New Ways our Lord is upholding us as we journey

The Lord upholds His children, as you all well know. ;o) He carries us along in His loving, everlasting Arms! He fights all our battles "for" us!

As you know, we have begun a ministry, full time, called Life in the Bible Institute. We still have "the vision" for that, as shared by Michael Dante, "the President." We are a non-profit (no kidding!), charitable organization, approved by the IRS, as a 501(c)-3 "teaching" ministry / charitable organization. We depend completely on God, to provide, uphold, enable and qualify us all, who contribute to this ministry.

The latest "news" is that, after we all gleaned what our understanding hearts could glean from "the President's" reading (this week) of the book _Prayer: Asking and Receiving_ by John R. Rice, and after we prayed specifically about some needs our family and ministry have, God proceeded to do three things:
1. He enabled us to believe, beyond sight, for the upcoming financial needs of this ministry and family, and He began the next morning providing, through one widow we know, a gift that has already helped us,
2. He then allowed us to meet another home educating family who, later that evening, called to ask if we could help them with a banner for the church where the dad is an associate pastor. We trust that that could provide some ... financially, though we can only arrange these banners through a local printer, who gets most of the benefit from us offering the service to design the banner on our computers, and then pass the "work" onto him.
3. The Lord then had a man at church who works as a contractor ... ask "the President" if he was available to help him do some remodeling work, in someone's residence, not far from where we live. We trust that that will also provide some ... financially.

We consider all of these God's provision, in a special way. Bills come due. God provides!
He is amazing! He is awesome! He fills us with "wonder!" He is truly The only One we need!
Hallelujah! Praise to His Holy Name! He always comes through, and when we pray specifically, He does mighty wonders that even the skeptics have to admit could only have been done by Him!
He is God Almighty! The Provider! The Protector! The All Sufficient Saviour! He is The Lord!

We are thanking Him for this new provision.
... one more:
4. The next morning, after all of that other stuff happened, a businessman called to ... see if he could "connect" *our President* with some companies that have "jobs" he can do from home.

We will see. We are already clearing out as much of our stuff as we can, to get ready for an upcoming move. We may soon live elsewhere. Stay tuned, for what God will do next.
He has given us an amazing amount of "financial backing," let's say, through gifts and donations from those who know us, in the area, over the past several months, especially in December... when it was needed most. I won't list each amount, or who gave us gifts and donations. But God has them all on His list! And He has some big rewards for those folks, because we happen to know that they gave like the Macedonian congregation (the believers) who gave sacrifically to Paul, to take their gifts to the poor believers living in Jerusalem, ... long, long ago. And God abundantly rewards those who give out of their lack of abundance! And they gave cheerfully, saying to us that God had prompted them to give.

The Lord likes us to give to those who are in need, and we must do that, even if we think we are in need. Right? He loves to provide extra, to each of us, just so we can do that. God is so good!

... keep looking down! ... from your position up in Heaven, since you are seated in Heavenly places in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ)! Dr. Timothy M. Warner put that phrase in a book he wrote, along with Neil T. Anderson, entitled _The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Warfare_. It is available through the ALERT bookstore, if anyone wants to read and learn from a copy of it. It's very helpful and enlightening. You may know of someone who is not as aware as you are, of "things" that come as a result of "spiritual warfare." If you do, please pass on the title of that book to them, so they can begin to learn more. They will thank you for it, later. And God will do the work in them that He may already be doing in you! Hallelujah! God is pleased, I believe, when we pass on to others the helpful advice or information we have been given, by others!

Let's share God! He is generous! He wants everyone to come to Him!
Have a super-great day, asking and receiving from our Heavenly Father, all that He has in mind for us to receive! Ask, seek, knock ....

... going back to asking now ......

"A Quiet Heart Journal" thought: Blessings ...

Jan. 20, 2008

Blessings The Lord Adonai Jehovah has been workin' on ...

________________________

It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!
Is He yours?

Jeremiah 33: 3 John 15: 4-5, 7-12, 14-17
I Corinthians 13 Ephesians 1: 15-21 and
2: 1-10 and 3: 14, 16-21 Colossians 1: 9-14
____________________________________

...I bow my knees unto The Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah,
of Whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that He
would grant you, according to the riches of His Glory, to be strengthened
with Might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Messiah may dwell in
your hearts by Faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in Love, may
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height; and to know The agape Love of Mesiah, which
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God
. ...He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to The Power (of The Spirit) that worketh in us, unto Him be
glory in the believers by Messiah Yeshua throughout all ages, ....
Ephesians 3: 14-21

God our Father, Almighty, sure is a busy One! He has been workin'
overtime, on behalf of our family, recently. Since our family began a
full-time evangelistic and teaching ministry early in 2007, God has been
workin' in the hearts of every member of our family. Our oldest son,
while serving with No Greater Joy's ministry since January of 2007,
is soon to return to Texas, and even he has been well aware of what
urgings and pullings God has been doin' in all of us.

The Good Lord works in each one of His children the specific will
He has for that one, and He urges each one to do certain things
according to the giftings He has put within each of us. He also pulls
at our hearts at various times and in various ways, according to how
He has wired each of His children.

He teaches each one differently, because some of us catch
"facts and information," while others of us catch "dramatic
moments" or "paintings God paints in the sun-setting western sky.
He teaches each one a different story to tell, about Him.

Each struggle we go through tells a new part of our story. God
is using some very special people in our family's life to share God's
generous Heart with us, in recent months. Here is some of the rest
of the story I began telling on another blog at:
http://kasayeshua.multiply.com If you are interested, please read
more about it there.

While my husbad was in a large city for a while, applying
for full-time work for ministries or corporations, not long ago, and
though he was qualified for every one he applied for, and though
he applied for many, many job positions, it became quite clear that
The Good Lord had a plan to use that time to confirm to him and to
us that he is to put his time into full-time evangelistic and teaching
work, for this season of our lives.

God has been, before that time, and since then, bringing generous
help to our family, through close friends and relatives, who have all
made some sacrifice to give to us. Some of them understand all that
we do, as home educators, because they also home educate their own
children. Others who gave to us have never homeschooled their
children, so they wonder what, exactly, we are up to, in beginning
an IRS-approved 501(c)-3 non-profit, charitable organization, called
Life in the Bible Institute.

We all have been watching, daily and weekly, seeing God meet all
our needs, and often so much more! When yet another loving child
of God gives us food, or helps us in some other way, we see it as a
very real answer from God to prayer. God has, in a way that only He
could do (and by that, it gives Him, alone, the glory for what He has
done), paid all our family's expenses (trust me, they are not small,
though we have no financial debts and we hope we owe no debts to
anyone in any other way). The rent we pay at this house where we
now live (though temporary; we trust God will be moving us on from
here in about 2 to 9 weeks from now) is much higher than what we
used to pay to the old mortage, before 2001 ended, when we got to
throw away our mortgage papers, when God sold the last house we
had a mortgage on, late in 2001. After that, we paid cash for a
house, ... and later sold it. Then, The Lord lent us a house to use
while we served full-time at the International ALERT Academy,
from late in 2003 until April 1, of 2007. Now, we live in a lovely
house in east Texas, ... but it is not ours. All we have is God's own.

We stand amazed at how God can pay all our bills each month,
no matter how much they are. Higher or lower, He still comes
through, and provides just enough for them all to be paid. We
have seen Him provide the money (as we Americans say) "just in
time." More than twice! Over and over!

During recent holyday times, and recent birthday celebrations,
God has been teaching us some lessons that hit us hard. We felt
quite inadequate and humbled by our dear Father in Heaven, when
we were unable to do what we "used to do," to share our own
generosity with others, in our family, who were generous with us.

God has shown us that we do not have to spend lots of money
on gifts for our children to know that we do love and appreciate
them, ... on special occasions. We can show them we love and want
them to know how special they are to us, by writing them personal
notes and letters, painting pictures, or by drawing something they
like as a gift for them.

We can make them a special meal they choose, or do
a puppet show to make them laugh, or sing a special song they
like, together as a family, or as a "performance" given by one of
us, especially for them. We can act out a skit that shows them
we had been thinking about a way to show them "love" for days
and days! We can make a shadow play, with paper characters,
behind a sheet, with a light from the back, so it makes the paper
figures appear real large on the 'sheet screen.' Three of our
children have done this, as a special treat for us. It always
brightens our days!

