October Blessings Pt. 6, Solomon's Prayer

This week in the Word, as I work through my Bible in a Year program, I am reminded that Scripture repeats things that are important. This is fairly familiar, as Jesus often repeated Himself when something was important; for example when He asked Peter, "Do you love me?" three times. Read about it here. 

But I had not thought much about repetitions in the Old Testament (aside from the Psalms and Proverbs), until last night. I was doing my reading in 2 Chronicles, and as it describes how Solomon asked God for wisdom, I'm thinking, I've heard this before! Maybe my reading app on my phone didn't check off a passage when I read it weeks ago? 

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Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom: 2 Chronicles. 1:8-13

8 Solomon said to God, “You have dealt with my father David with great lovingkindness, and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” 11 God said to Solomon, “Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor those who will come after you.” 13 So Solomon went from the high place which was at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.

So I went back on my reading calender and checked, and here it was again:


Solomon’s Prayer (1 Kings 3:6-15)

6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, 12 behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. 14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”
15 Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

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So, why the repitition? This is IMPORTANT!

• God wants us to ask Him for Wisdom: James 1:5 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."  
• He wants us to value Wisdom more than Earthly gain. (see above, in "God's Answer") 

Prov. 4:5-9
5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 “Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

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 My prayer for today, in the Words of  Solomon: 

“You have shown great loving-kindness to Your servant, Laura. Help me to walk before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You. Now, O Lord my God, You have blessed me with this home, and husband, and children... yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of this great responsibility and is overwhelmed by it! So, Dear Father, please give Your servant an understanding heart to judge and discern between good and evil. For who is able to do all that is right? Help me to acquire wisdom, and to prize and embrace it today!”

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(#317-325)

October 29th: 3 Gifts on Time

• School mostly on schedule
• A lighter week of assignments
• ...in time to prepare for a craft fair!

October 30th: 3 Gifts Overjoyed

• for a day at home
• for a working sewing machine
• for some progress on the basement

October 31st: 3 Gifts Hallowed

• time in the Word
• time with my family
• time with Grandma

Join us in counting our blessings? Over at A Holy Experience...

Curriculum Review: My Father's World, Kindergarten

Now that we are 8 weeks into our school year, I want to share with you about a new kindergarten curriculum I'm trying. This is new for me in several ways:

• Normally, I would never use an all-inclusive curriculum. I'm more the eclectic sort.
• Starting a new curriculum with my 4th, and possibly last, student, is out of character for me.
• I really didn't think I would like it. So I tried it with Wyatt, since he's technically too young for Kindergarten, but ready for some kind of school. I figured this would be a good pre-K course, as it initially looked too simple to me...

That being said, I was wrong. :) I DO like it! It is not "too" simple. And I'm glad I tried it! Here's another Homeschool Mom's review. She also tried it with her "Pre-K" aged son.

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My Father's World, Kindergarten (complete) comes with:

Teacher's Manual

Student Sheets include:

• Student pages
• Teaching charts
• Game cards
• Badge patterns
• Monthly calendars
• Short vowel song cards
• 100 chart for math
• Activity sheets

Alphabet Flashcards

A-Z Textured Letters by Lauri

What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Butterfly Garden

Ant Hill

For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Say Hello to Classical Music

Cuisenaire® Rods

Cuisenaire® Rods Alphabet Book

Inflatable Globe

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The friend who gave it to me (thank you Kelly!!!!) did not have the complete list as above, but had pretty much everything I needed. And she had already organized it into a tote (see photo), and collected lots of complimentary material. She is SO awesome. I would have struggled to plunk down the cash to try something new, but since she shared, I'm so glad I tried it.

What we had included:

Teacher's Manual

Student Sheets include:

• Student pages
• Teaching charts
• Game cards
• Badge patterns
• Monthly calendars
• Short vowel song cards
• 100 chart for math
• Activity sheets

Alphabet Flashcards

A-Z Textured Letters by Lauri

What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Ant Hill (a gift from Grandma and Grandpa!)

Each week's unit covers one letter of the alphabet, after the initial weeks of studying creation in depth. Each unit covers a fun hands on activity for each day, a reading list for great library books to check out, and most importantly a lot of Scripture and a simple lesson to apply all week long. For example:

This week we studied the Turtle, for the letter T. There was a short motto: "I don't quit; I persevere." There are 6 days of lessons with a different activity to re-enforce the letter T and the science exploration of turtles (which we expanded to other pond creatures). There were Scripture passages pertaining to the character of perseverance:

• Phil. 3:13-14
• Hebrews 12:1
• Galatians 6:9

There was also a poem about turtles, and instructions to read the story of the Tortoise and the Hare in Aesop's Fables. We lucked out with that one, as we were able to actually attend a play of Tortoise Vs. Hare, performed by local school-children thanks to the Missoula Children's Theatre.

