Preparing your High Schooler for Adult Life

The one thing that I noticed when I went to college was the lack of preparation in many students for the responsibilities of adult life, or even the semi adult life of college. These kids were like kindergartners released on the playground and all the teachers had gone back inside the school. They were wild, out of control, and had no clue how to manage their time, money, or obligations. These also were not necessarily the typical party kids. These were just kids who had no clue and had always had someone to "manage" life for them. They didn't know how to go about it for themselves. So, here is my list of "must teach my kid" before she leaves home.

1. How to manage money and live within a budget. This is a big one! They always make jokes about the phone calls from college asking for more money, but truly it is no joke. I had no clue how to manage money or live on a budget when I graduated high school and boy did it show when I was in college and struggling to live on a small amount of money. I plan for Petunia to work with our budget as it is for a few months starting in January. Then this summer, when she has a summer job, to work within her own budget to pay rent, utilities, food cost, and other typical living expenses. Now, this money will go back into her account at the end of the summer, but it will give her the experience of working within a budget based on her earnings. I didn't know how to manage money at all and I fell into that deep dark hole of debt that so many people are in. It took years to dig out and I want her to learn early to live within her means and give her the experience of knowing how to do that.

2. Teach them the basics of managing their own home. Many kids leave home and don't know how to cook a meal or do laundry. These are important things to know. So basic home ec is important to teach your highschooler. Petunia does most of her own laundry and she does some cooking. It is basic and not elaborate or complicated, but at least she will be able to cook a few meals and follow the recipes that I give her when she is on her own. This will help her stick to that budget even more because she will be able to keep her food cost down.

3. Teach them to manage their time. This is not only for schoolwork, but for everything. If they need to make a daily list, or a calendar let them figure out what management tool works for them now. Give them deadlines, let them work a summer job and let them learn the consequences of their actions. You can't always protect them and cover for them. If they don't learn now to meet deadlines and work obligations then they will have a very hard time with adult life. If you set a deadline for schoolwork or chores, then there must be a consequence if they don't manage their time well and then miss that deadline. If they take a summer job and can't manage to get themselves out of bed and off to work then don't be their alarm clock. It is their job and their responsibility. If they get fired then they get fired.

4. Let them make choices and decisions within reasonable limits. Let them decide what social activities they will participate in, or sports they will play, or what clothes they buy (within reason). If you control every single thing they do then they won't know how to decide for themselves. I saw kids who were so excited to have so many choices of extracurriculars in college that they couldn't decide between them and were trying to do them all. This left no time for academics and their grades suffered. Kids need to learn to control their impulses and desires, and in doing so control/limit their choices. If we as parents do that for them then they won't learn how to say no and how to choose what they would like to do most.

Teens need to learn how to start being adults and the best way to let them learn the ups and downs is when they are safe at home with us. Then they will be as prepared as they can get for what life might throw at them. Blessings from the farm, Kat

When Learning to Read is Hard

For some children, learning to read is a very difficult task. My first child, Petunia, learned to read almost on her own. Then came Little Britches, and learning to read suddenly became a nightmare. So, if you are struggling to figure out how to help your struggling child, here is a little bit of advice and empathy.

Stop paying attention to other people's timelines. Your child's cousins and friends might be reading chapter books while your child is still struggling to put letter sounds together. Don't worry your child will read when the timing is right for them. Paying attention to what other children are doing only puts stress on you and through you onto your child. Celebrate your child's progress, instead of worrying about their lack of progress.

Make reading fun. Play games that include reading skills. We used hopscotch to teach the alphabet and then we used hopscotch to find site words. We made up a treasure hunt game based on site words that we were learning. There are websites that make games out of learning words. Read fun books together.

Find a reading program that works for your child. Little Britches and I went through several highly recommended programs that were simply frustrating for her and in turn frustrating for me. Finally, we found what worked and she is finally reading. Don't be afraid to try something else, because if it isn't working then it isn't going to work.

Read every day. Little Britches picks a book that she wants to read, then we start working on that book together. She reads the words that she knows and I fill in when she gets to a word that she doesn't know. Depending on the book and the level of difficulty, depends on how much of the book we read each day. However, we work on it every day until the book is finished and then we start with another one. I think this has really been key to her reading progress.

Learning to read has been really slow for us and we have changed "programs" several times. Little bit by little bit we have had progress. She is still not a strong reader, but she is reading. Most importantly, she wants to read and enjoys it. Hope this helps those others out there struggling to find their way along the path to reading. Blessings, Kat

A Must Read Blog Post

June over at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home has a beautiful post from this past week about many different ways to disciple to your children. Her blog has always been an inspiration to me. I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Read June's Post here

How Do you Know God Exists?