God has done so much to encourage our hearts (!), during this
time of waiting on Him, while He shows us each new peek into His
window of direction and leading, on the pathway He has chosen
us to travel on, with Him. He has used His Word, His children /
His followers, our own children, His true ministers, and His true
missionaries on foreign fields and on the home front, plus many
who home educate, to edify us, pray for us, help us, give generously
to us, and to encourage us. As we begin to sing more, in public,
as a harmonious family of singers, in any place where folks ask us
to come, we will remember all those who gave to us, shared with
us, and loves us ... all the way there!

God is so good to us! When His children think they have a
lack in one area, God makes up for it in another area. When any
of God's children think they do not have enough, all they need do
is look at all that God has so richly blessed them with, and then
try to find someone else who has "less," ... and willingly give to
"their new friends" something they realize they really could do
without. And it will bless the receivers, as well as the givers!

Without giving all the specifics, I hope this has given those
who read this blog some idea of what God has been up to, in our
family, as we travel this home educating journey, down The Path
of Life, with Yeshua our Lord, Redeemer, Deliverer, and our
Mighty One, our Strength, our Joy, our Refuge and Help in
"trouble," and the High Tower to which we run, for safety from
danger, and the Safe Haven of Rest, where we can lie down and
sleep in Peace! No worries! No anxiety! Only Rest and Shalom
Peace! He is our Haven of Rest and our Shalom Peace!

In Isaiah 26: 1 b - 4, The Lord shares this: "... in the land of
Judah; We have a strong city; salvation (Hebrew, Ye'shua)
will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates,
that the righteous nation which keepeth the Truth may enter in.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect (real) peace, whose mind is stayed
on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in The Lord
YHWH forever: for in The Lord (YHWH) Jehovah is everlasting
Strength:"
And verse 7 shares this: "The way of the just is uprightness:
Thou, Most Upright, does weigh the path of the just." God always
has you on His mind, if you are just. We are made just through
believing in and trusting our lives to the Lamb of God, Ye'shua,
Who suffered, taking the punishment for our sins, on the Roman
execution stake. Our Father in Heaven, Who pities us as a father
pities his children ... cares for us, provides for us, and loves us
more than we know .... He does so much for us, while we are busy
doing all we know to do, trying to let Him live His Life through us.

Isaiah 30: 15 reminds us: "For thus saith The Lord YHWH
God, The Holy One of Israel; In returning (to where God wants
us to go or be) and rest (in Him, in Ye'shua) shall ye be saved /
delivered; in quietness (trusting hope) and in confidence (in
YHWH) shall be your Strength: ...."

Isaiah 32: 17, He continues to encourage us by saying: "And
the work of Righteousness shall be Shalom Peace; and the effect
of Righteousness quietness and assurance forever." God is able
to bring good out of every "bad" circumstance. He just wants us
to stick to Him like glue, and keep listening to Him at least as
much as we talk to Him. He wants us to worship Him in spirit and
in Truth. Let's learn how to do that more and more!

He wants us to remember that He "is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the (His) power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory in the
believers (church) by Messiah Ye'shua throughout all ages ...."
-- from Ephesians 3: 20-21

In Jeremiah 32: 27, the Lord YHWH said: "Behold, I AM
The Lord YHWH, The God of all flesh: is there any thing too
hard for Me?"

While our family walks through this time in what may
appear to be a wilderness time of testing and proving our hearts
and souls, ... He is showing us that He will remain The Faithful
One and The True One, Who always keeps His promises and Who
will never leave us nor forsake us. We need only examine our
selves, and continue letting Him purge from us all our ill manners
toward Him, and our unholy attitudes.

He wants us to give Him all our rights, expectations,
hopes, dreams and plans, and rededicate our lives to Him
every day. That is a big price, we think, at times. But
once we give those to Him, He pays us with so much
more than we could imagine: riches that no moth can
destroy or pestilence take away! Riches that last for
eternity! Treasures that are worth more than rubies
and diamonds, and gold and silver have no value next
to the value of living forever with Him in our Father's
House in Heaven, for ever and ever! Hallelujah!

Home education gives us the chance to live "outside
the box," that so many never get to try to do, or else just
don't realize they could, if only they would choose to.
It is a great adventure! Families are some of the hardest
things to break apart... though I've had a hard time breakin'
open some nut shells, before. And geodes are quite a
challenge, ... unless you are a growing boy who has his
Dad's hammer (with permission), and Mom is teachin' him
geology. hee hee! I am so glad God is letting us learn
how to learn, better than our first time around (when we,
as parents, attended public school). Learning can be lots
of fun! It is up to what we are willing to try, right?

Hope your journey today will bring you back home with
a big smile on your face, after some "real learnin'" has
gone on, around your family's home front. ;o)
... from east Texas, where there still isn't any snow on the
ground. Anyone up north, who is finished using your snow,
will you please send us some that is still cold enough to
last for at least a few hours. That's about how long snow
lasts in our area of Texas, anyway. God is good! ... even
when He does not choose to have snow fall where we live.
;o)

Modest Clothing Links ...from Jan. 8, 2008, & Feb. 1, 2008

Below are some great links to sites that have "modest clothing" information or products. It was shared on "A Quiet Heart Journal," not long ago (a now-deleted blog I used to write on). Hope you can find a link to a site you will recommend to someone you know and care about, who may be having a rough time of finding retail clothing stores that offer "modest" clothing, in the truest sense of that "term."

**************************

Jan. 8, 2008

Modest Clothing Links

_________________________

It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!

Is He yours?

Jeremiah 33: 3 John 15: 4-5, 7-12, 14-17
I Corinthians 13 Ephesians 1: 15-21 and 2: 1-10
and 3: 14, 16-21 Colossians 1: 9-14
_________________________

As you can see below, there are quite a few "modest clothing" links, as shared from the Biblical Womanhood website of Crystal Paine, shown below. !!! She has done a great job gathering them, and I asked her if it was okay to share them with you. Please visit her site at: http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/modestclothing.htm And leave her a note of "thanks" to let her know that you do appreciate all the work she did, to pull this list together!

I will add some, in a separate post, but these are so good; it is hard to add to them. I do have some more saved, elsewhere. So ... hope to look through those, check them against this list, and will then "post" those, for you all.

Dressing *modestly* (that "term" must be defined more specifically), is what our Lord wants us to do, both men and women. Each of us has acquired a specific viewpoint, due to various things in both our upbringing, and our spiritual convictions our Father God has added to what we learned while growing up. I will include my own definition of clothing oneself modestly, in a separate post.

Many of us were raised by parents who, for some reason, moved into the realm of what many of us would now call "a secular worldview" of life, and of how we should live. I was raised that way. They were raised right, I have discovered (according to those I asked, of their sisters). At least, as well as it appears they could have been, in their various farming families. Though I do not know enough specifics to be able to figure out just "when" and "how" my parents came to their own, very different conclusions, of how they should dress, what kind of music they should listen to, and what kinds of more modern ways (and goals) of life they should strive to achieve or follow, I do see, in retrospect, that they must have rejected some standards and values their own parents had taught each of them.

I can only find that each of my parents were interested in the way "others" did things, ... others who were outside their own family's sphere of influence and love, and outside of the Biblical teaching they were given by their parents (some of whom were born before 1880!). They were very interested in "modern conveniences," partly due to the many "new" items that began to be produced, in the U.S., during their growing-up years ... in the 1920s and 1930s. There were so many things, and if one were to listen closely to the advertisements, and believe anything said in them, then one might ... if one did not already have a close and serious spiritual relationship with God and with His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ ... be deceived into thinking that, to be happy, one should at least "try" some of these "new" products. I use this as one example of the influence of one's culture on what one may come to accept, over time, through indoctrination of sorts. (if I may say it that way; it came through advertising, magazines, newspapers, movies & in the 1950s, through tv)

Knowing that at least one of my parents grew up in a large family of 13, which also was not middle class, but would be considered rather poor, I can only imagine that this one may have figured that, to be happy in life, one must strive to "overcome being poor." I know that one of them worked, when it was not truly necessary, but to "get ahead." They both chose to work hard, in their early married life, which did work for them, as far as they seemed to understand. And I am not saying that 'hard work' is wrong or bad. I only mean that I do wonder if it was truly necessary for my own Mom to work outside the home, while my sister and I were still quite young. Was there a real need, financially, for her to do that? Or was it her or my Dad's desire for "more," or to not end up "in a bad financial situation," due to them watching their own parents go through the Great Depression in the U.S.?

