print the free printable "Choosing a Christian Homeschool Curriculum"} found under the homeschool tab above.}

Our prayerful curriculum search led us to My Father's World.

We are in our 4th year already of My Father's World (MFW) and it has been the perfect fit for our family.  It is an eclectic combination of the Charlotte Mason, unit study and classical methods of homeschooling with a Biblical worldview.  It is easy to use, there is minimal preparation and numerous children of varied ages can easily be taught together.  There is an international focus, chronological history, and our favorite feature is that the Bible content is integrated.

We believe that Christ should be central to life, and therefore He should be central to our academic studies as well.  What kind of education is it if Christ is absent, or reserved for an hour on Sunday mornings?

I recall always wondering as a kid, how God, Jesus, faith fit into the scope of life.  There was no continuity.  Subjects don't overlap.  English was English, where we read Stephen King and Shakespeare.  Science was not connected to history, or english, and the God who created all was very rarely, if ever, mentioned.  These subjects, to me, were always like puzzle pieces that never fit together.  Faith was something I practiced and sought to learn outside, and struggled to incorporate in class.

Already, in our children's education, we can see that those pieces are less like puzzle pieces and more like building blocks.  Each lesson building on another, each lesson intertwined with another, rotating around the central theme and focus, that is Christ.

In summary, the character of our children is of far greater importance to Dan and I than their academic "success".  We expect that they work hard and apply themselves, working to please the Lord.

Academics, though important, are secondary to life... but... education is a life.

Home Schooling - Is it Legal?

With what is for most the beginning of a new school year, we get lots of questions.

We get our groceries mid-day.  We book appointments for just after lunch - when there tends to be the shortest wait.  We run errands in the early afternoon.

"Why are you not in school?"
is the question that is asked of my boys numerous times each week.

When my children reply that they're home schooled, the next questions are directed toward me. "Is that legal?", followed by "Does the school give you books?" and often, "how do they check up on you?".

Sometimes the questions continue, "Do you have a teaching degree?  Are you certified?  Do your kids have to take the same standardized tests?"  And then there's my favorite, "How do you compare your kids to others?"

Sadly, the conversation most typically ends with "I could never do that!  My kids would never listen to me!"

Our answers look a bit like this:

• Yes, it's legal.   

• No, the school does not give us books, we choose and purchase our own curriculum.  

• In our state, we are required to send an annual letter of intent informing the local superintendent of our plan to home school our children who are of compulsory school age.  In the spring we either send in standardized test scores or a portfolio of our child's work.  {We find it easiest to send the test scores, from a standardized test we administer ourselves and send out for scoring}.  

• No, I do not have a degree.  I am not certified.  

• No, our kids do not have to take the same tests, and frankly, we try hard not to compare our kids to others.  

• Lastly- in most cases, yes!  You could home school!  If your children won't listen to you, there are greater issues that first need addressing.

In the next weeks, I hope to break these questions down to provide a better understanding of home education.


When looking at education through a biblical lens, a lens we should look through always, why is the assumption that the government has full authority and responsibility to educate our children?

Teachers, though many do their very best, will never have the same concern for my children's education and well being as do I, their mother.  None of them would ever come to know my children, or their unique learning styles as I do.  School officials and administrators will likely never know my children as anything other than a number and perhaps a name on paper, and that only if they either excel or are a problem.

So the question here is simply this:
Who gives authority over children and to whom is it given?

Biblically speaking, God is the giver of authority and authority over children is given to parents.  Parents can accept that responsibility or delegate it to others, but ultimately the parent is the responsible party before God with regard to all things relating to their child's training.  It's not the teacher, the youth pastor, the principal, the church, the school board, or the government.

As a nation, we now collectively believe the schools should teach good behavior, good morals, and manners.  They should teach responsibility and self-control in addition to the 3 R's.  They should teach the value of hard work.

We believe it's the church's job to teach the gospel to our children, to disciple them and also to entertain them so to keep them out of trouble.  Many feel it's the youth pastor's job, or perhaps the health instructors job, to teach sex education.

Truthfully, I have had people ask me how my kids will learn to do simple things like get in line if they don't go to school!  I laugh, thinking of standing at the deli each week, holding our little pink number and waiting at the RMV on occasion.  Waiting in line to purchase our groceries, make a deposit at the bank, or to ride the ponies at the fair.
My kids know nothing about indian cuts.  Do kids still do that?  Are our kids strange because they know nothing of the sort- they just know to stand in line and wait their turn?  Who cares!?
I digress...

I ask, "What then is our job as parents?  Is our job to simply taxi our kids and shuffle them from here to there and everywhere?  Why do we believe that everyone else can do our job better than we can?  Ultimately, what are our priorities?  What do we most want our children to learn?  Is there continuity between the direction we are leading them and what they are being taught outside the home?  Who should dictate what children need to know, what is most important for them to learn?

Do our children belong to the government, or to God?

If you would like further information on the legality of homeschooling, I would suggest checking out The Homeschool Legal Defense Association,  a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms.


For a very candid look at compulsory schooling, I recommend John Taylor Gatto's Dumbing Us Down.  Please be aware, however, that what Gatto, a 30 year teacher in NYC's public schools and recipient of the NYC Teacher of the Year and NY State Teacher of the Year awards, reports may be shocking to most and perhaps offensive to some. 
 

Lastly, R.C. Sproul Jr.'s book titled When You Rise Up is also worth a read if you are interested in learning more about homeschooling from a Biblical perspective.  While many do not appreciate the author's tone, he speaks plainly on Deuteronomy chapter 6 and outlines how those scriptural directives to teach the things of God to our children daily can be carried out.

