Our Lesson on Joy

I flip the pages of this precious Book, this Book that breathes Life, in search of those precious words written in red.
Joy.
Just the sound of it fills my heart with such gladness.
I use my best handwriting to copy it onto our kitchen blackboard and wonder at the love that overflows from it.
"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John15:11 KJV
We read the meaning of joy in our dictionary and this is what it says:
A condition or feeling of high pleasure or delight; happiness; gladness.
These precious words were spoken by our Dearest Friend.
Our Dear Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
He is Light. Full of Beauty and Goodness.
Full of unending Joy!
And He freely and joyfully gives His Joy to US!
So WE can be FULL of JOY!
Full of HIS JOY! The Joy of all Joy!
Full to the tippy top!
If that isn't the 'highest of pleasure'!

We are searching for comfort in sorrowful times. Loved ones are called Home and we aren't ready for them to go.
How our hearts ache and will go on aching for maybe forever.
The tears will not leave our eyes.
Oh, how we need these Precious Words of Life to breathe life back into our barely breathing souls!
"He will swallow up death in victory;and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.."
Isaiah 25:8
"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." Psalms 126:5
"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." John 16:22
That's our Dearest Friend again-the words in Precious Blood Red!
Feel the Breath of Life in these Precious, Holy, Beautiful words!
Words of comfort. Words of peace. Words of joy!
Living, breathing, words of LIFE!
And the promise to give us His joy so that ours may be full!
Fill our hearts, oh Lord, with your Perfect Joy!
Oh, what a Friend we have in Jesus!
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalms 30:5
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." John 14:18
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

May the Love, Peace and the Joy of the Lord be with you always, dear precious friends!

Train Up A Child

The children are the future of the world.
They will be the mothers, fathers, neighbors, leaders, teachers, mentors of the coming generations!
What they learn today will shape them for the future, yet what are they learning today?
Children learn what they live.
Here is another poem that I remember on Grandma Storm's wall when I was a young girl:

Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Louise Law Nolte

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
But,
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those around them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

When we first started homeschooling, I worried about what to teach our children.
 I would constantly ask God to just hit me on the head with a brick with a note attached so I would know exactly what to teach the children he loaned to us.
And in His gentle, loving, very patient way, this is what He 'told' me:
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."
So, I asked, "well, what about math and science and history and geography and public speaking and physics and government and foreign language and, and, and,....?"
In His gentle, loving, very patient way, this is what He 'told' me:
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."
Okay, so......hmmm....um, anything else?
The note on the brick came.
And in His gentle, loving, very patient way, this is what He 'told' me:
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."

I am NOT kidding! 
This is EXACTLY how it went!
I worried. I wondered. I read endless books on education, homeschooling, how to teach children, etc.
Would my children measure up?
Are they going to succeed in life?
Will they FAIL???
I was certain they would be the first homeschooled students to FAIL!
And this is the message He sent with the brick!
"Teach them about Me.
Teach them about Jesus and My love."

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22: 6

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Deuteronomy 6:6, 7

And the brick keeps coming!
Thank you, Lord, for being so patient with me! 
I think I've got it!
Ouch! My head hurts!

Getting Through Unemployment

Hei! Mita Kuuluu! (Hi! How are you!-in Finnish)

Lenny has been unemployed from his auto design job for almost 3 months now. With 8 children and a mortgage we were a little nervous at first. The company he worked for has unemployment benefits and that is a tremendous help. It also helps that we have no other debt besides our mortgage. We have followed Dave Ramsey's advice. He is our personal finance advisor. (He could be yours,too. See http://www.daveramsey.com/)

I thought I would share with you a few things I have learned from this whole experience of unemployment.

1. God provides!

2. It's a good excuse to say "no" to running the kids all over creation! (gas is money)

3. I didn't buy annual flowers for my windowboxes and borders and it's OK!

4. I can live without buying new clothes. I have plenty in my own closet!

5. It's nice having the hubby home throughout the day. Honestly, Lenny wonders how he had time to work before!

6. I am more appreciative of what we already have!

7. I have learned to look for the window God is opening for us!

8. I have realized how loving and generous people are.

10. I have learned that children are very accepting to changes when explained to them.

11. That opportunity abounds everywhere if we look for it!

Now here is a list of what I WANT to do when Lenny gets a job:

1. Get a pedicure. I've only had 2 pedicures in my whole life, the last one being in the spring and I have to tell you that I LOVED my toes! I know it's silly, but it was so much fun to have pretty toes. I have homely feet so I felt quite fancy with my pretty toes. I also teach yoga classes and I felt pretty professional with sharp looking feet! Lenny says that this gives him a whole new motivation to get a job!

2. Buy the part to our oven that's broke so I can make homemade bread! Nothing has compared to whole-grain, homemade bread with simple ingredients! I have made a whole-grain english muffin recipe that you make on a griddle, though.

3. Get all of our small kitchen appliances fixed: k-tec blender, Kitchenaid mixer, etc that I was procrastinating about even before the layoff.

4. I would still love to get to Manistee to finally do some yoga on the beach!

5. Visit L'Anse on the bay of Lake Superior one more time when my Mom and Dad are there! They make it so much fun for us and the kids! Honestly, I think they bring life to that little town!


I definitely do not want to take having a steady paycheck for granted when we finally get one. I have learned that yes, God provides and yes, a paycheck is nice and yes, we can get by on less but I have also learned that it is a gift and a privilege to live in the Land of Plenty and all the THINGS of this world are not a REQUIREMENT! We only need a childlike faith in our Heavenly Father and to keep our eyes open to what He is trying to give us and He wants to give us EVERYTHING!