Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... it is dark. The drapes are all closed for the night.

I am thinking... I really should put these baskets of laundry away. Oh yeah- and go downstairs and put the last load in the dryer.

I am thankful for... my mom's recovery going so well after her knee surgery.

From the learning rooms... catching up from the days off for Thanksgiving.

From the kitchen... pot roast, mashed potatoes for dinner. I made the pot roast in the crock pot with onions and carrots on the bottom and then made gravy from the juice. It was so good. The whole family loved it!

I am wearing... light pink lounge pants and a gray v-neck (Lands' End- they are so comfy). And yes these are the same pants I had on last week- I told you they are comfy!

I am going... to the doctor tomorrow for a follow up and to get my test results.

I am reading... the Bible and "Overcoming Fear,Worry and Anxiety" by Elyse Fitzpatrick.

I am hearing... bowling (the kids are playing Wii), my computer humming.

One of my favorite things... pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (I have been thinking of making them all day).

Click here to visit Peggy and The Simple Women's Daybook

You Have To See and Hear This!

Wouldn’t you just love to hear this in the mall while you were shopping?!  Praise God!

~Theresa

I am Thankful For…

A- autumn

B- birthday celebrations

C- children

D- drives out east

E- embraces

F- family and friends

G- God’s Word

H- homeschooling

I- ice cream

J- Jesus dying on the cross to pay for my sins

K- kites flying in the sky

L- Land’s End

M- my salvation

N- naps

O- oceans (The Atlantic is my favorite of course!)

P- Port Jeff Village and Dock

Q- quiet time

R- raspberry lime seltzer

S- sunrises and sunsets

T- telephones

U- unconditional love

V- vanilla almond tea

W- waves beating on the shore

X- xylophone (my kids still have the plastic one)

Y- yards (I just love our backyard)

Z- zippers (must faster than buttons)

Psalm 100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

¹ Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
² Serve the LORD with gladness;
         Come before His presence with singing.
³ Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
         Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
⁵ For the LORD is good;
         His mercy is everlasting,
         And His truth endures to all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Theresa

Happy 9th Anniversary

 Today is our 9th Wedding Anniversary!  It is hard to believe it is nine years already.   At times it feels like we have been married forever, yet at other times it feels like it was yesterday. 

Our Wedding Day was perfect.  I could not have wanted anything more.  We were married the Saturday after Thanksgiving so that family members from out of state could be there.  It was a wonderful Thanksgiving, having all of Tom’s brothers and sisters together at their parents’ home.  So this whole Thanksgiving season reminds me of my wedding and that special time back in 2001.  I just love this time of the year. 

Can you tell I was happy?  Well of course I was.  We were just pronounced husband and wife!  Actually in this picture I just saw my fellow teachers who were friends of mine.  Also two of my second grade students were there to see me.  I was so happy to see them there!  I can’t believe how young we look in this picture, and we weren’t.  

Here we are getting into the car (a beautiful White Rolls Royce).

 

Here is a picture of me at Jones Beach, the breathtaking Atlantic Ocean is in the background.  And yes it was November in NY, it was around 50 degrees.  The bridal party was cold, but not Tom and I.  We were determined to get some beach shots.  (I wanted to post a picture of both of us, but this is the only one I had scanned.  Sorry about the numbers on the bottom, they are my proofs.)

 

This is another one of my favorites.  It reminds me of the Frank Sinatra era for some reason.  It was taken outside of the country club where our reception was held. 

Our first dance together!  I think I am asking him to not get me too dizzy with spinning me.  LOL.  We actually had two wedding songs.  The first one was “Every time I Close My Eyes” by Babyface.  We danced to that one alone.  The second one was “Love of My Life” by Jim Brickman.  For that one we had our family and friends join in . I have included that one at the beginning of this post.  I don’t know how to add music to my post without YouTube yet.  I couldn’t find one for the Babyface song without video of people in it, and didn’t want pictures of other people in my post!

Thank you, my blog friends, for sharing some of my wedding day memories with me. 

And to Tom, thank you for the past nine years, every moment of them.  I rejoice in knowing that you are the one that God chose for me to spend my life with.  Happy Anniversary!  To God Be The Glory!!!

