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!

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Nov. 29, 2007

God is at work. Part 1
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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:"
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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 ...
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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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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
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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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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

Cookie Baking adventure

Below is an entry from June of 2007, from my "Quiet Heart Journal" that shares what we got to do, just because we walk a different road, and The Lord allows us to live a creative and fun life, because He lets us do it. He loves us the same as He loves all His children. But here is one story about something we did, one day. Hope it will inspire you and encourage your heart !

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Jun. 8, 2007

Cookie Baking "adventure"
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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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As some Fridays go, we made plans in our minds for a yard sale we hope to have tomorrow. After we finished our Learning Life Lessons studies for "school" today, we began pulling together some items we've been wanting to sell. My second daughter (an adult living at home, serving God to the fullest) knew she wanted to offer folks Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies -- yum!

She keeps her favorite recipes in a small, 3-ring binder. She realized we'd need more chocolate chips, so she suggested we walk to the local food store since it is so close. Outside, we began seeing signs of an impending, thunderous Texas rain storm. We figured if we hurried, we might make it to the store before it hit. ha! Well, it took the four of us (who, after much thought, decided we wanted to go) soooo long to decide, that by then, the rain was coming down almost in torrents. I said we'd better get in the van and go that way, instead of all of us riding through the rain on our bikes. :o) My 13 year old son rode his bicycle, while two of us rode in the van, near him. The other one stayed at the house with two more adults to have fun with our youngest sailor trying out their rain storm boats in some newly-made "Lego man boats." (made out of styrofoam egg cartons)

We took the back road in this small, country town of 1, 300 friendly folks, to get to this store. The back road takes us past a field where two horses like to pass their afternoons. Across the street from that field is quite a few acres where a small herd of beef cattle like to graze. Otherwise, there are woods filled with overgrown underbrush. Is that a word? Anyway ... It was fun watching the water trying to find places to escape alongside the roads we took, seeking low places where it could form small, fast-flowing streams, which (from a birds' point of view sitting on the ground) must look more like huge rivers fit for white water rafting expeditions. ;o) We made it to the store and back just fine, with my son enjoying splashing through the wide 'rain streams' as we made our turns from one street to another.

Back at our house, she began working quickly to mix the ingredients for fresh, home-baked cookies. yeah! Our youngest son joined in to help her pour in the various yummies into the bowl. Our two youngest children had a hard time not stealing the cookie dough every time she walked out of the kitchen, before all the cookies were finished baking. She had to almost hide them ... as usual ... so there will actually be some left tomorrow morning, when "the sale is about to begin."

Will let you know how it goes. The last time she baked cookies, she sold about $15 worth right away. Wow! God sure encouraged her with that! Hard work done with a cheerful heart of love does pay off! And the cookies I ate that day sure were yummy! I baked an extra batch, to help.

Lesson? Diligence and industriousness are not lost in America. They are still character traits alive and well among those whose children have been taught at home, like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison. And God is teaching me patience, while I wait for my "cookies" to be "done." Children are like fruit; they ripen with age. Father, help me raise my children so they desire to please You! hee hee! Help me show them patience, so they can see You shining!

From Proverbs 8: 32 - 35 ...blessed are they that keep Wisdom's ways. Hear instruction, and (choose to) be wise, .... Blessed is the man that heareth (receiveth) Wisdom, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoso findeth Me findeth Life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord YHWH.

Our Father shares His Life with us and teaches us, if only we will "hear" His Wisdom! Lord, help me keep my ears open to hear You, as You do, for me, when I call to You! ~ Shalom!

"A Quiet Heart Journal" to share about "Learning"

Below is an entry from my blog called "A Quiet Heart Journal." Wanted to share it here, so that others could see what God has been up to, in our family of home learners. "Help! Notes" true audience is folks who see God has their main Teacher, and who pass on what He has been teaching "us" to those we love. You can share in this, as you read on this blog, what is shared here.
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Jun. 7, 2007

Finally, "A Quiet Heart Journal" is here!
It's a great day ... in Yeshua! He is my Life!

How do you spell home education? Fun! Creativity! Rock-hunting? Finding fossils in the back yard?! Showing them to a creation scientist who tells you they were laid down at the time of Noah's Flood? wow! How exciting!

