The Bible in 90 Days--Day 82!

Day 82.

I can't believe it.

How can we be so far through our Bible reading??? It had seemed like we would never get to this point, and here we are, at Day 82. Almost done, as in reality the "Bible in 90 Days" program is more accurately called the "Bible in 88 Days," because the schedule is made with two built-in "grace days" in it. So if you do not end up needing those grace days, you finish reading the Bible in 88 days. Even though this is my second time reading the Bible through with this program, I am still shocked to be here at this point. I never would have believed it would happen. Just goes to prove the answer to the question "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time." Not that I go around eating elephants. I'm a vegetarian! ;) But to accomplish a large goal--just begin. God will help you.

Some treasures that really spoke to me from today's reading:

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 16:55-57

I love this. We have all been stung by death of a loved one. But Jesus has overcome death.

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love." 1 Cor. 16:13-14

I like how the admonition to be strong and firm is balanced with the instruction to do everything in love.

"But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 2 Cor. 1:9

What trials may be in my life, that are actually a blessing to me if they cause me to see how helpless I am, and how much I need to rely on God. . .

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor. 4:18

I want new eyesight. To be able to see eternal things. . .

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Cor. 5:17

O Lord, make me a new creation.

I will savor these last few days of Bible reading. And when I am done--I think I will have to start over. I want God's Word to me to be as the air I need to breath. And I need to breath every day.

Road Trip USA!

Hi All!

Thought I would share a little bit about our geography curriculum we are using this year. We are having LOADS of fun using a curriculum developed by a homeschool mom that is called "Road TripUSA." You can find it here if you are interested, and it is available either in a CD form or instant download: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/u-s-geography I chose the instant download, which she charges only $18 for--well worth it for a year's worth of geography fun!

First we begin by printing off Travel Logs for each student. We needed a picture of the traveler to go inside the Travel Log, so I snapped this photo of my daughter. Can you tell she is excited?

Since they are set up to print out two on each page, we ended up with an "extra" Travel Log that we didn't need. Or so I thought. She insisted that "I" needed a Travel Log as well.

We took our pictures standing near the state we were each born in, which was my daughters idea and I thought it was pretty neat. We are using our LARGE pull down USA map that God gave me. Really. I had been drooling over them on E-Bay ($). I even looked them up brand new ($$$). But when I gave up the idea and just told God about how neat I thought a HUGE map would be, He sent me this one for FREE. Just my price. And a few more maps too, for good measure. Pressed down, overflowing. More blessings than I can receive.


The curriculum has you going through the states at a pace of two states a week. Sometimes we actually achieve two a week. Other times we do not, due to medical appointments, lessons, etc. But we will just keep moving through at our own pace, and someday we will finish.

Not ALL the states have a huge craft project, but it seems that around every other state does. That's often enough for me--keeps it fun, but not overwhelming. Here we were studying Delaware, and we are constructing a major bridge that is there. This project actually went together MUCH easier than I thought it was going to. And it was fun, besides!

As you can see, there is a GREAT need for this bridge in Delaware. So great, that the traffic did not even wait for the bridge to be completed before it started using the bridge!

Isn't it amazing what can be done with popsickle sticks and hot glue?

This bridge is so much fun to play with, even the cat plays with it!

When we were studying Maine, we made a lighthouse craft. This idea was actually suggested for a different state elsewhere in the curriculum, but we both thought Maine needed a lighthouse craft so we did it here. Who knows. We may make another one later on.

For Maryland, we each constructed a "Skipjack" boat. This is the state boat, and is quite famous we learned.

We each chose slightly different sail shapes. Had to include some yarn for rigging, of course, and I chose oars while she chose to put in seats.












Most important, they both passed the "ocean" test. Well, that is, until a typhoon came and swamped them both!

We are only a little ways into using this curriculum, but are enjoying is very much. So if you are looking for something fun and affordable for geography, check out "Road Trip USA!"

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All opinions expressed are completely my own. I did not receive this curriculum free. I purchased it myself to use in my own homeschool, and am enjoying it so much I wanted to share about our fun.

It's "Elephant Appreciation Day!"

Hi Everyone!

Did you know that today is "Elephant Appreciation Day?" That's right. I'm really not making this up. Really.