This was the question presented to me by my oldest a week or so ago? I was a little shocked to say the least. We talk about God and Jesus on a regular daily basis in this house. We surround our children with godly people, we have taken them to church and the extra classes that she attends as part of our homeschool curriculum are taught by godly women who talk about God in class and attended by churchgoing Christian children. So where did this question come from, but more importantly how do I answer in such a way that she will believe wholeheartedly what I am saying. What I say or don't say right now will make a huge impact on her faith or lack of faith. Nothing like being put on the spot. Since this is not a question that I ever had myself I had to think, say a very quick prayer and this is what I told her. When I was a small child one Sunday morning my Grandaddy took me to a special spot on the creek deep in the woods while my Grandmother faithfully went to church. As we were sitting on huge boulders overlooking the running water waiting to see if a deer would come to drink I asked my Grandaddy why he didn't go to church. He told me that God was with us on that creek bank more than He was in that church building. I won't go into the goings on that he was talking about at the church because he didn't at the time. He said be still and quiet and you will hear the workings of God and see the workings of God and know that He is here. I did, as still and quiet as a 6 year old could be. He then said when you hear the birds sing it is God who has given them song. When you see the water rushing it is God who put the water there to begin with. When you hear and feel the wind rustling through the leaves on the trees it is the breath of God surrounding you. None of this is possible without Him and it exists so that you know He is always here wherever you are whether or not you think you need Him. When I was much older, I went through some tough times. I thought my family had abandoned me and essentially part of them had. I changed colleges and the college that I was going to was close to my grandparents and so in order to save money I lived with them. My grandmother was not a nice woman and didn't approve of my work schedule and so she threw me out of the house. Without going into details I wound up living in my car and sleeping many nights in an empty horse stall on a horse blanket at the barn that I worked at. I stopped all contact with everyone because I was angry and hurt. I became a ghost for a little while at least. For 7 months I spent my days simply trying to survive. I got paid by the barn basically on commission so I made very little. My grandmother had called my real job so many times that I had lost that job. I couldn't afford school so I stopped going once the quarter ended. The other trainer at the barn was stealing from me and since I would lose my job if the owner found out I was sleeping there I could say nothing. I didn't want to go on like that but I didn't know what to do. But God knew what to do. He forced the connection back with my family. To make a long story short I was arrested and when I called a friend to help me, he called my Dad who just happened to be in town (trying to find me). My Dad came and got me and after my court date (all charges dismissed) took me home to my Mama. My life got back on track and I realized that the whole time I was in the wind they were trying to find me. I realized how many people were worried about me and trying to find me. Some people I had only met one time, but God made them remember and they prayed for my well being. Had God not intervened and forced me to stay put where someone could come and get me I don't know what would have happened to me. There have been many times that God has been there between now and then but remember last summer when we were low on meat and I was worried because we were low on money too. I kept saying everytime I opened the freezer that we weren't going to make it to deer season. But everytime I opened the freezer there was meat. Each time I would count the packages and we would have maybe 6 or 7 meals left, but the meat was always there. Someway, somehow we never completely ran out. We didn't have an abundance but it was there and after months of this deer season came and the rabbits started producing again and the pigs were ready to process. We made it with meat to sustain us only by the grace of God because I don't know how those 6 or 7 packages lasted us for months on end. But I do know the meat was always there and it never ran completely out. Then there was the time that you were little and remember when I went crazy. I was sick and the doctors were telling me I wasn't. I wanted to die. I couldn't function anymore and everything in my life was draining because I was drained to begin with. I thought about ending my life several times during that period. But each and every day God gave me the courage to keep going and then to change things so that I could get well again. I didn't have that courage. I wanted to die, but each time I was going to do something to stop all the pain and exhaustion something stopped me. I can only say that something was God because no one else knew the struggle that I was going through. Even now, I struggle with pain and exhaustion but I run a farm. I do more than many able bodied men are able to do, but I am never crippled by my infirmities. Each and every day God gives me the strength to do what I need to do and as a result we are blessed with an abundance of food. I never thought I would be able to homeschool, it just isn't in my personality but here we are. We have a close tight and loving family in a world that doesn't see family as important and most parents are divorced. I can only say all of this is because of God's blessings because I have been in the world and it is not a friendly place. I have been abandoned, turned on and hated by friends and family members many times. But each and every time I knew that God had to be with me because I managed to get through it and overcome it. I never could have done that on my own, I simply don't have that sort of courage. Whenever things is my life are just completely impossible, God makes something possible. It might not be exactly the way that I envisioned it or even wanted it but God makes things possible in an impossible world. In fact this has happened so many times in my life that I simply don't question anymore because I don't have the foresight that He has. I know in the end it will work out no matter how impossible it may seem. We live on this farm even though our move here was impossible. It seemed impossible when Daddy was out of work for us to keep going, or even to keep living here. But we did and we had the courage to simply have faith and face each and every day as it came. The impossible worked out to be possible and that only happens because of the grace and goodness of God. Humans simply don't have that kind of power. And so that is what I told her. I couldn't have made it this far in life without the grace of God so He has to exist because I couldn't and can't do it alone. Many blessings to you all, Kat