Do you like your day to be organized and go according to schedule? Do you prefer all your ducks in a row? Or ...are you more of a free spirit? Do your Mondays match your Tuesdays? Is there wisdom in planning things out, but letting God direct your day? Do you live in the city? in the countryside?

We moved from near a large city to a small town where cattle, sand, spring water and pine trees abound. We like reading challenging books about the lives of those who trusted God beyond all normalness, and they achieved greatness. ...for God's glory! We like singing opera! We like creating unusual, artistic birthday cards for one another! We like worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth! We like doing the right thing! We like getting on the trampoline to add some jump to life around 'our place' we call Seven Oaks. We prefer everything to be in its place! And we like to go on long hikes in the woods, as long as we do not meet any wild boars -- aagh!

I prefer life to include fun, flexibility, creative ways to learn, peace-loving attitudes among the troops, combined with a love-in-action, responsible attitude, for Mom to feel like I can breathe. ah! Moms need room to grow -- spiritually and health-wise. I am still learnin,' too! God is teaching me much about how everyone in our family can have better health and stop to praise God throughout the day, especially when there are attitude adjustments needed among the young laboratory research assistants here.

My Father is teaching me to thank Him for irritations and for interruptions to our schedule, and all while learning to live on a tight "ministry budget." I am learning Godly character! ... while God is showing me I can develop A Quiet Heart. wow! Isn't God good?! Amen! He is so creative! He paints sunsets all across the western sky, even in east Texas where there are tall trees nearly everywhere. Our Heavenly Father loves to surprise us with the shimmer of diamond-looking sparkles on a lake's water surface, on a sunny day.

He shines in our childrens' faces when we praise them for their willing hearts as they run to help us eagerly with frying up some "flannel cakes from the plantation," in a recipe we found in our historical cookbook we got while on a family learning vacation. Or take their turn at washing, drying, putting away dishes or laundry, every day. God has moved us from the corporate world of a large city to working from home in a small town, to helping at a ministry that trains young men to do search and rescue internationally while teaching them skills and knowledge for life careers or ministry.

And now we begin a new phase of life: a ministry that hopes to restore faith in The Foundation of all Knowledge, God's Word. Life in the Bible Institute. Our oldest three children have now graduated from God's school of learning, from my husband's and my home education efforts. They are each serving God in various ministry niches. Our oldest daughter custom sews modest clothing for moms and daughters. Handmaid of the Lord Designs. Our oldest son does website design, and provides support for No Greater Joy ministries, helping with their magazine, translation work on their book Good & Evil, and various projects, as well as playing piano in churches.

Our second daughter does graphic design work from home, working on many other projects besides, including her specialty in the field of artistic design in advertising, as well as drawing portraits and things in nature, or taking spectacular close-up photographs. Our second son is a budding cartoonist, as well as a diligent woodworker, avid historical and adventure book reader, golfer, jaw harp and harmonica player, and an accurate target-hitter. What does he "not" like to try to do? He also has more ideas for making money than any seasoned entrepreneur.

And our third daughter is a princess who likes to help me with housework and homemaking, as well as baking, hospitality, and serving. She also is learning to sew doll clothes as well as crafts and gift bags. Our third son is keeping us all busy keeping him busy. He is lively, energetic and has nearly enough energy to wear Mom out. Not yet! This mom most always has more energy than he does. God is smart! He plans ahead! He gives busy moms enough energy to keep up with their action-packed shipmate crew. He provides many good things, and I try to keep them on hand for both good health and energy.

And He is teaching me why He allowed me to learn just enough things boys like to do, to keep most of them challenged, when Dad is busy working. ;o) Our Father in Heaven wants us all to grow more like Him. I am learning to be focused on Him and His Will. I must become less; He must become more. As I give up more of my 'self' to His leading, He opens up more Joy, Peace and Rest in Yeshua, His Son. That's what I want. Brokenness before God. What?! Brokenness?!

But yielding our rights can be difficult. Each challenge to having things done the way we think they should be can bring much grief. As the days go by, I hope to share what God is allowing, teaching us, and designing in our lives as a family, to help us gain A Quiet Heart. And how life can still be filled with fun and adventure, if we are willing to follow God on our Path of Life He is leading us on, with Yeshua as our Good Shepherd.