I have no idea how today received such a distinction, but it was written on the same kids calendar that I learned about "International Chocolate Day" awhile back. ;) Did any of you end up doing the Homeschool Bits "All Chocolate" study that day? We did, and had so much fun doing it. And wouldn't you know it--a week later my 18 year old was being given a vocabulary test orally and my daughter and I were waiting for him in the same room. The test giver was reading off descriptions of things, and my son was supposed to come up with the vocabulary word that would best fit the description. One of the descriptions being given was describing something that came from beans and was used in many desserts. My son did not think of the answer "Chocolate" at that time, but my daughter looked at me with wide eyes and was SO excited that SHE knew the answer to a test question of big brothers! And she had learned it from her "All Chocolate" unit study we had done the week before. So you see--you never know when the information you learn may come in handy--even from fun little studies like these!

Today, being "Elephant Appreciation Day" and all, my daughter and I are going to be doing the "Elephants--A Fun Study" from Homeschool Bits company, sold as a download over at Curriclick. It is SO affordable, and a real deal for what you get! It is sold for only $1.00, and since it is a download you can get it immediately. If you are interested, you can find it here: http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?cPath=1166_1274&products_id=36474&it=1

It has great pictures, coloring pictures, lots of information about elephants--where they live and what the differences are between African and Asian elephants, booklets and cards and pockets that can be assembled into a lap book, an elephant crossword (in two levels of difficulty), copywork--in different levels including print and cursive, and even a link to a video of a baby elephant as well as links to other web sites where you can learn more about elephants and find elephant crafts. Not bad for $1.00!

Anyway, just wanted to share about this fun product with the rest of you. I do love the Homeschool Bits items! Check out Curriclick.com, and you will find MANY more! So many fun things to study, so little time in each day. . .

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This product review is entirely my own opinion. I did not receive this product free--I purchased it and just wanted to share my appreciation of all it contains for so little price with others. I have in the past occasionally received a Homeschool Bits study for free.

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 67!

Good Morning!

Well, here we are. Our last day of reading entirely in the Old Testament. Hard to believe, but tomorrow's reading will take us into Matthew, and the New Testament will go by REALLY fast.

While I am thrilled to be moving into the New Testament, at the same time it is with a tinge of sadness that I move out of the Old Testament. I have spent so many blessed hours reading this portion of God's Word. But that's all right. I'll definitely be back!

Meanwhile, there are still some real treasures to be gleaned in today's reading. We often do not hear much about all these little short books jammed up at the end of the Old Testament. They all kind of blur together. It's even hard for me to be able to answer my family when they ask me what book of the Bible I am reading in. Some of these are only two chapters long, and I may be moving through three or more books each day as I am reading now! To be honest, I don't even pay attention to what book I am reading in--I am just concentrating on reading the words on the page! Then when I run across something that really speaks to me, it is kind of like "Whoa, where is THAT gem found?" and I have to look up to see what book I am reading in.

So enough of my musings, and on to today's treasures. . .

Here is a verse that is precious to me. It is one that we chose to bless our son with, when we were writing up the parent speech for his 8th grade graduation ceremony:

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

Isn't that beautiful? Have you ever really thought about God rejoicing over YOU with singing? He loves us so much, He is so pleased with the unique person that He created that He breaks out in song. We are so important to Him that He gave his Only Son. . .

And more gems from today:

"'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord Almighty." Haggai 2:8

Praise the Lord, God is not limited by OUR resources! It all belongs to Him. He has no shortage.

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 1:3

Did you catch who is speaking in that last verse? It is the Lord Almighty. Not the Lord Weak. Not the Lord "I would like to but I'm sorry I can't." No, it says three times that it is the Lord ALMIGHTY. And look at what He promises--He promises to return to us.

Another beautiful verse--

"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 4:6

This is how we can accomplish things. Not by any power that we have, for we do not have any! But by God's power. And He does not lack in power.

Well, I need to get on with the day. Think about these treasures today. And remember that God is rejoicing over you with singing.

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 66!

A treasure from today's reading:

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Isn't that beautiful? Instruction summed up in just three points. This is what we are to do, how we are to live. 1) act justly, 2) love mercy, 3) walk humbly with our God

I especially love the last part. We are to walk WITH our God. It doesn't say we are to go on ahead all by ourselves. We are not to trail behind picking our way through life the best we can. No, we are to walk WITH God. He is right there with us, no matter what journey we are taking at that time. Whether it is an easy day, or a difficult one, He is there.

Beautiful words. Even more beautiful Savior.

Homeschool Review: All Chocolate!

Hi Everyone!

Just thought I would let you all know about a fun little something we are going to be doing for Home school this coming week. Are you all familiar with www.currclick.com? If you aren't, and you are a homeschooler, then you need to be! Currclick is a GREAT place to get some nice curriculum to use in your home school. It is all downloads--which means you can get it much cheaper and also instant--compared to ordering a physical book from a publisher. The materials are usually things that home school families developed for use in their own homeschool, so they know it came in handy with their own children. ANYWAY, did you all know that this coming Tuesday, September 13, is "International Chocolate Day?" So what is a homeschooling mother to do? Study CHOCOLATE, of course!