The Dilemma of Christmas

A few years ago this holiday became a dilemma for me and our family. Steeped in pagan tradition and worship, I began to wonder if truly this was something that a Christian should participate in. Understanding that it really wasn't about celebrating the birth of Christ (which the early church did not do, nor are we commanded to do)and that it was a pagan holiday and all the trimmings and trappings had everything to do with ancient pagan religions put me in a tailspin. There is a passage in the old testament, can't think of it exactly right now, in which one of the old kings was losing revenue during one of the old testament holy days because his subjects were going to other cities during that time. So he erected some statues and called the problem solved by telling them that they could now celebrate those holy days in his kingdom and worship God with those statues. Well, God destroyed those statues saying that you cannot worship Him with false images. Then there is the 2nd commandment: Ex. 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Seems pretty clear about graven images. But then: Ex. 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. I have never bowed down nor served any of the "images" of Christmas. Back to the people of that kingdom....they were worshiping those images as if they were God. And then we all know the story of the golden calf. Again, the Israelites were worshiping the calf as if it were God. So, our family started weaning ourselves off of Christmas. It was not easy and still, the struggle and dilemma remained year after year. Many of my decorations did not come out and for the past two years we have not had a tree. I should have felt right about our decision, but for some reason I have fretted over it every year. This year it has weighed heavily on me all year long. I want to do the right thing and I want to bring my children up in the way that they should go. However, I am afraid that making life so rigid and taking away what they see as joyful and fun will only drive them in the opposite direction. I saw this so many times in college from girls who came from very strict homes. They went wild and completely rejected everything their parents tried to teach. Jesus Christ taught with compassion and He expected the same from His disciples. Maybe there is something there for me to learn. Maybe He did so because teaching with rigidity would only drive His sheep further from Him rather than bring them to hear His message. In other words, if I am so busy being rigid and stuck in what I think needs to be done and denying what my children enjoy and love (not talking generalities here, so don't go there) then maybe I am actually doing the opposite of what I want. Like the Old Testament covenants and the 5 million laws of Leviticus, rigidity is impossible to keep. Maybe God understood that and intentionally set up the Israelites for failure because if they kept the law perfectly they would have had no need for Jesus Christ. At least that is my thinking. Then I had a conversation with a friend of mine who had been going through the same thing. She had a talk with her Dad. Without going into the whole conversation he questioned her by asking if by having a Christmas tree was she worshiping that tree? Was she expecting great fertility by having the tree in her home? Or did she just simply enjoy the beauty of such a decoration? He went on to ask the same question about other pagan symbols of the holiday and her answer was always no. So his point was that if one didn't think of those things as spiritual or holy, then were they anything more than any other decoration in her home. Hmmmm...Ex. 20:5 comes to mind. Maybe he is right. I have little sculptures and all sorts of such things all over my home and I suppose that I could think of any one of them in a holy/religious manner if I so chose, but I don't because only Jesus Christ is Holy to me. It is His gift that I hold dear and it has always been His gift that was the most precious and most talked about in our home at Christmas. If I want to rid my family of everything that at one time was considered holy by some group or another then I would need to cut down every oak tree on my farm because they were once holy to the Druids. Now that would be ridiculous. I don't regard them as holy, I regard them as beautiful but there is simply no spiritual nor religious significance to them. I can take that same power from the symbols and rituals of Christmas and any other pagan holiday as well. I have to say thanks to my friend's Dad. He is far wiser than he knows. Christmas will come back into our home. I am glad because it was always my favorite holiday simply because of the joy that abounds at that time of year and the memories associated with people now long gone from my life. My girls will be happy that they can once again trudge through the woods to pick out the perfect tree with their Dad like I did with mine. Special memories will be made and I don't think that God has anything against that. The truth of the matter is that whether or not it truly was the time of Christ's birth or whether or not it was to be celebrated or not, it is the gift that He gave that we should celebrate, remember, and be thankful for. If that gift isn't enough to have joy about and focus on then I don't know what is. For me and mine we will be joyful and thankful. Blessings, Kat

