bleeding tissue paper art

we made pictures with bleeding tissue paper. it's easy and fun. you only need for things.

1. bleeding tissue paper (you can purchase some here.)
2. paper (lighter colors work best so you can see all the colors)
3. paint brush
4. water

cut the tissue paper into shapes. lay them onto the paper. use the paint brush to brush water over the tissue paper. leave the tissue paper on the paper for about 15 minutes. the time actually depends on how much water is used. my daughter used a lot of water and the colors bled through the paper (be careful - it's not washable). i don't think regular tissue paper "bleeds" the color as well.

viola - beautiful "stain glass window" or bluish brown mess! :)

i'm leaving on a jet plane

okay not on a jet plane. no plane at all. however, i am going on a girls getaway to branson, missouri.

i went last year with my friend, j. we've been friends since college. she dated a friend of mine. when the guy was gone, we found ourselves very good friends. many of us find great friends in college. more than 10 years after college, we are still great friends. a lot of the time distance grows between friends to attend different colleges, move to different cities, date different guys, get married, have tragedies, have children, and just life in general. we have always kept in contact. we have always been in each other's lives. we have always been very good friends.

j is the kind of friend that you never have to tell a backstory to because they already know all of it. j is the kind of friend you can not talk to for 3 or 4 weeks, but you still pick up right where you left off. she's the friend i can call at 1 a.m. balling like a baby and she would talk to me all night long. she is the kind of friend that can go on a girl's weekend getaway and be with for that long and not ever get on each other's nerves.

so what do we plan to do on our weekend getaway?

nothing!

we plan to stop at the outlet mall in branson on our way into town. we plan to eat out one night. and that's it. we just plan to hang out and relax. no shows. no sightseeing. not much shopping.

i'm leaving tomorrow and i'll be back sunday night. so we'll see you then.

created for purity - part 5

**if you are under 18, please ask you parents if you can read this post about sexual purity. some of the content you parents may want to discuss with you before you read it. thanks!**

this study was put together by Josh Bullard. you can find/order the workbook or video dvd series on his website created for purity.


Emotional Purity

Proverbs 4:23
"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out if spring the issues of life."

Mark 7:21-23
"For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thought, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All of these evils from from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"

in the 7 laws of the learner course notebook dr. bruce h. wilkinson says "parents need to strive to protect a guy's mind. have an internet filter in place. talk about having standards and about handling visual temptation because he will face it nearly every day. with a girl, help her protect her heart. when her heart is exposed, she is most at risk sexually, just as when his eyes are exposed, he is at risk sexually. as parents we need to protect her heart and his eyes."

1. teach your children not to give away any of their heart by becoming emotionally attached.

2. teach your children to help other maintain and protect their emotional purity by treating them with honor and respect.

Part 1

Differences between boys and girls

we need to teach these differences to boys and girls. teach girls how boy are stimulated and teach boys how girls are stimulated because they do not know this.

boys are stimulated
1. primarily by sight/visually. therefore, girls be cautious how you dress. dress modestly and appropriately. do not wear tight or low-cut tops, tight or short skirts, tight or short shorts. be cautious how you sit, how you walk, and how you move your body.

Job 31:1
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl."

2. secondarily by touch. therefore, girls be careful how you touch boys. do not bump into them with your chest or hips. do not sit on their laps, do not ride piggy-back. you may be sending messages that you do not me;an to be sending, and you are definitely defrauding - you are stirring up desires that cannot be fulfilled.

you may think you are only touching when you use your hands. however, boys feel touch with their entire body. they feel with their arm if you touch them on the arm. they feel with their knee if your leg accidentally touches their knee. they feel with their back you getting a piggy-back ride.

girls are stimulated
1. primarily by emotional bonding in relationships. therefore, boys do not lead a girl on; do not share just enough of your emotions with a girl to make her think that you like her. do not say "i love you," or "you are the most awesome girl i know, " or "i'll always be yours." realize that girls long for affection, and some are not receiving what they long for in their homes, so they seek for it elsewhere.

what he has said to you, he's said to the girl before him, and he will say to the girl after you, do don't think it means too much.

