Wednesday, August 26, 2009

First Day of School

Well, everyone's first day turned out pretty ok. I say pretty ok because Erin, as usual, did not enjoy her day. I am used to her coming home and telling me how much she dislikes school, but it would be nice to hear that just maybe her senior year will not be as "painful" as her last 11 years. I worry about her, because it seems like she will always be unhappy about life in general, and there doesn't seem to be anything i can do about it except try to direct her focus onto the positive things, and pray--both of which i do already. She is almost an adult now, so maybe she will finally be happy once she gets out of high school and makes more of her own decisions. We'll see. She has been working a lot and seems to enjoy that.
Matt enjoyed his first day and is happy about the classes he has, except for science, which he has never liked. He finally has gym again, and he gets to enjoy it with his best friend. He has drama, which he loves and may be doing the fall play. He has been practicing for the basketball season all summer, so i really hope he will be able to make the team and do well.
Rachel and my first day at home schooling went well. We stayed on track and having the lesson planning done already helped a lot. Her attitude is great and she seems halfway excited about the up coming year.
My first night of classes went really well. Last night was my first Interviewing and Counseling Skills class. It's scheduled to be a 4 hour class, but the instructor let us out 1/2 hour early. This class is going to be the most challenging, demanding class i have had. There is alot of work involved and we were warned not to procrastinate, which is something I struggle with. We will need to pick a partner to work with throughout the class, and I just pray that the partner i have picked will be the right fit. It's kind of hard to tell from just one night, but the lady i picked for my partner and I both have this class and tonight's Ethics class together, so we will be seeing a lot of each other. Plus, we seem to be on the same page with our goals. I hope we can really get along and work together well. For this class, we will be graded on 2 half hour sessions that will be audio taped while we act as a therapist to our partners, who will be given a real-life "problem" that they need counseling for, and 1 40 minute session that will be video taped. Now, even though counseling is what i eventually want to do, i am extremely nervous about this. The grading rubric is intense and the instructor told us that most people who actually pass this class will pass with a C, some a B, and nobody gets an A. So now i feel like I have something to prove and I just really want to be the person who gets an A. We were told not to have high expectations when it comes to grading, but i don't want my GPA to go down. But, i also don't want to stress out too much. I do like the class and the instructor, who i have had every year and who is my TUA adviser. The class size is small( about 12 people) and i know a couple of the people already, which is good. Two of the people are actually officers in TUA, so I am really happy about that. Tonight is my first Ethics class and I have heard mixed reviews of both the class and the woman teaching it, so it will be interesting. I'll blog about that tomorrow.
Yesterday was me and steve's anniversary and he made a nice dinner for us that was waiting for me when i came home around 9:30 pm. We had both been up since very early and were really tired, but we got to eat and talk together for about 40 minutes before we fell into an exhausted sleep around 11.
All in all, it was a good, tiring day and i am looking forward to another good, tiring day today.
Today i am thankful for:
1. My husband, who God knew would be best for me
2. College classes!!!
3. My kids, who keep me on my toes, and my knees ;)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Simple Woman's daybook for August 25




FOR TODAY August 25th

Outside my window...A beautiful, sunny day in the low 80's

I am thinking... I hope all the kids have a great first day of school, and i hope that I get off to the right start with Rachel and our first day at Hope and Truth academy. Then, i hope that i have a good first night of college classes, even though i don't even have the book i need for my first night because the book store had to order more. I don't like being unprepared.

I am thankful for...My husband, today is our 18th anniversary and I will be at school until 10pm, so he is going to make us a nice dinner to eat after I get home tonight. Sweetie.

From the learning rooms...today is our first day. Most of the day is review and getting used to our new schedule. I am still waiting for some curriculum to come in, but i did schedule the next 6 weeks into my planner. We may have a hard time sticking to a schedule, given that this year i scheduled each class for 45 minutes and whatever is not done will be "homework". We will see how that goes.

From the kitchen...Steven is making a late dinner for us. I hope he doesn't forget to feed the kids:)

I am wearing...Jeans and a green and white shirt, but i will need to shower, change and primp before i go to school at 5 tonight.

I am creating...Still doing some lesson plans for history and writing

I am going...To the library to pick up some books on Alexander the Great, to the bank, to the store, then to my school.