The Value of Home

What is the value of home?  Does your home have a heart beat or is it simply where you and yours find your pillows at night?  Sadly, as busyness increases and families are divided, each member going their own way for long hours each day, the value of home is rapidly decreasing.

Portions of the most recent book I've completed, Susan Schaeffer Maccaulay's
For the Family's Sake, 
The Value of Home in Everyone's Life,
reminded me somewhat of the post Homesteading that I had written earlier in the summer.

The book is written for a vast audience.  Whether you are single or married, young or old, whether you live alone or with a large number of people there is something here that will speak to your situation.  The point is, regardless of who you are or where you are at in life, there is great value in home.



Not only does this book cover the ideology of the value of home, but it covers many practical aspects as well, such as how to care for the atmosphere of the home.  The home, the basic building block of society, is made up of the people who live in it and they dictate the atmosphere.  Perhaps you can begin to see where this leads...

Truth be told, I found it difficult to stick with this book at times.  Some parts I found to drag a bit, particularly the parts that weren't applicable to my situation, but as the book progressed I could see the importance of even those aspects.  The slower portions were also the most practical.  Maccaulay succeeds at spelling out the details, which may make for slow reading, but also makes the content most worthwhile.

Macaulay refers often to Charlotte Mason.  It would be helpful for the reader to have a brief, prior understanding of who Charlotte Mason was, as she is referred to quite often.  Even though Mason was an educator in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, her methods are quite useful in home-life as well as in education.

While this book didn't strike any emotional chord, I would count it as a must-read.  It's one that's worth the time and space on the bookshelf.  It offers thought provoking points about how we live our daily lives and what we do to make home more than a gathering place for ourselves and our immediate families.  It prompts you to consider what you can do to transfer your home from a lifeless holding tank from one day to the next, into a joyful place with an atmosphere of love and life.

A Lesson in Teamwork

Every now and again brothers bicker.

They tattle tale - the other brother's failure to follow through with responsibilities causes him to not be able to tend to his own.  They complain. "I can't vacuum because he hasn't cleaned his room!"  "I can't do my schoolwork!  He hasn't cleaned the dining room!"

Then, they figure the next best thing to do is wrestle.  Like puppies, this wrestling does not seem to be mean spirited.  They don't try to hurt one another.  They just roll all over the ground trying to out-muscle the other.
They grunt... and giggle.

Like most things, there is a time and a place.  The living room during morning chores is neither the time nor place!

This one particular day, I came across this soft velcro belt one boy left on the floor.  Hmm...

I called them to me, and gently tied them to each other.  At first their pride was hurt.  They were ashamed and bothered by how the other boy would bog them down.

They thought they'd now each be in more trouble for not completing their tasks.
I reminded them that they weren't accomplishing much on their own, so perhaps they would accomplish more together.
Their only instruction was that they would be more successful if they communicated clearly with one another and worked as a team, rather than each pulling the opposite direction serving only themselves.

For an hour, they made their beds together, having to communicate about every little motion.

They had to brush their teeth together, one squeezing the toothpaste while the other held the brush.  They had to figure out how to synchronize their movements to sweep the kitchen floor.  They even had to eat breakfast together, asking the other for help when the other hand was needed.

An experiment that began with tears, ended with more giggles than you could imagine.
The bickering was forgotten.
The competitions had ended.
The selfishness tossed by the wayside.
They had been reminded in a short hour of forced togetherness how to communicate with one another in a practical way.  How to share, to be helpful, and to be patient.  They were forced to treat the other as they wished to be treated.

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them..."  Matthew 7:12

And What With All the Toys?

Toys, toys and more toys?  They accumulate.  Birthdays, Christmas, small surprises given here and there.
Where do you keep them all?  How do you keep order?

Our solution is simple.  We have two areas designated for toy storage.  If the toys don't fit in those areas, something needs to go.  Twice a year, usually in early December and early summer we sort through.  We weed out.  Four piles are made - to keep, to toss, to donate, and to store.

The most loved stay.  The broken or the ones missing parts get tossed.  The toys no one ever plays with, the ones they don't love, are donated so they may be used by someone who does.  The fourth is for those toys that were once loved, that are still in good condition that the older boys have outgrown.  This pile gets boxed up and put in the attic and these toys are gifted to the youngest brother for Christmas or birthdays when he grows into them.

There is a cedar closet in the hallway of our split level home.  It would be great to use it for it's intended purpose, but it's not necessary as the bedroom closet is sufficient for Dan and I to share.  The rule is that bedrooms are for clothing, for books and for sleeping.

Toys go in the hallway closet and in a corner of the garage that has been designated for toys.  By using this method, the kids bedrooms are always tidy as they are manageable for them each morning.  Our house is not strewn with toys to be tripped over and each of the older boys is assigned one of the toy areas to manage daily.

Three tall storage bins in the closet- the smaller two on wheels.  The one in front slides out easily for the kids to reach the larger bins in back.  We rotate toys too from time to time- switching them from the garage to the closet and the closet to the garage.

Of course it gets out of hand now and then and they need a bit of help to put it back together.  Usually in the fall and in the spring I help them reorganize, doing more training each time.  How to take everything out, and put it all back where it belongs.  W

e talk a lot on these days about stewardship.  About taking care of what they have.  About being thankful for these items that are fun and enjoyable, but are not a need or a right that they have them.  We talk about what is really necessary.  It serves as a reminder to me as well... though we strive to care well for the material blessings, very few are really necessary.  Elijah answered well this week, "Jesus is all we need".