2. secondarily by touch
girls interpret romantic touching - holding hands, kissing, etc - as signs of affection. boys just touch because it feels good, not because they mean to be displaying affection. t hat is why a boy can makeout with a girl one weekend, break up in the middle of the week, and makeout with another girl the next weekend. the girl cannot understand how he could do such a mean thing, and boy cannot understand why the first girlfriend is getting so upset. so boys, do not take advantage of a girl by touching her.

there was a book josh recommended that was about modesty for a girl. it's a small, short book. it's called secret keeper: the delicate power of modesty by dannah gresh. he's read a lot of books and he said this was one of the best. i don't have this yet, but i will be purchasing it.

a great book that was also recommended and we have for little girls is the princess and the kiss by jennie bishop. we love this book. it's about a princess who trusts her parents to help her find a prince and she saves her first kiss for him.

the simple woman's daybook

Would you like to linger on the simple things? Then join me and many others in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the 'everyday moments.'

FOR TODAY...October 26th

Outside my window... chilly and not as gray as usual - love it!

I am thinking... i can still smell the hair color i put on my hair yesterday - gotta cover those greys somehow!

I am thankful for... the officer - he's always there when i need him

I am wearing...gray shorts and a cub scout t-shirt

I am remembering... last year's girl's getaway to branson

I am going... branson this weekend for this year's girl's getaway!!!

I am reading... the same stuff - proverbs to the kids and cape refuge - maybe i can finish cape refuge this weekend!

I am hoping... the weather stays nice for the officer and kids this week.

On my mind... my sister, j.

From the learning rooms... learning the letter "a" still (we didn't start with "a")

Noticing that... all the brilliant colors the leaves are turning - who doesn't love fall?

Pondering these words... the will of God will never lead you where the grace of God does not provide for you.

From the kitchen... okay i'm actually going to fix a dinner tonight - but i don't know what - any suggestions?

Around the house... trying to maintain the clean house so i can leave wednesday with it clean.

One of my favorite things~ caramel iced coffee from mcdonalds - wish i had one now.

From my picture journal...

Check out The Simple Woman's blog if you would like to read more day posts and find out how to participate in this sweet activity!!

fall festivities and daddy/daughter date nights

today has been a good day. the kids slept in - always a good thing. i took my son to tae kwon do. we came home and cleaned house. always nice to have a clean house.

we had all planned to attend a fall festival at a local church. however, my brother in law called me and told me about a daddy/daughter date night at chick-fil-a. you had to call and make reservations. i made a reservation for them at 5:30 p.m. they had missed their ice cream date on the officer's last days off so this would be perfect. they were both very excited about it.

my daughter wore a cute little pink and brown striped dress. the officer and my daughter arrived promptly at 5:30 p.m. there was a little mix-up in the reservation time, but it was worked out. when they arrived, they were greeted by two men in tuxedos - yes tuxedos! they were shown to their table. there was a section of the restaurant closed off for all the daddy & daughters. their section was under a big red and white balloon arch. the tables had tables clothes. they were given menus and their orders brought to their tables. on their tables were mats. the mats had a poem about daddies being their daughter's heros, questions for the dads & daughters to ask each other, and tic tac toe games. as they waited for their food, a magician came around to the table and performed a couple of tricks for them and gave my daughter a balloon dog. they put their food away and were brought ice cream sundaes. as they left, they gave my daughter a chick-fil-a cow and a rose. so sweet!

















meanwhile, my son and i attended the fall festival. i don't get to hang out with my son all by myself that often. we were able to go around to all the games and activities they had and do whatever we wanted. they had hayrides every 15 minutes that took us to a local park, where they had smores. my son saw the trucks and hayride trailers get onto the actual street. he asked me, "do they had seatbelts on those hayrides because they are the street!" he was very nervous while we drove down the street. however, the park was a nice break from the loud crowds at the festival. my son made sure he won some prizes for his sister. even though she got a balloon dog from chick-fil-a, he got her a balloon monkey climbing a tree.