As for Math and Phonics, there are daily activities to re-enforce number names and counting, as well as letter names and sounds. There is plenty of emphasis on tactile exploration, such as making the shapes of letters with clay, or just using the textured foam letters that came with the kit. We make use of the number chart, focusing on one number each day, as well as shapes and colors and patterns of those in sequence. (See right.)

A major help to supplement this curriculum came from my very own bookshelves. The Christian Liberty Nature Reader (book 1) has short stories about various animals. It worked out that there were 3-4 stories to fit with each unit theme. It took me a little prep to page through the book and match them up on my assignment charts, but it was worth it. They fit so well, and add a thread of continuity. I highly recommend it as a complimentary purchase to MFW.

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Conclusion:

I honestly thought MFW would be too simplistic for Wyatt, hitting more on the Pre-K level than on the Kindergarten level. I was pleasantly surprised at the methodical way it is bringing him to know his letters and numbers. While he already knew his letters and their names and sounds, I now find him running around naming things and shouting out what letter fits! And the counting methods have helped us navigate the missing teen numbers we were struggling with.  8 Weeks in, he can count to 30 already, and knows what those values mean. Overall, I am very pleased with My Father's World, and I'm wishing I had used it with my older 3 children.

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Other Kindergarten Curriculum Reviews:

Awana: Bible
SchoolhouseTeachers.com
Touchmath: Kindergarten
ABeCeDarian Co.: Reading
Supercharged Science

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And a this review is also shared HERE

Thanks to The Homeschool Mom

October Blessings Pt. 5

(#289-316 )
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October 23rd: 3 Gifts Begun

• A new Scripture memory goal
• A new attitude towards my Doula role
• A new season as the cool weather rolls in...

• Also, a praise for a medical situation for one of the children being easily resolved. 
• A fearful momma calmed by the Father who knows

October 24th: 3 Gifts Accomplished

• A friend who had been waiting LONG, whose time was finally Accomplished!!!
• Children's Scripture memory goals for the week: Accomplished!
• Learning to lean on Him through extraordinary circumstances, for today: Accomplished! (I certainly wish I did not have to learn this daily!)

October 25th: 3 Gifts Enjoying

• Fresh Snow
• 4 wonderful annual checkup reports at the eye doctor
• A delicious meal, prepared by a friend (Thank you Holly!!!)

October 26th: 3 Gifts Extravagant

• God's grace towards me, always more extravagant than I deserve
• A visit with my Grandma, always a treat
• A night out with friends, a date with my hubby even!

• A new recipe
• Ben and Tyler went hiking/hunting
• Great morning at home with my younger crew

October 27th: Humbling, Honoring, Happy

• Humbling: a morning conversation
• Honoring: sharing a birthday celebration
• Happy: The Huskers beat Michigan! Made yummy snacks to celebrate football game night, even if it was only on the radio

October 28th: 3 Gifts in Christ

• The Body of Christ, gathered in worship
• In Christ, good byes are not forever
• Food and Fellowship go hand in hand... :)

...the kids had blessings to add too:

• Emma: Thankful for for my friend going to Germany to tell others about Jesus!
• Tyler: Thankful we got to go swimming this week
• Wyatt: Thankful for Get-well cards from his sisters. 
• Mayda: Thankful for bedtime prayers

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Join us in counting our blessings? Over at A Holy Experience...

Lemon Bars

Last night we attended a lovely going away party for some friends of ours who are going to Germany to serve with Cadence International. We were so thankful to get to know them while they were here preparing for the Lord's plans and perfect timing... and we will really miss them! But we are really excited to see all that God will do through them as they minister to our troops in Germany. If you're not familiar with Cadence, I encourage you to read their "About" Page:

"Cadence International is an evangelical mission agency dedicated to reaching the military communities of the United States and of the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ."

And if the Lord lays it on your heart to help the Scotts, please do!