They were taught some "worldly" ways of thinking, after they "had grown up" and were not living near their parents. You must understand, though, that when my parents married, they were both over 34 years old. That does make a difference. They did not meet while one of them, or both, was living with their own parents, at their family's home! They had both been out working, and in different places from their parents' state of residence, for a number of years, before they got married. They had received some strong influences from the world, before they met. My Dad had served in the military, in at least part of two wars, before they met, so in his life, this also influenced his thinking. They both, as adults, listened regularly to music that is worldly, and builds up the human flesh, more than it builds up the believer's spirit. God designed music to be used to glorify His Name and to be used while worshipping Him (The Lord Almighty, The God of Israel).

But, as I have learned from many who are wiser than I am about finances, and about living for God first, I now know that several of the principles my parents lived by, and that they used to try to "get ahead" (so as to be enabled, when older, to live on a cash basis), ... and to live "very comfortably" ... were not Biblical. They were taught, I suspect, some time before or during the 1950s or 1960s, that using credit cards and "taking out loans" to make large purchases would build "good credit." They were told that this would be quite desirable, to help in buying a nice home, etc., etc. Most of us who are married have heard these words!

But have we been taught that this is against what God teaches all through Proverbs, and elsewhere in His Word? Hasn't God gone even further to teach us, in His Word there, that we should also not sign or make a promise to co-sign any "note" (made by a borrower, to pay back one who lends to him), to pay the debt owed, in case the borrower, somehow, cannot do it, later? We are forbidden to do this. We are also forbidden to borrow, ourselves. That is a hard concept to "not fall into the trap of," when one is newly married, and many expenses seem to come up so quickly.

So, credit and debt, we are told by our Lord and God, is not desirable at all. It only makes us a slave to the one who lent us the money, ... if he has not given it to us freely, without any expectation to be repaid. In that case, it would be a "gift." But that is not what my parents were learning from the world. They were learning that it is okay to go into "some debt," .... A mortgage, perhaps? But can that be called "some" debt? That's quite a large amount of money to try to pay back, very quickly! More about this, later.

About the "Modest Clothing Links" :

Dressing modestly will be the subject of my next post here. It is so important, that I can tell you from personal experience, in my years of life before age 20, and even in my life experience -- through observation of young people within the past 10 years and less -- that one only "asks for" and "gets" much trouble, from not listening to God's Holy Spirit's urgings or promptings, about clothing oneself with enough of our body covered to not, in any way, cause any man, young or old, to think immoral or lustful thoughts.

We are responsible for how we are seen, in the eyes of any man! Yes, they are wrong to allow their eyes to dwell on how any woman or young lady looks. But why are they looking at the woman / lady that way? Because she is probably not dressed in a way that truly pleases God, her Father, The One Whose temple she is (as a true believer in The Lord).

As you see, I mention here that she is a temple of God, of His Holy Spirit. So, you see I am referring to ladies, young and older, who would call themselves true believers. Not those who are in darkness. Why would they (true believers in The Lord), of all women, dress in a way that would be called provocative or that would excite a man's senses or hormones? Why would a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ dress in a way that would make Him (The Lord God) ashamed to see her? ... in a way that He would say makes her look like a prostitute? ... like the 'heathen'?

Some may say: It is quite hard, these days, to find clothing that looks as modest as we moms would like our daughters to wear! Yes, I do understand! But have we put it to prayer? Is our heavenly Father able to meet that need? Does He want to protect our daughters in this way, from "danger"? If it is so "difficult" to find modest clothing, then how important is it that our daughters not be approached by a man who has immoral thoughts in his mind, because of how she is dressed?

Do we realize that some have been raped, or nearly raped (a man who thinks for a while, willingly, about what his mind leads him to think about, due to how a young lady is dressed, "has" raped her, in his mind and heart, as Yeshua -- Jesus -- has taught us), honestly, due to being dressed, day after day, in a way that causes young men who daily see them, to have such a hard struggle overcoming their own lustful desires for immorality, that the young men can hardly hold themselves back from doing what even they know is wrong? What is it worth, to us as moms and as dads, to work along with God, to protect our daughters from such awful memories, that satan wishes to use to try to plague them for the rest of their lives, possibly?

How do I know this is truly an important issue? Because of the lack of high-enough dress-code standards at the junior high / middle school and the high school, where I attended, for six years. Because of my parents' misunderstanding of the results, in my generation, of my dressing in a way that is (as I now know) Biblically wrong and does not give honor and glory to God. It was quite worldly! And provocative! Because even my own church family did not hold us young ladies accountable for how we dressed, while at youth activities, either !

Because of our own parents' lack of knowledge about what God's Word taught, ... through some lack of spiritual understanding on their part, maybe along with their choice not to daily walk as closely alongside Jesus as they could have, if they had had the desire to, ... I was tempted to do things I should have realized were dangerous, morally. Because, though I did not realize how much "in danger" I was, I did not honestly realize what I was doing wrong. Should have. Did not like being looked at so much by young men whom I thought were just being so "rude" or immature.

No one taught me what I was doing, which was causing them to say what they were saying to me, in passing. I had no idea what problems I was causing! And I was supposed to be a young believer! I had, just before this, surrendered my life to The Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in Him as my Lord & Savior! This did not set a good example as one who wanted to protect Jesus' reputation, in the eyes of those who were unsaved!

I was so blind, spiritually, back then!! I wish I had been mentored, spiritually, by someone who feared God as I now do, someone who took God very seriously! But God knew all of that would happen. He knew those who were teaching me also lacked knowledge, sufficient knowledge, to help all of us (back then) as young ladies, to do what we should have done, to give God glory, in how we clothed ourselves. And, yet, He also knew He would teach me, over time, what was right in His sight. ! And He would want me to pass on to others what He has taught me ... not as a "legalistic reaction" to what happened in my life after age 12, but a more spiritual, "Christian worldview," of God's perspective, in wisdom, on how we should clothe our bodies.

It actually "frees us" to live for Him, and concentrate on doing more effective "good work" for His Kingdom, when we are not pursuing a lifestyle or worldview that keeps us locked in to a corrupting system of thought, that only leads to disaster and destruction of what "matters." In other words, "clothing ourselves modestly" actually frees us! If we dress "like the world" urges us to, then we are actually "bound" to a belief system the devil (the deceiver) has been promoting for years.

I will share with you more about that, in a separate post. You can find many other believing ladies and moms who have shared about this topic online, and in books. I hope to share more links to the sites the Lord has led me to (later), on the subject of clothing our bodies modestly, to please the Lord, and not ourselves. ~ blog owner's notes ~
______________________________________________________

The Modest Clothing Links below can be found, by you, at the site link here

http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/modestclothing.htm

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* NOTE added January 31, 2008: This blog owner does not endorse every image, every clothing style, or how every model used to demonstrate how clothing looks on a real person, used by the owners of any of the ministries or companies that Crystal Paine originally listed, in the list of links below.

* I have removed several of the links she had, due to at least one company contacting me, which alerted me to the lack of understanding of what is a true soul (heart) attitude of Biblical modesty, in the clothing styles and designs for ladies' clothing offered on at least one of the sites.

* Thanks to those whose actions God uses to work in us to remind us that we must be very careful what we have on our blogs, as "sites" we say we want you to "go to" for finding truly modest clothing you may be looking for, to purchase! ( aagh!! )

* I will have to be much more careful, next time, before listing websites others have approved of! God holds each of us responsible for the good or evil we "cause" in the lives of others, who trust us to show wisdom and Godly discernment in all we do.

* God my Father in Heaven (as January changes over to February) now has me studying more about the history of clothing and the specifics that The Lord YHWH God taught in His Word, that give His children particular direction and knowledge about what pleases Him, about how they clothe their bodies. He does give us specific information, but we must dig, study, and do enough research to know assuredly what our Creator wants us to know, in order to honor Him and bring glory to His Holy Name, by properly (and in the attitude Yeshua demonstrated) and sufficiently covering our bodies, the temples (now) of His Ruach ha Kodesh, The Holy Spirit.
And He teaches each of us at our own level of understanding, so whatever I share only reflects what level of understanding I am at, right now. It does not mean I think I am further along than anyone. Am just "where" I am at. I can't know more than I know. But He is continuing to teach me more, week by week, day by day.

* In my next "post" related to this topic, you can look for some thoughts I'll share with you on "what we should think about as we consider how to clothe our bodies, the temples of the Holy Spirit," that is, if we are true believers in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ). They include some questions we can ask ourselves, about who has the right to choose the kind of clothing they wear, even as adults, but also as young ladies who live with our parents. These thoughts will include how our thoughts affect us and lead us to make choices we can ask God to guide us in. (or not) Please, ladies, seek God's advice (counsel)!