the officer and my daughter were finished by 6 p.m. so they joined us at the festival. it was nice to wind down the evening with them.

created for purity - part 4

**if you are under 18, please ask you parents if you can read this post about sexual purity. some of the content you parents may want to discuss with you before you read it. thanks!**

this study was put together by Josh Bullard. you can find/order the workbook or video dvd series on his website created for purity.

Galatians 6:7-9
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Hebrews 11:24-25
"He [Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time."

teach your children the danger of increasing physical intimacy and the blessing of refraining from physical intimacy.

review of God's standard for sexual purity: no adultery, no fornication, no lusting, no defrauding.

there is a progression of physical intimacy. the longer the amount of time two people spend together alone, the more likely this is to happen.

progression of physical intimacy
1. holding hands
2. hug
3. arm around shoulder
4. kiss (this one is divided into two sections: 1. a peck (affectionate- closed mouth) and 2. french-kissing/making out (passionate - opened mouth)
5. petting - inappropriate touch
6. sexual relationship (husband/wife)


there are three things to consider when helping your children consider where they will draw their line.

1. maturity - the ability and desire to postpone pleasure or ability to delay gratification.

how mature are your children?

2. law of diminishing returns: when something ceases to accomplish what we want it to accomplish, we search for more. in the case of sex, it means that something which previously brought pleasure (for example, kissing) will eventually lose its glamor. more physical activity will be needed to reach the same level of pleasure.

3. human nature pushes up against boundaries. when you live at the line, you may step over it. draw a black line on the progession of physical intimacy and be conservative. look just beyond it (the next step). would God be pleased if you took that next step. think seriously about moving it back even one more step. that way if you step over the line, you may not have lasting damage.

when we looked at the progression of physical intimacy chart in the bible study, josh told us to look at each step. look at the God's 4 standards for sexual purity: adultery, fornication, lusting, defrauding. do any of the steps cause us to sin? for example, does having sex outside of marriage cause us to sin? yes it does. God says plainly no adultery (sex outside of marriage), no fornication, do not lust and no defrauding. does petting cause us to sin? yes - the Bible says to flee fornication, no lusting, no defrauding. does french kissing cause us to sin? maybe not all, but for most yes. no fornication, no lusting, no defrauding. can we make out/french kiss without lusting or defrauding? does a peck on the cheek or lips cause us to sin? most likely not. there is a definite black line on this chart where every one will sin if they go over. however, some people's black line maybe one step beyond or before others. you can't just look at yourself though. you have to keep your boyfriend/girlfriend in mind too.
what do you want to have to tell your future spouse that you did with all your past boyfriends/girlfriends? what do you want your future spouse to have done with someone else? would we ever want to share our spouse like that? how special would it be if you knew your spouse had never kissed, touched, or had sex with any other person other than you?

I Corinthians 6:18
"Flee fornication."

II Timothy 2:22
"Flee youthful lusts."

josh mcdowell says "on e of the worst preparations for marriage is to become passionate before it take place. may women today complain that their husbands don't know how to express intimacy and affection outside the bedroom."

we made a list of things we want in a marriage and things we did not want in marriage. do this with your (older) children. how do we get those things? how do we make sure some of those things don't happen?

here are some homework questions from the workbook.

1. what benefits will any physical intimacy you experience in your relationships now bring to your marriage (question for your children)?

2. what difficulties will the physical intimacy you experience in your relationships now bring to your marriage (question for your children)?

3. what benefits do you want your children to experience, and what difficulties do you want your children to avoid in their marriage?

4. do you think your children have the maturity to look ahead to their future marriages and see that what they are doing now is going to affect the quality of their marriages/ if so, how did they gain that foresight? if not, then how can you help them look ahead and protect themselves and their future?

