» Miscellaneous

Sunday School lessons

Barbara — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 04:49:46 +0000

Our Sunday school class is going over a book I read and reviewed before. It is really interesting hearing it now from another person's perspective. The discussions bring back memories of having read it the first time and what thoughts originally went through my mind. It also allows me to think through everything from a different view and to gain more insight into the material presented in the book. The book you ask? It was one of my favorite non-fiction Christian books I have reviewed. The book is The Fruitful Life By Jerry Bridges. You can read my original review of it by searching for it in the search bar on the left-side of my blog if you are interested.

New blog theme in progress

Barbara — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 18:55:11 +0000

Ok. I was not really happy with using someone else's blog template since it really did not do what I wanted and I had trouble getting it to look right to me. Thus-- I started writing my own theme from scratch. It is a tedious process since I still do not know how to get everything the way I want it yet. Also I still do not know exactly what I want yet either. LOL However i am getting there so please be patient with me. I hope to be hosting a weekly blog meme and I would like your opinions on what you would like to see with that. Also would welcome any comments on the look, feel and content (not post details but the general areas) of my new theme. I plan on having weekly posts for things Disney-related, Yuki (my dog), homeschooling in general and of course my TOS Crew and other reviews that I write. If you would be interested in seeing anything else please let me know!!!! Still trying to organize my posts so that there is a button at the top that will direct you to a page where the post excerpts will be on a certain topic. Looking forward to hearing you all of my readers!!!

Camp week…. thoughts

Barbara — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 20:58:28 +0000

My oldest left to go to a camp that was out of state on Monday morning. When I mean morning I mean 4 am we were up and at 5 am she was at church waiting to leave. This year I was able to see some pictures that folks had posted of her that either the camp photographer took or our Youth Pastor and his wife took. It is always nice to see a smile on your child's face so you know at least for that moment they were happy and enjoying themselves. She comes back this weekend so I guess I will hear all about it when I pick her up. I am so glad she can have experiences like this since I did not have many opportunities like that when I was growing up. I think I went to a church camp once and it was fairly close to home since it was owned and run by the church I was attending at the time. I remember a few things about it. I remember someone asking if someone would like to pray for our meal and I said yes. LOL I remember thinking, " of course we should pray". I had not realized at first that I had actaully volunteered to lead the prayer myself. I was never the open to volunteer for anything that brought any attention to myself but I somehow managed to fumble my way through that prayer. I was maybe 10-11 years old then. Also I remember horse-back riding when my trail horse decided he wanted to go on the left-side of the tree that was on the path we were following thus having everyone behind us duck and squeeze by on that side. Oh yeah and sword fights. No not metal sword and physical fighting but ones with a Bible. We were in teams.. and had to hold our Bibles up in the air. As soon as the leader quoted a Bible reference we had to quickly find the verse and stand up and recite the verse. First one to stand up got to do it. Of course if you already knew the verse by memory you didn't have to look it up but could just recite it. The team with the most correct recitations won. I think church camps have come a long way since then. We didn't have all the fancy stuff that some camps have now. I think the swimming pool and horse back riding were the biggest activities we had to do. The camp my daughter went to has a giant slide, lake with a blob in it, paintball, river tubing, climbing wall, etc... Even the church camp I went to has long since had major improvements. I hope she has many good memories of the times she goes to camp. I think beyond being a wonderful opportunity it is a great way to mature, learn to take on responsibility and to grow up more. I think as a parent you see these things a little differently. :)

My daughter got baptized on Sunday!

Barbara — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:41:17 +0000

Here is her baptism:

Teens Involved Regionals

Barbara — Tue, 03 May 2011 05:35:56 +0000

We had a busy weekend with going to Teens Involved Regionals. All the teens from our church did such a great job!. My daughter competed in a vocal trio, teaching children category and was on a Bible Quizzing team and qualified in all those categories to move on to the international level. We won't be able to go to the international level but I am so proud of all her work and dedication she put into it. She even helped out another group with their puppet presentation because they had some members drop out of it but unfortunately with only one practice they did not qualify for that category to move on. Here are a few pictures of the event!