Big Day for the Little One

Yesterday was a big day for the little one at the fair. They had three contests throughout the day for the kids. She was in the wee ones group for all three (6 and under). The first contest was a pumpkin decorating contest. Many kids had been practicing at home and with parents had diligently planned out what they were going to do. Our strategy was gathering the craft supplies that the little one wanted to take. No planning, no "you make this". So it took her a little while to figure out what she wanted to do and watching her thinking process was really cute. The little ones are so cute to watch anyway. They have 45 minutes to decorate. Some kids had all their pieces cut out and all they had to do was attach them to the pumpkin. Others had all their pieces and had been coached and shown by mom how to do it at home and then struggled to execute in the competition. And then there were the ones who really were getting into their own thing. We called Pootie's pumpkin the party pumpkin because it had feathers and cheap gaudy earrings, loads of paint, beads and even a boa. She won third place. It was great to see her excitement and great knowing that the win was all hers. Oh, parents are not allowed to help in any way while in the competition. The next competition for her was the Crazy Creations. They are given a bag of materials and allowed to make whatever they come up with. The older kids really came up with some neat ideas. They were given straws, pipe cleaners, a coat hanger, some spools, tin foil, etc. Katie made a sort of mobile with the coat hanger and then a wand with some of the straws and such. She won second place. Again all on her own. The funny thing while watching her work was when she started singing. Apparently singing is a great thing to stimulate creativity. Then onto contest number 3, the cupcake decorating contest. Again, it was obvious that some of the little ones were following the designs that mom taught them. I gave Katie two big tubes of icing and a large variety of candy. While I was trying to give her some ideas she promptly told me that she knew what to do. So I hushed and then just sat back and watched as she did her own thing. She won third place again. I thought her Andes Mint/Hershey Kisses cupcake looked really yummy...well that is until she topped it with a fruit roll-up. She had fun and really felt proud of herself yesterday. She should. She did well being put on the spot all three times and coming up with ideas all uniquely her own. That is what makes watching these little ones in competition so much fun...watching the thought process and the concentration. All in all it was another fun fair day and we are taking the day off today. Mama can only take so much! Blessings, Kat

Raising up the Strong Willed Child

My oldest is growing up. She is 14 years old now. My where has the time gone. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. Each stage of her young life has brought a new stage of parenting and a unique set of challenges. I remember when she was little that I didn't think that I would survive even just those young years. My daughter has always been strong willed (that is putting it nicely). I like Dr. James Dobson's description of the strong willed child on the back of his book, "The New Strong Willed Child". He says: "They come into the world smoking a cigar and yelling about the temperature in the delivery room. As toddlers, their greatest delights include painting the carpet with Mom's makeup and trying to flush the family cat down the toilet. As older children and teenagers, they are irritable, defiant, and seemingly bent on challenging all forms of authority...." At the time that I bought that book, it seemed like he knew Petunia personally. I still have the throw pillow and area rug that she decided to paint with fingernail polish. I still have the table that she decorated with the black sharpie marker and no one will forget her artwork on the floor of her Kindergarten classroom that I made her scrub up in front of the whole class. A strong willed child....absolutely. It seemed like she came into this world saying "Make my day". There was a lot of hair pulling in those early days and I am sure there are a few gray hairs that she has put there as she has gotten older. We have had some challenges and I expect that we will have more as she continues to grow and mature. A strong willed child cannot be controlled and dominated. They cannot be forced to think or believe or behave in a certain manner. Trying to do so will only make them dig their heels in harder and believe me they can dig in their heels. Strong willed children are shaped in much the same way that the potter shapes the clay on the wheel. It is a delicate touch and manipulation of the clay that forms the piece of art, while a heavy hand will only make it collapse into a pile of nothing. The thing that I have found and that my parents found (Yes, she is a mini me)is that sometimes as the strong willed child grows the parent must let them fall while they are still under the protection and guidance of the parents. Since strong willed children challenge everything they are prone to getting themselves in not so good situations. These are places where the parent can guide, pick up the pieces, and teach life lessons. Boy, have we done some picking up the pieces and teaching life lessons in this house. While I could go on and on about the challenges of raising one of these little anarchists, what I really want to say is this...they are amazing to watch grow and bloom into adulthood. It seems, like the phoenix, that they must crash and burn at least once in order to rise. I crashed and burned, Petunia has had some crashing and burning and now she is blossoming into a wonderful young woman. She has a strong mind of what she wants out of life and the kind of life that she wants to lead. She has determination and drive that truly I never thought that I would see when she was younger. She has developed and is developing self discipline and her ability to think for herself and not let everyone else think for her will serve her well in life. Don't give up hope on us strong willed children. We are the movers and shakers, the ones who take life head on as a challenge. We are the ones who step outside the box and question the norm. We are the ones that do hard things. I would almost bet you that our founding fathers were strong willed children and that their parents gained lots of gray hairs at their expense. We don't always do the best thing and we tend to make a lot of mistakes on that road of life, but once we have learned from those mistakes then our convictions are solid. We do not waver from what we feel is right. We are black and white people trying to live in a gray world and while establishing those black/white paradigms we sometimes fall off a cliff. The thing is that we eagerly climb right back up and start again. I know...I have fallen off many cliffs in my 41 years. I am proud of Petunia and the young woman that she is growing into. I will gladly accept those gray hairs and sleepless nights that have come and will surely come again as she has many challenges left ahead of her. I pray every night that God will give me the wisdom to guide her and teach her so that she will be able to handle her own need to be strong willed. There will come a day that I will have to let her go out into the world and I pray that I have given her the guidance and faith in Jesus Christ to stand against the onslaught of that world. The one consolation I have is that she is strong willed and doesn't always just go along with the flow. I know....a double edged sword. I can't always be there to protect her....but Jesus Christ can. But for right now, we are still molding and shaping with a delicate hand. It is a challenge and a blessing as well. Blessings and prayers for all who raise strong willed children, Kat PS..If you haven't read it and are dealing with a strong willed child I highly recommend The New Strong Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. If nothing else you won't feel so alone in your challenges! It was a book that brought laughter and understanding during a time when I felt like I had nothing but confusion and tears. Blessings.