Over at Currclick there is a wonderful home school publisher by the name of "Homeschool Bits." This mom has developed the neatest most fun little studies. Nothing that would replace your regular curriculum--just fun little add-on sorts of things. And one of the materials she has developed is called "All Chocolate!" It is a pdf file that consists of 27 pages. You and your child will learn about how chocolate is developed, see pictures of the beans growing, practice handwriting using copywork about the chocolate process, etc. There are word searches, a puzzle you can make, and ideas for creating a lap book about what you learned. The target audience is grades K-5, and the best part is the price--it is only $1.00! I think this is a GREAT price! (By the way, there are also quite often sales on things at Currclick, and I actually purchased this study when it was only .25 cents!)

Anyway--just wanted to share one of my sources for fun things to add to our home school. If you are interested in the "All Chocolate" study, you can find it here: http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=32954&it=1

And in case you are wondering--this review is completely unsolicited. I did not even receive a free product in exchange for my mentioning it here on my blog. I just REALLY like the "Homeschool Bits" materials I have seen, and wanted to share my great findings with all of you. And yes, I did purchase some chocolate for us to eat after our study Tuesday. Dark chocolate--that's a health food, right?

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 59!

Good Morning!

I am praising God this morning! Our house was kept safe in the flooding here, and even though we lost our electricity for a looooong time (it felt, anyway!) it is back on now. Yea! I was not wanting to lose a bunch of frozen peaches I pealed and froze this summer!

Busy day today--I need to get ready for a doctor's appointment for my son. But wanted to at least share a couple beautiful promises I ran across this morning in my Bible reading. . .

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself,'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lamentations 3:22-26

And one more, short but very very sweet:

"You came near when I called you, and you said, 'Do not fear.'" Lamentations 3:57

Aren't those beautiful? I especially like the part that says "The Lord is my portion." There are no promises of earthly riches. But we are promised God as our inheritance. I cannot think of a better one.

A blessed day to all of you! This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Prayers Needed

Hi Everyone!

Thought I would share this picture of Gunbarrel Road in Chattanooga. We are only one day into two or three days of expected solid rain. We needed the rain--just not quite this much all at once! At noon today the "official" report was that Chattanooga had reached 5 inches, that was just in the night and half of today. It is supposed to be Thursday before we have sun again.

Please pray for people to be safe in this area, and for flooding to stop. And while you are at it, please join me in praying for the wild fires in Texas. They sure could use some of this extra water we have--wish I could send it to them!

We had some important medical appointments this week--needless to say, I don't think we are going anywhere. Too many roads are closed. Heaven will be wonderful--none of this stuff will happen there. And the best part, of course, will be seeing God face to face.

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The above photo is not my own--I was able to "share" it from the local news FB page.

Low Fat Cinnamon Rolls--Yum!

Recently I was really craving something sweet, so was looking for a dessert recipe. But at the same time I wanted to stick with something low-fat and fairly healthy. . . All of a sudden I remembered THIS recipe. Don't know why I haven't made it for a while. . . I just forgot about it!

So here it is--one of my favorite recipes in the world. I think you will love it too. Besides that, if I post it on my blog, when I can't find my copy of the recipe I can always look it up here. Don't laugh, it's happened. More than once! ;)

Apple Sauce Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

4 cups flour (I use half whole wheat, and half white)

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup natural applesauce

1/2 cup skim milk (I use soy milk)

1/3 cup plus 2 T. sugar, divided

2 T. margarine (I use a low fat version)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten ( I use 1 T. cornstarch and 2 T. water)

2 tsp. cinnamon

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T. skim milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Step 1: In large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour and yeast. Set aside. In small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup apple sauce, milk, 2 T. of sugar, margarine and salt. Cook over medium heat until margarine melted. Add to flour mixture along with egg. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in 2 1/4 cups flour until soft dough forms.

Step 2: Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; flatten slightly. Knead 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding remaining 1/4 cup flour to prevent sticking if necessary. Shape dough into ball; place in large bowl that is sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, cover and let rice in warm place about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Step 3: Spray large lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray. Punch down dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Cover with towel; let rest 10 minutes.

Roll out dough into large square. (O.K., so mine isn't exactly a square. It's close enough!) Spread remaining 1/4 cup apple sauce over dough, to within 1/2 inch of edges. (I usually use more apple sauce here. It's healthy--just don't put it on TOO thick or it will all squish out when you roll it up.) In small bowl, combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apple sauce.