* I do hope the links below will lead you to sites you can find "truly modest" clothing designs on, for sewing garments you wish to wear, or for buying ready-made or custom-sewn garments, that you can use to reflect the Light of the glory of God, through your face, and body, and life. Our inner attitude, however, is what our dear Lord is looking at. He looks at our heart attitude.

* Our clothing should draw attention only to our faces, ladies! Our faces are designed to cause others to think about God, our Creator and Redeemer, whose Light should shine through our faces. (our countenance)
If you are a believer, you may remember the story of the first martyr, Stephen, whose face looked like that of an angel (the book of {The} Acts {of the Apostles} 6: 15), even to his false accusers, who had him stoned to death.
If our clothing does not do this, then where are the eyes of those around us directed to look, on our bodies? You can learn more in the next post on this blog.
_____________________________

Modest Clothing Links:

www.FashionablyModestPatterns.com - Modest and fashionable patterns. Including a signature swimwear pattern for girls and ladies.

www.NewCreationApparel.com - Women’s apparel, classic but modest, quality fabrics, exquisite tailoring, reasonably priced, 100% satisfaction guarantee.

www.SierraBrooke.com - New and used women's clothing that is classic, modest, and affordable.

www.ModestApparelUsa.com - A wide selection of beautiful dresses and more - ladies, girls, maternity, nursing wear, and more.

Custom-sewn Edwardian Aprons

www.TheKingsDaughters.com - Custom-made, high quality clothing for women, girls, babies, and little boys.

Fashionable Designs for Today's Ladies - Seamstress who has come highly recommended to me. Lovely patterns.

The Rabbit Hutch - Thrift store treasures, homemade creations, and more - all very reasonably priced.

www.DressingForHisGlory.com - Skirts, culottes, skorts, swimwear.

www.ForModesty.com - Nice selection of fashionably modest clothing.

www.CozyCollectionsInc.com - Good selection of skirts.

www.WorksoftheHeart.com - Modest clothing and fabrics.

www.TaylorsScarletThread.com - Beautiful dresses and high quality work. I have personally received four of their products and been very impressed. - Crystal

www.MadewithTLC.com - Modest clothing, heirloom items, formal attire, and more!

www.SimplyModest.com - Casual to formal, all priced $9.99 or under!

www.PracticallyPrettyDesign.com - Gorgeous feminine dresses for little girls.

www.AJoyfulHandmaiden.com - Ready-made, custom-made, aprons, nightgowns, and nearly new modest clothing for women and girls.

Pure in Heart - Pure in Heart is a home-based business working to offer the highest quality jumpers and accessories for women and girls. We offer ready-made jumpers as well as made-to-order items in a variety of cotton fabrics.

www.SimplyGraceful.com - Handmade dresses for little girls.

www.LittleTouchofElegance.com -Very lovely things which are modest and not "frumpy." Skirts, blouses, maternity wear, a girl's swimsuit and more!

www.LiliesApparel.com - Modest clothing and modest bathing suits.

www.Daddys-Little-Princess.com - Modest clothing, prairie dresses, nightgowns, and more.

Biblical Garden Clothing Collection

www.ModestHandmaidens.com - Custom-made, ready-made, and gently used modest clothing. Patterns and fabric also available. Very nice selection and well-laid-out website.

www.7SistersSewing.com - Custom-made clothing for ladies and girls by, you guessed it, seven sisters. Bloomers, maternity wear, quilts, and aprons, too.

www.SeamsLikeYesterday.us - Maternity wear and baby things.

Modest Slips at Gehmans Country Fabrics - modest slips for ladies, teens, girls and toddlers

www.JumpinBloomers.com - Jumpers, bloomers, aprons, nightgowns, and more.

Handmade by Cole - Bloomers and more.

Emme's Garden

Vessels of Mercy Dress Shop

Wendy's Modest Dress

Lydia of Purple

www.SimplyModest.biz

Ringger Clothing

www.ButterandHoney.com

Plainly Dressed - Amish and Mennonite clothing

Bonnets and Bloomers

www.QuickStitches.com

www.LordsHandmaid.org

www.HeartofModesty.com

www.MyCulottes.com

AdornedWithModesty.com -Used modest clothing

www.PaulinaCarmel.com - Comfort, style, modesty.

Modest Swimwear:

Check out our modest swimwear pattern here.

www.StitchinTimes.com

www.LiliesApparel.com

www.WholesomeWear.com

www.LittleTouchofElegance.com

www.DressingForHisGlory.com - Skirts, culottes, skorts, swimwear.

Swimwear Solutions - Modest swimwear pattern and ready-mades.

Patterns and Fabric:

www.Sensibility.com - Modest, authentic, period patterns available for women and girls.

www.CommonSensePatterns.com - Large selection of modest patterns.

www.CandleontheHill.net - Large selection of patterns, cloth diapers, homemaking and crafting books, and more.

www.BakerLane.com - Patterns for mothers.

Embroidery Treasures - Fabric, quilting notions, embroidery supplies, and more!

www.GehmansCountryFabrics.com - Tropical Breeze and other quality easy-care fabrics, custom made modest dresses and dress patterns for women, handmade women’s slips and much more.

www.PaisleyPincushion.com - Dress and apron patterns.

www.WorksoftheHeart.com - Modest clothing and fabrics.

www.VintageSewing.info
-- "Vintage Sewing Reference Library, Inc. offers free online access to public domain sewing books."

Other Companies Which Often Have Modest Selections:

www.ChristopherandBanks.com

www.AprilCornell.com

www.LandsEnd.com

www.ColdwaterCreek.com

www.VermontCountryStore.com

_____________________________________________

Websites The Lord Has Led Me To / Dec. 2007

Below are quite a few websites the Lord has led me to,
over time. They were shared on "A Quiet Heart
Journal." Hope they will help you, also.
*************************
Dec. 1, 2007

Websites The Lord Has Led Me To
____________________________

It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!

Jeremiah 33: 3 John 15: 4-5, 7-12, 14-17
I Corinthians 13 Ephesians 1: 15-21 and
2: 1-10 and 3: 14, 16-21 Colossians 1: 9-14
______________________________

Websites the Lord has led me to:

Below are websites the Lord has led me to find, through other sites,
or through someone's recommendation, or through another home
educating mom who recommended them: Not all the sites I have
bookmarked on my computer are listed here.
If you have a question, please contact me. I will try to help you find
what you are looking for, if you ask. ~ Kathy ~ kasayeshua@gmail.com

Okay, here we go:

Had hoped for a long time to type up a list of websites the Lord
has led me to find. They are both helpful and also inspiring for
moms who home educate (and all moms) ... and some have
fun games, online, for children to play. (educational games:
... educational in some way; good for practice at quick thinking,
and responding with answers) Some websites are also
especially for young ladies or young men.

Hope to continue to add to this list, so if you do not find
something that helps you, or that you did not already know
about, then please return here, and look again, to see if
I have added any new posts with new websites that might
fill a need you have in your family or life.

*******************************************************
Grace and Truth Books
http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/

Creation Evidence Museum, Glen Rose, TX
http://www.creationevidence.org/

Answers in Genesis
http://www.answersingenesis.org

Crown Financial Ministries (Larry Burkett's former ministry)
http://www.crown.org/

Solve Family Problems (Dr. S. M. Davis' site)
help for families and for relationships
http://www.drsmdavis.com/

National Home Education Network
http://www.nhen.org/

Teach Magazine
http://www.teachmagazine.net

The Utmost Way Magazine
a home education online-only magazine
(our family's main website)
with many links to other sites, a research library,
articles on What They Don't Want You to Know,
links to modest clothing sewing ministry,
links to Utmost Ministries,
to a Biblical Approach to better Health,
links to Frameable Media,
links to Utmost Designs website design business,
links to an International On-line Homeschool Book Fair
open all year long, no entry fees, no parking fees,
just lots of websites to go and find what you need
to meet your home education needs
http://www.utmost-way.com

Bold Christian Living (Jonathan Lindvall)
http://www.boldchristianliving.com

Anne's School Place (Anne Elliott's webpage with
many links and helpful materials)
http://www.annesschoolplace.com

Home School Enrichment Magazine
http://www.homeschoolenrichment.com

Home School Digest
quarterly journal for family discipleship
http://www.homeschooldigest.com

An Encouraging Word (magazine)
An Encouraging Word is a quarterly publication
designed for Christian women of all ages.
http://www.anencouragingword.net

