I am sure by now you have already heard all the latest gossip about Jon and Kate Gosselin.  Even if you aren’t a fan of the show, you have probably been witness to all their dirty laundry being hung out for all to see.  I will spare you the pain of having to read it all over again.  There are MANY opinions about why their marriage is failing and each person I have heard has a different take of who did what and who should have done what differently.  Most marriages in America do not last, especially celebrity marriages, so why are we so shocked by the failure of theirs?

Because you can’t turn on the tv or internet without hearing or seeing their marriage failures being exploited, I have been thinking a lot about marriage lately.  What do most marriages fail?  Why do so many couples who stand before God and all their friends and family and express their unending love for someone, simply walk away at the first sign of trouble?  Why do so many couples who vow to love each other until death part them, look to divorce so quickly and just walk away from the promises they have made to the one that they supposedly love more than life itself?  What changes?  Did they enter into the marriage with the wrong goals and values in the first place?  Did they enter into it with the notion that if it doesn’t work out then they will just get a divorce, so it really isn’t that big of a deal anyway? 

I have to believe that most couples who get married enter into that union with the full assurance that this is the one person that they want to spend the rest of their life with.  Otherwise they would not be getting married.  If this is true, then why does the majority end in divorce?

I think there are, of course, a plethora of circumstances that can cause this extreme shift in dedication.  The biggie is not having a personal relationship with Jesus, the author of the marriage union.  If that is lacking in both spouses or especially in just one spouse, then failure will definitely be more eminent.  Without the love of God in your relationship, it will be much easier to just walk away and not  look back. 

We all know that the Bible has many things to say about this God-Ordained union.  The one that sticks out to me is keeping it extremely simple:  “Wife be subject to your husband….Husband love your wife.”

(Since this is an open domain and I do not know what age might stumble upon it, I tread lightly over the next paragraph)  We all know that husbands have three basic needs:  the first one, food, and respect.  If the first two are good then they might not need so much of the last…..well for that matter, if the first one is really good they might need very little of the other two .  If we are to be subject to them, then I am thinking that our main objective should be to meet their needs.  The first one I won’t go into, we all know what we should do there and if you don’t, just ask your husband. The second one is pretty cut and dry….feed your man!  When he comes in from work there should be a meal waiting.  I know that may be old-fashioned, but I believe they had a lot less divorces back then too!  The last one is where I think we all can tend to fall short.  Showing our man continued respect.  Does it honor him if we criticize him to our friends?  No!  Does it honor him if we talk about him negatively in front of our kids?  No!  Does it honor him if we choose to spend more time with our friends that we do him?  No!  Does it honor him if we make it obvious that our first priority is our children?  No!  Does it honor him to not tell him how much we appreciate all he does for our family?  No!  Does it honor him to not greet him at the door after a long day’s work(and I add us looking like we have at least made an attempt to fix oursleves up) with a little hug and kiss?  No!  You get the picture.

The Bible says that when a man and woman get married they become ONE flesh.  That means to me that whatever one does the other is equally responsible for.  If one is criticized, then both are criticized.  Whatever you do to one, you do to the other.  ONE flesh.  No longer two people, but ONE.  If we could get that through our heads it could revolutionize how we see our marriages.

This has gotten very long, so I will end here and just make up a part 2 sometime.  I still have many thoughts rolling around in my head and I need to relay some things about the husbands role too.  Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and I hope that something will give you an extra dose of love and respect for your man today.

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Wow, I can’t believe it has been almost a month since I have written anything.  I find myself always thinking about what I want to write about and then I just never take the time to actually sit down and write it.  I think I think too much and write too little.  I like to see my writing as an outlet, a way to get all these thoughts rambling around in my head, out.  Since this is a public domain, some ponderings must remain trapped inside this head of mine, but others are free to be shared.