5. how does pre-marital physical contact (even physical contact far short of sexual intercourse) affect the issue of trust between husband and wife?

are you overwhelmed? i am. that's why i am taking this when my children are 6 and 4. i've made mistakes in my past that i wish could take back, but i can't. i wish i had heard some of this way before i started dating. the officer and i had not dated many before we got married. that has always been a blessing. we did not have a lot of "baggage" we brought to the marriage because of that. however, i wonder if i had known about all this when i was younger what more of a difference it would have made.

i love the drawing a conservative black line on the physical intimacy chart and then backing it up one step. it probably is inevitable that we will go over the boundary whether we try to or not. the speed of the progression of the chart is based on how much time is spent alone with boyfriend/girlfriend, so i have to keep that in mind. letting kids go out on 5 hour dates is just asking for trouble. josh had suggested just keeping it to something like 2 hours out - a dinner or a movie - not necessarily both.

all interesting things to think about and to discuss with our growing kids! :) i have started praying now - actually i started praying for my children's spouses before they were born. i need to be more specific though. God will hear those prayers.

the end of the beginning

the end of the love dare challenge has come. it was interesting. i would say it was more of a thing for people whose marriage is having more problems. some the of the challenges didn't apply to us. some of them did. i really did try to do most of the challenges even if they were a few days later. the officer said he had noticed the effort i was doing.

i don't think we will be renewing our wedding vows, but i wouldn't mind placing them in our home somewhere so they can be a daily reminder. part of our vows were taken from ruth. i am sure you've heard it before.

Ruth 1:16, 17
..."Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

i realized going through this there were many thing i could work on. little things. some big things. i said when i started this that completing the love dare challenge could do nothing but benefit us. i was right. there are things i will continue to work on - not talking negative, keeping those thoughts to myself, letting the officer know i respect him and that he is a vital part our marriage and family, and letting him know i am thinking about him throughout our day.

we need more date night/days. i still need to work on that. we were able to spend our anniversary together by ourselves and that was so nice. we need more of that time to connect to each other without distractions or children around.

God had blessed me abundantly with the officer. i have a full life with him. God continues to show me areas i need to work on. i am thankful for that. the love dare was the beginning and it has come to an end.

star wars concert

yesterday was family day together. it's been planned for at least a month. it was the day of the star wars concert. we did not do any homeschooling. we just hung out together for the whole day.

the officer played catch with my son and took my daughter to ride her bicycle, which she just learned to do this past week.


we headed downtown at 3:30 p.m. to beat the rush-hour traffic. we ate at earls. their bbq is the best!

we had a lot of time to spare so we walked around bass pro for a while.

they opened the doors for the concert at 6 p.m. it was really neat. all around the venue, they had statues with costumes from the movie. there were people in costumes walking around you could take pictures with. i am not sure if these were concert-goers or people they hired.

my daughter took this picture of me and chewy

this storm trooper was cool because he sounded like a storm trooper. of course, my daughter did not want to take pictures with any of these people or statues. she was a little freaked out by them. finally she took a picture with someone....

a picture with rumble, the thunder mascot. however, after that she warmed up to the idea of taking pictures with people/statues.

we had to take a picture with C3PO because the actor who played him in all the movies was the narrator for the concert.

we had taken ear protection for the kids, but they didn't need it.

the kids had a treat.

i am not sure how many of the orchestra there was, but it was very large. a choir from a local college also sang with them. it was visually stunning. my son was in awe of all the instruments that made the "star wars music".

the narrator took us though all six of the movies. the music went along with whatever they were showing on the screen.

we had a great time. it was worth all the wait. if you get a chance to see it, do it! thanks officer for planning it and taking us!

learning to ride

with my son learning how to ride his dirtbike this year, my daughter really, really wanted to learn how to ride her bicycle with no training wheels. the officer has taken her out three times to learn how to ride her bicycle. the first two times the officer took her, it ended in tears - for my daughter - possibly the officer but he didn't tell me.

