#Homeschooling Adventure Take One

I took the plunge this Fall and started to homeschool my oldest two children (the youngest is still 4). It was a HUGE decision for my husband, Ed, and I and really broke my heart in a way because we truly loved the kids’ school that had become like a second home to us for the last 5 years. I was on the school board at NCCS(North Cariboo Christian School) for the past 2 ½ years and was a part of and even chaired different committees over the years. It is a school that I believe in and will continue to promote even in my children’s absence. You are probably wondering why, then, did I choose to switch to homeschooling? Well, it wasn’t really a matter of choosing as much as a matter of obedience- obedience to God.

Back in February of this year I started hearing my friends talk about how they were going to homeschool their 4 children and how much they were looking forward to it, and I thought back on other conversations I had with other friends in the past about how fulfilling it was as a parent to teach your own children and watch them learn at home. In the past I always thought, “Good for you, Supermom. Glad you like it. I’m gonna just keep sending my kids to school thanks.” But now, all of the sudden, I had a sudden urge to do it too! The kind of urge you only feel from the Holy Spirit when He gently nudges you forward, and you, all of the sudden, feel completely equipped to do something that, in times gone by, brought up feelings of dread and horror. I approached my husband about it and he thought it was an interesting idea, but wasn’t so sure. I asked the kids how they would feel about homeschooling if they would ever have to. Bethany gave an excited yes!!! Lets do it!!! While Jacob stated emphatically that he wouldn’t do it. Period. So I let it rest, but the Holy Spirit kept nudging. The next time I brought it up with Ed he seemed quite interested and wanted to know how it would work, so I went to an information session about it with a couple friends and found out that I was in for a crazy amount of information overload. Still, I was urged onward. Spring break brought me the final confirmation I needed and from that point on I was sold. By this point Ed was also convinced that we needed to do this and even Jacob had reached, as he put it, “90 percent ok with it.” So, with much anticipation and trepidation, I enrolled Bethany into grade 6 and Jacob into grade 3 with Heritage Christian Online School.

The adventure of ordering ciriculum almost did me in, but I prevailed like the supermom I must be becoming! The curriculum came in a week late, after getting lost in the mail and needing to be reshipped, and I was getting extremely anxious to just begin this journey. So when Monday, September 9, 2013 came around and we were finally able to start our first day of school I was so relieved and excited despite the butterflies taunting my tummy.  It’s been quite a week of learning, and the kids learned something too I think… I have enjoyed reconnecting with my kids in a way that I haven’t since they were toddlers. I have had God’s unlimited grace to have an uncharacteristic amount of patience, and  I have built a ‘house’ in the middle of the bush…with my kids, not because of them. Having thirty degree weather to swim at the lake for P.E. hasn’t hurt either.

I’m looking forward to what next week has to offer!

Adapting

If there is one thing I have learned, especially since reaching adulthood, it's that life does not happen the way you planned it as a child. When you are a child you have hopes and dreams and expectations of life. You have plans of what you want out of life and what you plan to put into it. The longer I'm alive (I am a whopping 31 in a few weeks) the more I realize that all of those preconceived ideas don't actually come to pass. Well I shouldn't say all, because some of my childhood dreams have come true. My husband is one of those. Awwwwe! But, throughout life your relationships with people change or end. You find your preferences change. People move. People get married. people get divorced. People die. People are born- now that one really changes things! 

There has been a few times in my adult life that I have thought, wow! My life is just awesome. Nothing can go wrong! It's exactly as I had planned. I've come to realize that's the calm before the storm! 

When these situations come along I've learned that instead of wallowing in the fact that life isn't what you thought it would be- embrace what it is now. Live in the fullness of joy that God has promised to those that trust Him. 

Case in point: my mom is getting married in three days. Say what?!  I definitely didn't see that in my future when I was a child. I saw me growing up with my mom and my dad. My children growing up with their grandma and grandpa. I didn't see cancer entering my dad and losing him. But life goes on and you either adapt, or you wallow. Life has too much to offer to waste time wallowing. 

My mom is the epitome of the verse, "in whatever state you are in, therein be content." She adapts like no body's business! Whatever she faces she says, ok so this is what we're doing now, lets do it. This is what life is now- let's go for it. God is with me no matter what so I can face it all. Her strength astounds me and inspires me. When she started dating a man from her church I thought, man, this is not something I imagined I would ever see in my lifetime. When she became engaged to this man I thought, I did not see this coming a couple years ago. And now that their wedding date is approaching I am thinking- yup! Life isn't what I thought it would be, but Praise God, He is still in control and He is still bringing the fullness of joy to those that trust in Him! 

I am very happy for my mom and her husband to be. I can see the love and respect that he has for her (and her for him) and for his Saviour and that is a wonderful thing! 

So life is changing, my family is growing, and I am changing and I am growing...and adapting... I wonder what's next?

Daddy's Girl Part 3- A Zealous Heritage

Well seeing as it's Father's Day I deemed it appropriate to write a part three to my mini series. I wanted to talk about my heritage. 