I am reading...The second book of the Left Behind series, Tribulation Force, and the Bible study book Lies Woman Believe

I am hoping...To not lose my energy today since i will be on the go from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm

I am hearing...Rachel finishing up her math lesson and asking to go on a walk for Gym today

Around the house...Little messy, little clean. Not horrible, not great

One of my favorite things...Being tired after a busy, well-spent day.

A few plans for the rest of the week:School tonight and tomorrow night, homework, finish lesson planning, more organizing, Bible study on Thursday, Church on Sunday.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... My dog Stanley when he was a puppy. Right now i feel so bad for him, because he has a "hot spot" on his tailbone which is causing him much itching and distress. I'm going to have to bring him to the vet next week because he is tearing himself up :( poor puppy!





If you want to blog about your day, you can go to the simple woman's daybook blog at: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Today, i am thankful for:
1. New beginnings for everybody
2. My husband
3. Caffeine and Ginsing ;)
4. I just got a call from my school book store telling me they got my missing book in. I'll pick it up before class. Yay.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Lies That Woman Believe Chapters 1 and 2

For a while i have been going to a bible study group and reading and discussing the book Lies Woman Believe. I have really enjoyed this book and this bible study group, so i thought i would write down some of my thoughts about the different lies and the Truths that go against them.

The first chapter of the book goes over what a lie is and how lies affect us. The author, Nancy Leigh DeMoss explains that "anytime we receive input that is not consistent with the word of God, we can be sure Satan is trying to deceive and destroy us". We become deceived by many things that look good and right, but are completely against God's word. The example the author uses is when satan tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. If the fruit had been rotten and crawling with worms, Eve would not have considered disobeying God. However, Eve's first mistake was listening to the serpent's words (which were inconsistent with the word of God). We can't always help what we hear, but we can control what we listen to. The point the author is making is that "every act of sin began with a lie. We listen to the lie, we dwell on it until we believe it, and then we act on it". Each time we sin, it becomes easier to sin again until there is a groove in our hearts. We need to identify the lie at the root of our behavior and than replace those lies with the Truth. We can find all the Truth we need in the Word of God.
So, i'm just gonna go over the first group of lies during this post, and they are called--Lies Woman Believe About God:

1. "God is not really good. If He were He would......"
Many of us believe this lie, even if not consciously. It is important for us to remember that good is not just getting our own way. Even when God's choices do not seem good to us, He is still good. God's word says, God is good and everything He does is good (Psalm 119:68). In my opinion, this is where I need deep, sturdy faith. If i believe that the Bible is God's word, than i have to have faith that what the bible says is true. Even when i don't understand why certain things happen, I need to have faith that "All things work together for good..." even if i don't see the good, i believe it is there.

2. "God doesn't love me"
Much like lie number one, many of us believe God couldn't love us, because if He did, things that cause us pain would not happen. The Truth is--God loves us whether we feel loved or not, or whether we deserve it or not. Not because we love Him or what we may "do" for Him, but because He is love. He loves us with a love we will never, ever be able to reciprocate or earn. God's word says that He loves me so much that He gave up His son to die for me, just so I can be with Him (John 3:16). That's love.

3."God is just like my father"
A woman's view of God is often greatly influenced by the men she has known, especially her father. This puts a huge burden on our fathers, and many times they don't even realize the influence they have in that area. No matter how wonderful or godly our father's may have been, they will always fall short of who God is. God is not like any man we have ever known. If we want to know who God really is, we must turn to the Word of God!! If we take the time to get to know Jesus, then we will know what God is like. Compassionate, tender, merciful, forgiving and worthy of our trust. He is wise enough to not give us everything we want, as no father should, and even disciplines us in order to teach us, as all fathers should. "God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness"(Hebrews 12:10).

4. "God is not really good enough"
Again, few of us would consciously believe this, but the way we live shows that we do. We don't really believe that God and His word are truly enough to help us deal with life. We say, "I need God plus close friends; I need God plus a husband; I need God plus good health, or children, or a job that pays enough, or I need God plus these Christian books, or tapes or counselors". We can not base our joy on our circumstances. If all of our "things" were taken away, we still need to have joy in the Lord. When there is nothing else left, will God be enough? When there is nothing else I can do, there is nothing else to do than to turn to God and let Him take care of it. This is a biggie for me and the lie that hit me hardest in this section. I struggle to fix every problem my own way, and I'm usually wrong, and my way never works in the long run. God's ways are the best, and even though at first it may be hard to accept the way in which He wants me to approach a problem, in the end, it always works out for my (and my family's) best. How do we find out what God's ways are? Read His word.
Almost done......