For instance, how does life change so quickly.  You think you are heading on a certain path and then suddenly you can cross paths with someone or you can read something, or listen to someone speaking and, BAM, you attain a whole new perspective.  I tend to be somewhat of a philosopher.  If you happen to be “my friend” on facebook, you have probably notice these tendencies.  My “status” usually consists of little quotes that I have heard that cause me to pause and ponder.  I love the “deeper meanings” and I find great satisfaction in being challenged to see things differently, to see the whole picture and the underlying currents of events.  The only problem with this sort of mentality is that it can be exhausting.  I find that my mind is always working and processing things, trying to find deeper and more fulfilling paths in life.

I am so grateful that God saved me at an early age and that I have known the Truth of His Word pretty much my whole life, or else my tendencies might be to try and extricate truths from other sources.  I like to listen to people talk and examine what they have to say and gather the “crumbs” that they leave behind.

I have just paused to stop and read what I have written so far, and I have no idea what most of  it means, but that is what came out, so here it is.  There have been many happenings in my life over the past month or so, but I won’t bore you with the details.  Suffice it to say, I am still here and still my same rambling self.  Just thought I would let you know.

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Well, it seems odd to say that a chapter has closed, so I will say that a new chapter has opened.  We graduated our first homeschool graduate yesterday.  It was a very surreal time for me.  I spent most of the weekend at the home school curriculum fair and for the first time, I was looking for materials for only 2 children.  It was, in a way, a little sad, but also very exciting.  I can appreciate all of our hard work and know that we have done what God called us to do.  Now, it is my daughter’s turn to start making her own path and deciding what God has for her from here on out(not that she has not been doing that for quite some time, but I guess it just seems a bit more official now).

I do feel quite a sense of accomplishment and I know that it is only through God’s grace and His strength that we were able to stand there yesterday and see our sweet baby walk across the stage and receive her diploma.  We participated in our state’s local graduation ceremony that had 234 graduates.  It was a wonderful feeling knowing that there are that many families, just in our area, that feel the call and conviction to home-educate their children.  It truly was a remarkable day celebrating many successes.

Thank you God for the opportunities that you have given our family, and thank you that we saw the need and had the courage to step out in faith over 10 years ago, and make the life changing decision to home-educated our most precious gifts.  It has been and will continue to be one of the most challenging yet rewarding callings that one can have.

I know, I know, a bit dramatic?!?

Well, the month of May promises to hold all the drama that one could stand.  Let’s see…..youngest daughter becoming a teenager, oldest daughter graduating, middle daughter starting basketball practice a couple of nights a week at a gym about an hour away, trying to finish up the school year, making decisions about colleges and financial aid, going to homeschool convention and deciding what curriculum to buy for next year and how I can buy it for the least amount of money as possible, and if that weren’t enough….boyfriends are entering the picture for the first time ever!

Well, my momentary escape from all of this is going to work for the first time in 18 years.  Although it is a “work at home” position, it is not nearly as leisurely as it sounds.  It basically consists of me shut up in my room with my headset phone thingy and my computer for 8 hours at a time talking to customers and taking their reservations.

It really is interesting though and for those 8 hours, I am not thinking about what curriculum to buy, how we will pay for college, how I will survive a house with 3 teenager girls, or how to put a “hit” out on the boys that are determined to chase after my beautiful daughters , etc.  For those hours, I am happily thinking about how I can help these customers plan a delightful camping trip.  It really is quite an escape, and I get paid to do it!

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This thought recently occurred to me when I was watching a show and the scene that was developing in front of my eyes was totally repulsive.  I felt a painful stabbing in my gut and I turned the channel and said to myself, “They have crossed the line, and I’m not watching this show ever again.”  Truth is, I had been watching this particular show for quite sometime, and it had many things that were not pleasing to God in the script.  But it took this one act of disgust to finally open my eyes. 

That episode gave me great reason to ponder.  Why do we, as Christians, try to live as close to the “line” as possible.  We somehow rationalize in our minds that we will accept this, but not that.  We will allow a certain word, but not other words.  We will watch immorality between different genders, but the moment they show homosexuality, then we stand up and say, “Absolutely not”.  Isn’t it all sin?  Is any of it pleasing to God? 

