Too Many Books? Really?

I love reading.

I love books.

I don't think think there is such a thing as too much reading in one's life.

I have also been homeschooling our kids for 15 years. That takes lots of books. Right?

Well, I have come to the recent painful conclusion though, that there is, a possibility, a slight chance, maybe, that one could have too many books. *GASP*

It's painful to even write that. However, while recently wanting to change placement of one of my bookshelves ((I have three, not counting the various books sitting in numerous wicker baskets around the house.) it entered my mind that it may be time to purge and reduce my collection. *sigh*

There are more books scattered around on tables and Gracie has her own book shelf in her bedroom with numerous baskets, of course, filled with the books she has taken from our bookshelves to have a selection of her own. Some of my childhood favorites, I might add....;)
Because I have recently been subscribing to the "less is more" mantra, I am hereby challenging myself to get rid of 1/2 of the books in the house. Yep. 50%. Can I do it? Probably. I dare say, not without sincere pain and suffering, but probably. So, the first challenge I set before myself is to count them, so I know how many I have to get rid of. I don't have a time limit. Yet. Let's see how it goes. If I pull this off, I will probably have to reward myself! Maybe with....a new book!! Well...maybe not. Maybe a Kindle would be a better idea.

 I think I'll go through the kid's books first.

Snapshot Saturday

Learning Happens

Found this in my drafts. It's several months old. I want to share it. Better late than never...:) 
                                                          _________________


So here's what our day of learning looked like today for the girls. 


They watched episodes of Cake Boss, joined me in the kitchen and helped me clean and prep (and play with the "guts") a whole chicken to get it ready for the crockpot for dinner, then spent the afternoon hours cooking with the easy bake oven using regular cake mix and milk, experimenting with fondant. (Home Ec 101) They also watched a couple episodes of Billy the Exterminator on possums and squirrels. (Zoology) 

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study.  Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.  ~Henry L. Doherty

Finding Out Who We Are...

Have you ever asked yourself, "Who am I"?  I have. We get caught up in the business of life; taking care of the people around us; feeding the needs of the relationships around us; and sometimes our ears get attuned to who other people say we are and what they expect from us. I've been asking myself these questions for a couple years now, and especially over the last year.  What do I like? What do I enjoy? Who am I? What do I want to do with my life. What is fun to me? What do I want to be when I grow up? Seriously. What did God have in mind when He made me?

" For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you."  Psalm 139:13-18


One of the books I have been reading is by Paula White, titled,  "You're All That! Understand God's Design For Your Life" In the introduction, she says,
                 _________________________________________________________________


 "There are moments in our lives when we experience crisis, distractions, violations, labels, victories, successes, and setbacks. You will probably agree that in the gift we call life, most of the decisive battles are fought from within. It is only when you confront yourself, remove the blinders, and deal with the real issues that have produced a "counterfeit" life that you can live the abundant life designed for you by a loving God.

What you are willing to confront, God is willing to heal.
What you are willing to change, God is willing to grow.
What you are willing to leave behind, God is willing to transform.


God gives each of us highs and lows. We learn through them. We grow through them. As we go through times and seasons of victory and emerge on the other side, if we trust in Him, we discover more about who we are, who God is, and how God works.

My prayer is that this book will help you discover your uniqueness in God and locate the true person God created you to be and intends for you to become. No one can be you but you! I pray you will not only recover the truly valuable things that have been lost, but perhaps, also gain what has never been! I pray that you will discover the rare, original, magnificent, fabulous, beautiful person God designed you to be! You are a one of a kind, irreplaceable, and valuable beyond measure. You truly are all that!"

                   _______________________________________________________________


WOW! I want her as a friend...:) And, that is just the introduction! So.... I'm digging in, doing the work and on a mission to answer my own question,  "Who am I?" 


I've been told all my life that God loves me. I know God loves me. Now, I'm ready to find out how much! 


   Do you know that God loves you? Do you know how much? It's time to find out!  :)



O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.  If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"  even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." Psalm 139:1-12


I pray, Father, that out of your glorious riches you may strengthen me with power through your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within me, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. day, for darkness is as light to you. Ephesians 3: 6-21

Glossary of Terms for Learning at Home

I found this on a homeschooling site and enjoyed it so much I wanted to share. If you 
don't have much experience with families that learn at home, this may offer just a glimpse 
how some of us think....:)
              *******************************************************************
Imagine if we studied subjects and vocations that satisfy our own inner needs, instead of subjects far removed from our daily lives, and chosen by people who don't know us or anything about us.     ~ Parenting at the Helm

The Happy Home Education Glossary

                                                             by Linda Johnson          

Advanced Placement – When everything actually winds up in the right place when the living room is cleaned up for guests.