My daughter asked me recently what heritage meant. I responded very Websters dictionarily (is that a word? maybe I should look it up...) and told her it was something passed down from generation to generation. The next day she was telling me about how, at school, she likes to work as quickly as she can while still doing a good job. I said, "Ah ha!" loudly and freaked her out because she thought she was in trouble. I explained to her how that was part of her heritage! Something that was important to my Grandpa that he passed on to my dad who passed it on (the nice way of saying it was expected and enforced especially in our family business...) to me and it is now, apparently a skill or attribute I have passed on to my own daughter. I like to think of it as a skill though because darn it you get so much more done that way!

There are many things that I am thankful are part of my heritage. My love of gardening and nature. My eagerness to laugh and have a good time. My love for music and singing. My love for my family. Above all I am most thankful that my dad passed on to me his zeal for God. My dad was an amazing preacher and I remember so many of his messages, but one that stands out in regards to my heritage is the one he preached on 2 Kings 10:16. "Come with me and see my zeal for The Lord." There was nothing more important to my father than living his life for The Lord to the utmost capacity of his being. He was an all or nothing kind of guy. And when it came to his faith in Jesus it was all! He preached it from the pulpit and led by example. 

Come with me and see my zeal for The Lord. It is my deepest desire that my children see this alive in me and that they too become part of that heritage. 

A zealous heritage. That's what I have. 

Me and my dad on Father's Day 1990 at a church BBQ 

I can't believe it's not butter!

I can't believe how much I love butter! Like actual butter, not margarine. My whole adult life I've blindly been one of the millions of people lured by the lack of cholesterol and fat in margarine and products like it. What have I been missing?! On top of being much more nutritious, butter tastes sooo much better! I've been really feeling strongly about making healthier eating/lifestyle choices lately. The biggest thing I've been trying to do is find actual products that aren't a knock off of the real thing . You know that the knock offs are most likely mechanically made, probably using mostly chemicals or chemically enhanced ingredients.  God's creations work so much better and better for you than mans' creations. Seriously. 

I'm not trying to go all hippy on you, now. I do not eat seaweed or grass sprouts-  I'm just tired of counterfeits. I've been doing a lot of reading up on these counterfeit food products and cleaning products and the health effects that they are having on us, especially in North America.  Diabetes, cancer and heart disease to name a few. Manufactured products (like margarine) lower your immune system, making it harder for you to fight off colds, flues and the like as well. 

Did I mention how much I hate counterfeits? Its what Satan uses to trick us as christians too. He uses truth, wisdom and power, but in ways that destroy or promote personal gain. It's his oldest trick in the book- literally. Genesis 3 satan disguised as a serpent deceives Adam and Eve into taking of the forbidden fruit by telling them it would make them wise like god in that they would know good from evil. Truth of a sort. However, he failed to tell them that it would also separate them and all of mankind from God because of their sin. Counterfeit truth as I see it. Looks like truth, feels like truth, might even get away with it as truth for a little while, but eventually it will reveal itself as a lie. 

Growing up in the horticulture industry, I made a very interesting discovery. For every plant, there is a weed that looks EXTREMELY similar, and will usually grow right next to the original. Satan's counterfeit. We see in that same chapter of genesis that weeds were part of the curse of sin. 

Hippy or not,my tkids are thinking I'm going nuts because of my new natural product discoveries! I'm putting coconut oil on EVERYTHING. No joke. It works on everything from hemroids( apparently...) to chapped lips! I'm so excited about all of it that I just had to share some if my discoveries with you all!

Some of my new favourites that I have personally tested and found to work:

Coconut oil- sunscreen, Chapstick, deodorant, reduces visibility of stretch marks (!!!)

Vinegar- mix with orange peels to make a great all purpose cleaner, which I have also been mixing with a tbsp of coconut oil as my dishwasher detergent; as a fabric softener/deodorizer in the washing machine; 

Lemon juice- an all purpose cleaner that is also antibacterial; mix with olive oil for a great furniture polish/ dust spray. 

Baking soda- teeth whitener; mix with water to form a paste =facial cleansing scrub (this one is amazing!!)

Those are just a few of my recent discoveries which are now a staple in my life! I will share more with you as I try them out. 

Daddy's girl part 2

I came to know Jesus at a very young age. Four to be exact. I don't remember much of my life without God. Still, my relationship with Him has been on varying levels over the years. My 'faith like a child' years as a youngster where I just believed. It was simple then. God is whatever He says he is and does whatever he says that He does. That's all there was to it! 

As I grew, questions arose. Other world views presented themselves (much to the chagrin of my parens I'm sure!) I had to not only believe I had to begin to seek. Remember how fun it was to play that as a child? Hide and seek. (And on a side note, I gotta be honest, it's not as fun as a parent!) Being the hider was always the most fun. You'd be sitting in that dark closet in nervous anticipation. Half wanting to get found so that you could get out of the smelly darkness- what do people keep in those closets??!! You sneak a peak to see if they are coming closer. You can barely stand it so you let out a small noise as a hint. There they come! They're gonna find you! The closet opens and.... Found you! 123 on Janette. 