5." God's ways are too restrictive"
The world tells us to "have it your way", and "no one has the right to tell you what you can or can't do". The Truth is--obedience leads to freedom. God's laws are for our own good and protection. Deuteronomy 6:24-25 tells us that God commands us to obey His laws so that we might always prosper and be kept alive. He is not being an ogre, He is our creator, and He knows what's best for us. We are free to choose our own way, but we do not get to choose the consequences. God doesn't want us to hurt and have negative consequences, so he gave us laws to follow. When we choose to disobey, we get the consequences.

6." God should fix my problems"
As the author puts it, "this kind of thinking reduces God to a cosmic genie who exists to please and serve us...and it sets us up for disillusionment and disappointment with God: if our problems are not fixed than apparently God has not come through for us". Another thing this kind of thinking does is suggest that the goal in life is to be free from all problems or difficulties. The Truth is that "Living an obedient life does spare us from many problems that are the natural consequences of a life lived apart from God and His ways, but that does not mean that those who follow Christ will be exempt from problems". The Truth is-life is hard. We live in a world that has fallen. Becoming a Christian does not make us immune to pain. The good news is God is not detached from our problems The Bible says that God is "a very present help in trouble"(psalm 46:1) He doesn't make our problems go away, but He uses them to mold and shape our lives. God has a purpose for our problems. He wants to use our problems to change us and to reveal Himself and His grace and power to us and to the world.

So, that's the first section. I kind of made it a little longer than i wanted to, but there was a lot to cover. Next time I will go over the chapter "Lies Woman Believe About Themselves" and i'll try to make it shorter. I hope you enjoyed. I did. The biggest thing i got out of this chapter is that I really, really need to read God's word more than i do. I can not live my life the way i want to without knowing what direction God wants me in. I can not know who God is or how I should respond to life's challenges unless I listen to what He has to say.

Today, i am thankful for:
1. God's Word
2. God's love for me
3. God's peace that passes all understanding, even when my circumstances are making me anxious.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Packing, Poison Ivy and Pictures

Not much going on around here. Rachel has been spending the past 5 days with Tiffany, a friend who is like her older sister. Tiffany took the week off to move from one apartment to another and Rachel stayed with her in order to help Tiff and also to get Rach out of the house. She is home now, and although i love having her back with me, she is not too thrilled to be home. Being with Tiff is fun and exciting, and being home is not. I understand that. But, i'm glad to have my baby back.
Matthew is taking advantage of his last week of freedom by reading the summer reading book he had all summer to read and cram it all into 3 days of all day reading. That's my boy :). He is just getting over a bad case of poison ivy that i had to bring him to the doctor twice for. Poor baby has been itching for like 2 weeks, and now, even though the medicine is finally working, the steroids have cause his face and chest to break out in big pimples. Ugh, right before school too! Thankfully, he has a good attitude about it (as per usual). I went to Kohls yesterday and got him two outfits for school. Two jean shorts and two shirts, all for 33 dollars. Pretty good, huh? Erin and I went to Walmart and i spent like 40 dollars on her for shoes and an outfit or two. I love clearance shopping. I will still need to get school supplies, but we don't receive the lists until the first day of school, so we need to wait.
The only thing Rachel needs is a nice pair of pants that she can wear on Thursdays with her uniform shirt for Three M. That's the name of the school that she will go to for Martial Arts and Science this year. She wasn't too thrilled to have to wear a uniform shirt, and was less thrilled when she found out she would have to wear it tucked in, but hopefully, we will find a nice pair of pants that she will be comfortable with and maybe a belt to make the tucked in look feel better for her. I'm glad she will be going to school for two classes a week. It will get her out of the house and around people her age. She is the type of kid who craves being out and around other people, she just needs some more self-confidence, which she is getting better with. I think it will be a good home-school year. I have decided to be a bit more strict than i was last year. Seventh grade is a big year, and i only have two years to prepare her for high school. I pray that i will be able to teach her in a way that is profitable to her education and also interesting and maybe even fun. That may be wishful thinking, but I'll do my best.
Today Erin went to get her Senior pictures done. She was stressed out for a couple days because she wanted to find the "perfect" outfit, hairstyle, make-up, eyebrows, nails, ect. So, we spent some time putting an outfit together, matching up the jewelry, getting our eyebrows done, experimenting with her hair and make-up. She said that it went really well today, and i am glad. These ARE her senior pictures. I hardly ever buy school pictures, but, if these come out well, i will definitely be getting them. I actually starting tearing up when we were choosing an outfit for her pictures. I guess i was feeling sentimental about my baby being done with school and growing up and being an adult. I am glad that she decided to go the college, even if it is only Del Tech, because that way she can remain my baby for a little bit longer. If she goes to college, she can ease into adulthood a little slower than if she jumped right into the work world. Of course, Steven and i think it is a shame that she does not want to even consider applying to a bigger college that will offer her more opportunities. I mean, she has worked so hard to be the number one or two student in her whole class, and will probably graduate valedictorian, it just seems like a waste to not even try to see if she could get a scholarship from a bigger, better college. I think she will probably kick herself in the butt for that when she is my age, but i'm not going to force her to do something she totally does not want to do. If she does go to college, i want her to do it because that is what she wants. If she does it for me, she won't learn as well anyway, she would treat it like high school, with the "i'm only hear cause i have to be" attitude. I just want the best for her, and i'm not sure that Del Tech is the best. But, what do i know? I could be all wrong. Maybe this is just what she needs. All i can do is pray, trust her Creator, and love her through life.
Well, that's about it for now. I went to bible study for the book Lies Woman Believe and i am thinking about writing some posts about my thoughts on the book and the lies. Hopefully, i will be posting on my blog more regularly than i have in the past couple months. I have been doing alot of thinking, and maybe i can sort some of those thoughts out here. We'll see.
Today i am thankful for:
1. Good books
2. The time to read those good books
3. My Church family/friends

