Math-U-See?

Have any of you used or know anything about Math – U – See? I’m considering it for Maggs next year (she will be in 3rd grade). I looked on the homeschool reviews website and the reviews are glowing. I would still like to know from anyone else out there who has used it or has an opinion about it. It’s kind of pricey and she is my last, not my first, so it’s not like I’ll continue to use it for subsequent students in my home. I know it’s early to be looking into next year’s curriculum – but it’s February and that is a hard month for homeschooling! So researching curriculum is a way to inject a little fun into the homeschool mom experience. Yes, I am a huge nerd.

MOMentum: One Day When I Get My Act Together…

Join Us on Mondays

I find myself living in the, “someday, when I get my act together I’ll…” mode often. It consists of this little fantasy world with visions of me doing all kinds of stuff that the real me just can’t seem to do. I find it frustrating to not know what the magical catapult to hurl me from here to there is. I was sharing this frustration with my husband who gave me some very wise counsel that I want to pass on. He said something like, “we often want the big grand moment when permanent change will take place and we will have our acts together, but our pride could never handle that. So God gives victory in the little things instead, but we are too often looking for some huge change and don’t notice the grace in ‘little’ victories.” He went on to tell me about something he saw on Antiques Roadshow (we love this show, me for the antiques; Jason for the history as well as the rush from seeing someone’s yard sale bargain turn into a retirement fund). A woman’s mother died leaving her a travel trailer and its contents. The contents included a small, simple painting of a sailboat race. When the appraiser informed the woman that its value was over $100,000 the woman just started crying and said, “if only my poor mother knew what she had…”

It wasn’t a Rembrandt or a Van Gogh. Indeed, we don’t even know the author’s name, and certainly had never seen this piece of art before. But it had far more value than the owner realized. This is what our lives are like. There will rarely be “Van Gogh art” moments when we finally have our acts together. If we go through the day looking for Van Gogh, and don’t see the simple work of art hanging in the trailer, we are poorer for it.

Father, please help me to see the amazing grace at work in my life and in the lives of those around me each and every day. This grace comes because of the Gospel. Help me not to be ungrateful for the small steps in the right direction, or arrogantly assume they are just me doing what is expected, rather than the Holy Spirit at work in and through me, again, because of the Gospel. Help me to have eyes to see Your artwork in the everyday events of my life, to the praise and glory of Your grace given through the Gospel.

*Edited version of a post from 2006

Good Stuff

I am thoroughly enjoying:

The Shepherd Press blog series by Jay Younts on Ephesians 3:14-21.

Part One: Parenting and the Wonder of Christ

Part Two: The Wonder of Christ in You

Part Three: The Wonder of Christ: More Than a Wall Plaque

Part Four: The Wonder of Christ: Immeasurably More

I’m also loving, and heartily “amen-ing” the Girl Talk posts this week for single ladies. I especially enjoyed:

Become a Theologian

Use This Time

School of the Word

Help the Men

And finally, I thoroughly enjoyed a teaching my mom recommended last week from Mark Driscoll’s series on the Song of Solomon (The Peasant Princess). Believe it or not, this teaching was outstanding for gospel centered parenting. It is the last teaching in the series (the only one I’ve listened to so far) called Doors and Walls . Scroll down on the Mars Hill web page to downloads if you just want to listen to the audio.

New Poll About Lent

I put a new poll up about whether or not you participate in Lent which begins February 25th and ends on Easter. I’d love to hear more in the comment box if you should so choose to share.

Anyone Can Do This: Gum in the Kitchen

I keep a pack of sugar-free  gum in my kitchen to…

1. help me stop eating a salty snack. I eat almonds or pistachios almost every afternoon and it is just so hard to stop. So I count out a certain amount and when they’re gone I pop a piece of gum in my mouth to keep me from eating more.

2. curb my sweet tooth. I have a terrible sweet tooth so when I am craving sweets, sometimes (not all of the time ), a stick of gum will do the trick.

3. keep me from killing my appetite for dinner. If I put gum in my mouth anytime I’m cooking (or baking for that matter) I don’t “pick” at the food before the meal.

Do you have any tricks to keep your sweet tooth from getting the better of you?

Because It Doesn’t Look Like Poetry

Yesterday I posted a little poem about the truly sacred place where many moms discipline their kiddies, the bathroom. Truth is, disciplining a child doesn’t usually look so “poetic”.  At least not in my house, which is why I didn’t use the first person in my poem.

The poem was actually inspired by a difficult week that included more discipline than usual. I was growing weary. I was growing weary in my battles with my own heart to just want to manipulate their behavior, or to judge them self-righteously, to grow impatient, to give in to anger. I was growing weary with their resistance to correction, their repeated infractions after corrections, their trying to manipulate me. Poetry? no. not at all.

But at one point when one of my twins was doing what we do (sometimes this is hard fought for on both our parts), hug while he prays in repentance, the Holy Spirit helped open my eyes to the beauty of the moment. This boy is getting so big. I won’t be so intimately involved with his process of repentance. I will one day really miss the somewhat robotic, but childlike faith-filled prayers he prays with his arms around my neck. I marveled, for a moment, at the privilege I have every day to bring my little ones – who aren’t so little anymore – to the throne of grace. And it just struck me as funny that this process also happens on a “throne” in the bathroom.

MOMentum: A Sacred Place

This is dedicated to mommies everywhere who perhaps spend time everyday  in some sacred place in their homes bringing correction to a little soul in their care and thereby showing forth the beauty of the gospel.

A  Sacred Place

The bathroom is her room of choice

To correct a wayward  girl or boy

She  takes them to that sacred place

And sees a little hardened face

Soften as she prays the prayer

She’s  prayed in variations there:

Have mercy on us  sinners here

Help us to see our sins more clear

Then help us turn to look and see

Our Savior on Mt. Calvary

And from a throne more commonplace

She leads them to the throne of Grace

New Poll About Date Nights

Hey, be sure to check out my new poll. I’m just curious about how often the married gals among us have date nights with the hubs.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Handsome

Thank You, Danielle

Danielle made my new MOMentum button on the side bar. Isn’t it great?! My hope is to have any of you gals think through your own MOMentum post and link back here so others can be inspired. I will be giving more details about that later.

Thank you Danielle, you talented artist you!