Busy Saturday —-

Barbara — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:54:20 +0000

First day in awhile where all of us have been in town at the same time. Of course that makes for a busy day. This morning Scott took my youngest to a Easter Egg hunt type activity at Toys Us. It basically was a flop because they had them go around and get a few stickers on an activity card then when they turned them in were suppose to get a goody bag. Past years it included candy, some type of small toy item, crayons, stickers etc. This year they got a paper bag with a dollar coupon inside and the activity page itself. Hmmmm.. don;t think that activity is worth going to anymore Even Sara was disappointed and it takes a lot to do that to her. She did however get to redeem her $3 birthday coupon for a toy turtle. Now I have Sara and we are at our library. She had a "Spy School" event there and I am sitting here typing this out to you all! Hello!! Anyone out there reading this? LOL She just brought a pair of dark sunglasses to wear as a disguise but a pair of kids did walk in with dark stealth spy clothes on and dark glasses. :) I am here til it is done then off we go home for a quick break before getting both girls ready to perform in the second performance of our church's Easter Drama. We get to see tonight's performance ourselves since Scott is in town. So far about 17 people have gotten saved at the performances which includes the dress rehearsal that they opened up for folks because the free tickets were all taken withing a week before the performances. After all that is done we get to go home and rest. Hoping that we can get everyone ff to bed relatively early considering how late we get home from the drama performance. I hope to take lots of pictures so that I can post them on here later tonight or tomorrow. Tomorrow we will have church and a quick break with everyone present again and maybe we will watch Tangled til the kids have to go back to church for the last performance. Well I better get back to writing again.. before Sara's library program is done. I have tons of other posts I have written and are in draft form so maybe I will even get those done sometimes soon.

Emotional earthquake: thoughts on recent homeschool convention vs Ken Ham/AIG situation

Barbara — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 05:47:06 +0000

Recently I was astonished to find out that Ken Ham and AIG were dis-invited to speak and be in the vendor hall for Midwest Homeschool Convention based on what Mr. Ham said concerning another speaker/vendor's homeschool curriculum. I will not go into it much here as to whether or not there was any blame on either parties but to ponder what this means to me. Mainly because there seems to be more to the situation than is what has been presented by the convention people as well as perhaps Mr Ham. I do not know because I was not there and can only read what was made public. The convention folks are not giving out much info or facts. It is difficult to say what issues they had concerning Mr Ham since they just made a generalized statement which I could not see backed up by anything specific being brought forward by them. Honestly the way it was left makes it look more favorably toward Mr Ham and AIG so I am declining to make any firm judgment in the manner. I mainly wanted to state the situation exists between the two or perhaps the three parties seeing how Dr. Enns and his curriculum were a part of the equation. I used this info to set up what I wanted to say in the following sentences. It made me think on several things. First of all as a Christian what do I truly believe as far as the Bible and how I interpret its contents. Secondly, if I believed that another individual was teaching false doctrine either intentionally or out of deception, would I keep it to myself? Would I just go to that person hoping they would listen to reason? Would I go public and warn others with like-minds so that they could determine whether or not they needed to be concerned? And if I did any of these would I be able to stand before God one day knowing I did what was right in God's eyes and not worry about what other men would say because I followed Him? I often wonder when I hear things like this occurring whether or not I will really have enough information to make a decision who might have been right since one can never really know if there were things held back which would change how I felt about a situation. Again I am saddened that any of this has to happen at all yet I am not so naive to believe that where there is truth there will always be a possibility that someone or something will be there to tear down or water down the truth. We are told in the Bible that there are false teachers and many will be deceived in the end days. Which brings me to wonder how close are we really to the end times? With all the increasingly devastating natural disasters happening more frequently, with all the political events taking place that seem to point toward what the Bible tells us will happen, etc etc etc. it all leads me to believe it is fast approaching. We are told not to be conformed to this world yet nowadays that seems to be what we are told we must do by this world. We are threatened to follow this way or be considered to be intolerant or judgmental or unforgiving. You name it the world is trying to tell Christians that we are not allowed to stand in His truth but to follow the world's ways and ignore and turn away from our Creator. The following verse rings in my ear more and more as I see many churches an individuals watering down their doctrines and beliefs to fit in to the "political" correctness of the world. "But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money." 2 Peter 2:1-3 (NLT) While I am saddened that the situation involving the homeschool convention is happening, it has made me think more about the current state of things in this country. I do not want to speculate or judge either side but it did make me reflect on the various issues that came up in this situation. I do want to seek the truth and let what is happening to bring me closer to the truth and closer to reflecting on what Jesus had done when he came across false teachers and what He would expect me to do as well. I am rambling a bit. Maybe perhaps because it has shaken my world up a bit. Maybe because I know that so many people are taking sides either with facts backing them or maybe just through their emotions Maybe because so much mudslinging is happening. Maybe because I know how this must look from outside of the Christian community as well as from within it too. In some ways this situation is much like the major earthquake that took place recently in Japan. Will either be the same afterward? Will it make us stronger or weaker? How will it affect us as a group and as individuals?

