Know What You Believe

This glimpse differs from the ones thus far.  

1) It is not a visual, pictorial glimpse.  

2) It is a little wordier than my usual glimpses.

This time I'm giving a peek into a subject I added mid-year out of a need and a passion: Biblical worldview.   Two young guys came up to our door, handing out their religious literature one evening.  Usually, I smile, take their booklets, and promptly throw them away... but that day I was compelled to talk to them.  I was amazed at how persuasive they were and, though I held my own in the conversation, I realized I needed to be more prepared for the next time.

Then over the course of the fall and winter, we were involved in a very sticky situation, where we found the need to defend our faith and define our belief system.  A line was drawn in the sand.  Feelings were hurt.  Misunderstandings were many.  Through this, I felt a burden to teach my children the foundations of our Christian faith and why we believe what we believe.  

I want them to be able to know truth, to stand up for truth, and to recognize un-truth when they see it. 

In my late-night searching for worldview curriculum appropriate for young children, I stumbled across this special Adventures in Odyssey series by Focus on the Family. 

The Truth Chronicles: 11 Stories on The Power of God's Truth

Already fans of Adventures in Odyssey, this was perfect for my kids and right on their level.  We listened to one episode each Friday morning before lunch, but spontaneous family conversation continued all week.  

We discussed how we decide what is true and on what we base all truth.  

We considered whether we can decide our own truth or whether it is the same for everyone.  

We talked about the difference in judging a person and judging a person's actions...and loving a person even when we don't love what they do.

We talked about loving the world versus loving Christ.
We marveled at God being three in one.
We considered if there was ever a justification for disobeying the laws of the land.  

We discussed whether our walk with the Lord is based on knowledge or on feelings.  

We pointed out that loving someone can sometimes mean telling them something they don't want to hear.
We talked about having compassion for the lost.

"And this is my prayer:  

that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,   

so that you may be able to discern what is best 

and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."   

Philipians 1: 9-11

As I finished typing this out, I realized it may be mistaken for a product review and I guess in a way it is, but there was certainly nothing in it for me.  I purchased this with my own money and wrote about it because I felt passionate about the subject!

Tri-Moms: Cheap and Quick Recipes

I love to bake.  I am at home with flour and sugar and cake pans and cookie sheets.  I can throw things in without measuring and know that it is going to turn out alright.  When I'm baking, I don't mind being in the kitchen.

Dinner is another story.  I don't have a knack for cooking, but I really love food and I love to eat so I want what I fix to taste good...and I want to feed my family well.  My solution is usually to prepare a one-dish meal that includes a meat and a vegetable and then bake some bread to go along with it because bread means baking and I love to bake. 

I thought and thought about a recipe to share and realized that my most basic go-to meals are already on my site.  (I'll include links at the bottom.)  I get into such food ruts because when we find a meal that I like to cook and that my family loves to eat, we eat it all the time!  But bread?  I'm never in a rut because I love to bake.  Notice a theme? 

I love the smell of a yeasty bread rising in the kitchen, but yeast breads are not quick.  When I need bread on the table fast, one of my go-to recipes is a basic corn muffin.

Kristin's Corn Muffins

Combine:

1 cup yellow or white cornmeal

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

Add:

1 egg

1 cup milk

¼ cup oil

Stir until well blended.  Spoon batter into well-greased muffin pan. 

Bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.  

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Links to a few of our go-to meals:

Mexican Casserole 

Debbie Casserole

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup 

Taco Soup

Cider Beef Stew

Chili

This is the place where I'm supposed to say, "Go see what the other Tri-Moms Suzanne and Kathi have to share," but Suzanne is having major site issues and won't be able to participate at all this week.  I am playing hostess again (in Suzanne's place) so after you take a few minutes to visit Kathi, come back here to link up your own recipes below! (And don't forget to grab the Tri-Moms button located in my sidebar.)

Up next: Tri-Moms talk Baby Weight Loss

May 3

Linky Hostess: Kathi
 
Coming Soon:

May 17: Coping With (Hubby) Working Long Days

June 7: Beginning Homeschooling

June 21: Routine

Collecting Goodness

Words that I found especially good this week:

Because I Need This Reminder

(a word on end-of-the-year homeschool panics) 

from AmyL.

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I Figured It Out 

(a word about letting go of self ) 

 from Hannah 

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Stirring the Gravy  and  All Needing Something  

(words about being present for our children) 

from another Amy

A Moment Captured

 

Psalm 103:13

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

Slow and Steady

We go to closing on our new house this week.  (Still need to write up a post about that...someday!)  We are not hoarders, but the amount you accumulate with five kids is amazing.  Or maybe it is just when everything from your entire house is tucked into a box and stacked in one place, it looks like a crazy amount of 'stuff.'  This is only the second time we've moved in our married life.  We moved into our first apartment when we got married and we moved into our current townhouse exactly 6 years ago when Gavin was a toddler and Maddie was a little eight-month-old dumpling of a girl. Now, we have five kids and our baby girl is Alaine, who will turn 8 months on moving weekend.  

Thankfully we have a little over two weeks to move from here to there (as opposed to the five days we originally thought!) so we've chosen to do this transition in baby steps.  Baby steps have meant packing three or four boxes a day instead of doing marathon packing...and making a list of phone calls to spread out over weeks instead of spending all day on the phone...and driving boxes over on several weekends instead of saving everything for moving day at the end of the month. 