Rainy Day Chores and Fun

Well, it is raining today and it is a good thing that I have things in the house to entertain me. It seems when the weather is good then I am outside catching up. This means that many things that require me to be inside like canning and such get put off. I have been putting all my tomatoes in the freezer since I didn't want to spend that many days canning as they came in. So today, out they come and I will be making sauce and canning tomatoes. I also have some jelly that didn't jell so I will re-process that so I can get it off my kitchen counter. I have to leave it on the counter so that I don't forget about it. Today is also a good day to go through the children's winter clothes to see what they have and what they need and what we can get rid of. So those are my chores for the day. Now comes the fun. Rainy days are a good day to sit and play board games with the children. This is the time to pull out those board games that last forever like Monopoly, Risk, Life. Even the little one can play by helping mommy. So with the board games pulled out already the kids get to pick and we will play. Rainy days don't have to be a pain because they keep you from being outside. I think God sends us rainy days during the busy season of planting, growing and harvesting to remind us that it is ok to slow down and have some relaxing fun every now and then. Blessings from the farm, Kat

The Legacy

I got to thinking the other day about all the things that I recall on a daily basis that I have gleaned from family elders over the years. Thinking about that got me to thinking about what I am leaving behind for my children and grandchildren. In other words what legacy am I giving them. I am not talking about material things for those things are temporary and life has a way of taking them away. The legacy I am talking about is what am I giving them that can never go away for as long as they choose to hold on to it. So here are the things that I pray that I am leaving my children with as their legacy.

Faith- I pray everyday that I am teaching and showing my children that God and His abundance is glorious and everlasting. I pray that they understand that His graciousness and courage can get them through any of the trials and tribulations that life brings. I hope that they learn from me that true peace only comes from the love of Jesus Christ.

Love- I pray that I am leaving teaching my children that they are loved and how to love unconditionally. There is such joy in loving someone else, just as there is such joy in being loved. Saying I love you is a big deal in our house and is done on a regular basis. I pray that my girls never forget how much and how deeply I love them.

Tenacity- I pray that my girls learn how to be tenacious. To go after their dreams and not to ever let anyone else tell them they can't do something.

Wisdom- I know much of this comes with age, but the more I think about it..it is age that gives us the clarity to understand the wisdom that came from those before us. I pray that my children gain this clarity to see and understand the wisdom that they are being given.

Skills- I pray that my children always know how to take care of their basic needs. That if time gets tough they can grow a garden and raise some rabbits for meat. I pray that they learn the skills of cooking good wholesome foods and making ends meet. I pray that they learn how to survive and thrive no matter what life throws at them.

Education- I pray that my children never stop in their desire to learn and that they develop a love for knowledge. No matter how old you are or how many years they have been away from formal "education" there is always something to learn. I pray that they understand that sometimes it is fun to learn something just to see if you can.

This is the legacy that I want my children to treasure and hold on to. Material things pass away if they were ever there to begin with. I know in my own family history wealth and land have been had and lost time and again. Many times my ancestors started over with very very little. However, the legacy can't be lost and can't be taken away. It is something that will stay with them as long as they choose to hold it dear. I pray that they do and I pray that I pass it on to them. Have you ever thought about what legacy you are leaving behind? Blessings, Kat

Halloween? Really?