Here is the verse that Tom chose for our marriage and I agreed. “ But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Matthew 6:33

~Theresa

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... it is dark. Beautiful night though.

I am thinking... time for the kids to go to bed.

I am thankful for... my mom's knee replacement surgery going well today.

From the learning rooms... my son is learning to blend sounds, my daughter is doing measurements.

From the kitchen... tacos for dinner. Trader Joes makes the best taco shells! Tomorrow night I start making my pies for Thanksgiving- pumpkin, sweet potato, coconut custard and apple.

I am wearing... light pink lounge pants and a pink top (Lands' End- they are so comfy).

I am going... to go read to the kids. I hope to go see my mom tomorrow.

I am reading... the Bible and "Overcoming Fear,Worry and Anxiety" by Elyse Fitzpatrick.

I am hearing... my husband playing Wii.

One of my favorite things... the quiet of the early morning.

Click here to visit Peggy and The Simple Women's Daybook

Operation Christmas Child

Today we are packing our shoeboxes. We have been collecting goodies and will go to the store to pick up a few more things. It is an easy, fun way to bless a child and share the love of Jesus! Are you participating in OCC this year?

Truth for Thursday

I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver.  We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”.  It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week. 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths.  She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking. 

                            Image from ChristArt.com

Here is the sixteenth truth:

The greatest freedom I can experience is found through submission to God-ordained authority.

What, freedom through submission?  Many people believe that submission means a loss of freedom.  After all you are submitting to someone else, and not putting yourself first.  How can that lead to freedom?

“…submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Ephesians 5:21

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”  Ephesians 5:22-24

Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes, “When we resist authority, we become more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks and to sin, even as Eve sinned when she acted apart from the authority of her husband.” 

God’s word tells us to submit to our husbands.  By doing so we are placing ourselves under God’s protective covering.  When we say that we don’t need that covering but not submitting we are stepping out of that protection and opening ourselves up to more sin.  The world may mock at the idea of a wife’s submission; many even change the traditional wedding vows to take out the word “obey”.  They don’t understand true biblical submission.  Biblical submission brings blessings.  Doesn’t everyone want to be blessed? 

Another area of submission is in regards to our spiritual leaders.

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give an account.  Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable to you.”  Hebrews 13-17 

Are you a joy or a grief to your pastor?  Do you seek Godly counsel?  Or do you ignore it because you are not ready to make the changes needed?   Do you strive for the truth and seek to live your life for Christ?  Or do you turn to the world for its advice on how to live your life?  Remember that your pastor will have to give an account one day for what they did for your soul.  What an awesome responsibility that is!  What are you doing to bring them joy?

As Christians, submission is a beautiful thing.  Don’t let the world’s philosophies choke that beauty out.  If you desire to learn more about a wife’s biblical submission, I strongly recommend the book “The Excellent Wife” by Martha Peace.  I know many of you may be thinking “what about the husband?”  Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  You can read more about the husband’s responsibility in Ephesians 5.  There is also a book called “Manly Dominion in a Passive Purple Ball World” by Mark Chanski which addresses man and his role in this world. 

This was not an easy post to write.  Actually as I read the truth for this post, I was not happy.  My heart was telling me that I needed to apply this truth more diligently in my own life.  If you asked me if I thought I am a submissive wife,  I would say yes.  And if you asked those around me, they would probably agree.  But I know my own heart and how the desire to rule and have things my own way still wars within me.  My prayer is that I would submit not out of pure obedience but that I would find joy in it and desire it.  What about you?

~Theresa

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

“To fear God is to know Him,

{“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10}

to trust Him,

{“Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” Psalm 34:11,22}

to obey Him

{“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.” Proverbs 8:13}

and to show Him reverence.”

(New Geneva Study Bible, page 664, commenting on Nehemiah 1:11)

~Theresa

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... it is a rainy, cloudy day. Our driveway is covered with beautiful red leaves.

I am thinking... I hope I can nap this afternoon.

I am thankful for... a wonderful family.

From the learning rooms... we watched a live webcast from Plimoth Planation.

From the kitchen... not too much today. It is not my treat day so I am trying not to bake.