look at that tongue hanging out.

the third time there was success. this made my daughter want to get out to practice more. the officer has been so great about it. every time my daughter has asked - even if the officer is in the middle of cleaning his garage - the officer has taken her riding. she asked again yesterday. the officer took the kids to a local church with a big parking lot to practice. she got the hang of it and did great.




after a few trials, she got it down. the wind is loud in the video sorry!

riding the dirt bike

the officer took my son to the lake to ride their dirt bike trails. i was nervous for both of them. of course my son cannot shift gears so he stays in first and goes pretty slow. however, this was his first time on a dirt track. he had a great time spending the day with his dad. there's a video at the bottom of this post - you can see how slow he goes. ricky carmichael in the making. :)

he's pretty excited - can you tell? he's unloading his bike.

the simple woman's daybook

Would you like to linger on the simple things? Then join me and many others in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the 'everyday moments.'


FOR TODAY...October 19th

Outside my window...sunny, chilly, and beautiful - just like i like it.

I am thinking... about what errands i will have to complete today

I am thankful for... sweet cinammon pumpkin lotion from bath and body works - not deep i know but i am thankful for it!

I am remembering... when my son was so small and in the nicu. his birthday is coming up soon and i always think about that time with him.

I am going... to the library today to pick up a movie. it's a great place to borrow movies for free - if you are willing to wait on them.

I am reading... still cape refuge

I am hoping... complete school today and get a jump start on lessons for the officer when i am gone in a couple of weeks.

On my mind... friends who are sick and a friend's child who will be having surgery this week.

From the learning rooms... busy, busy, busy!

Noticing that... i need to change in me that i want to change in my kids.

Pondering these words... people will always bump up against their boundaries - it's human nature. they will many times go over their boundaries. so when making boundaries you should be very conservative and then back up one more step - that way if you go over your self-drawn boundary there will probably be no lasting damage.

From the kitchen... i do not look forward to this one when i get to it. i want to make come chocolate chips cookies today - does that count?

Around the house... making the rounds again with dishes, laundry, and picking up toys. thankful we have food to eat, clothes to wear, and $$ that purchased the toys.

One of my favorite things~ hearing my kids do their imagination playing.

From my picture journal...

my son in the nicu almost 7 years ago.

God is good every day.

Check out The Simple Woman's blog if you would like to read more day posts and find out how to participate in this sweet activity!!

this past week on the island

oh my i'm exhausted. what have i done you ask that has made me exhausted? nothing really. i'm having a hard time remember what i was doing last weekend though.

oh wait - i remember.

on sunday i went to church with my kids. my son said he was very tired, so i let him go to sunday school with me. he did fine. we were having a pot luck lunch after the service so tables were set up in the sunday school class. my son did great. he seemed tired, but quietly drew in his notebook during class. i had to work in the nursery for worship service. i took him in there and he was fine until about half way through the time. he just sat down against a wall and looked like he was going to go to sleep.

we went to the potluck and my son said he just wanted to go home and go to bed. i should have taken him home, but i didn't. i got my kids their slice of pizza and my son said he didn't want anything to eat. about 15 minutes into eating, he said, "I WANT TO GO HOME!" he was starting to yell. i tried to talk to him, but he gagged. i immediately took him into the hallway and he said, "i want to go home, my stomach hurts (first mention of his stomach)."

he gagged again and i thought he was going to blow. the restroom was right down the hallway so away we went. we didn't make it. he started to throw up all down the hallway. we got into the bathroom but didn't make it to the sink either. we were about one foot from the sink and he let it all loose. i set him up on the sink in case he was not finished. he wasn't the most of the damaged had been done. fortunately, two sweet, sweet mothers helped me out. one cleaned the hallway, and one fetched me a mop. thank you guys so much!!!!!

