I do not share many details about our personal life. Every now and then I do but I realize that God's grace is sufficient and as Maureen says ... "this far I have come and this far the Lord has brought me."
Our lifestyle is not of wealth... at least not materially. My husband was in the military for several years. He is disabled with a back injury and severe agorphobia. We have always been a one income family. We both believe children are a gift from God. We are convicted to home school our children. We have really struggled through the years financially. Our home is a very modest one... needing much repair. We buy used, we do hand me downs.... and we buy generic products.
For years we have bought less and have given more. We have centered this time of year around what it is really all about. We usually do an Advent Unit Study. We take the whole month of December and part of January and it all centers around Jesus. I love this time of year.
Alyssa and I did do the black friday thing. I know several who do not like this day... the chaos and spending, spending, spending. Again, we do it different. It was fun. We had a great time. The main reason we went was for these....
Lifeway had the Jesus Story Book Bibles on sale for $5. Several of the kids we work with on Wednesday do not have a bible. Several only come to the children's program on Wednesday. We love the JSBB. We also bought this ...
This new way of thinking.... new perspective ... has changed the way I see life. It is hard to sort through.... to put into words. God continues to show me... I am so thankful for the peace that comes from this.
Last week I asked Wyatt & Wesley...
"What about on your birthday if we just give each other gifts but we do not give any gifts to you?" Wyatt said, "But its MY birthday... why would you get gifts?"
good question.
grace=free gift from God~
Make a difference today and forever~ sponsor a child today!
Grace~
I've been looking foward to seeing the newest Veggie Tales, as it looked like from the preview that is might actually mention Jesus. While I love Veggie Tales, I have always wondered why there is mention only of God, and not the gift of Jesus. Would love to hear a review on the movie after you watch it :)
ReplyDeleteSure, Hez... I will let you know!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Teena
I resonate very much with your post, Teena! Know that you are not alone. :-)
ReplyDeleteMay the LORD bless you with HIS grace continually in this path HE has you on! What a blessing it is to read of your heart to give to others the TRUTH of God's Word...there is nothing better! HE is all sufficient!
ReplyDeleteMany blessings to you!
Camille
Teena, your words I could almost write. I think about how much we don't have sometimes, but we really are so blessed compared to the world. I do think it is one of the problems living in this country is that we confuse being American with being Christian. Many Christians do without, and we are supposed to be stepping up to the plate for that.
ReplyDeletePeople often assume we have loads of money because we have so many kids, that is not the case. However, my kids feel loved and I am thankful for the lessons that we learn through walking through what many here in this country would consider being poor. We are so rich in the ways that really matter!
What a sweet gift to buy those Bibles for those kids! I pray they are truly blessed and grow to love God's word!
Stephanie