The Dawn of a New Day...

Today, is a new day. His word says:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

When these times have such a weight and heaviness to them, I must now ACTIVELY renew it with truth and this is one of the verses that I will recall. The outcome of the election is what it is...and God is still in control. Be renewed and reminded:

• “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
• God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Psalm 46:1-3,7
• ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10
• Casting the whole of your anxieties on Him, because for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
• Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
• I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Psalm 16:8

I read a post this morning which also called me to be hope-filled {in Christ}. Our work is set before us, let us not grow weary and be down-cast. Kelly's post is titled, "More Important Than Voting in the Election." Let us all seek to encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. {1 Thessalonians 5:11}

By His Grace ~

 

 

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2 FREE Events: Fee Free Day at National Parks & Musuem Day Live! Event

You and your family have an opportunity to attend two FREE events on Saturday, September 29, 2012...a great time of family togetherness, learning and fun!

 Details I found have found at the different websites, with links for more information, a comprehensive list and individual participating museums links for you to have contact information, are below.

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FEE FREE DAYS AT NATIONAL PARKS ACROSS THE NATION

 

If you would like to learn more about Fee Free Days you can read an article written by the Secretary of Interior here. Here is an excerpt providing the dates determined for the Fee Free Days:

"The fee free dates for 2012 are January 14 to 16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend), April 21 to 29 (National Park Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), September 29 (National Public Lands Day), and November 10 to 12 (Veterans Day weekend). More information is available at http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm."

For a comprehensive list of the National Parks participating in the Fee Free Days, click here, although I would contact them to confirm prior to packing up the family and heading that way. :D

 

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MUSEUM DAY LIVE! hosted by Smithsonian magazine

In conjunction with this Fee Free Day to the National Parks, will be Museum Day Live! On September 29th, free admission is being offered to various museums across the country. Read here for the details about this event here. Locally, on the list, your family could attend: The Florida Ag Museum, The Lightner Museum, Museum of Arts and Sciences, Museum of Science and History, World Golf Hall of Fame, and many others in DeLand, Jacksonville, Sanford, and Orlando.

 

Visit here for a comprehensive list of participating museums and to check to see if a museum near you is offering free admission. {SIDENOTE:  If you have season membership to the MOAS, MOSH or another museum, don't forget that some of these may be on your "reciprocal list" so my suggestion would be to compare your list to the list online and visit a museum that is NOT on the reciprocal list, since any museum on the reciprocal list could be visited for free during your membership year anyway.}

 

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What a great day of family togetherness and learning this could be...we are definitely planning to take advantage of it! Hope you can too! 

 

Blessings,

 

P.S.  You are invited to participate in a GIVEAWAY I am having.  Click here to read my post about this great gift I received and join in the chance to win the same gift...you're going to LOVE it!  What a blessing!

 

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Pictorial Tour Summer 2012

This year’s summer has been a blur!  The year for that matter… In order to keep things in order, blogging had to take a rest for a bit.  Life is full and there are so many things to juggle,  that sometimes things can get out of order if we allow it.  Instead of blogging "about" living...we were in the midst "of" LIVING.  I have missed posting and “visiting” with so many of you, so here is what I hope will serve as a glimpse of our summer and my absence from this blogging world.

 As I sit here I reflect on...

We finished school later than usual this year.  That pushed the End-of-the-Year Home School Celebration & Evaluations get-together we have been hosting the past few years, back a few weeks later, too.  {I was too involved and I did not take one picture!}

Making Your Home a Haven

Greetings! I pray that with this season change upon us (our Northern friends are surely in full thrust of rich colors now); it has brought about a refreshing breeze to your homes and lives. Like a breath of fresh air the Father above gives us through His word as we breathe it in daily, I hope this season will bring a renewed desire to be intentional in our living. If this is your first time visiting, be sure to leave a comment and say “hello” (or if you have visited before…leave a note to say you stopped by). My hope is that while here you will be encouraged in your calling as a wife, mother, daughter, sister…

 

Well, as a further encouragement during this lovely season, Courtney at Women Living Well is hosting an October challenge ~ Making Your Home a Haven. This challenge is broken down into weekly challenges for the month of October for intentional living as we focus on making our homes a haven.  (Monica from the homespun heart is also doing a similar challenge this week.)



