The Power of the Tongue

The following information are my sermon notes from last week and this week.  Kelly preached two great, spell bounding sermons.  Not that is unusual, it is just that these both applied to me personally.

Proverbs 12:18 states that "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."  This is something I need to work on.  I regularly pierce my children's soul with my reckless tongue.  I don't want this for us.  Our words have the power to hurt and destroy, but I want the opposite.  I just find myself stressed at times, that "reckless" speech has become my habit.  I greatly need to apologize to my children and family.  I need to keep a tight rein on my tongue and use the power to heal more often than to pierce.

James 3:1-2 "Not many of you should presume to be teachers my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.  We all stumble in many ways, If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."  Verse 6 goes on to say "the tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body, it corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. "  Actually, if you were to read the entire chapter 3 of James it talks primarily about speech and is excellent advice.  We should all strive for no coarse talk, no jokes at other's expense.  We have let little bits of sin into our life, and we need to avoid those careless, reckless words (Matthew 12:36-37).  Also, check out Ephesians 4:29.  The reference to unwholesome talk is there...in the words of my mom "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all comes to mind.  Pastor Kelly stressed it further to say if you feel you only have unwholesome things to say, force yourself to find something wholesome to comment on.  Don't just say nothing.

So this week I urge you all to go "Say Something Encouraging!"

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I practiced my violin for about 30 minutes this afternoon.  I really need to brush up on my sight reading, of course it would help if I would get glasses ;-)  Lauren is just starting to learn to read music, not at her interest, but my insistence.  It is helpful even when singing in church, so playing an instrument is not necessary.  I am going to try and give in and teach Lauren a little about playing the violin...I am not a professional, but I will show her what I know, and if she is interested, then we will look for an instructor later. 

So far, the goats are staying in their pasture and the fence is holding, for now.  They are escape artists, so no telling when we will find them roaming on our side. 

The girls went off to float earlier in the pond, and are now doing some spring cleaning in their playhouse. 

Update from Red Rock Farm Schoolhouse

Lauren decided to rename our homeschool to "Red Rock Farm Schoolhouse".  She is very silly.

Lauren is working on her multiplication flash cards as a review.  As we progressed further in her 7th grade math book, I realize that she doesn't know them, as well as, she should.  So to prevent furtheer stress to both of us she is reviewing them. 

We also worked on Predicate Nominatives in Grammar (I do not remember these at all), and now she is finishing up The Tale of Despreaux. 

Hannah and I worked on Phonics, adding and subtracting, graphing (we surveyed 7 people to find out their favorite sport then made a graph), and talked about body systems.  We are now on the Skeletal system.  We are supposed to be on the Ocean, but I am skipping over that until we get to the beach in a few weeks.  Had to postpone the trip.

              

We have had  a lot of rain this week.  The grass is growing tall, and the chance of snakes is high, so I am constantly alert, and after the kids to watch themselves. 

Today we have a break in the rain, and it has been a beautiful sunny day.  We stopped and purchased an oval galvanized tub for the shower, that way the girls can take a bath, they are getting tired of showers.  The round one we had was too small, and I needed it to water the animals. 

Yesterday, James picked me daisies, only the flower head, no stem.  I had a handful.  He'd pick one and bring it to me, then would waddle back and pick another.  After I had a bunch, we carefully floated them in the water.  He was really excited, but would have kept picking if I hadn't called him away from the flowers.

The shoppe is taking up a lot of time.  I like having it, but I think I need to be more realistic with the hours and cut back some.  I need more time for the girls school work, and more time at home.  I really can't stand the clutter in the place, and need to find a place for things, or just get rid of the stuff altogether.

I can't wait until the grasss dries out some, that way I can use the mower to cut the grass around the house.  I like it when everything is nice and neat, it is just so difficult to make the time with a baby hanging on your skirt.  I love him dearly, but it can be overwhelming at times.

I am glad warmer weather is here, though with it comes the "yuck" feeling inside the cabin.  I have the windows and door open today, and am determined not to turn on the AC until it gets hotter.  I don't know how long I will last though.  It gets just unbearable sometimes.  I pray for a mild summer, and praise God for the rain, and abundance of grass. 

Everything is greening up nicely.  It is so beautiful how here in the Spring.  The Summer too, but sometimes the beauty is overshadowed by the intense heat.  Wildflowers are in abundance this year, thanks to the cold and all the rain.  Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, daisies, PinWheels and more.  It is an intense, explosion of color along the roadways and in the fields.  Wondeful!

The baby goats are cute as they dance around, and they love to bounce on the trampoline.  Who knew that goats would fight over using a trampoline!

The church's Easter worship service was hosted here again.  We had loads of fun.  There was plenty to eat, great worship, an egg hunt, pinata and swimming in the pond. 

Healthwise things are not so good for me, lots of appointments and trying to get things corrected.

Schoolwise the girls are still plugging away, no summer break for them.  Today Hannah and I worked on her math by completing an addition worksheet, working on subtraction flash cards, read a section on the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Code of Hammurabi, Justice, the story of Peter and the Dike in Holland where he holds back the water with his finger so the country would not be flooded, and studied the painting by Whistler titled "An Arrangement in Gray and Black" or more widely known as "Whistler's Mother".  She is working on her own artwork by doing two paintings one in red, blue, green and orange and another in dark colors (brown, black, gray). 

Lauren is working on her Saxon Math.  This is a source of irritation with me, as it is like pulling teeth for her to do her math work.  Arrggh!  She is almost done with the Tale of Despreaux, and we will then be moving on to the next book on the list.  She is working in her Grammar workbook and will be doing an essay today also.

Well, off to care for James before we leave to run our errands.  Need to rush the girls a little in their schoolwork.