I am wearing... gray t-shirt, black Old Navy pants and green flip flops (I'm not planning on going anywhere)

I am going... to make a cup of tea soon.

I am reading... the bible and "Overcoming Fear,Worry and Anxiety" by Elyse Fitzpatrick.

I am hearing... my kids talking to each other while they do their work.

One of my favorite things... snuggling with my kids.

Click here to visit Peggy and The Simple Women's Daybook

Song for Saturday

I heard Carrie Underwood sing this great hymn on this blog yesterday and just had to share it.  I found Katie and Ben’s blog a few weeks ago and have added their button to my sidebar.  Please go read their story and add them to your prayers.

~Theresa

Truth for Thursday

I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver.  We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”.  It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week. 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths.  She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking. 

Here is the fifteenth truth:

The pathway to true joy is to relinquish control.

Who doesn’t want true joy?  We all do.  There is something that gets in the way, especially for us women.  CONTROL.  It is a consequence of the fall.  Didn’t God tell Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge?  What did she do?  She thought that she knew better than Him.  She ate from the tree.  Then she hid when she heard God.  When asked about what she had done, she started trying to pass the blame.  She said that the serpent deceived her.  Are we much different?

We try to control people, our environment, and different situations that we find ourselves in.  We manipulate, worry, and dominate in a vain attempt to control what we can’t control anyway.  The only way to experience true freedom and peace is to let go of the reins- to relinquish all control to God, believing that He can be trusted to manage all that concerns us.  (DeMoss, page 261) 

What are we saying when we try to control?  We are saying that we know better than God and He can’t be trusted so we have to intervene.  The problem is we don’t know God well enough.  God loves us (John 15:9).  He has a plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11).   He knew us before we were born (Psalm 139:13).  He sent His Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins (John 3:16).  He sent His Holy Spirit to be our helper (John 14:16).  He who began a work in us will complete it (Philippians 1:6).

“The pathway to freedom is to relinquish all control of our own lives, of our families, and of every circumstance in our lives.  Not until then will we see Him do what only He can do.”  (DeMoss, page 261)

As I was writing this post, the whole screen on my computer went blank.  The program shut down and sent me to my home page.  Everything I wrote was gone.  I didn’t save as I was writing.  I was tempted to get upset and start having a fit, but then I reminded myself God is in control.  We can trust Him that everything thing that comes into our life is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).  Praise God!

~Theresa

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

I love the fall and winter.  Well, I just love the whole holiday season.  I am big on holiday cards.  I wait anxiously for all the Christmas cards to come.  I am always excited to hear from old and new friends.  I especially love to see pictures of them and how the children grow year to year. 

Since having children, we have started sending out Christmas cards with photos of the kids.  Some years it is easier than others.  LOL.  A couple of years I waited until December to take the photos and managed to get some snow in the background.  Other years we went to the photographer or dressed the kids up and took it ourselves. 

This year I am happy to say that we will be ordering our cards from Shutterfly.  And we are getting 50 cards for free.  Isn’t that a great deal? 

Here are some of my favorite styles that Shutterfly offers:

 

 

Which one should I pick?

Last year we gave calendars as gifts to the grandparents.  We included photos from throughout the year.  Their eyes lit up as they saw the beautiful photos on each month of the calendar.  If you need a great present, you can’t go wrong with this one.  Here is a sample of what Shutterfly offers.

You can even have a photo made into a canvas wall art.  What grandparent or parent wouldn’t love that?  This is a sample from the Shutterfly website.

Best of all, Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers.  To find out more click here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Can’t wait to see your favorites!

~Theresa

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... it is really dark.

I am thinking... how nice of my husband to put the kids to bed so I could relax.

I am thankful for... a warm home on a cold, windy day.

From the learning rooms... The French Revolution, learning letter sounds.

From the kitchen... the smell of crockpot pork chops with apples that I made for dinner.

I am wearing... gray Old Navy sweats (so comfy), a pink v-neck t-shirt, and brown Lands End slippers.

I am going... to make a cup of tea and try to take photos of the items I want to list on ebay.

I am reading... the bible!

I am hearing... my husband singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" to my kids, the neighbor's dog barking, my computer humming.

One of my favorite things... fall.