It's kinda like that with seeking God. Can you imagine being God the Father? He's sitting in that closet of Peace and He's just waiting for you to find Him in there! He lets out some still small peeps as hints hoping to lead you to Him. He's sitting there with a smile on His face waiting for you to open the door and say,"I found you! 123 on God!" He's in here everybody!!" The seeking stages are so much fun!

As I said in my last blog (hence the part 2...) my dad died nearly four years ago. The emptiness and lost feeling that came  with his death urged me to seek God in a way that I hadn't before. I knew God's Son, Jesus, and how he was my Saviour in an all encompassing way. I knew His Holy Spirit and the power and the wonder that He brings. Oddly enough, I had never really sought God out as my Father. Maybe it was because I had such a dang good one here on earth, I really don't know why but I just didn't. In my desperation I cried out to God and begged Him to reveal Himself to me as a Father! Please make that still small peep, that lightning bolt, snack me on the forehead with it- I didn't care how. I just needed a Daddy. And I found Him! Yeppers. The most amazing feeling ever is knowing that you are loved and cared for by your Heavenly Father. He held out His hand to me just like my dad used to when we would go across the road to milk the neighbours' cows. He squeezes tight when I'm scared and gently pulls when my feet get stuck in the mud (although i probably need a boot to the butt instead). Sometimes when I need it most He just wraps His arms around me and holds me. Those are good moments!

It's so good to have a Daddy! 

My dad holding me in his lap on Christmas morning. I was two.

Daddy's Girl part 1

Fewer things are more important, in my opinion, than a daughters' relationship with her Father. Daddy is there to protect you, to encourage you, to teach you, and discipline you, all the while loving you with the proudest sort of love. 

I am so blessed to say that my father was all of these things to me as a child, a teenager and even as an adult. I know not everyone can say that, so I do not take that for granted. My dad passed away July 23, 2009 after a short battle with cancer. I miss everything about having a dad. 

I always made it a point to be interested in things that he was interested in so that I could spend time with him. He worked from home on whatever business venture he was intent on at the time (there was LOTS of them!). I learned how to enjoy working in the fields, milking cows, caring for animals, butchering chickens (and yes I did actually enjoy it) chucking haybales, growing flowers and vegetables, building pallets and getting firewood. I enjoyed it because it was with him. He taught me life lessons while we worked, but mostly he just taught me to work! Inside the home he taught me that I needed to respect my elders, my parents and everyone around me. He taught me that the Bible was my life coach and Jesus my life. He taught me to be silly and enjoy life and not let circumstances define your joy. He engrained into me that money is not important. My dad didn't save for retirement or have a stockpile of inheritance cash for us kids when he passed away. In fact he told me years prior to his passing to never expect an inheritance from him because he planned to use it up helping people who really needed it. He did. I watched and learned. 

Was he perfect? Nope! Was he always right? Nope! Although he really like that joke that goes something like "once I thought I made a mistake, but I was wrong." Corny jokes. Dads have to quote them. It's like law or something. 

I miss him. I miss everything about him, imperfections and all. But now I have a daughter and my husband is her father. What an amazing thing to watch her with her dad! To see her long for his approval. To see her face light up with undeniable joy when she gets it. I love watching her try to like hockey and soccer when all she wants to do is dance. I love that she asked him to stand with her when she got baptized on fathers' day because she knew how much it would mean to him and she recognizes him as the spiritual head of our family. I love seeing her sit on his lap even though she doesn't really fit any more. I love how her eyebrows are exactly like his. I loved the incredulous look that was on his face as she made him a father. I love how proud if her he gets when he looks at her. Sometimes I get jealous that she has her dad still with her and I don't. But then I remember that I left nothing undone with my dad. I couldn't have had a closer, more meaningful relationship with him. But I still miss him. I miss everything about him...

Thankfully I have a Heavenly Father! 

My dad meeting my daughter for the first time.

Who I Am

Well, this is my first attempt at creating a blog! I thought, "I always have lots to say so this shouldn't be a problem" right? Yeah. And then you sit down and think of what am I even going to call my blog?! 

I am always sharing funny stories about things my kids say and do on Facebook and people always tell me to write them down, so I thought this might be a good way to do that. Then I started thinking... I'm a child too. Of the King of Kings. The Lord Almighty. I wonder if he shares stories about us with the angels? "Did you see what Janette did today? Man I love being her dad, she brings me such joy." Wouldn't that be great if that's what our Father God said? As a parent I am continuously in awe of the joy that my children bring me. That isn't to say I don't want to run away or lock myself in the closet never to emerge from time to time... But nevertheless the joy FAR outweighs the sorrows! I hope this is how my Heavenly Father feels about me. It's what I strive for. 

So in this blog I will be sharing a bit of my life with you: about what it means to me to be a mom and what it means to me to be a daughter of the King.