we went home immediately. he slept most of the day and only eating 3/4 of a slice of pizza the whole day. on monday all he did was lay around and sleep - just eating few cheetos. after he woke up monday afternoon, he thought it was the next day. he vaguely remembered the officer coming home for lunch and eating with us. he hardly remembered watching a movie. he thought it all had happened on sunday.

however, on tuesday he woke up and felt great. he ate a LOT and was back to normal. thank you LORD! so on tuesday and wednesday we proceeded with school.

wednesday we had to run errands to help the officer get ready for his fishing trip with his dad. the officer left on thursday afternoon to head to his parent's lake place for some relaxation and the last fishing for the season with is boat. i received a text yesterday. it said: day 1 = no fish. i hope it's more fruitful today. although i don't think he would care. just getting time to hang out with his dad and relax is enough reason to go.

i had some girlfriends over on friday night. they are other homeschool moms. it was fun. we chatted for a while and watched the proposal. i don't think they left until 12:30 a.m. it was a lot of fun getting to know them and chatting with them. there was a discussion about raw meat. i was actually laughing and gagging i was crying. my kids didn't know they left at 12:30 a.m. and that mommy would be tired this morning so they woke up at their usual 6:30 a.m.

during the kids rest time today i laid in my son's bed while he and his sister played in his room. i watched them play for a little bit. it was funny. they were playing hide and seek. when my daughter would hide, my son would count. when he was done counting, he would say, "ready or not, here i come - chicken noooooodle soooouup!" my daughter did it too. she added, "kung pao chicken" and "chicken fajita". i asked her why they were yelling that. she said, "it makes bubba laugh when i say it and i can find him easier." hmmm, smart.

i laid there and they played around me. i was in that state where you can hear everything, but you aren't quite out. they put tape over my mouth. i was wondering what they were going to do so i just laid there. they took a washable marker (a must have) and painted "lip gloss" on mommy! they also put a big "M" on my back with the tape for "mommy!" it's good that they labeled me so i know who i am. i also heard a discussion about whatever has whiskers must be a cat. i don't know how the conversation started, but i heard my daughter deduce that "daddy must be a cat because he has whiskers too." brilliant!

the officer comes back late tonight from his fishing trip and we are ready for him to be home. he gets to go to church with us tomorrow since he's off and we always look forward to that.

this wednesday we will spend a family day together. we are going to see star wars in concert. it should be fun. for cub scouts my son has to go the symphony, so this will count for it. i'm sure i will be doing a post for it.


so that's what has happened this past week on the island for us. have a great rest of the weekend!

created for purity - part 3

**if you are under 18, please ask you parents if you can read this post about sexual purity. some of the content your parents may want to discuss with you before you read it. thanks!**

this study was put together by Josh Bullard. you can find/order the workbook or a video dvd series on his website created for purity.

God's View of Sexual Purity

we need to teach our children about sexual purity. we need to teach them the standards, guidelines, and rules. teaching them it is for their good, benefit and blessing and for God's glory.

dannah gresh was quoted in light magazine as saying, "and parents need to pull themselves out of the culture. parents talk about pulling their kids out of the culture, forbidding them to go to this movie or watch this tv show. yet many times parents don't have a problem seeing the same movie or watching that tv show or chucking along with the laugh track on any of the television's sex-laced situation comedies. we have to extract ourselves form the culture just like we expect our children to do.

I Peter 1:15,16
But as He who called you is holy, you also must be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

there are 4 things the Bible talks about regarding God's view of sexual purity.


1. God forbids adultery - sex with anyone other than your mate or sex outside of marriage.

Exodus 20:14
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Proverbs 6:32
"But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself."

many christians believe, or at least act like they believe, that God's standard for sexual purity stops here. and many parents stop their teaching here. "just don't get pregnant." "don't get her pregnant."

God's standard for sexual purity is really much higher than just "no adultery" or "stay a virgin until you are married."


