Gotta love some Toby Mac.  But THIS song...  Awesome.  Just Awesome.

The video I have embedded includes the lyrics because they need to be heard and read.  Here's a sample:

Break open the sky
Won't You turn off gravity so we can fly?
We wanna see Your face
So tear the roof off this place
Jesus, break open the sky

I'm tellin' ya it is good.  Give it a listen. 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 small can pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup applesauce or applebutter
1 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix together pumpkin, sugar, applesauce (applebutter), water and egg. Add in dry ingredients and stir. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Makes 30 muffins.

Mm...Mmm.  Fall Goodness...

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," he said.  

Come.  Don't you love it?  It is an invitation.  I have a standing invitation to come to my Savior.

...to Me.  Christ alone.

...all who.  Each one of us.

...are weary and burdened.  I have a ton of things on my mind - some trivial...  what to fix for dinner?  what book should I order next?  what color clothes should I wash next?  Some not so trivial... (sigh)

...and I will give you rest. Rest. I love even the sound of that word, let alone the concept. His offer to step into our circumstances, to guide us.  To walk through our burdens carrying us.   

So, I take a deep breath, and just go to Him...He meets me right here.  He gives me rest. 

My little guy found rest.

It is getting to be that time of the year!  I woke up today with one of our favorite fall Activities/Crafts on my mind.  I've shared this before.  Hope y'all don't mind a repeat. 

Originally posted fall '09:

  ...in a time lacking in truth and certainty and filled with anguish and despair, no woman should be shamefaced in attempting to give back to the world, through her work, a portion of its lost heart. 

-Louise Bogan

I strive to create an atmosphere in our home that offers a place of privacy and safety.  A place for learning and enrichment.  A place of joy and memory making.  A retreat from the cares of the world.  A place of simple abundance.

One way that I love to create fun memories for my family is through traditions.  Simple and frugal activities that bring joy to our family.  Our children are growing up.  Don't let anymore days pass without intentionally creating loving memories.

One of our fall memory making activities is leaf rubbing

Go on a nature walk.  Find as many unique and gorgeous green leaves as you can!  You can even make a little competition out of it if your kids enjoy that kind of thing.  Once you are back home, place white paper on top of a leaf (green leaves work best as they aren't too dry and don't fall apart), skeleton side facing up.  Instruct children to rub crayons gently over the paper.  The shapes of the leaves with their patterns will become visible, creating unique and beautiful nature pictures. 

I share this lesson on fall leaves with our children as we create.

What's your favorite memory making activity for fall?

P.S. Stayed tuned for a special project I have in mind for our leaf rubbings! 

P.P.S.  Do you ever post repeats on your blog?  I've found myself doing that from time to time.  Probably more for selfish reasons than anything.  I've always enjoyed a good rerun.  lol

I've found in my own life and in the lives of others that when we make a decision to step out and do something big, REALLY big - it all goes CRAAAAA-ZY.  Have you been there? 

It's like everything gets wonky. Stuff tears up.  We lose things.  The most mundane tasks became extremely difficult.  It's pretty much a guarantee that if we make a BIG spiritual decision the lawn mower's life is over.  It will never start again.  Please tell me this happens to you!

I read an article about how this family made a decision to sell their house so they could adopt a child.  I was all like, "Wow!  That's so beautiful."  People, 

Their. 

Ceiling. 

Fell.   

In. 

Literally. 

I wanted to laugh.  I wanted to cry. 

Today, if you are suffering wacky nut-so stuff after making a major decision, I want to encourage you.  Don't give up.  Persevere.  You are under attack. 

And remember, "I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me." Psalm 16:8

Summer is winding down.  It is still so very hot here but I can sense fall in the air.  And I love it!  I was thinking back to summers past and this very special memory came time mind:

The summer of '95, I worked as a counselor at Bancroft Bible Camp.  The first week on the job, the camp counselors had to slide down a fiber glass mountain slide to clean out the spiders, leaves, and snakes that the fall/winter/spring had deposited.  Seriously. 

I had the wherewithal to not go first that day.  Yeah, I'm all smart that way.

My second week of camp, three curly haired sisters moved into my cabin.  They were adorable.  They spoke Ig-pay Atin-lay (Pig Latin). 

All-ay. E-thay. Ime-tay. 

All these years later, I have not forgotten the spiders in my hair and my crash course in pig latin.

All these years later, there's something else I remember - praying with three of these little girls as they committed to live for Jesus! 

It was worth every spider in my hair.  (I don't say that lightly.)   

And-ay Ow-nay y-may aughters-day (ee-thray isters-say) eak-spay ig-pay atin-lay.

...They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:26-27)

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33)

Chase the birds.

Eat the sand.

Take a nap.

Cause sometimes we just need to laugh at ourselves. 

I knew in my heart that we would homeschool our children even when our first baby was two months old. I remember mentioning to people that we might homeschool and they’d get all cross eyed, they’d start stammering and talking about GED’s.

When my oldest daughter was turning five and my second daughter was 2 years old, with great fear and trepidation, we became one of "those". 

(Our very first official day of homeschool.)

Our homeschool has grown to include a 14 yr. old who is starting 9th grade, an almost 11 yr. old who is in the midst of 5th grade, 8 yr old in the midst of 2nd grade, and 5yr old starting Kindergarten.   

Lessons I've learned: 

1. "If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in." 

I would not trade for anything the time that I have with my children. We love our homeschool schedule and the freedom it permits our family. I really know them and they really know me. I know how they spend their days. I know their study strengths and weaknesses. At times I move from one child to the next helping them with preassigned lessons. At other times a school day includes group learning in the form of unit studies. And even at other times, my children pursue their own interests and I facilitate their learning.

2. I have learned that "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

For our homeschooling family, the world is our classroom. Homeschooling is as big and as flexible as our family would like it to be. At home, my oldest daughter who is so creative can create to her heart’s content and still learn math! At home, my middle daughter who needs to move can stand up at a table to do her work. At home, my youngest daughter who does not enjoy concentrating for long periods of time can break her day up into smaller segments. At home, my little kindergarten student thinks school is as fun as "play".

3. And finally, we have learned, "Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it." 

"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think, rather to improve our minds so as to enable us to think for ourselves, rather than load the memory with the thoughts of other men."

Moms and Dads, we can do this. The things we do everyday that don’t seem extraordinary - they are. They make up eternity. Our kids will learn what they need to be well-rounded adults, who make an excellent contribution to society. If they don’t remember all the elements on the periodic chart, it will not alter their quality of life. Instilling character such as respect and honesty.  Instilling a love for our Lord and Savior.  Leading them to a relationship with Jesus. Seeing them accept the free gift of Salvation.  That makes all the difference. That is eternity.