My Birthday Gift

As most of you know I had a birthday a little over a week ago. Well, my wonderful Son gave me a great gift. He gave me a gift certificate for Amazon.com.  Boy, did I have a great time shopping and spending. And believe me I spent every penny of it on books and DVD's, not one red cent on shipping (I made sure every thing I ordered was available for free Super Saver shipping. I did end up paying $4.52 more, just because I couldn't get my order to the exact amount and didn't want to waste any of it:)
  So anyway here is what I was able to get with the awesome gift.  (Thank you, Christopher, very much. It is much appreciated.)  Now most of the books will be helpful once we get a farm in a dire emergency situation, but I wanted to get a head start. A couple are for personal growth and the DVD's were just for fun.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0800719964/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OBPZY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i10

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000056MMM/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i07

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1563637502/ref=oh_details_o00_s02_i00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039592622X/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i08

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0395988144/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i09

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1885904177/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580178790/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580173039/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i04

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580172202/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i05

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933392592/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452296226/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i06

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0891075860/ref=oh_details_o00_s02_i01

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615218997/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i11

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0931432820/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00

 

Children Are a Gift From God

Christmas and the Retirement Home Visit

One of the things I like about being home schooled is that once a month we go and visit a retirement home. We have been doing this for three years. At first, I was scared and very shy, I hardly talked, even if I was sitting next someone.

Once we were used to going, Alicia and I made friends with this one lady, she was a very nice, cheerful lady. She would recognize us when we came to see her. She would tell the person sitting next to her that "my girls are here". Then she would ask us what took us so long to come back. We enjoyed going and visiting her. A couple of months ago she got really sick and passed away.

The next month when we returned I met a new lady, her name is Esther, who I now visit with each month. She has a friend who is there taking care of her, and has been for over 10 years. I really like visiting with Esther and her friend.

I think God led me to her for a reason, here is why:

This month we went with a couple of other families. We sang songs, some Christmas
carols and some hymns. Then after wards we passed out Christmas cards
we had made. Each person received at least three cards. I had made a special one for Esther.
She left before I was able to give it to her, so I gave it to one of the lady's that works there.
She went to give it to Esther, while I finished passing out my cards.
A few minutes later, here came Esther with her friend. She came looking like she was ready
to cry. I walked over to her and she gave me a hug and said, "Thank you for the card. I have not received a card in a very long time." It made me sad to think she had not received a card
in a long time. But it made me happy to know I was able to help her in a small way.

I hope a lot of people will help brighten the day of an elderly person. Even if you are just walking past them in the store, you can smile at them and you just might get a smile back.

I am glad that I have been able to help the elderly and remember they have the most interesting stories to tell, plus it is what Jesus would do.

The Farm Chicks are Having a Giveaway!!

Check out this blog, they are having a surprise giveaway! You won't want to miss it. The dead line to enter is March 5th, so don't delay, click on over to their blog and sign up. Thank you, Jennifer for the tip.

Do you use the tools that are given to you?

by Katherine Loop
http://www.christianperspective.net/

Day after day, John had been diligently working on building a house. Although he felt discouraged, he kept working. . .and working. His father had given him this assignment, and he wanted to do his best.

Yet, strange as it may sound, John worked without good tools. While John had many tools he could have used, he seemed intent on using a hammer he'd crafted out of a stone. His hands were raw from trying to split and nail wood without proper equipment.

Though it may sound stranger still, John apparently worked without consulting his father's blueprint. The house looked strangely lopsided, testifying to John's tendency to work wherever it seemed best that day, instead of according to a plan.

"Say, John, what are you doing?" The question came from Michael, one of John's neighbors.

"Just building," John replied, hardly looking up from his work.

"I can see that," Michael consented. "But with what are you building, John? Didn't your father give you tools? Why aren't you using them?"

John paused for a moment to process this question. It was true: His father had given him tools to help him build. And, for that matter, his father had given him a blueprint. But John hadn't paid much attention to the things he had been given by his father. Oh, to be sure, he looked at them everyday. He admired their beauty. He even talked about them and their uses at his local building society. But when it came to the daily chores of building, he'd just set about it the same way everyone in his town did: coping the best he could with tools of his own making, and choosing where to build according to what made the most sense.

After waiting for a minute for a reply, Michael continued, "John, don't you realize how valuable a gift your father has given you? He gave you all the equipment you need. Here you are, struggling and scraping on your own, when your father has given you a gift beyond description you can use right here in the middle of this rubble. The blueprint you left home--it contains his very words and thoughts. Why would you ever set out to work without it?"

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Jeremiah 23:29 (KJV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)