Mary Pride's article: Ron Paul is "it"

Below is an article written by Mary Pride whose family produces Homeschool World, the website for Practical Homeschooling Magazine. You can read this article online at:
http://www.home-school.com/news/huckabee.html
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Huckabee Not the Best for Homeschoolers

This is something new for me. For the last 22 years, my family has served the homeschooling movement without ever uttering a single word (in print OR behind the scenes) regarding national or state politics.

But now that one particular candidate-former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee-is experiencing a surge in popularity that the mainstream press attributes to the homeschool movement, I feel the need to say a few words.

Acccording to a December 17 Washington Post story, "It was the endorsement by prominent national home-school advocate Michael Farris that helped propel Huckabee to a surprising second-place finish in the Iowa straw poll in August. And it was the twin sons of a home-school advocate in Oregon who helped put Huckabee in touch with television tough guy Chuck Norris, who appeared alongside him in an attention-getting TV spot and on the campaign trail." With other media heavy hitters agreeing that homeschoolers as a group are making the difference for Huckabee, such as the December 17 New York Times piece, "Huckabee Draws Support of Home-School Families," we need to ask ourselves:

Do we want to yoke the homeschool movement's future to the political trustworthiness of this man?

Think of it. If Huckabee is elected, and then (like George W. Bush) takes actions that are deservedly unpopular (e.g., Bush's refusing to close our borders to illegal invasion), people might start saying, "It's the homeschoolers' fault!" They might say this even if we, personally, don't agree with Huckabee's post-election actions.

Here are some questions we should ask ourselves before we begin... or continue... to use our homeschool contacts to campaign for this man.

1. Is Huckabee the only candidate who supports homeschooling? No. While the Democratic candidates, and Republican John McCain, seem to sidestep the issue of homeschooling completely, among the Republicans Mitt Rommey supports homeschooling to the extent of proposing a federal tax credit for us. Fred Thompson claims he supports parents having "the ability to choose the best setting situation to meet the needs of their children-whether in a public, private, religious, home or charter school setting." Duncan Hunter supports more access to school facilities and more bucks for homeschoolers. And Ron Paul makes homeschooling one of the top issues listed on his official site, showing a knowledge of homeschool issues that dwarfs that of the other candidates.

2. Is Huckabee the one who supports homeschooling most fervently? No, that would be Ron Paul, who says on the Issues page of his site:

Returning control of education to parents is the centerpiece of my education agenda. As President I will advance tax credits through the Family Education Freedom Act, which reduces taxes to make it easier for parents to home school by allowing them to devote more of their own funds to their children's education.

I am committed to guaranteeing parity for home school diplomas and advancing equal scholarship consideration for students entering college from a home school environment.

We must have permanency in the Department of Defense Home School Tier 1 Pilot Program, providing recruitment status parity for home school graduates. I will use my authority to prevent the Department of Education from regulating home school activities.

I will veto any legislation that creates national standards or national testing for home school parents or students. I also believe that, as long as No Child Left Behind remains law, it must include the protections for home schoolers included in sec. 9506 (enshrining home schoolers' rights) and 9527 (guaranteeing no national curriculum).

Federal monies must never be used to undermine the rights of homeschooling parents. I will use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to encourage a culture of educational freedom throughout the nation.

Huckabee, on the other hand, presided in 1999 over the enactment of Arkansas House Bill 1724, which the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) opposed at the time. (That's the same HSLDA which now is endorsing Huckabee.) The HSLDA Court Report story on this event led with the headline "Home Schoolers Lose Ground with New Law." The Court Report story says that it "gives Arkansas the unique distinction of becoming the first state in the nation to add restrictions to its existing home school law." As HSLDA's website continues the story:

Arkansas is now one of only 12 states to impose a deadline for beginning home schooling or requiring parents to provide advance notice to public school officials of their decision to do so. Because of this restriction, parents who encounter intolerable conditions at the public school, such as imminent danger to the safety or welfare of their child, will have to wait at least 14 days before withdrawing the child to begin home schooling or else face truancy charges for unexcused absences during the 14-day waiting period. No such restriction exists for parents who decide to immediately remove their children to attend a private or parochial school in Arkansas. This raises serious issues regarding the right of parents to direct the education of their children and equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In addition, Arkansas is now the only state in the nation with a law prohibiting a student from beginning home schooling if the student is in the midst of disciplinary proceedings at the public school...