The Wisdom's Gate (a resource for home education
materials by the publisher of The Home School Digest)
The Wisdom's Gate Catalog offers many great
resources (books, dvd's, cd's, and mp3) on
Homeschooling, Preparing For Marriage, Character
Building, Biblical Worldview, Revival, and more!
http://www.wisgate.com

Crowned With Silver (magazine for moms, and
older daughters, at home) "for the modern
Christian woman with an old-fashioned heart !"
http://www.crownedwithsilver.com

Young Ladies Christian Fellowship
http://www.ylcf.org

No Greater Joy (than that my children walk in Truth)
Michael and Debi Pearl's ministry site
http://www.nogreaterjoy.org

Devonshire Apothecary
Nancy Levy
Texas "herbal" for over 30 years
many wonderful and health promoting products
books, essential oils, bulk herbal teas, dried herbs
teapots, tea cup and saucer sets
tea infusers, tea balls, tea spoons
too much to list here
email: devapoth@austin.rr.com
or call (512) 442-0019

Bulk Herb Store
http://www.bulkherbstore.com

Phil and Linda Yoder's Kitchen Specialties
and Granary site
http://www.kitchenmixers.com

Eagle Forum (Phyllis Schlafly)
supports American sovereignty, American identity,
the U.S. Constitution, opposes radical feminists,
supports traditional education
http://www.eagleforum.org

The Foundation for American Christian Education
http://www.face.net

Ornament Publications
http://www.ornamentpublications.com
many good materials for teaching Godly
character and games that are wonderful!
We love all that this lady offers!

Visual Manna (an art and teaching ministry
of the Jeffus family)
http://www.visualmanna.com

Mister Art
They call it: The World's Largest online discount
art and craft supply store
http://www.misterart.com

Five In A Row
(Jane Claire Lambert)
http://www.fiveinarow.com

The Home School Mom
http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com

Homestead -- Rural Living Principle and Practice
http://www.homestead.org

The Family Homestead
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com

Heart of Wisdom Publishing
a Biblical, more Hebrew method of education,
using the Bible as the foundation
http://www.heartofwisdom.com

Titus2 ministry (Steve and Teri Maxwell)
http://www.titus2.com

Keepers of The Faith (Nancy Zakula)
http://www.keepersofthefaith.com

Brothers and Sisters
http://www.brothersandsisters.net

Grace Notes -- Mally family blog of conferences
they do for home educators and families
http://www.tomorrowsforefathers.com/gracenotes/

Brothers and Sisters site
http://www.brothersandsisters.net/brothersister/index.htm
Mally family ministry to brothers and sisters

Bright Lights (Mally family ministry to young ladies
ages 10 to 13)
http://www.brothersandsisters.net/bright_lights/index.htm

Tomorrow's Forefathers
(Mally family ministry to families and fathers)
http://www.brothersandsisters.net/forefathers/index.htm

Graham Family Ministries blog (for families who are
discipling their children, keeping a home, building
relationships, and much more) -- a link the Mally's like
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/school4jesus/Discipling+Our+Children/

Majesty Music / Ron Hamilton's and
Patch the Pirate's music and
character-building stories
http://www.majestymusic.com/

His Grace Works
Planners for Christian women and young ladies
http://hisgraceworks.com

The King's Daughter
Encouraging the young woman to be "all glorious within"
http://www.thekingsdaughtermag.com

Home Educator's Family Times
http://www.homeeducator.com

The Christian Homekeeper (trademark)
Sylvia Britton (her blog)
Has some good links on it
http://christianhomekeeper.com

The Urban Homemaker
Good site for helpful ideas on homemaking
http://www.urbanhomemaker.com

Ladies Against Feminism
http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com
Wonderful resource for information and advice for
moms and older daughters at home

Biblical Womanhood
http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com

Noble Womanhood
http://www.noblewomanhood.com

Homeschooling Family to Family
http://www.homeschoolingfamilytofamily.org
A network of those who are ready to help those
who are new to home education

Institute for Excellence in Writing (Andrew Pudewa)
http://www.writing-edu.com

Systematic Mathematics
http://www.systemath.com

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
http://www.theoldschoolhousemagazine.com/
A great resource for home educators -- with a way
to have a blog so you can share what's going on
at "your schoolhouse" !

Homeschool World (Bill and Mary Pride's online magazine)
http://www.home-school.com
Articles, help, advice, many good links to get
information you need for your home education
efforts

Education PLUS (Inge Cannon)
http://www.edplus.com
Many helps for home educators, and help with
high school transcripts

The Sycamore Tree
"making home education easy since 1981"
http://www.sycamoretree.com

Cindy Rushton's (for homeschooling subjects
''teaching made easy'' books)
Rushton Family Ministries
http://www.cindyrushton.com

Institute for Creation Research
http://www.icr.org

Dinosaur AdventureLand
and Creation Science Evangelism (Pensacola, FL)
Dr. Kent Hovind's ministry
http://www.drdino.com

The Link -- Your Source for Homeschool News
& Information
http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com

Homeschool Gazette
An encouragement to home educated youth, and
a way to provide families a place to share and learn
from one another
They share creative writings from many talented young writers.
http://www.homeschoolgazette.org

Home Education Magazine
homeschooling information, support and resources
http://www.homeedmag.com

Homeschool Central
They call it: "all the resources you need"
many links there
http://www.homeschoolcentral.com

In Balance Music (online radio you can download
to play daily on your computer)
http://www.inbalancemusicradio.com

Mantle Ministries (Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler)
http://www.mantlemin.com

Vision Forum (Doug Phillips)
good articles and audio teaching CDs
http://www.visionforumministries.org

Mike McGroarty's Gardening Newsletter and site
http://www.freeplants.com
organic gardening ideas -- great site!

The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett
advice on organic gardening
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/

Texas Gardener (if you happen to live in Texas)
http://www.texasgardener.com
... many generally helpful ideas

Miracle Mountain Ranch Missions
http://www.mmrm.org
Lew Sterrett's ministry to youth and adults
Information on his "Sermon on the Mount" video series
that relate to our walk as believers and our relationship
with our Lord Jesus Christ

Poppa's Hook
an indispensable tool for those who cook or grill or fish ...
http://www.poppashook.com

Living Waters (Ray Comfort)
http://www.livingwaters.com
Hell's Best Kept Secret (Ten Cannons of God's Law)

Revive Our Hearts (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)
http://www.reviveourhearts.com

A Note About our Old-er Family Photo / Nov. 2007

Below is a Note Shared from "A Quiet Heart Journal," to explain
that the photo "posted" here is not "up to date." But that can change.

*************************

Nov. 30, 2007

About our "older" family photo on my latest blog entry ...

About the photo of our family: it was taken by a good friend, late last autumn.
So, yes, it is one year old. ;o(
Will try to have someone take a new one of us all, soon.
Our younger ones here will have changed. The rest of us ... well ....
Just thought someone might want to know. ;o)

Grace and Peace be with you, from our Lord Yeshua the Messiah,
and from God our Father!

God Is At Work, Part 1 ... from Nov. of 2007

Below is another entry from "A Quiet Heart Journal" that I call "God Is At Work." Hope something here inspires you!

********************************
Nov. 29, 2007

God is at work. Part 1
_______________________
It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is our Life!
_________________________

Jeremiah 33: 3
"Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

John 15: 4-5
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in The Vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I AM The Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me, ye can do nothing."

John 15: 7-12
"If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples (disciplined ones; followers).
As The Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My Love. (agape)
If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My Love; even as I have kept My Father's Commandments, and abide in His Love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that My Joy might remain in you, and that your Joy might be full.
This is My Commandment, that ye Love one another, as I have loved you."

John 15: 14-17
"Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of The Father in My Name, He may give it (to) you.
These things I command you, that ye Love one another."

I Corinthians 13 (What an inspiration to read through this daily! How convicting to our hearts! A good "check-book" for us, as moms, to read through each morning, before we begin to work with our young ones.)

Ephesians 1: 15-21 and
Ephesians 2: 1-10 and
Ephesians 3: 14, 16-21

Colossians 1: 9-15 (here is a "powerful blessing" we can pray over our children or others we know)
"... (The Lord bless you to) be filled (by His Grace) with the knowledge of His Will in all Wisdom, and spiritual Understanding; That ye might walk worthy of The Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the Knowledge of God; (The Lord strengthen (you) with all Might (Greek "dunamis"), according to His Glorious power, unto all Patience and Longsuffering with Joy-full-ness; [ ;o) ]
(The Lord bless you to) Give thanks unto The Father, Who hath made us meet (appropriately fitted and prepared) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in Light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into The Kingdom of His dear Son: in Whom we have redemption through His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the Image of The Invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature:"
****************************

God is at Work in all our Lives, every day, as you can see demonstrated by the challenges that come to we moms who home educate our children, imparting to them (along the journey of home education and family living) the life stories we have been given by God to share with them, so that they know the heritage they have come from, for them to see God's mighty, delivering Hand, healing Hand, protecting Hand, and loving Hand that He has used to work "good" for us, who are "the called according to His Purpose."