Click here to visit Peggy and The Simple Women's Daybook

Truth For Thursday

 I am continuing “Truth for Thursday” here at Being Refined As Silver.  We are on the last chapter of “Lies Women Believe”, chapter 11: “The Truth That Sets Us Free”.  It will take several weeks to review this chapter, so I hope you will continue to come back each week. 

Nancy Leigh DeMoss encourages her readers to take time to savor these liberating, life-changing truths.  She suggests saying each Truth aloud, again and again until your thinking becomes aligned with God’s way of thinking. 

Here is the fourteenth truth:

I will reap whatever I sow.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:7-8

“The choices we make today will have consequences down the road, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others for generations to come.  Every selfish, sinful, or indulgent choice I make today is sowing a seed that will reap a multiplied harvest.  And every act of obedience is a seed that will produce a multiplied harvest of blessing in my life and in the lives of those I love.  The harvest is rarely immediate.  But it will come.” (Nancy Leigh DeMoss page 260)

This post today is really convicting me.  I don’t have much to say, except that I want to see a multiplied blessing in my life and in the lives of those I love.  Don’t we all?

~Theresa

Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that is may impart grace to the hearers.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:31-32

“Filthy words proceed from corruption in the speaker, and they corrupt the minds and manners of those who hear them: Christians should beware of all such discourse. It is the duty of Christians to seek, by the blessing of God, to bring persons to think seriously, and to encourage and warn believers by their conversation. Be ye kind one to another. This sets forth the principle of love in the heart, and the outward expression of it, in a humble, courteous behaviour. Mark how God's forgiveness causes us to forgive. God forgives us, though we had no cause to sin against him. We must forgive, as he has forgiven us. All lying, and corrupt communications, that stir up evil desires and lusts, grieve the Spirit of God. Corrupt passions of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, evil-speaking, and malice, grieve the Holy Spirit. Provoke not the holy, blessed Spirit of God to withdraw his presence and his gracious influences. The body will be redeemed from the power of the grave at the resurrection day. Wherever that blessed Spirit dwells as a Sanctifier, he is the earnest of all the joys and glories of that redemption day; and we should be undone, should God take away his Holy Spirit from us.”                     Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

What proceeds from your mouth?  Is it good for edification?  Does it impart grace?  I pray that my words will.

~Theresa

 

Fall Challenge- Week Five

Last week’s challenge was a fun one.  I spent more time playing with the kids and being silly.  Usually that is my husband’s job.  He still is better at it than me, but that’s okay.  We are the perfect balance.  I played checkers with my son one morning when I really just wanted to get started for the day.  Another morning I just sat (without my computer or phone) and watched cartoons with my daughter.  One evening we were watching “The Sound of Music” and I was dancing with them.  We were laughing and having a ball.  Those are just a few of the things I did to try to have some fun with the family.  Generally we are a pretty fun family.  There is lots of laughter and silliness in our home.  I thank my husband for that. 

Here is this week’s challenge from Courtney:

Week #5 Challenge: Focus on the kitchen, the heart of the home. Cook things with pleasant aromas. Pick a meal the family can cook together - include everyone in a task and take pictures so everyone can remember moments in the kitchen together - test tasting, being creative, laughing and loving. Remove discontentment with your home or family and give thanks to God.

First - let's focus on the spiritual side. Give thanks! In Luke 11:3, Jesus says to pray like this "Give us each day our daily bread." Do we pray and ask God for our daily bread? In America - we are so blessed we rarely have to ask. We should be abundantly thankful for the food we have! Give thanks! Give thanks for your food and give thanks for your family you share it with.

Well, this is another fun one for me.  I just love cooking and baking although it is difficult to do when you are trying to lose weight.  Today I am making homemade hamburger rolls for dinner.  They are so good.  On Wednesday, which is my treat day on my eating plan, I plan on making a crumb cake and caramel apples with the kids.  This Saturday I would like to make Sauerbraten (I’ve never made it before) and potato balls (yum) and have my Mom over.  She loves it and doesn’t make it just for herself.  I already bought the pickling spices, now need to read the family recipes she gave me.  If anyone has any tips, I would love if you shared :)

~Theresa