One Thing

This afternoon I am totally enjoying myself canning tomatoes and praising the Lord.  Sounds weird, I know.  I have got Rich Mullins blaring through the house.  I am singing along as loud as I can just praising Him.  Yes, my kids are looking at me funny too especially since I don't really have a good singing voice.  

It has been a long time since I listened to Rich Mullins.  We dug it out today because we were studying the Apostolic Creed.  He has a song called Creed that quotes the creed.  I continued to listen to this great CD.  The Lord uses his music to convict my soul.  I am listening to "One Thing".  

Everybody I know says they need just one thing 

And what they really mean is 

They need just one thing more

And everybody seems to think

They got it coming

Well I know that I don't deserve You (italics mine)

Still I want to love and serve You

More and more

You're my one thing.

Save me from those things 

That might distract me

Please take them away 

And purify my heart

I don't want to lose the eternal for

The things that are passing

Cause what will I have

When the world is gone

If it isn't for the love

That goes on and on with

My One Thing.  

What is your one thing?  Is it Jesus?  I want Him to be my One Thing.  Many times I don't live like He is.  I get caught up in those things that are passing and I stress and I experience anxiety over these things.  I worry and fret then I get upset with my babies and time is wasted on those things that are passing.  

The last line of the song is my prayer today:

Every night and every day

You hold on tight

Or you drift away

You're left to live

With the choices you make

Oh Lord please give me the strength

To watch and work and love 

And sing and pray.

A Bad Day Homeschooling is Better Than a Good Day...

...in public school.  

This was not in any way a bad day.  It was wonderful.  Even on our horrible days of home schooling, I wouldn't trade them.  

Here is a wonderful day of home school.

After reading about the city of Pompeii being buried under a volcano, we made our own volcano.  My small kiddos had not ever done this activity before today.  We read about how this volcano erupted on August 24, 79 a.d.  The city was modern and vibrant.  They were actually getting ready for their elections. About 1 pm the volcano started spewing and sputtering.  It shot lava up 12 miles into the air and with the pressure of the gases in the mountain, it stayed in the air like a mushroom for hours.  During this time, people just went on with their lives. We read about how one man even took a nap.  When the volcano finally started to weaken, the ash fell on the city at a rate of about 6" per hour. The whole city was soon covered in hot, molten ash. The city stayed buried for 1500 years.  

We then headed outside to make our volcano with baking soda and vinegar.  It was a hit.  They loved it.  We did it over and over until we ran out of baking soda and vinegar.  

This whole story and activity spurred lots of conversation about volcanos.  We looked on the internet and found pictures of the Mount Saint Helen's eruption in 1980.  We found some really great pictures and video on YouTube.  The kids then wanted to know where in the world were volcanoes.  So Jordan and Jackson got on the internet to find locations of volcanoes worldwide and then reported back to Lane and Karis what they learned.  On our world map, they marked a few places.    

A few minutes later, I found Lane and Karis looking at science books about volcanoes. 

 We then drew pictures of the city of Pompeii with a red cloud in the shape of a mushroom.  

None of this was pre-planned.  I don't think I could have planned it any better than it turned out.  We really had fun and hopefully learned a little along the way.    

Flowers of the Field

All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:6-8

PERFECT

I can't think of a better word to describe our weekend. We went to Dale Hollow Lake and stayed at the Lillydale Park campground. I have never been to Dale Hollow but I had heard about it. Anytime Dale Hollow is mentioned, faces glaze over as if this is some sort of magical place. Well, it is not literally magical but it is perhaps the best lake EVER. I have never been to a lake or in any body of water where I could see so clearly in the water as I could there. It was deep, wide, clean and clear.

The weather would also fall under that catagory of "perfect". The temperature was in the mid 80's with little humidity. We actually had nice fire on Saturday night which is unusual for this time of year to be able to enjoy.

The campground was just as wonderful. We had a great site location.

And of course, the company was perfect. We camped with friends and the kids had a great time together. It just blesses my soul to see kids love each other the way these three families children do. As Chris said all weekend, "memories...we are making memories". These are sweet times that our children will remember for their entire lives.

It was a good weekend.