I grew up in the Christian church and I also grew up trick or treating each Halloween until I was old enough that it was acceptable anymore. No one ever question whether or not this bit of "fun" should be something that Christians take part in. Several years ago when I started to question many things that the traditional church said was ok, I came across the true story of halloween. I was appalled and disgusted. That first year of my discovery I tried weakly to find ways out of the holiday, but my attempt was to no avail and I caved under the pressure from family and friends. Last year I stood my ground and we did not participate nor will we participate this year. Let's look at the facts of Halloween and then a short video that describes many of them.
1. Halloween was originally Samhain, the time of the year when the veil between the spirit world and this world is thin, allowing the dead to once again walk among us. It is also the time considered by witches to be the most powerful time of year.
2. Villagers would wear "costumes" on All Hallow's Eve because it confused the dead and caused them to leave them alone.
3. As evening approached, Druid priests would carry sickles and celtic crosses and drag a dead slave through the village. They approached each house saying "Trick or treat". The house must give them a girl or woman and if they refused then blood was taken from the dead slave and a hexagram drawn on the house while the druids invoked the "horned hunter of the night" to kill someone in the house. If the house relinquished the "treat" then a jack-o-lantern was placed at the door of the house.
4. The girls given to the Druid priests were later taken into a field raped and murdered and thrown onto bonefires (modern day bonfires) as a sacrifice to their god, the horned hunter of the night.
5. During later times, the villagers would put a carved jack-o-lantern at their door lit with a candle made of human tallow to keep the Druid priests from stopping at their door.
6. The Druids also played games that we are familiar with like bobbing for apples. The apple is sacred to witches and paganists because when you cut it crosswise it reveals a pentagram in the center.

Dressing up in costumes to parade through the streets, demanding treats from each house, jack-o-lanterns, skulls, devils, and pagan rituals....hasn't changed much over time has it.

And then the one thing we hear the most from the Christian community as they bring this abomination into the house of the Lord our God, Jehovah...that's not what it means to me!

However, as Christians we must look further than ourselves and our fleshly desires. We must ask...What does this mean to God?

Let's find out:
Leviticus 19:31 - "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."

Isaiah 29:1-16 - God's judgment fell upon Jerusalem because of witchcraft.

Deut. 18:10-14, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12“For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. 13“You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. 14“For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

2 Kings 21:6, "And he made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord provoking Him to anger." (see also 2 Chron. 33:6)

Isaiah 47:12-14, “Stand fast now in your spells and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you may cause trembling. 13You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by the new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you. 14“Behold, they have become like stubble, fire burns them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; there will be no coal to warm by, nor a fire to sit before!"

Lev. 20:6, ‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."

So what we should be asking ourselves as Christians is not how we view what is of this world, but how God views the things of this world and would this particular bit of "fun" be seen as harmless and innocent in His eyes. How would He view us as parents, commissioned to train up a child in the way they should go, training up His children to follow in the ways of darkness instead of light? I don't think He would view it as harmless. As for me and mine, we will bake cookies and sing songs in praise of God that night. Blessings from the farm.

What do parents do anymore?

I just found out that our local school district now serves three meals a day before these children head home. Wow, three meals a day! Breakfast, lunch and dinner. So now we have the schools making sure that children are getting 3 square a day. The schools impose a dress code, so they tell the children what to wear. And don't worry about teaching your child the birds and the bees, the schools do that too. Many times there are after school programs so don't worry about what your kid is doing between school and bedtime. What do parents do nowadays? have babies and then turn them over to the schools. Talk about a nanny state! Brave New World here we are....don't forget to take your soma! Really folks, this is just sad. Just my 2 cents for the day. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Halloween...another step away from worldly things

As many of you know we as a family have been on a journey. Our journey has been a closer walk with God through His son our Savior Jesus Christ. Our journey has taken on many aspects from homeschooling, to homesteading and so many things in between. Each year we learn something new as the Lord takes us on this journey. A couple of years ago we began to learn the deeper darker secrets of this celebration now called Halloween. Last year we learned even more and even though felt convicted to have nothing more to do with it, struggled and failed to separate ourselves from this "worldly" event. It is difficult to struggle with the world especially those in the world that you dearly love. This year our convictions were stronger and this year we will stand together in our determination to not participate in Halloween. Not only have our convictions been stronger but God's presence and help with our struggle is so much more evident this year. There has been no grief from other members of the family, even my oldest daughter said that she felt this was right and had no problem with it and would help teach the little one. I don't write this to judge anyone. I simply want others struggling with their convictions to know that they are not alone. Prayer is a powerful tool and the Lord is so good to help ease our struggles when we are earnestly reaching toward the path that He has laid for us. Believe me, this has been a spiritual struggle for my husband and I. We grew up celebrating this holiday and faithfully dressed up our oldest and took her trick or treating. The journey is not always easy and not always the most pleasant, but in the end it is always rewarding. Since the children have so willingly understood (Thank you Lord), they did get to go to the store and pick out their favorite candy. I know, not so healthy! But, I figured they were sacrificing quite a bit and so I could sacrifice just a little. Anyway, for anyone else on their journey who would like to understand just what it is that this "fun" little night is all about here is a video and then a link to two articles that you might find helpful and interesting. May the Lord our God bless you and keep you, Kat
Halloween and the Forces of Darkness
Halloween and the Occult