In our family, in recent weeks, God has been honing us down, with His loving file, as one smooths steel on a sword's blade edge. He has used iron to sharpen iron, as other believers have given us advice and exhorted us.
He has brought praise to His Name, through other believers being a part of something wonderful He is doing, in our family, to "provide" when there was no other provision, despite all the constant efforts of my husband to earn money for our family.

God is bringing glory to His Name in the way He is working through others to bring about the ministry work He is leading us to do, as home educators whom others are watching (as God allows others to watch each of you, as you go through each day, week and month, before their eyes -- when you are in public, or they cross paths with you in some way) and as those who are moving, at God's pace (in His timing) and with His direction,
as we have begun a teaching ministry in areas that include

(a.) creation science ("design" in science),

(b.) nutrition for improved health and energy (to lessen allergies, how to eliminate degenerative diseases from your life and from your children's lives, through spiritual, emotional, physical healing God brings about through correct knowledge and understanding, along with applying the new information you learn from those who have proved these "goals" are achievable and probable, since they have occurred in thousands of others' lives; we do not "sell" anything; we only share information that's been proven to be effective, through seminars we are offering to anyone; the positive effects of consuming more, purified water and proper, positive lifestyle changes),
("b." above will very soon also include: demonstrations of food and meal preparation, in an in-person "class format" either in homes or in church fellowship halls)

(c.) the truth about why the way I am clothed reflects my beliefs and my "walk" with God,

(d.) the truth about how everyone is affected by music with one kind of beat in it, as opposed to music with another kind of beat in it (a spiritual focus vs. a physical focus),

(e.) some creative ways parents can teach their children, and ideas for using God's Word for much of the education of their children (all the sciences, literature, spelling, phonics, grammar, language studies, health / hygiene and cleanliness and healing herbs and oils (medicine), character studies (God's character), civic studies, legal studies, government, logic, archaeology, geography, music, art, good communication skills / speech / debate ....

(f.) sharing ways in which God has used "problems" and "bad circumstances" that come along in life to bring us closer to His Heart, and give us opportunities to humble ourselves in His Sight, and
we get to show that when we are weak, He is able (then) to show Himself strong on our behalf, because we trust in Him and we "have to" put our faith in Him and His Faithfulness, and
we get to demonstrate that we are choosing to "abide in Him" more and more.

And, along with all that, God has somehow taught all 8 of us, in our family, to sing together in harmony, so that others who hear us are receiving encouragement, blessing and are giving the glory and thanks to God. We just love good music, thanks to God our Father. And we love to sing, making harmony together with the instruments God has provided for us to use -- our voices. Some of us do play "instruments," but we have not yet added those to what we offer to others who homeschool or to churches, to edification and encouragement.

Humor seems to be a "given" with our family, so if you are in a church that appreciates the humor in daily life, and of each of us seeing the funny side of ourselves or our children, or the different ways folks "speak," (we come from a background of more than one culture, neither of which are American, so maybe that is why we all seem to like imitating "accents" especially of some of the countries in our family's heritage ...) or the humor (the effects of) in our responses to those we relate to, ... if any of this sounds like it is something you think someone you know would like hearing, then you might wish to ask us to "come by" to your homeschool group or your church, to "inspire someone" to make sure they include "humor" in their day to day teaching at home. If we can, we will "be right over." If you'd like to see what our family looks like,


The good Lord has been presenting to our family some very unique (to us) opportunities to show Himself strong on our behalf, and He has been putting us "back to a wall" financially, which can indicate several areas of lack in our character, but it could also be considered a form of an attack of God's enemy on a family whose leader is the president of a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization, the Life in the Bible Institute, that seeks to inform both unsaved folks and believers of all the things I have listed above (and more, if the Lord leads us in that way).

Will hope to elaborate on some of this, as time allows, in "Part 2" ... and I will also hope that, if any of you wish to write me about anything I have written here, or in any of my former posts on this blog, you will feel free to email me at: kasarhema@gmail.com
You may also visit: http://www.utmost-way.com if you wish to learn any more about anything I have spoken of, above, since you can get to most of the information we "offer" to everyone, through links on that site.

May the Lord of all good, Who is the God of all comfort, and The Father of mercies, fill you with His Strength and Mighty power of Love in your inner being and with the knowledge of His Will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. !!! The Lord rejoices over you with singing! Keep rejoicing over Him! He is "Mighty to save!" (deliver you from any and all troubles; though we must be willing to apply patience during the "trial") I know all of life can present challenges we think are "hard" or "nearly impossible to recover from," but God seems to see things from a much higher perspective -- He is all-wise. He will carry you through!
~ blog owner ~ in east Texas (the trees grow higher, seems like, and the oil runs richer over here) ;o)

Another week in our home ... Oct. of 2007

Oct. 25, 2007

Another week in our home where
there is still much to learn ...
______________________

It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!

Jeremiah 33: 3
John 15: 4-5, 7-12, 14-17
I Corinthians 13
Ephesians 1: 15-21 and 2: 1-10 and 3: 14, 16-21
Colossians 1: 9-14
_______________________________

Had hoped to share with you all some helpful websites
about modest clothing soon
... but interruptions do come and keep me from doing that now ...

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Hi, dear friends! We are all on this home education journey together! Hope your week is going well.

You know? We can sometimes recognize God in disasters that others go through, though often only in hindsight. In our
family, God continues to show us new lessons He wants us to learn.

Now, saying that: here is how our week is going. We have a plumbing pipe in the house we are renting, that has not been draining out. The water backs up and spills onto the floor. We are workin' on a "new plan" to pipe the drain water to the outside (though the laundry area is along an inside wall), so that we can again use our washing machine.

On another "front," we have already learned that hand washing clothing and linens can be done, using only a bathtub ... and lots of willpower ... plus several "hands" who all pitch in and work together, to squeeze out all the rinse water. Some of us are gaining some good ideas about how the pioneers and our own ancestors used to work at laundry work, at least one day a week.

And now I know "why" those wise ladies of days gone by chose to do laundry only one day each week. It is "hard work." However, I am also surprised at how little effort it does take. Just time, more than anything. I believe we are using less water this way. And I will be the one who hopes we can actually continue doing things this way, when all is said and done.

That is how it always is. I often find out that those "old fashioned ways" are really not as bad as some have led us to think they are. And with all the historical sites we have been to, such as Historic Williamsburg, VA, and Pleasant Hill (called Shakertown, by many Kentuckians), near Harrodsburg, KY, and also Fort Harrod, KY, and Fort Boonesborough, KY, have shown us that

we really "can" make our own butter from real cream, ...

and we really "can" make our own soap, with real ingredients (essential oils, olive oil and other oils, and some time), ...

and we really "can" make our own yogurt, from real milk ...

and we really "can" make our own biscuits, pancakes, and even birthday cakes, from "scratch" using real ingredients, ...

and we really "can" make our own clothing and quilts and gifts for family and friends using the minds God gave us, plus some thread, some fabric (some of it is given to us by friends who like us!) and some sharp scissors, plus our hands or a good machine from the 1960s that the children's grandma (Mamaw) gave us gladly.

There is much more to share, but these blog entries do tend to get long quickly!

Sometimes I think I must have something akin to Amish blood or pioneer blood in my veins more than I realize! One side of my family did venture over the Alleghenies, and lived west of the Mississippi River, several generations back ... before 1850. I love doing things the "old way," using our hands and minds, creatively, rather than the "modern way" using machines. I love the out of doors! I love working with muscle power, rather than electrical power, to accomplish a task around the yard, or in the house. It may wear me out, but I feel so glad afterward, knowing a "good day's work" has been accomplished.

It is such a blessing that our family gets to make memories doing things together, rather than paying someone else to teach my children how to make or use something "new" to our children. God has enabled my husband and I to teach them from the gifts and skills He has taught us, that were not taught to us by our teachers or parents. God gave us the ability to do those things! He is the best Teacher! God enables us all, as parents, to learn along with our children. ... if we are willing to learn.