As wives and mothers our days are full of Distractions, Demands and Duties…sometimes we can allow these to hinder our Delight. I intend for this challenge to help me intentionally refocus my attention onto the Lord and to pray more, live more intentionally and focus more on how my behavior and attitude can set the tone of my home.



Courtney’s first challenge for this week is to:

• Light a candle everyday in your home (well, that’s pretty simple) AND
• Every time your eye catches sight of your lit candle, to say a prayer for peace to be in your home. (This is what I would call the intentional part.)
  

  

  One in the hub of our home...the kitchen

Another near a beautiful reminder of God's grace...my quiet time candle

I did light a few candles yesterday (as well as today) and my prayer is for peace to be the tone of our home ~ peace between each other, peace with the Lord’s direction for our day and peace to take over when things may not go smoothly (with a home full of children there is always sharing and kindness with everyone putting others needs before their own usually a squabble to be had at some point … several points… during the day). As the aroma from the candles fill my home, I pray that peace will also be the unseen aroma that resides throughout it…by God’s grace and my intentional actions to aide in bringing that about.

Yesterday, we spent some time bringing out our autumn decorations and creating focal points of the rich colors this season provides. Our Creator is so giving to design us to have senses…senses to smell the fragrances of His creation, senses to tastes the fruits of each season, senses to see the beauty of His design (if we will just slow down long enough to look at it), senses to hear the sounds associated with a change in season and senses to touch that can warm our hearts.

How are you intentional in living, in such a way, to create a peaceful home? What have you found to be a way (or ways) to encourage peace and joy to be present? Your comments may be just the means used by the Lord to encourage someone today that is struggling in this area…

That peace would be evident ~

If you would like to participate in Courtney’s challenge you can click here to see the challenges for this month.

I am also linking up with Monica over at the homespun heart, doing a similar challenge titled Make Your Home a Haven each day during this week.  She has a lovely blog reflecting the beauty of her creativity and making her home a haven.

May Travels - Part II

The sound of rushing water

The clean moist mountain air

Wildlife and new adventures

This year we ventured to Sliding Rock - we took the longer way on the Parkway (about 2 hours) to explore and experience this part of the Carolina mountains. Along the way we saw the beauty of various shades of green, trickling and rushing streams and falls and bursting pinks and whites of the Mountain Laurel. There were many pull offs along the way (although we didn't stop...to excited to get to our destination) which we slowed down to view - beautiful ridge lines and valleys, rocky cliffs and thick forest. The kids were thrilled each time we drove through a tunnel..."Dad, honk so we can hear the echo!" 'Grammar' consistently repeated, "another tunnel comin'".

Once at Sliding Rock, we had our car picnic and quickly exited to see what this 'rock' held. A few tested the water...crispy COLD and were a little resistant to venture any further...however, we did not travel 2 hours to NOT go down that 60 foot rock slide. :-) Mark went first and then took Alyssa down with him the next few times. I reaffirmed several times to "hold her tight"! The next brave one was Austin, although there was a long time of examination. Logan paced up and down the slide walk area, ventured out onto the rock slide then back in again, each time working up courage to go down. Alas, he went out away from the railing, sat down and that's all it took - no turning back...fun, fun, fun all the way down. Zach was our last adventurer - overcoming the frigid water and THOROUGHLY mapping out where he would depart from as to avoid several bumps along the way. :-) 'Grammar' asked MANY times to go, but mom erred on the side of caution - declining his many requests. He settled for knee deep areas which eased my mind. :-) Before leaving the park, we saw a 4 foot rattlesnake that had been captured by the rangers to relocate somewhere less people populated.