Another discriminatory provision in H.B. 1724 states that any home schooling student who refuses to participate in the state testing program shall be subject to prosecution for truancy. Public school students refusing to participate in state testing would not be subject to truancy prosecution.

Prior law required parents moving into the state mid-school year to provide a written notice of intent to the local superintendent within 30 days. The new law requires parents to provide a written notice upon moving into a different school district during the school year, even though notice was given in their former district.

Huckabee is also the proud Republican holder of the New Hampshire National Education Association (NEA)'s endorsement. (Hillary Clinton won their endorsement for the Democratic nomination.) He was the only Republican candidate to seek the NEA's endorsement. This is disturbing on many levels. First, the NEA has consistently passed resolutions at its national meetings that call for homeschooling to be limited to children whose parents are licensed teachers, using state-department-approved curriculum. They also oppose the rights of homeschoolers to engage in ANY extracurricular activities in the public schools. Plus, their overall agenda is ultraleftist and anti-parental-rights to the core.

This is pretty slick. First, you oppose HSLDA when implementing a new Arkansas homeschool laws. Then, you get HSLDA's founder, Mike Farris, to endorse you years later. Finally, you cap it all by getting the most powerful organization opposed to homeschool freedom to endorse you. We should be long past the time when we trust someone just because he's a Baptist minister and because he says he likes to (to our faces) while he soaks up the help of our opposition as well. Speaking of trustworthiness, according to the Arkansas Times of January 25, 2007,

It was learned that before leaving office, Huckabee had used up the governor's emergency fund, in part to destroy computer hard drives in the governor's office. [A follow-up story of September 27 pointed out it cost $335,000 to replace the ruined computer equipment.] That left the new governor, Mike Beebe, with no emergency money for the last six months of the fiscal year. It left everyone else with questions about the destruction of state property, and whatever was on those hard drives that Huckabee was so desperate to conceal.

Also speaking of trustworthiness, according to an NBC news story, over his 10 years in office,

Huckabee and his wife took hundreds of gifts, large and small-more than $112,000 in one year alone. Guitars, gold jewelry, and diamonds. Vacations. Gift certificates. Free dental care and dry cleaning. $23,000 for Mrs. Huckabee's inaugural wardrobe. And 50 percent off hamburgers at Wendy's. 'He doesn't think that there's anything anyone offers him that he should have to say No to," says Gwen Moritz, editor of the Arkansas Business Journal.

In support of this, a 1998 story in the Arkansas Times spells out how Huckabee and his family were using the $60,000-a-year Governor's Mansion fund as their personal piggy bank. As revealed in documents provided to the Times by a former governor's office employee, the Huckabee family had used the mansion fund-which was supposed to be used only for purchases related to official state business-to buy everything from pantyhose and dog houses to meals out and loaves of Velveeta cheese.

Anyone who's so slippery he can get the endorsements of the most influential homeschool group and of the New Hampshire NEA, its polar opposite... who sees no problem with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of "gifts"... who uses money meant for official purchases for personal use... and who trashes all records of his activities upon leaving office... is someone I don't trust in any capacity. And especially not as President.

We're not at the stage yet where people start telling us to vote for the lesser of two evils. So let's vote for someone with integrity who truly upholds homeschoolers' (and everyone's) Constitutional rights. For me, that would be Ron Paul.

To find out how the candidates line up, go to this comparison chart: http://www.rp-supporters.com/compare.html

Don't forget to click on the individual candidates' names on that page. Each brings up a fascinating and informative video about the candidate and how well he has (or hasn't) stood by his positions.

Mary Pride is the publisher of Practical Homeschooling.

Who do you think the best presidential candidate is? Vote now!

Copyright ©1993-2008 Home Life, Inc.