Japan… and thoughts on life

Barbara — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:24:36 +0000

I think when I first heard about all the earthquakes and problems that have recently happened o Japan, I kind of was a bit shocked and overwhelmed by what I heard and saw. I think everyone is looking at Japan and feeling compassionate toward them. I actually lived and worked there for a short time a few years after I had graduated college. This whole thing has left me wondering what was happening to those people I had met when I lived there. Thinking whether or not they were ok and what they must be going through. It totally amazes me that such a major earthquake could have occurred and all those aftershocks that are as powerful as some quakes. I have been praying for that country daily since it has happened. It also has made me think about what the Bible tells us about the end times and the signs that it is approaching soon. Not only the natural disasters that have been occurring in recent years but the decrease in morality, the politics that has taken place throughout the world, as well as so many other things that are mentioned in the Bible. It also makes me realize how important it is to reach those who do not know Jesus as their personal savior. 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life. Many people seem to believe that Christianity is just another religion or that there are other ways to get to heaven but the Bible clearly states that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory (the perfect holiness) of God” (Rom. 3:23). From birth onward each of us are separated from God because of sin. The only person who ever can and will be able to say that they have never sinned or done any wrong was Jesus. He was the only on who could die in our place for what each of us have done or would do. He is the only way to heaven and to be with God. Other religions can not say this. The Bible is the only truth that has prophecies that have been fulfilled, the only book that has written of science and history and other things before they ever occurred. Even today no one has been able to find any fault in the Bible. People may say they have but soon afterward it has been discovered that even they were wrong. All of creation proclaims that there could only have been a creator who had established what we see with or eyes everyday. God calls out to each person wanting them to come back and have fellowship with Him. I amazes me that so many people deny His existence. It takes more faith to believe that magically the earth came into existence on its own. It takes even greater faith to believe that somehow the planets formed in such a way that their are orbits and gravity and that the earth has the perfect environment for life. It takes even more to believe that a single cell of life poofed into being with a God. That on cell somehow magically formed into various life forms with such perfect systems etc etc etc. I am always totally in awe of what God created everyday. I pity those who miss out on Him and who overlook the wonders around them in order to avoid God. The theory of evolution was made up based upon assumptions and in order to try out take God out of the picture. The theory of evolution was assumed to be fact based on assumptions and not on fact. Scientists and others have ignored scientific facts in order to support what they want to believe about evolution. Many have fabricated evidence in order to "proof" it as factual and have failed time and again. People use the carbon dating process as proof of the age of teh earth when it too has failed to proof a reliable basis for dating rocks etc. The Bible time and again keeps being proved over and over again even by scientists who choose to ignore the facts because it supports a God who exists. Titus 3:5-7 he saved us, not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life. John 1:12 But to all who have received him--those who believe in his name--he has given the right to become God's children John 3:16-18 For this is the way God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

Warm weather…

Barbara — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:41:59 +0000

It is kind of a up and down time when the warm weather starts showing up again near Springtime. With the beautiful weather often comes a time where the atmospheric changes bring on those awful sinus and allergy-like symptoms which develop into coughing and draining and all that nastiness that makes you miserable for days on end. Yes that is what is happening in our household. It started with my husband and my youngest and now my oldest and are suffering from it as well. While we love the Spring weather that is approaching, we definitely do not appreciate all the physical health junk that comes with it every year. I sit here coughing and wondering how I will cope with stuff I need to be doing such as orchestra practice and talking out loud while I work with my kids. Yes and it makes it difficult to admonish our barking dog and teach her to stop when I need her to be quiet. I like that she barks when strangers walk by our home because it lets people know that we have a dog and our home is somewhat protected. However our dog gets overly rambunctious with her barking at times... especially, when it comes to large trucks and buses, squirrels, dogs and cats. Well hopefully that ground hog was correct that our Spring is fast approach and here to stay. This winter has outlasted its welcome this year and we are looking forward to its exit.

Mobile Dog/Cat Groomer in Cincinnati area

Barbara — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:22:25 +0000

I am posted this for a homeschooled friend who is trying to build up her clientele for her grooming business. In Home Pet Grooming Services by Jessica of JC's Canine Design Affordable 'mobile' grooming by award winning groomer Jessica Darnell-Cradic. Services available for dogs and cats 40 pounds or less. In home grooming is less stressful for both pet and owners due to no travel, familiar setting, and less noise. Homeschooled children may also watch and learn basic pet care methods. Please call 513-692-6792