And He shows us how to do things He wants us to use to help someone else along the way, or to solve a problem they find themselves having, or to serve someone else in their turn after they helped us in our time of need, long ago. God likes to enable His children to use the talents and giftings He has put within them to pass on to our (His!) children the blessed heritage God has given to us! Music. Art. Cooking. Singing! British tea! Italian / Sicilian food! Calligraphy. Southern cooking! Painting. Drawing with pencils and charcoal. Photography! Handmade birthday cards. Making coloring books to go with Elsie Dinsmore novels!

Writing a book about the "character" of Elsie Dinsmore, which the original author took from the lives of those she knew and loved! (and she added just a bit, to create the characters in her books, The Elsie Dinsmore series, by Martha Finley) Did you know that Michael Dante Aprile has written _The Character of Elsie Dinsmore_ to share with young ladies the kind of Godly character that is virtuous and admirable, honorable and pure in heart. It is an inspiring book you might to find out about, at: http://www.utmost-way.com Look for "Elsie Stuff" on the main contents page of The Utmost Way (online) Magazine!

Producing professional-looking, tri-fold, color brochures to help families who have bed and breakfast places, or for small businesses who design new products for industry or for individuals, using graphic design skills and much creativity. Someone in our household does this. God was the Teacher!

Writing books on the character qualities that Martha Finley's character, Elsie Dinsmore, learned! Making journals for young ladies to use as they learn, day to day. Writing articles to inspire young ladies to clothes themselves with humility, modest clothing, and a Joy that shines from within! Sewing with Love included in every stitch! Giving sacrificially to others! And God taught all that to the ones who demonstrate these things.

Learning more and more about herbs and essential oils, and sharing about those on our site at: http://www.utmost-way.com/biblicalapproachtohealth We get to share with those who visit us there more about "a more excellent way" to better health, from Dr. Henry W. Wright's materials. We get to share about Carey Reams' Biological Theory of Ionization, and about Dr. Jordan Rubin's ideas about _The Maker's Diet_, and how it can change your health and life for ever. ! We have been learning so much, that it is hard for me to keep up with all that I should share there! You can learn about it at: http://www.utmost-way.com/biblicalapproachtohealth

Bill Sardi shares many helpful, educational articles about "health" and "finding answers for what *ails* us," on his site, at: http://www.knowledgeofhealth.com I have learned so much by reading his articles there!!

God keeps showing me we can do things using the creativity He has put within each one in our family, to do greater things than we figured we could. He is awesome! { And we love to look, in wonder, at the lovely sunsets He paints in the western sky! }

Or shall I say ... "reckon we can do it!" ... like some of my relatives who I've recently learned, geneologically-speaking, were born in Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. The other side of my family comes from southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. Guess my roots as a "true Southerner" are showing. Well, that's only *my side* of this family we now have. My husband's family come from England, and from Ohio, and two generations back, from Sicily and maybe Italy, too. What a heritage! -- we use this to learn geography and family history, which leads to many good *learning lessons* during our school time at home.

Folks used to do things without getting into debt. We are living that way, for the past 6 years now! Praise God! He did it!

Folks used to make their own food, growing it from plants their neighbors shared with them, or by buying seeds and planting them. We have done that! We hope soon the Lord will provide a few acres for our family to live on, and begin again to grow our own food on Land Owned by God. (LOG)

Folks used to build their own houses, make their own cloth and their own clothing, make their own shoes and hats, belts, and guns. They used to clear their own land, and make dirt or rock-covered "driveways" to get from the road all the way up the winding hill to their houses. They used to cut, "plane" and sand their own wood, to build things with it. My own grandparents did that, since they both grew up on farms, in the 1870s and 1880s, and lived on farms themselves, while raising my parents. Some used to gather creek stones to build fireplaces or house walls.

We home educating parents, along with our children who are willing [ ;o) ], are finding out that we live lives demonstrating that life can appear to move in a backward direction, while making tremendous progress in wisdom, grace, peace and hard work, a good work ethic, and a sense of duty to God and to those around us whom we love. Even our neighbors will be positively affected by the choices we make while we travel on this home education journey in America.

Let's try to keep taking one step forward, *in* God's Light -- His Son, Yeshua (Jesus)! He will light our way. He is leading us, if we are willing to follow Him! He is The Way!

And He will be there, when we reach "the goal" (Heaven) to welcome us and smile, and laugh with us, about all the struggles, trials and problems that came up, while we were on this journey toward our "new" Home (in Heaven). But those will very quickly vanish and be forgotten, with all those Joys of Heaven we will get to enjoy, with Him, arm in Arm!

I'll be praying for you that God will lift up your heart today! And will pray that you are encouraged that someone else is also going through a struggle similar to the one you are going through, this week.

Each of us gets to learn the character many of us are studying, in our homeschooling curriculums we have chosen to learn through. This week, we are studying our last of 4 weeks of lessons about *Sincerity.* Imagine it! We get to learn how to become more "pure in heart" before God. You all know what "that" means!
... more next time. ;oD Laughing with Jesus! -- Kathy

If you wish to respond, just email me at: kasarhema@gmail.com please. God is with you all the time! He is YHWH Shammah! And He thinks more thoughts about you, today, than you can count! And all His plans for your life are aimed at leading you to His "expected end." (goal) -- Jeremiah 29: 11-14 a

He has us in His Hands, and has us in His Mind. And He lets us choose what to do today! wow! How does He do all that?

Have been reading some helpful advice on Marilyn Rockett's blog, which is linked to her site at www.marilynrockett.com Her blog link is ... www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarilynRockett1 I hope that works. Please let me know if it does not. I liked her article on "Stressless Organization." You may like it, also.

Stay tuned. Hope to share more helpful sites, soon. ;o)

Thoughts from a week in July of 2007

Below is an entry from "A Quiet Heart Journal" about what occurred one week, in our "place." Hope it might encourage you in some way, in The Lord. Though it seems quite a while back now, God wanted us to record some lessons he was teaching us / me. He is so patient and such a Master Teacher!

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Jul. 30, 2007

Thoughts from this past week, from
our place to yours ...

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It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!

Jeremiah 33: 3 John 15: 4-5, 7-12, 14-17
I Corinthians 13 Ephesians 1: 15-21 and
2: 1-10 and 3: 14, 16-21 Colossians 1: 9-14
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How has your month gone? Ours has included the easiest of times and the toughest of times. This past week, some good, long-time mom friends greatly encouraged me, just by coming to my house with their children, to chat and share a great time of fellowship. They were here to help one mom's daughter as she leaves fabric with my oldest daughter to sew into 6 brides maids' dresses plus two flower girls' dresses, for an October wedding. The young ladies were here so they could "measure up." That same day, our oldest son, who had been home to visit us for 4 days, was to leave our family to return to work in another state... so my emotions, that day, were mixed. ;o)

We enjoyed singing a cappella (as a family of 8) with him again, at church, and at home, plus all the fun times playing together, and just talking, plus all the blessings / gifts he brought us, the help he gave his dad on some computer stuff, and the encouragement of his smiling face, and his fun-loving attitude, just enjoying being with us. He was "the center of attention," while with us. Of course, God is pre-eminent and is The Highest ! Our youngest 3 have missed him so much, they almost ache to see him again, and just "eat him up" while he is with us. He enjoys all that attention, though he does set a good example for them, now. Things used to be different in years past, but he has been growing up so much over the past year and a half, and especially while he has begun working for a ministry in another state. We are so grateful to God for giving him so many positive experiences there, many good memories of fun times there, and hard work, and some very Godly, zealous examples to learn from, who also "keep an eye" on him, for us. ;o)

Overall, last week was a real blessing, in more ways than one, partly because while our oldest son was in town, three of us were also able to visit a missionary who is suffering, and we all sang together, we sang for her, and we all talked together about what God does, and how wonderful He is -- about His glory. She shared with us that everything she has ever wanted, God has given her! She was sincere! What a grateful lady! We will miss her if she goes Home to Heaven soon, but we will remember how the Lord's Holy Spirit has shined through her life to all who have met her.

Our month in school: Our three youngest and I have all been studying in our Bibles, learning and sharing together about verses that shine forth from The Word, having fun jumping rope and otherwise getting some good exercise, and learning in our Wisdom Booklet #7, plus our other "learning books." Our WB #7 taught us much about mercy, sharing various examples of how we can show mercy, the medical benefits of forgiving and releasing others who offend us and transgress God's teachings, and God gave me many opportunities to demonstrate mercy. ;oD Some I messed up on. Others He showed me the way through.