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So, I had been trying to figure out what to bake for the party that afternoon, and I was real need of getting to the grocery store, but without enough time to do both. I happened upon this recipe for Easy Lemon Bars, but i was missing a few of the ingredients, so I changed it... quite a bit. :)

They were a hit! So here's the recipe for you:

Laura's Lemon Bars

• One lemon cake mix
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 egg

Mix these three items and reserve one cup of this dough before pressing in a 9x13 baking dish and baking at 350 until puffed for a crust. Don't quite let it brown, since it will bake again.

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup yogurt (I used home-made)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 egg
• and 1/2 cup of reserved dough (save the last 1/2 cup for topping)

Blend this and pour over par-baked crust. 

• 1/2 cup reserved dough
• 1/4 cup flour

Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over as a top layer. Bake until golden brown around the edges, cool and cut into squares; drizzle with vanilla almond bark.

PS: just so you know, posts currently in the works for this coming week:

• Curriculum Review: My Father's World - Kindergarten
• Bread Recipe
• Acorn Squash Recipes
• October Blessings Pt. 5

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The Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

The Pumpkin Patch Trip is a ritual in our home, but not because we are getting ready for Halloween... We LOVE autumn at our house, the bounty that surrounds us: from garden to kitchen, from school to church. It is a time of thanksgiving. What says "bountiful" like a field full of ripe pumpkins, and children picking them with eyes that are bigger than their arms!?!?

God's love for us is bountiful, as should be our thankfulness towards Him!

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

1 Chronicles 16:8
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 29:13
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

Jonah 2:9
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD."

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Ephesians 5:20
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:6-7
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 1:2
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

For More on Giving Thanks...

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October Garden

Garden dying back in beautiful color.

Even here in Nebraska, even in October, there is something going on in the garden...

We finally had a hard freeze and the majority of the garden was finished off. A few days before the freeze, we went out and picked all of the unripened tomatoes. My Roma tomatoes were running late this summer, so most of them were harvested green, but never-the-less they turned ripe just nicely in a box in the basement (thanks for the tip, Kristin!) Now I'm blanching and skinning them for salsa.

How to blanch tomatoes:

1. Wash the tomatoes.
2. Put on a pot of boiling water
3. Put a basin of cold water in the sink (ice is great too)
4. In batches, put the tomatoes in boiling water for 45 seconds...
5. Then place them in the ice water immediately.
6. With a paring knife or with your fingers, gently  remove the skin, it should peel easily. 
7. Chop the tomatoes for salsa, or freeze or can for later use. 
8. Of course, feed the skins to your chickens!

chickens cleaning up a broccoli plant

We still have lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli growing, and the lettuce tastes better than ever.

The pumpkins and acorn squash are done now too. Unfortunately, this little pumpkin was our only yield  but there were about 10 acorn squash. I'll post a recipe for those soon. :)

Even as it dies back, the rhubarb is so beautiful in its color... 

...and I'm daydreaming of next year's garden already. Anyone interested in artichokes?????

You know, I think this really is the worlds oldest profession:

Genesis 2:15 

Then the LORD God took the man 

and put him into the garden of Eden 

to cultivate it and keep it.

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Related Posts:

September Garden Update
Garden Progress in May
Spring has Sprung
Pruning Grapes- The Lord's Pruning for a Purpose

October Blessings Pt. 4

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(#260 - #288)

October 16th:

• A day to focus
• Bills paid
• Rest for a sick child
• Food from the freezer
• Catching up with my momma on the phone

October 17: 3 Gifts Ugly/Beautiful

• A Pig (or half anyway)... in my freezer (picked up my order at the butcher)
• Ugly Wind didn't stop a lovely field trip
• Dying Garden

• Lots of errands run
• Visit with Grandma
• Awana

October 18th: Shared, Saved, Surrendered

• Shared, a Field Trip to Asia
• Saved hubby a trip to town by picking up something for him
• Surrendered, worries about future plans
• Another visit to Grandma
• Mayda baking for the Alzheimer's Benefit Auction

October 19th: 3 Gifts Unexpected

• A new client, lovely to meet (not totally unexpected)
• A day for baking
• God's provision in a "new" car (a 1977 Chevette!)

October 20th: 3 Gifts Unconventional

• Beautiful fall weather for the farmer's market, in October, that is unconventional
• A parade right past the farmer's market, an unexpected treat
• A quiet evening at home with hubby

October 21st: 3 Gifts Undervalued

• Corporate worship
• A kind word or look
• Time spent serving

October 22nd: Silent, Still, Strong

• Silent: waiting on a call
• Still: He asks my heart to be.
• Strong: My God is Stronger than my struggles

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