 I’m not just talking about watching TV or movies, I am thinking about our everyday lives and the things that we allow.  Do we make our decisions based on just how much we can get away with without actually committing sin, or do we make our decisions based on how close can we walk to God and still be in this earthly body?  In the things we wear, the places we go, the things we do, the words we say, the way we treat people, the time we spend with God. 

I’m not trying to be legalistic, I am just wondering why we want to see just how far we can go, without actually crossing the line.  When we are walking the line, isn’t it much easier to cross it?  To the contrary, when we stay as far from the line as we can, the danger of crossing it diminishes a great deal.  I think we all know, if we have to sit and ask ourselves if something is pleasing to God, then we already have our answer, don’t we?!?

This seems a bit of a ramble, but I hope you can get the gist of what I am saying.  I am guilty of it on a daily basis.  I don’t like it, but I do it. I want to start making a conscience effort to stay as far from the line as possible.  If the line is on one side and God is on the other, moving further from the line takes me closer to Him, and isn’t that what we all want?!?

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Those of you who know me will know that this is not really how I feel when you realize what this post is about.

My oldest DD is very much a “non” drama person.  She doesn’t like to be the center of attention and she most definitely does not like a lot of hoopla.  So when we started talking about the end of her homeschooling journey and graduation, her first response was that she didn’t want to do anything big.  I quickly reminded her that it was not about her and what she wanted.  It was about me and celebrating the 18 years of hard work that I have put into her becoming the young woman that she has become and I deserve some type of celebration for that .

Out of guilt great love for her mother, she agreed to participate in the graduation ceremony that our state organization has each year.  The announcements arrived in the mail the other day and it just made it all too surreal for me.  With her cap & gown hanging in my closet and the announcements now mailed out to friends and family, I realized that this is actually happening.  It is a bittersweet time for me.  I am thrilled at the thought of her moving on to the next phase in life and discovering what God has planned for her, but also a little saddened that she is growing up and will not be in my home everyday and eating all her meals at my table.  (she does love my cooking so that last one will probably still be quite a regular occurrence).

It does give me a great sense of accomplishment to look back at how far we have come these past 18 years.  I must say, I think we have done a pretty good job.

I think I have mentioned this before, but I love to try new recipes.  I can just sit for hours and read recipes, organize recipes, make shopping lists for recipes and cook new recipes.  I think you get the idea….I love recipes!

Some quickly become family favorites and some are torn from the archives never to be seen again.  Well, the other night’s dish was one destined to become an all time favorite.  It was delicious and it made one of the prettiest dishes I have ever prepared.  So delightful, in fact, that I took a picture of my plate to save it for posterity .

Everyone loved it, and there were barely enough leftovers for my DH to take a plate to work.  It was extremely simple and I even got my kids to each spinach because of it.

I served it with corn-on-the-cob and toasted Italian bread, but other options would be good too.

 

Orange-Glazed Chicken

Prep Time: 10 min            Total Time: 35 min            Makes: 4 servings

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/4 lb.)

1/4 cup  orange marmalade, divided

1 env. SHAKE ‘N BAKE Chicken Coating Mix

1/4 cup  KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing

6 cups baby spinach leaves

2 medium  oranges, cut into thin slices

 

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Spread chicken breasts with 2 Tbsp. of the marmalade. Empty coating mix into shallow dish. Add chicken; turn to evenly coat both sides.

PLACE chicken in 13×9-inch baking dish. Bake 25 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

MIX dressing with remaining 2 Tbsp. marmalade. Add to spinach; toss to coat. Place 1 chicken breast, sliced on top of each plate and add orange slices, if desired.