And He inspired me to read to our children from books we have about the lives of believers such as George Muller of Germany, Albert Schweitzer, Florence Nightingale, and some quotes from others in early American history. We still have more to read, but their lives sure are inspiring! Some we listened to, using Your Story Hour audio tapes, we get from our friends at Sing 'n' Learn ... at www.singnlearn.com Fred and Sarah Cooper do a great job of offering wonderful educational lessons on many school subjects, and most all of it is taught using audio tapes or audio CDs ! wow!

Using inspiring teaching from Bill Ligon's (William T. Ligon, Sr.) book entitled _Imparting the Blessing, Your Biblical Heritage_ (and two audio tapes we have from a conference where he spoke about giving verbal blessings ...) God has also been teaching me that speaking a blessing to the one who has offended me is a powerful way to overcome feelings of bitterness, and promote healing. We can all speak blessings, as did the Israelites over their own children every Shabbat / sabbath, using God's Words and Godly character qualities as inspiration.

For example, if we see that one of our children needs to learn self control, we can bless them with the self control and Grace that Yeshua the Messiah / Jesus Christ demonstrated in His life. Or we can bless them with the Peaceful spirit of Yeshua / Jesus. And we can begin our spoken blessing with the words: In The Name and through the Blood of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), I bless you ... This shows that we mean we wish God our Father to build the character of Yeshua / Jesus into our child's life. And the enemy of God flees when he hears The Blood of Yeshua / Jesus mentioned, especially along with words directly from God's Word, the Bible. He will enable the Power of His Word, and its Life-giving qualities, to form within our child the character of Yeshua our Messiah / Jesus Christ.

How exciting! It is a wonderful way to build Godly character into our children's lives! They feel so special when we speak blessings over them! No wonder God put a special blessing in Numbers 6: 22-23, 24-26, 27 ... so that the priests (and the dads in our home educating families serve as God's priests in our families) would speak God's special blessing over the people of Israel. ! Many believe that the blessing Jesus / Yeshua spoke over the children who came to Him was this priestly blessing, taught to Moses to give to Aaron to speak to the people. God wants to bless all His children, especially the trusting, youngest ones. God is amazing! He teaches us new things every day!

~ Have a most blessed day in the Lord YHWH's presence, this coming day!
~ He is Jehovah Shammah -- the Lord Who is with you.
He will ever listen to your voice, and He rejoices over you with Joy. Zephaniah 3: 17
... from our place to yours. ~ blog owner's notes ~

David Barton's work to help us understand ...

Below is an entry from "A Quiet Heart Journal" about our friend, Mr. David Barton. He has a library of over 7,000 original works, many of them penned or printed before the Civil War ! A statistician and researcher, David has quite a few videotapes and audio tapes on which he shares about America's Godly heritage (that's one of his titles, also), and about how public prayer was a part of the daily life of every man who held public office, as well as facts like this:
It was written into most every state's state constitution, in the United States, that every man (women did not hold public office... until after a U.S. Constitional amendment was added, less than 100 years ago! Our nation is over 325 years old!) taking his oath of office was required to, before signing and "taking his oath," acknowledge publicly that he believed in The God of the Bible, The Creator of the world, and in Jesus Christ, and in The Holy Spirit of God Almighty (the same God the Jews / people of Israel worship), and to say that they have a personal belief in Him. Each state used their own wording, but I believe I have captured the basic idea the documents have on them. It is amazing! Wonder why my public school teachers never taught me this!??

David shares much more. Eye openers! And they are true. He has proof, in written form. Check out David's website (shared below) and learn more about our "real history," that some (including Hillary Clinton) in the U.S. do not want you to know. I did not learn this while in public school, and public college, for over 14 years! Why? David has found many answers to questions you may have, too!

Have you ever looked online, and done a "search" on www.goodsearch.com to look for and read the state motto for every one of the 50 states? Someone sent me a print out, once, that lists those! They are actually quite enlightening and encouraging to read, if you are a believer in Ye'shua the Messiah, or if you call Him Jesus Christ. Either way, He is Lord and Saviour, Redeemer and King! Try it! You might be as amazed as I was, when I read them.

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Jul. 7, 2007

David Barton's work to help Americans
understand our national heritage
_______________________________

It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!

Jeremiah 33: 3 John 15: 4-5, 7-12, 14-17

I Corinthians 13 Ephesians 1: 15-21

and 2: 1-10 and 3: 14, 16-21 Colossians 1: 9-14
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We feel very privileged to have heard someone speak in person, whom we think of as an amazing man: David Barton. He is from Texas, though that is not why. He raises cattle, but that does not draw our attention to his words. He is a statistician, but that he uses only to show changes in how Americans choose to live out their belief systems. Here is part of what has kept us interested in David Barton. He has read many old, original and reprinted copies of books and writings of our Founding Fathers. He now owns over 7,000 volumes of books, as many as possible are originals.

You can learn more about what truths David Barton has discovered and shares with us all, by visiting his website at: http://www.wallbuilders.com David Barton is asked to come to Washington, D.C., by our nation's legislators about once every month. He has done this for quite a few years now. The reason? They realize he knows the writings of our nation's founders so well, that they ask him for advice on "what" was the original intent our Founding Fathers had in their minds when they established the laws of our land, and other such requests. He has taught about these things on audio tapes, audio CDs, videotapes, and now on DVDs, so that most anyone can also learn what David has learned.

Please visit David's site, if you want your children to know America's history well. We have found no other man who has gained so much knowledge of America's true history than David Barton. He is the first one to re-publish a book telling the story of how George Washington survived as the only remaining officer on the American side in the French and Indian War battle at Monongahela, near Fort Duquesne (the city we call Pittsburgh). He was shot at well over 17 times, had bullet holes in his jacket, in his vest, and in his hat. But in a letter that he wrote to his mother and sister, as he tells this, he gives the credit for his life being spared to God Almighty. And 15 years later, the old Indian chief who was in charge of the indians fighting "in those woods," hearing Washington was to pay a visit to that old battlefield, traveled a long distance just to meet the man whom "God would not let die in battle." Amazing! This story is in David's book, entitled _The Bulletproof George Washington_, by David Barton. You can learn more about, or order this book, through David' site at: http://www.wallbuilders.com

I needed to look something up the other day, and found that it could take days to go to all the wonderful, educational links David has on his site, and the writings by our Founding Fathers in places such as the National Archives, the University of Virginia library, the Yale Law School library, the University of Chicago Press, and the Library of Congress. And that does not include his historical document section, his historical writing section, and his "issues / articles" section of his website!! David keeps us learning! We love it, because God gets all the glory in all these writings from America's "leading" men!

Our nation's founders even urged voting citizens to be sure to elect only Christians to pubic office! I could go on, but you now see why we want to share with you a website that has inspired us to learn more about America's true history, but more than that, to let you know about a man whose life is now given to passing on to all who will listen, the heart behind the establishment of our republic.

I like the quote that reminds me our nation is *not* a democracy. It was written by Benjamin Franklin, who was one man we know who was not a true believer in Jesus Christ, but who was thoroughly schooled in the teachings of both God our Father and of Jesus Christ, His Son.
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On leaving Independence Hall at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Franklin was asked "Well, Doctor, what have we got -- a Republic or a Monarchy." According to Dr. James McHenry, a Maryland delegate, he replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it." So far, so good. --

taken from http://www.nd.edu/~jarcher/ifrtreport/no56/8.html
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... now, I must return to making "flannel cakes" from a recipe in our book we bought while on a historical vacation in Virginia. Flannel Cakes, back then, were pancakes, in this case containing corn meal, which are quite filling. I will share the recipe and the cookbook's name in my next post. Happy pancake-eating! ~ blog owner's note ~

... from far east Texas, ;oD , where we are having a sunny day, after weeks of rain, thunderstorms, and windy days that have removed as many old, dead branches and tall trees from the area as they can manage to accomplish. We have a new appreciation for God's mercy on us! We usually experience very hot, humid, high-temperatures in June and early July in this part of Texas! We live about two hours west from the Red River in Louisiana, and about two hours east from Dallas.

By the way ... Should you decide to do some research of your own, for educational purposes, our family website has some helpful homeschool links to other homeschooling sites, plus a "research library," plus some articles you might like reading, at: http://www.utmost-way.com

It is time, again, for us to update our links and sites we want to share there, so if you know of an educational site you'd like to share with us, please email me at: kasarhema@gmail.com We will add it as soon as we can, if it meets the editor's criteria for sites we may link to. ;oD