Block Scheduling – Making sure everyone gets a turn with the blocks; often especially important related to Legos.

Busy Work – See “curriculum.”

Class Dismissed – Your youngest finishes high school.

Comparable Growth – Having a younger child stand next to the mark on the wall made when an older sibling was the same age.

Compulsory Attendance – The state of being a family member who, like, wakes up here.

Curriculum – That which is occurring in your family’s life at the moment. You woke up thinking “history today,” only to discover you’ll all learn all about what happens when the toilet backs up.

Detention – Bed time!

Dissection – Hmm, this whole chicken will do nicely and we’ll be that much closer to having dinner ready.

Drop Out – What you get to see with all of your child’s baby teeth.

Fluent English Proficient – What you’ve been doing with your child since s/he lived en utero.

Homework – Everything family members do. (Duh.)

Job shadowing – What your child gets to do with you every day.

Math Manipulatives – THIS is why they’re called M&M’s!

No Child Left Behind – Because your spouse would realize he’s missing upon returning home from work.

Nurse’s Office – See “teachers’ lounge.”

Parent-Teacher Conference – Any moment of the day you find you’re talking to yourself.

Pep Rally – All of the kids gathered to inspire you out of bed in the morning.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio – Unless you have an only child, a reminder that you are outnumbered.

Race to the Top – What your children do when they see the slide at the playground.

Resource Specialist – She who can find missing Legos in the dark using only her bare feet.

Science Experiment – The green stuff waaaaaaay in the back of the refrigerator.

Sheltered English – What ill-informed home education critics may accuse you of.

Special Education – that which you are striving to provide your child with every day of homeschooling.

Spelling Test – An afternoon of playing Hangman.

(The Only) Standardized Test that Counts – The test that tells you if you’re having another student.

Student Teacher – What your child becomes when he shows a sibling how to snag the out-of-reach cookie jar.

Teachers’ Lounge – that small room in your house where they expect you to close the door (for at least 24 seconds).

Teachers’ Aide – (Coffee) time!

Title 1 – My title 1 was “the best Mommy in the whole wide world.”

Traditional Calendar – bwwhahahaha!

Year-round Education – What you naturally provide because you know your children are learning every single moment they’re awake.


http://www.parentatthehelm.com/7388/the-happy-home-education-glossary/

Caution: Radical Thoughts

This is an entry I made in my journal. Gonna let you have a peek into my thoughts. But beware of radical thoughts........

October 20, 2011

I have thrown the home-school schedule out the window. You know, the schedule that says how many learning days we need to complete or how many hours we need to "learn" to meet "standards". Actually....I have thrown "school" out entirely and made the decision that we will just learn instead. Who's bright idea was it to tell kids that they were to do their learning M-F 8-2:30 and of course, during homework time and then they could have free time with no learning. Essentially that is what my kids took from their "time served" at school. They came to believe that learning was something forced upon you, and to avoid outside of school hours as much as they could. They rebelled against constant pressure to perform and "learn" upon command. No wonder kids get burnt out so young. Where is the time to discover who they are in Christ and discover the talent God put into them? Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go. That includes helping them discover their "bent" and their purpose. When can they spend time discovering what they are passionate about and what they themselves are truly interested in learning more about. Kids are naturally curious and ask questions to get answers until they are stuck in a system designed by government and taught that their curiosity or individuality doesn't have a place until they have finished "learning" what has been chosen as important by others. By the time their energy and brain power has been used up, or more sadly, squelched, and are free to do something on their own, they are wiped out and just want to turn their brains off. Again, this is my personal experience. Many times, our girls would say to me, "Mom, we're not in school now; I don't want to learn anything." when I was talking with them at home about something that came up and was wanting to use as a teaching moment. Or they would ask, "Is this going to be learning, cause I don't want to do learning now?" They had equated and made synonymous the words "school" and "learning" and they didn't want any more than that which was forced upon them. Sad. That's why we have decided to give up "school". Yep, my kids are "school" dropouts. I have decided that learning about and in the world around us, and discovering who we are is a better use of our time.