A Poll of the 2008 Election

A poll has been added here, to ask which man you all vote for, for U.S. President, in November of 2008. Please just enter your response. And we will check the tally next week. -- blog editor

Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chap. 3

Ephesians 3: 14 - 21

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto The Father
of our Lord Yeshua ha Meshiach,
15 of Whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named,
16 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His
Glory, to be strengthened with Might (Greek, dunamis)
by His Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Messiah may dwell in your hearts by Faith (trusting
belief); that ye, being rooted and grounded in Love (Greek,
agape, God's unconditional Love based on His promise to
Abraham, in Genesis 12: 1-3, and Genesis 15: 1, 5-6 and
17: 1-2),
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the Love of Messiah, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of
God.
20 Now unto Him Who is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to The Power (of
His Holy Spirit, the Ruach ha Kodesh) that worketh in us,
21 Unto Him be glory in the church (believers) by Messiah
Yeshua throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Letter to the believers at Ephesus:
Ephesians, chapter 4 ...
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of The Lord Adonai, beseech
you that ye walk (live) worthy of the vocation wherewith
ye are called,
2 With all lowliness (humility, depending completely on God
for everything) and meekness (yielded in attitude, letting
God be your strength, yielding all your rights, expectations,
plans and hopes to God, Who is due all things, and Who only
does you good at all times), with longsuffering (long-enduring
patience), forbearing one another in (Greek, agape) Love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of The Spirit (of God) in
the bond of (Shalom) Peace.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit (of the Lord), even as
ye are called in one Hope of your calling;
5 One Lord Adonai, one Faith (trusting belief in God
Almighty), one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through
all, and in you all.

7 But unto every one of us is given Grace (which gives us
the desire and the power to do God's Will) according to
the measure of the Gift of Messiah.
8 Wherefore He saith, When he ascended up on High,
he led captivity captive, and gave Gifts unto men.
9 (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also
descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the Same also that ascended
up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He gave some, apostles, and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Messiah:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the Faith (trusting
belief), and of the Knowledge of The Son of God (Elohenu),
unto a perfect (mature) man (spiritually), unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness (as shown
in Taoism, in Zen, in Hinduism or Buddhism, in Islam,
or animism, or the New Age movement,
or environmentalism or in "saving the earth," or in
queen of heaven worship (Sophia and other forms),
or in any false religion, most especially seen in
those who are involved in either Mormonism
{so-called followers of Jesus Christ ... but they
follow not the true Yeshua ha Meshiach!!}
and in Jehovah's Witnesses ... neither of whom "know"
the Lord on High, the true Lord Jehovah, the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Who is God Almighty,
The Great I AM, The Ancient of Days!),
whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the Truth in Love, may grow up into
Him in all things, which is The Head, even Messiah:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together
and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of
every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in Love (Greek, agape).
....

Warfare Prayer -- pray this !!

Warfare Prayer

( a very insightful and powerful prayer, taken from a tract printed and shared by Gospel Tract Society, Inc., P. O. Box 1118, Independence, Missouri 64051 )

Heavenly Father, I bow in worship and praise before You. I cover myself with The Blood of The Lord Adonai Messiah Yeshua (The Lord Jesus Christ) as my protection. I surrender myself completely and unreservedly in every area of my life to You. I take a stand against all the workings of Satan that would hinder me in my prayer life. I address myself only to The True and Living God and refuse any involvement (or interruption, or distraction) of Satan in my prayer.

Satan, I command you, in The Name (ha Shem) of The Lord (Adonai) Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah), to leave my presence with all your demons. I bring The Blood of The Lord (Adonai) Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) between us.

Heavenly Father, I worship You and give You praise (!). I recognize that You are worthy to receive all glory and honor and praise. I renew my allegiance to You and pray that the blessed Holy Spirit would enable me in this time of prayer (to do Your will). I am thankful, Heavenly Father, that You have loved me from past eternity and that You sent The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) into the world to die as my substitute. I am thankful that The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) came as my representative and that through Him
You have completely forgiven me;
You have adopted me into Your familly;
You have assumed all responsibility for me;
You have given me eternal Life;
You have given me the perfect Righteousness of The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) so I am now justified.
I am thankful that in Him You have made me complete, and that You have offered Yourself to me to be my daily Help and Strength.