Our journey out of the park allowed us to see a wonder of God's handiwork...Looking Glass Falls. "From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work." Psalm 104: 13 To see the work of the Lord - that he made the mountains rise and the valleys sink down...added to our ability to enjoy this beautiful sight.

We also enjoyed a few days of rest and refreshment - playing board games, reading, taking in the scenery and aromas - around the house and in the community we stayed in. There was time for swimming in the lake and visiting the community's waterfalls, and trails. The boys worked with Mark on the property a few times, remarking surveyor stakes, cleaning out the stream and made paths to allow easier (and safer) walking. A few discoveries made along the way - crayfish, salamanders and lots of insects! One afternoon when Mark took the older kids to the falls, they stopped for a fun picture. There is this rock overhang and they thought they'd be silly 'holding up the rock'. Cute...

Another jaunts we took included a visit to the Western North Carolina Nature Center. The day we visited they had special guest speakers that did a presentation on shearing Alpacas - in the camel family. The kids all had an opportunity to feel the fur, take home a sample and see the various items that are made from Alpaca fur. We saw the native wildlife and plants. It was an afternoon of educational fun...

May Travels

May was a full month for our family with many exciting learning adventures...

We traveled back in time to tour the Nina and Santa Maria - two of the three Christopher Columbus ships (replicas) - with some fellow homeschoolers. The day was unusually warm...more like HOT, but it really gave us perspective on conditions that the crew must have encountered on their journey across the Atlantic.

May marked the close to orchestra for our second oldest son - a terrific first year of learning cello and playing in several concerts during the season. So many lovely pieces learned from classical to some more modern selections. The Youth Orchestra program has been a blessed addition to our learning and one in which he can use the skills learned for 'praising the Lord' in the years to come.

"Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:3-6

The morning after concert, we arose VERY early to head out on a two week journey through TN, KY, and NC. The van packed ever so carefully - the two littlest ones, loaded right from their beds to car seats and off (in the rain) our family of 8 1/2 went. The excitement of all the plans our two weeks would hold could be sensed in the fullness of the van...friends to see, the wondrous hand of God's handiwork to be seen and so many places to visit! We managed to "squeeze" our 10 hour trip into 12 1/2 hours. :-)

Our first stay was in the beautiful mountains of TN. Cades Cove was a splendid highlight of our short stay there. The tranquility of the cove, the many black bear we saw and deer that so peacefully wandered throughout and the historic buildings that we toured have always been a joy to experience...just to let our minds wander back to days gone by when times were simple, work was hard and the days were far from frivolous...our not so long ago ancestors who lived and worked in those very mountains. How dependant on the Lord previous generations were...how fewer the distractions away from Him were...

A couple days in TN was enough time to visit some of our favorite places and then we were off to KY. Friends, the Creation Museum and new activities to experience. Although, I was suffering by the end of the week with a severe sinus infection, the Lord was merciful to be an ever-present strength to press on and the Provider of my needs...daily reminders of His faithfulness, mercy and goodness through the encouraging times of fellowship with friends and filling my need for treatment - antibiotics called in by a doctor friend of the family...an answer to prayer.

The Creation Museum was such a blessing and visual of Biblical truth...a walk through Genesis! The grounds are beautiful, with water features and lovely garden walkways. The petting zoo was a hit with the children! Another day the boys took in the Air Force Museum in Dayton with the men and then Mark and the boys enjoyed another outing to a Cincinnati Reds game...how exciting and even more exciting was the fact they took home a foul ball! Worship was spent with friends at Bible Chapel of Delhi Hills - the Word was preached, worship was God glorifying and Memorial Day was honored. I will try to add a slide show of pictures on the blog for this portion of our trip.

That covers our first week...a short version of week full of blessings, refreshment and the gifts of the Lord. Part II will be up and coming about our time in NC.