Last of the Fair Updates

Well, this will be the last of the fair updates as the busy week is done and over for another year. Thursday and Friday nights we didn't compete in anything. We really needed to prepare for the big cake contest on Sunday and I was entering the casserole contest on Saturday. I also had dinner to fix for the church youth group on Sunday evening and had to take that to the church before heading to the fair. So Saturday, I entered my shepherd's pie in the casserole competition and guess what.......I won!!! My first blue ribbon at the fair. I was so shocked and surprised that tears came to my eyes. Really, I didn't expect to win anything this year. All of this was just for fun, but the win on Saturday made it a whole lot more fun. There were some really good casseroles there too. Well, then comes Sunday. My daughter and I started in the kitchen about 7am. Saturday we had baked the cakes themselves so Sunday we had the icings to work on. She was doing a coconut/lime buttercream icing which takes quite a bit of time and I was doing my fudge icing and my cake was filled with buttercream and cherry glaze. Petunia's cake was absolutely gorgeous. It truly could have come out of any professional bakery in town. After spending most of the day making the icing she then made candied limes to decorate it.Here is her cake:

Then there was my cake. I guess I simply did not cook my icing long enough. It went on the cake just fine, but in the heat of traveling in the car (even in a cooler) and then sitting on the table while the judges made their rounds, the icing began its slide off the sides of the cake. The cake is delicious, but doesn't look too great because fudge icing just was not ready to set up properly. Here is my pitiful cake:

So needless to say, I did not expect mine to even place much less win. I was almost ashamed to even claim it, but I did. Petunia's on the other hand I did expect to at least place after looking at the other youth entries. There really was only 1 other cake that looked as nice as hers. I expected that cake would win first if it tasted as nice as it looked. All of the others looked like my three year old had decorated them and some looked worse than that. Not only did her's look fabulous (appearance is 40% of the score), but I have tasted this cake before when she has made it and it is really really good (50% of score). However, she didn't even place. It was tough. She had handled the disappointment of not winning throughout the week, but this loss was tough. She knew her cake was fabulous and she had put so much time into it. This loss brought tears in the car. However, I am so proud of her. Once she got through the tears she determined that she was going to make the same cake until it won something even if she took years to do it. The loss made her more determined and more confident in what she had produced. It's a great lesson that will last her a lifetime. She has always sought her self verification from other people, but this was a turning point in which she verified her own abilities and didn't need someone else to tell her that her cake truly is a blue ribbon cake ( or at least a white). This one milestone made the whole week of effort and hard work worth it. So to me, it was definitely a blue ribbon week. Now, time to plan for next year!!!!Have a blessed day!

Prayer from a 3 Year old

Our 3 year old loves pistachios. Today when she got her snack of pistachios, this is what she said..."God, Amen. Thank you for these nuts." I thought it was cute enough to share and I hope that it warmed our Lord's heart as much as it did mine. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Summer Education

I realized how neglected my sidebar for our homeschool activities had become. So I have updated it with our homeschooling activities for this summer. My little one will just continue learning while she plays. Since she is out in the barn with me every morning while I milk maybe she can learn to milk. I am not sure if she has the hand strength, but we will see. Sure would be nice to have a second pair of hands one day to help with the milking. Especially with more does freshening. As far as my oldest goes she will be kept busy as well. She is not so much a farm girl and while she does like to be outside and occasionally play outside, she is more of an inside kinda girl. I simply cannot stand to hear children say, "I'm Bored" during the summer. There are also a few things like math that take her a little longer than some so we work on those throughout the year. Science projects will be done all throughout the summer. I have found this is a great way to really buckle down into science and we have more time to devote to large projects that require hours of work and research to complete. It also makes science a lot more fun for a girl that isn't really into science. We will begin much more serious studies of literature during the summer so there will be extensive reading assignments along with creative writing assignments and daily journal assignments associated with each thing that we read. She will be reading some classics along with a collection of short stories.Along with the literature we will begin a new grammar series that I think is much more comprehensive than the one we have been using. It uses a lot more application of the concepts and I think will work better for us. It is a much larger book with much more involved so we will start it this summer. She has just started learning to compose music with her piano instructor so I imagine lots of music will be written here this summer. Guitar lessons have been added to the mix so we will be hearing guitar music floating through the house as well. Along with all of that we will have many hours of playtime and home education during the rest of the day. That should keep her pretty busy, so that I don't have to hear those words that every parent hates to hear during the summer. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Rumford Household Handbook

A friend of mine found an awesome little gem when she was doing some spring cleaning and gave it to me. It is the Rumford Household Hand Book published in 1906. I love this little book and while I haven't read all of the handy little tips yet I am totally hooked. So I thought I would share a bit with you over the next few days. Today we will start with a few tips from Chapter 1 Division of Labor. So here goes, enjoy!