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Just an Update

Well, i have not written anything in a while and part of that is because i really don't have much going on, but the other part is because my computer is not working for some reason. I need to bring it to Best Buy or something to get it looked at, but i don't know how much it will cost to get it working again, so i will have to wait a bit more.
In the news department, we finally got a car!! It was not the one i really wanted, and it is a bit smaller than i am used to, but it is a car and i am thankful for it. Erin and I paid for it together, so it actually belongs to me and Erin, and when i get enough money to buy another one, she will own this one by herself. It is a Hyundai Accent and it is a cute little car that is very easy to drive.
In other news, my sister and her husband came up for a much anticipated visit last week and we got to spend a full day with them, plus they slept here, which was a treat for me because they have never slept over before. I hate saying goodbye to my sister, so we just kinda said, see you later. Hopefully in 2-3 years we will be living in the same state. We'll see.
Yesturday my Uncle Denny brought my Aunt Sandi to visit me. It was nice to see my uncle, we haven't been able to catch up in a while. Aunt Sandi stayed at my house for the day and night. She had a stroke about 16 months ago, and it is great to see how much better she is getting. We had a good time going through old pictures and talking about the past. She remembers much more than I thought she would and i feel like I have my much of my old Aunt back. She spent the night and then i took her down to ger friend's house. She will be back on Monday before she flies off to Georgia. We will miss her when she is gone.
In two more weeks school will start for all of us. Erin will be a senior and is a little nervous knowing that this is her last year in school. On the one hand she wants to grow up and on the other, she is scared to be an adult. I can't really relate to that because i wanted to be an adult when i was 11 and pretty much forced myself into adulthood at an early age. But, i told Erin that she didn't have to be an overnight adult and we would give her time to grow up. It's not like on her 18th birthday i'm gonna tell her "ok your an adult now, act like one". We will help her smooth into adulthood as much as we can.
My first day of school is August 25, which is also my 18th wedding anniversary. I am looking foward to starting school again. Rachel will start her homeschool year on the 24th of August. I am not yet prepared for her to start right now, I still have some lesson plans to do, which i plan on finishing up in the next week. I also have to plan an honor society meeting for the next week after that and assume my presidetial duties ;)
Well, that's about it for now. I'm off to a party at my friend Courtney's house.
Today i am thankful for:
1. My new car
2. My family
3. My Aunt Sandie's continuing recovery and good health.