I usually do not consider my self a good conversationalist.  I am horrible at small talk and I much prefer listening to talking.  I guess I like knowing more about people than they know about me .  For the most part, I find others conversation very interesting.  I enjoy hearing their opinions about things and how they see the world.  I have learned that although I think that I am pretty “mainstream”, often times when I just observe and listen to those around me, I realize how “odd” I actually am.  And that’s okay.  I really like the idea of having all sorts of people in my life that do not necessarily see things the way I see them.  It adds color and adventure to what might otherwise be very dull.

I may generally choose to listen more than I talk, but that is not always the case, especially in my prayer life.  I have noticed that I tend to do most of the talking in this particular time of my day.  The other morning, I tried to make a conscious effort to change this.  I laid out some petitions before God and then just listened to what He had to say.  After a minute or two, we were engaged in the most intriguing conversation.  Now hold on a minute, I am not saying that I physically heard the voice of God.  It was more like a “communing” of His spirit with mine.  I would say something and almost immediately, I would sense the Spirit speaking back to me.  Of course, I have had that experience many times where I knew God was speaking, but none so sincere where I knew that He was actually just spending some time with me.  We truly had quite a special time of simply just “being together”.

I know that this may seem a bit “extreme”, and some may have deep theological truths that shun this type of engagement with the Almighty God, but all I know is that I enjoyed the closeness and the intimacy that we had there in those early morning hours.  I plan on making myself “shut up” more often and just listen to what my Father may have to say to me that day.  I love the verse that says, “Be still and know that I am God” and I certainly don’t want to miss Him because I was too busy talking.

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I must say that I love homeschool curriculum.  I love to browse through catalogs, and I love to go to websites to see what’s new out there in the area of homeschooling.  I think I may even love it a bit too much.  I am already thinking that I only have 2 kids now who are schooling and how will I possibly try all the new stuff with only 2 kids.  Fortunately for me, my kids are great at humoring me and are willing to try whatever I throw at them, for the most part anyway. 

I got my new CBD Homeschool sale catalog in the mail the other day.  It is my favorite catalog that I get.  I love that it has pretty much any curriculum that I would want to look at right there all in one place.  Their prices are usually very good too.  I am already marking the products that I want to further investigate and am more and more excited with each turn of the page.

We are heading into my most anticipated time of the year and I can hardly contain my excitement at what the next couple of months hold.  The conventions start in a few weeks and then, once all the decisions are made, starts all the lesson planning.  Don’t you just love those weeks of receiving all your new stuff and starting all the planning that goes along with it.  I do!  It is the highlight of my year.

I don’t know if it is because my oldest is graduating this year, but I am feeling the urgency to spread my wings and go out of my comfort zone with my curriculum choices, especially with my youngest daughter.  It is my nature to go the textbook route, because it is nice and neat and tidy and that has “me” written all over it.  She has such a free spirit and I know that I usually try to contain it as best as I can and it has not always work to my benefit, and most of all her benefit.  I want to find something that will let that spirit soar, not ground it.

I have been looking down the path of Sonlight, but I just cannot seem to get my head around it.  I know it is always voted as the the #1 curriculum used by homeschoolers, but I just can’t understand the catalog and it seems to be quite pricey as well.  Maybe I am just dense, but I sure could use some input from those who have used it. 

 I have also thought about just doing “Unit Studies” with her.  So far, I have found a lot of material that is free that could be used for that.  Well, whatever I decide, I know I will enjoy planning it and trying to figure it all out.  I am excited just sitting here writing about it.  I think I will sign off and get my catalogs out right now!

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My girls and I watched “The Passion of the Christ” tonight.  I had seen it once before, but they had never seen it. 

 My, oh my the enormous love that my God must have for me.  I am moved beyond emotion just at the mere concept of that kind of love.  Of course, I have read the story more times than I can count and heard the sermons and had the knowledge of all that he endured, but to see just a glimpse of it brought to life, in my family room………..

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken,
I’m accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

Amazing love, How can it be
That You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it’s true.
It’s my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You.

You are my King
Jesus You are my King