Still, it is crunch time and the house is starting to look bare.  Daily a child will say, "Hey, where's my fill-in-the-blank," and I have to sheepishly answer that I packed it.  And does anyone know how many calories an exclusively breastfed, teething baby consumes in a day?  Neither do I, but I'd like to think it makes a serious dent in the calories I've consumed through stress eating.  I guess it also helps that she is fussy and needing to be carried everywhere which surely burns off the rest of the calories. 

Seriously, though, we are more than thrilled about this new adventure-- this new place to settle and grow.  We are grateful for friends who hand deliver moving boxes and others who invite the kids to play while I do the work. We are excited about a dishwasher and a backyard (with lots of grass to mow!) and  a large back deck and  a kiddie pool and open windows and pink paint.  We are thrilled for friendly arms to  move the heavy stuff and offers of food for busy days.  We are requesting prayer for calm.  We are thankful for the Body of Christ in action. 

Children's Book Monday

 
The Year of Miss Agnes 
by Kirkpatrick Hill

I read about this book online or in another book.  I'm not even sure where, but I remember that the short description interested me.  A teacher in the wilds of Alaska who instills in her students a love of learning?  Hmmm. I scribbled the title onto a sticky note and then put it away...for another day... because first we had to finish reading about Molly.  Then we moved on to another book, but as we were polishing off our last few chapters of  Celeste, I remembered my sticky note and figured the time was right. 

When the hold came in, Brian picked it up for us one evening on his way home.  It was a skinny book with no pictures, but we dove in anyway.  That first night we read two chapters.  

I think I loved this book so much because it reminded me of our style of schooling. 

Miss Agnes arrives in town after a long succession of unsuccessful teachers.  The children are discouraged and don't enjoy going to school.  The parents are discouraged and think book-learning is a waste of time. when there are more practical matters of hunting and fishing to attend to.  Miss Agnes breathes a breath of fresh air into the one-room schoolhouse.  Miss Agnes doesn't believe in grades or tests.  Miss Agnes puts away the old textbooks and brings out abstract art instead.  Miss Agnes hangs maps on the wall and plays opera and reads Sherlock Holmes.  Miss Agnes teaches them to write cursive and use sign language and create timelines.

"You have to keep learning all your life," she said.

That was a good thing to think about, always learning something new.  It wasn't like you had to hurry up and learn everything right away before the learning time was over, it was like you could kind of relax and take your time and enjoy it.

Just as the school children begin engaging their minds, though, they find out Miss Agnes plans to only stay the year, just like every other teacher before her, and so they fight disappointment and discouragement again.   We mourned for the children and wondered  if Miss Agnes's replacement would ever be able to equal her. 

When we sat down to read that last day, we had three chapters left.  Alaine was a little fussy, but the kids kept begging to read anyway.  I bounced and I walked and I finished the book.

The book ends with a question and as I turned over than  last page, and closed the book, Maddie said, "Read one more chapter.  Please, please, please."

"That's it," I said.

Gavin chimed in with, "Well, we need the next book."

But there isn't another book.  We are left to ponder and decide for ourselves.  And perhaps be inspired to add a spark to our learning, too.

Visit Kathi's place today for more read aloud inspiration.
And won't you consider joining Elise at her quiet spot for book ideas on Monday? 

April Days

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Let's get together, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let's get together, yeah yeah yeah. 

Think of all that we could share. 

Let's get together, everyday 

Every way and everywhere.

 And though we haven't got a lot,
We could be sharing all we've got. 

Together.

 

A glimpse at learning in a group:

This year we were able to meet with some friends once a month  in a Charlotte Mason-style co-op.  We rotated homes and rotated snack-baking duty. 

It is much more fun to paint with friends...

October 2010

... and take a  nature walk (or run) in a bunch...

November 2010

    ...or have tea (or juice) time when you are together.

February 2011

And sharing a story is always better with someone else. 

April 2011

Tri-Moms: Introduction Time!

It began as Facebook banter among friends. 

"We should start a blogging group," says one.  

"Yes, let's!" says another. 

"But what would we talk about?"

"And what makes us different from other blogging mom groups?"

And so it went...and before we knew it, the three of us had dubbed ourselves Tri-Moms and created a button and brainstormed a schedule and decided to go for it!  There are three of us (hence the name Tri-Moms).  There's me, of course,  and then there's Suzanne from TheJoyfulChaos  and Kathi from A Heart Like Water --two red heads and a brunette, and between us we have 17 kids!  

Here is how it works:  Every first and third Tuesday of the month, we blog a topic...something we know well...something you probably know well.  Each of us will post our thoughts and we invite you to post yours, too, on your own blog.  (The three of us are taking turns with the linky so that we each have a chance to play hostess, but we'll be sure to let you know where it will be each week.) 

In case you are meeting me for the first time, I'm Kristin, wife of Brian for almost ten years.  Together we are the parents of Gavin (8), Maddie (6), Owen (4), Benjamin (2), and Alaine (7 months).  I've had three natural childbirths.  I nurse.   I delay solids.  I homeschool.  I have an Etsy shop.  I love to read great books.  I love my children.  I love my husband more.  And I love our Saviour most of all.

This week I am hosting the introductions linky.  I'd love for you to take a moment to go meet Suzanne and Kathi, then introduce yourself to all of us through your blog and come back here to link up. Grab our button,  too, while you're at it!  (It's located on my sidebar.)

Up next: Tri-Moms talk Cheap and Quick Recipes

April 19

Linky Hostess: Suzanne

Coming Soon:

May 3: Baby Weight Loss

May 17: Coping With (Hubby) Working Long Days

June 7: Bulk Shopping

June 21: Routine 

My Guilty Pleasures

Peanut M & Ms

SURVIVOR (TV show)

Vanilla Coke

Computer time after the kids are in bed

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What are yours?