Heavenly Father, open my eyes that I might see how great You are and how complete Your provision is for this day. I am thankful that the victory The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) won for me on the Cross (the Roman execution stake) and in His Resurrection (from the dead) has been given to me and that i am seated with The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) in the heavenlies. I take my place with Him in the heavenlies and recognize by Faith (trusting belief) that all wicked spirits are subject to me in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua). ( Hallelujah! )

I am thankful for the Armor You have provided. I put on the Girdle / Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Sandals of (my feet shod with) the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, and the Helmet of Salvation. I lift up the Shield of Faith (trusting belief) that is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked / the enemy of God. And I take in my hand The Sword of The Spirit, the Word / Rhema of God. I choose to use Your Word (especially the special verse[s] You have made me aware of, in my reading of Your Word today) against all the forces of evil in my life. I put on this Armor (Your whole armor, Father God) and live and pray in complete dependence upon You, blessed Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh).

I am grateful, Heavenly Father, that The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) spoiled all principalities and powers and made a show of them openly and triumphed over them in Himself. I claim all that victory for my life today. I reject all the insinuations, and accusations, and the temptations of Satan. I affirm that the Word of God is true, and I choose to live today in The Light of God's Word. ... by Your Grace, dear Lord.

I choose, Heavenly Father, to live in obedience to You and in fellowship with Yourself. Open my eyes and show me the areas of my life that do not please You. Work in me to cleanse me from all ground that would give Satan a foothold against me. I do in every way stand into all that it means to be Your adopted child, and I welcome all the ministry of The Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh).

By faith (trusting belief) and in dependence upon You, I put off the fleshly works of the old man (my old self) and stand into all the victory of the crucifixion where The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua) provided cleansing from the old nature. I put on the new man (my new self, in Messiah Yeshua) and stand into all teh victory of the Resurrection and the provision He had made for me to live above sin.

Therefore, today I put off all forms of selfishness and put on the new nature with its agape Love (unconditional Love -- charity). I put off all forms of fear and put on the new nature with its courage. (boldness) I put off all forms of weakness and put on the new nature with its Strength. (the Joy of The Lord is my Strength!) I put off all forms of lust and put on the new nature with its Righteousness, purity and honesty. I am trusting You to show me how to make this practical in my daily life.

In every way I stand into the victory of the ascension and glorification of The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua), whereby all the principalities and powers were made subject to Him. ( Hallelujah! ) I claim my place in Christ (Messiah) as victorious with Him over all the enemies of my soul. Blessed Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh), I pray that You would fill me. Come into my life, break down every idol and cast out every foe.

I am thankful, Heavenly Father, for the expression of Your Will for my daily life as You have shown me in Your Word. I, therefore, claim all the Will of God for today. I am thankful that You have blessed me with all (every) spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Messiah Yeshua). ( Hallelujah! ) I am thankful that You ahve begotten me unto a living hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) from the dead. I am thankful that You have made a provision so that today I can live filled with The Spirit of God with agape Love and His Joy and Shalom Peace, with longsuffering, gentleness and goodness, with meekness, faithfulness and self-control in my life. I recognize that this is Your Will for me and I therefore reject and resist all the endeavors of Satan and his wicked spirits to rob me of the Will of God. I refuse in this day to believe my feelings, and I hold up the Shield of Faith against all the accusations and distortion and insinuations that Satan would put into my mind. I claim the fullness of the Will of God for my life today.

In the Name (and through The Blood) of The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua), I completely surrender myself to You, Heavenly Father, as a living sacrifice. I choose not to be conformed to this world. I choose to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, and I pray that You would show me Your will and enable me (by Your Grace) to walk in all the fullness of Your Will today.