Roll up dough jelly-roll style. Moisten edge with water, pinch to seal seam.

Cut roll into 1 inch slices. Personally, I think the easiest way in the world to do this is with dental floss. Really. Go get a large piece of floss--maybe 2 feet in length. Wrap each end around a finger on each hand. Slide the floss under your dough roll, slide near the center of the roll and then twist the floss over on top of the roll. It will cut through cleanly, then you just slide the floss under the roll again and repeat until it is all cut. You can see my dental floss in front of my cut dough, on the counter there. It sounds more complicated than it is. You are basically squeezing the dough from all around it instead of mashing it down flat when you try and cut it with a knife. But if you don't want to try my floss idea, just cut it with a knife.

Place your rolls into your sprayed pan. I had a couple more than would fit in my pan--not a problem. Just stick them in a second pan. I promise you, you will NOT have a problem with leftovers! Cover with towel and let rise in warm place around 30 minutes or until nearly doubled in bulk. Meanwhile, get your oven preheating at 375 degrees.

Bake 375 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. I usually end up close to 30 minutes in my oven. But check them--you do NOT want to burn these or dry them all out because you forgot them!

Cool the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes.

In small bowl, combine powdered sugar, 1 T. milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over tops of rolls. Serve warm. Yummmmmmm!!!!!!!!

Add a fruit salad, and it's my favorite Friday night supper. A special meal for a special time--welcoming in the Sabbath!

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 56!

Good Morning!

I have another treasure to share from God's Love Letter to us this morning. . . It is a wonderful promise to memorize.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" Jeremiah 29:11-13

Isn't that beautiful? The the really awesome thing is not only does God have wonderful plans for me, but He is well able to carry out those plans--unlike me when I may have good intentions but those intentions never become reality.

Hope and a future. That's what God is planning for me. And I already know what that future will be. God tells me in His Love Letter.

"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:2-4

In my future I will prosper. I will live with God, in His city. I will belong to Him. He will belong to me. And He will wipe every tear from my eyes.

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 55!

Happy Sabbath Everyone!

I am reading in the book of Jeremiah currently. It is not always the most optimistic book to read! But it is only because of the fault of the people who insisted on going their own way, and forsaking God--the only one who could hear them and help them. Instead they turned to idols, who can see not and hear not.

But even so, there are still some beautiful gems and promises for us in this book. Here is a great "consequence" passage. God makes it pretty clear--if we would only choose wisely!

"This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream; It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:5-8

Beautiful promise. Notice that it does not say that the drought will not come. No, it says that WHEN the year of drought comes, the man who trusts in the Lord will have no worries. That man (or woman!) will still be sustained, because they are trusting in God.

Isn't that how you want to be? I do. Trusting in God--no matter what is going on around me.

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 53!

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe we are past the half-way point in our Bible reading already. . . On the one hand, it seems like I have been following this 90 Day plan forever. On the other hand it seems like we just started!

Today's reading in Isaiah includes some of my all time favorite Bible verses. Thought I would share them with all of you--hope you like them as much as I do!

"Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I." Isaiah 58:9

Isn't that one beautiful? God does not hide away from us. We do not need to look and look and look until we find where He has hidden Himself away. . . this promise says we only need to CALL, and that He will ANSWER us. Love that!

And here is one for my Texas friends--for all of the rest of us as well, as we are pretty dry around my part of the country as well. . .

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

Sun-scorched. Doesn't that describe especially this summer? The whole time I lived in Texas, I claimed this verse. No matter where we live, we can have different trials. But with God, we can be like a well-watered garden. Beautiful!

Oh, and here is another wonderful one. Listen to THIS lovely promise. And practice saying it out LOUD. Your ears need to hear it as well. Honestly, I do not talk out loud to myself hardly at all (unlike my husband!) but I DO talk this verse out loud. . . try it! It really makes a difference!

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear." Isaiah 59:1

Isn't that a beautiful verse??? I told you so! ;) So, the next time you see a large problem looming up over you, try speaking this verse out loud at it and watch how it shrinks that problem down.

And here is a verse I will leave you with. It communicates how much our Father loves us. Just listen to it:

"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24

You see--God does not wait to help us. He is eager and WANTS to help us. He can hardly wait to carry our burdens for us. He can hardly bear to watch us try and carry them on our own. He is running down the path, eager to reach us. Before Susan calls, God answers. While Susan is still speaking, God hears her.

Have a Blessed Sabbath!

Susan