Proper and systematic methods of doing housework would eliminate nearly one half the labor from the home; but it is too often the case that the work is done whenever most convenient, and in some cases only when it is impossible to leave the task longer undone. By planning carefully all may be kept in goo order each day having its appointed labors instead of leaving he bulk of the cleaning for one day at the end of the week. (Household Hand Book, pg.3)

Daily Routine of Work. It is a good plan, when the daily routine of work for the week has been decided upon, to have a written copy made of it and hung in the kitchen or pantry, so that it can be referred to as the need arises. The mistress will, in this way, be saved much supervision and answering of questions. (Household Hand Book, pg.6)

Where there are children in the house it is well to make them responsible for certain daily duties. Definite duties for each cannot be given here, but the girls can attend to their own rooms as soon as they are old enough. They may also at different time undertake the care of the table, or of the parlor, first, of course, being carefully shown how to do the work. In this way, as they get old enough, they will be able to superintend the work of the whole house. In any case, let some of their duties be such as are conducive to the comfort of the older members of the family, and not only those that pertain to themselves and their own belongings, that they may feel more responsibility and realize that all are dependent on others for the comforts and necessaries of life. (Household Hand Book pg.6)

Next post will continue with Kitchen Conveniences. Have a blessed morning!

Evenings with Victoria Botkin

I just discovered that Victoria Botkin is having a women's talk online. For those who don't know the Botkin family, they are truly amazing, inspiring, and definitely inspirational. Their daughters have grown into wonderful young Christian women, seeking to please the Lord in their lives. My oldest daughter and I are reading their book, "So Much More", together now. It was written by the Botkin sisters several years ago when they were teens and written for young teen girls. However, I have found that it is something the whole family can get something out of. There is a registration fee for Victoria's sessions, but I feel that the cost is reasonable and the information invaluable. I know as a mother struggling to raise my daughters to serve the Lord in a world that seems to hate our Lord and Savior I need all the help, advise, and encouragement I can get. Victoria Botkin has been there, done that, and succeeded. There are also some very great articles available online at the website. I encourage all mothers of both sons and daughters to take a look here for more information about Victoria Botkin's Session for Women. God bless, Kat

Healing is Beginning

It has been a tough week emotionally and mentally here at Whisper Wind. First I want to say thanks for all my friends/followers that have been praying for our family. I know your prayers are being heard simply because we are feeling them. The Lord is giving us strength and discernment through this troubling time. As the world turns its hatred against the disciples of Jesus Christ, family members also turn against those that are walking in His light. Our attack has come from members of our distant family and their victim was our oldest daughter. Her OCD has reared its ugly head because of all of this. She is heartbroken that someone in her own family, someone that she trusted, would manipulate and use her to seek revenge on the family as a whole. I have faith that God will use this for His glory in the end and that we will heal together. Right now my husband, mother and I are closing ranks so that she is well protected while she learns, grows and heals from this betrayal. Posts might be short and sweet for awhile as we work through this. Again, thank you all for your prayers. I know many times you all have said that I am an encouragement to you and I just want you all to know that you are an encouragement and source of strength for me as well. God bless you all from the bottom of my heart!

Light posting for awhile

I just wanted to let everyone know that I might not be able to post much for a little while. We are having some issues in our family and that ugly OCD is rearing its awful head again. Right now is a time for us to step back from some of the "extras" that take up our time and focus on the healing that must take place. Please keep our family in your prayers as we are desperately in need of them. I have no doubt that God will use this time of trial to strengthen us and in the end for His glory. Right now we simply must get through this and heal. I will post when I can, but I may be absent for a little while. God bless you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Potty Training and What's in that Grease!?

I know that title really has you wondering! Yesterday, the girls and I were in town early when all of a sudden my little one yells from the back seat...."Mommy, I have to go poopoo!" Oh no! When a recently potty trained toddler says they need a bathroom you had better find one fast! The situation is urgent! I am really funny about using public restrooms. When I am in town if the girls have to go potty we go to a friend or relatives house or my friend owns a boutique and we will go there. However, it was too early for her shop to be open and my friends and relatives were all at work. As the plees for relief got more and more demanding from the backseat I swung into a McDonald's and we dashed inside. Now, I have never been one to use a business's restroom and not purchase something. Their restrooms are for their customers and not for every joe blo to walk in off the street and use. So, once the emergency was averted, I ordered 3 hashbrowns and a small coke. We got back in the car and I bit into my hasbrown....and received an awful aftertaste. Something like a chemical taste. I at first thought it was just me. Then both of the girls said something. The toddler in the backseat pronounced it yucky, while the oldest in the front seat said it tasted really funny. I don't know what kind of oil they used but I would imagine old motor oil couldn't have tasted worse(and no I have not actually tasted old motor oil). Maybe it is just that we don't eat fast food much...I don't know, but I don't think I will be returning to McDonald's anytime soon. What is in that grease?!