I am thankful, Heavenly Father, that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, to the casting down of imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the Knowledge of God, and to bring every thought into obedience to The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Messiah Yeshua). Therefore, in my own life today I tear down the strongholds of Satan and smash the plans of Satan that have been formed against me. ha Shem Yeshua! I tear down the strongholds of Satan against my mind, and I surrender my mind to You, blessed Holy Spirit (Ruach ha Kodesh). I affirm, Heavenly Father, that You have not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of Love and of a sound mind. ( Hallelujah! )

I break and smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my emotions today, and I give my emotions to You, Heavenly Father. I smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my will today. I give my will to You, Heavenly Father, and I choose to make the right decisions of Faith (trusting belief in Your Word). I smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my body today. I give my body to You, Heavenly Father, recognizing that I am Your temple, the temple of The Holy Spirit. I rejoice in Your mercy and goodness, Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, I pray that now and through this day You would strengthen and enlighten me, show me the way Satan is hindering and tempting and lying and distorting the Truth in my life. Enable me to be the kind of person that would please You, Heavenly Father. Enable me to be aggressive in prayer and faith. Enable me to be aggressive mentally, (to be alert to the schemes of the devil) to think about and practice Your Word, and to give You Your rightful place in my life.

Again, I cover myself with The Blood of The Lord Jesus Christ (Adonai Yeshua the Messiah), and pray that You, blessed Holy Spirit, would bring all the work of the Crucifixion (Messiah's substitutionary atoning death in my place, on "the tree"), all the work of the Resurrection (of Messiah Yeshua from the dead), all the work of the glorification, and all the work of Pentecost into my life today. ( Hallelujah! ) I surrender myself to You, Heavenly Father. I refuse to be discouraged. You are The God of all hope. You have proven Your Power by resurrecting Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) from the dead, and I claim in every way this victory over all satanic forces in my life. I pray in The (mighty, humble, victorious) Name of The Lord Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah, my Adonai) with thanksgiving. Amen.

-- (written by) Victor M. Matthews, and distributed by Gospel Tract Society, Inc., of Independence, Missouri
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a message about giving thanks, by John A. Broadus

Colossians 1: 9 - 16 ... it is my blessing for you. The Lord bless you and fill you 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; strengthened with all Might, according to His glorious Power, unto all Patience and Longsuffering with Joyfulness; giving Thanks unto The Father, which hath made us meet (appropriately fitted or prepared) to be (live as) 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 (man): For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

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I Thessalonians 5: 14 - 24 Now, we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not The Spirit (of God Almighty). Despise not prophesyings. Prove all thngs; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of Peace (Jehovah Shalom) sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.

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I Thessalonians 5: 18 In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus (Messiah Yeshua) concerning you.

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IN EVERY THING, GIVE THANKS

[ an article taken from "Sermons and Addresses" by John A. Broadus. Published by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tennessee. -- I copied this from Baptist Bible Tribune, November 2007, Vol. 59, No. 3, pages 13-14 ]

We hear a great deal said about habits. But it nearly always means bad habits. Why should we not think and speak much about good habits? They are as real, and almost as great, a power for good as bad habits are for evil. We do our work largely by the aid of habit.

How much this helps one in playing on an instrument, or writing on a typewriter. Through many a familiar conjunction of notes or of letters the fingers fly with the very smallest amount of attention and exertion. Many a man who is growing old will every day get through an amount of work that surprises his friends, and it is possible becaue he works in the lines of lifelong habit. Besides, the only possible way to keep out bad habits is to form good habits. By a necessity of our nature, whatever is frequently and at all regularly done becomes habitual. If a man has been the slave of evil habits, and wishes to be permanently free, he must proceed by systematic and persevering effort to establish corresponding good habits.

The education of our children, both at school* (* at home or with parents' permission with a hired teacher -- blog owner's note) and at home, the self-education of our own early life, consists mainly in the formation of intellectual and moral habits. I think we ought to talk more upon this subject, in public and in private -- upon the power and blessing of good habits.

CONSIDER THE VALUE of the habit of thankfulness. It tends to quell repining. We are all prone, especially in certain moods, to complain of our lot. Every one of us has at some time or other imagined, and perhaps declared, that he has a particularly hard time in this world. It is to be hoped that in other moods we are heartily ashamed of ourselves for such repining.

But how to prevent its recurrence? A most valuable help will be the habit of thankfulness to God. Then if a fretful, repining spirit begins to arise (in us -- blog owner's note), just in the middle, perhaps, of some complaining sentence, we shall suddenly change to an expression of thankfulness -- and perhaps end with laughing at ourselves for the folly of such repining.