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. ” – Albert Einstein


. “Just as eating contrary to the inclination is injurious to the health, so study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” – Leonardo da Vinci


“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein


“Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners.” – John Holt


“The anxiety children feel at constantly being tested, their fear of failure, punishment, and disgrace, severely reduces their ability both to perceive and to remember, and drives them away from the material being studied into strategies for fooling teachers into thinking they know what they really don’t know.” – John Holt

What's Weighing You Down?

This morning, after Maddie had gotten herself a tumbler full of water, she asked me how many of them she needed to drink for the day. As I said, "Well, let me see....", she exclaimed, "Wait! I'm going to weigh myself!" as she proceeded to run into my bathroom to procure the scale. Setting it down on the kitchen floor, she stepped on it and immediately stepped off again, announcing, "I'm going to exercise first." She then began jumping around, and waving her arms for a minute or so, after which, she decided to strip herself of some extra clothing, namely, her sweatshirt and pajama pants, leaving her in leggings and t-shirt. "Now, I'm ready." she declared, stepping onto the scale, very lightly.

You, see, she knows that I am going to base my answer on what she currently weighs, and her thinking was, the less she weighs, the less water she will be required to consume. There has to be a lesson in that.



How many times do we ask for an answer and then hope to hear only the one we want? Or perhaps our true desire is to do only the "bare minimum", not considering how much is really the best for us. We pray, or we read the Bible or listen to a sermon, or we "talk the talk", or we resist that dessert, or exercise, just enough to make us feel better about ourselves and not considering how much we really NEED to thrive and flourish and be as healthy in body and soul, as we could be.

Do we ever underestimate ourselves so that others will hopefully not expect to much from us? When we are around others and don't want them to see our true selves, do we "strip off" anything extra that we don't want to measure into what people see in us? Just as we could possibly change the scales by fractions of a pound by ridding ourselves of extra clothing, or perhaps not eating for hours before we get weighed at the doctor's office, we cannot change our true weight. We do not change who we really are, by what we allow people to see. There are no short term "fixes". Let's desire to accomplish all that God has planned for us. To be who we were created to be. We were each designed for a purpose. Let's find out what that is. Let's not sell ourselves short by only doing the minimums required. God desires us to be all that we can and to see ourselves through His eyes of love.

After Maddie weighed herself, the other two also wanted to see what they weighed and were quite surprised at how much they had "grown"...:) They either felt some need for improvement or were encouraged to do something else good for their health besides drink a bunch of water, because, as I have been writing this, they have all been outside with a timer, doing "fitness tests" on each other. Timing themselves running around the perimeter of the fence, riding their bikes around the block , and jumping rope, and have now just run back in  and are taking turns weighing themselves again, disappointed that the scale did not go down, as they had expected it would. Too early, they have come to think that perhaps what the scale says about them matters. I hope not and a discussion to that end will happen soon.   I also hope they don't get snared and distracted from who they are, measuring themselves under what the world says they should be in order to gain acceptance. As in the instance of drinking just enough water to "get by", that they would settle to just get by in life, instead of striving to be the best they can be through the redeeming love and grace and strength of Jesus Christ. They did get one thing right though. Just before they ran out the door, Hannah and Grace also stripped off their extra clothing that could slow them down and then all three proceeded to give all they had to their endevour as they cheered each other on in encouragement.

So,we could ask ourselves, "How much "water" do I need to drink today?" "What race am I to run?" What do we need to do to be healthier in body and soul alike? Who do we have around us to run with and shout words of encouragement and to hold us accountable in areas that we want to improve in? Do we need to throw anything off in order to run the race set before us better?


Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "...strip off and throw aside every unnecessary weight which readily and cleverly clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us. Looking away from all that will distract us, to look to Jesus, Who is the Leader and Source of our faith...."


In Colossians 1 we are given an example of encouragement that we can share with others or even speak to ourselves. Let this be an encouragement from me to you today....

"I continually give thanks to God for you ....and I have not ceased to pray and make special request for you, asking that you may be filled with the full, deep and clear knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom, in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things. That you may live and conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing with a fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, the knowledge of God. I pray that you will be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory. To exercise every kind of endurance and patience and perseverance with joy, giving thanks to God Who qualified and made you fit to share in a portion of the inheritance of God's people."