It tends to enhance enjoyment. We all know that when we receive a gift, with any true sentiment and any suitable expression of thankfulness, the reaction of gratitude augments our gratification.

It serves to soothe distress. Persons who are greatly afflicted, and not wont to be thankful, sometimes find the memory of past joys only an aggravation of present sorrow. Far otherwise with one who has learned to be habitually thankful. For him the recollection of happier hours is still a comfort.

It helps to allay anxiety. Did you ever notice what the apostle says to the Philippians? "In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made unto God. And the Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Messiah Yeshua) Notice carefully that we are to prevent anxiety by prayer as to the future with thanksgiving for the past.

IT CANNOT FAIL to deepen penitence. "The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." When we are fully in the habit of thankfully observing and recalling the loving kindnesses and tender mercies of our Heavenly Father, this will make us perceive more clearly, and lament more earnestly, the evil of sin against Him; and what is more, this will strengthen us to turn from our sins to His blessed service.

It has as one necessary effect to brighten hope. "I love to think on mercies past, And future good implore," is a very natural conjunction of ideas. If we have been wont to set up Ebenezers* (* stones of help, from Eben-ezer) upon our path of life, then every glance backwards along these milestones of God's mercy will help us to look forward with more humble hope.

It serves to strengthen for endurance and exertion. We all know how much more easily and effectively theyh work who work cheerfullly; and the very nutriment of cheerfulness is found in thankfulness as to the past and hope as to the future.

BUT REMEMBER THAT good habits cannot be maintained without attention. They require a certain self-control, a studious self-constraint. Is not the habit of thankfulness worth taking pains to maintain? The older persons remember Ole Bull, the celebrated violinist. I once dined in company with him, and in an hour's conversation across the table found him a man of generous soul, full of joble impulses and beautiful enthusiasms, and rich with the experience of wide travel.

And I was greatly interested in a remark of his which is recorded in the recent biography: "When I stop practicing one day, I see the difference; when I stop two days, my friends see the difference; when I stop a week, everybody sees the difference."

Here was a man who had cultivated a wonderful natural gift, by lifelong labor, until, as a performer upon the finest of instruments, he was probably the foremost man of his time; and yet he could not afford to stop practicing for a single week, or even for a single day. "They do it for an earthly crown; but we for a Heavenly."

Christian brethren, shall we shrink from incessant vigilance and perpetual effort to keep up the habit of thankfulness to God?

I SEE MANY YOUNG PERSONS present this evening. Will not some of you at once begin the thoughtful exercise of continual thankfulness? Will you not think over it, pray over it, labor to establish and maintain so beautiful and blessed a habit? Ah, what a help it will be to you amid all the struggles of youth and all the sorrows of age!

And in far-coming years, when you are gray, when the preacher of this house has long been forgotten, let us hope that you will still be gladly recommending to the young around you the habit of thankfulness.

John A. broadus was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on June 24, 1827, and died in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 16, 1895. As a man, scholar, teacher, and preacher, he was genuinely distinguished. He received the M.A. degree from the University of Virginia. He became a member of the first faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminar when it opened at Greenville, South Carolina, in 1859. for the next 36 years, he was professor of New Testament interpretation and homiletics. His commentary on Matthew and his _Preparation and Delivery of Sermons_ are still standard works. His pleasant personality, his accurate knowledge and clarity of expression, made him one of the superior teachers and preachers of his time.

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Give thanks to God continually! And do it every day! -- no matter what .....

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 (spelled that way on purpose -- blog owner's note); [ ;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 people in the countries in our families' heritages ...) or the humor 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 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."

Hope soon to add a photo of our family, taken about a year ago. It's time for a photo update, so we will also be working on that. Will upload what I can, as soon as possible. ;o)

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). http://www.lifeinthebible.com http://www.openwordbase.com

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: kasayeshua@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!" (He will deliver you from any and all troubles; though we must be willing to apply patience during the "trial") Yeshua's Name "means" deliverance or salvation (from danger or harm).
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!

~ enjoying much cooler weather in Texas (now all we need is about a foot of soft, powdery, "dry" snow, please, Lord!) ~ blog owner "busy as usual"

A dot ink drawing my grown daughter did