2. God forbids fornication - any illicit sexual activity or any sexual activity outside of God's boundaries. i.e. pornography, watching sexual scenes in a movie.
the greek word for fornication is porneia.

I Corinthians 6:18
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."

I Corinthians 10:12-14
"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry."

I Timothy 6:10, 11
"and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a
list. for when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry."

II Timothy 2:22
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Proverbs 4:23
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

Jesus was primarily concerned about the heart because our actions flow out of the heart. the internal thoughts dictate the external behavior.

Matthew 15:18,19
"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man "unclean." For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander."


3. God forbids lusting - the desire or craving for anything that is forbidden. fantasizing and thinking about how good something would feel.

Matthew 5:27,28
"You have heard that it was said, "Do not commit adultery." But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."


4. God forbids defrauding - to arouse sexually outside the bounds of God's limit. the limit for sexual arousal is different for everyone. if someone comes from a very touchy, feely family, their sexual arousal limit may be higher than a person who comes from a non-affectionate family.

God's standard for sex is purity - not virginity.

Why?

Because God is pure. All his standards flow out of his character.

I John 3:2,3
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

Habakkuk 1:13
"Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?"

Ephesians 5:3
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

I Thessalonians 4:3-7
"It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did call us to be impure, but to live a holy life."

here are some questions the workbook asks me.

when you were raised, the view of sexual purity that you were taught included which of the following?

no adultery no sexual activity no lusting no defrauding

reflect for a few minutes on how you were trained and then write down the things that come to your mind regarding sexual purity that you were taught by an authority figure in your life; parents, grandparents, pastor, youth pastor, teacher, coach, etc.

do you want your children to have the same view of sexual purity that you had?

if you answered "yes," then write down in what ways your children are being trained as you were trained.

if you answered "no," then write down how your children are going to be trained differently than you were trained.

at what age do you believe that it is appropriate and advantageous to share with your child the biological details of sex?

do you believe that it is necessary to talk with your children about sex at a younger age today than it was necessary fifteen or twenty years ago? if so, why?

what "everyday" situations or experiences would provide opportunities for you to very naturally share with your child some aspect of sex or the sanctity of sex?

richard ross, one of the founders of the true love waits campaign, says that "sex must be made a natural part of the flow of life." how can you or your spouse made this a reality in your home?

created for purity - part 2

**if you are under 18, please ask you parents if you can read this post about sexual purity. some of the content your parents may want to discuss with you before you read it. thanks!**

this study was put together by Josh Bullard. you can find/order the workbook or a video dvd series on his website created for purity.

God's View of Sex

the study starts out with several good quotes.

dennis rainey says, "the reason so many christian parents are struggling today is that they do not know what they believe and have not determined the standards, boundaries, and convictions for their children."

i think this is true for a lot of parents. we think we can wait until they are teenagers to have to deal with some of this. however, i think there's a lot to be said about figuring out our standards, boundaries and convictions now while our children are young (mine are 6 & 4).

dr. howard hendricks thinks if you want to change a person permanently, change his thinking not his behavior.

a study by josh mcdowell .... found the preferred source of sexual information for christian teenagers was not books their youth pastor, their school teachers or friends; it was their mom and dad.

i think this is shocking for most parents. it was for me. you think your children do not want to talk to you about sex, but they do - they just act like they don't. they do want to talk to their friends, but they also know their friends may not know everything or may be misinformed.

teach your children God's view of sex. they will hear it from somewhere. you want them to hear it from you and hear about God's truth about sex.


1. God created sex.

Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

John Piper asks Why did God create us sexual beings? God created us sexual being so he would have verbiage in place with with which to communicate to use the intensity of his love for us. words like bride, groom, prostitute and many other words.


2. sex is for procreation (having children) in marriage.

Genesis 1:28a
"God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth."

if you children ask you about sex, keep talk as long as they keep asking questions. keep the answer simple, direct, and honest (age appropriate).


3. sex is for intimacy in marriage.

Genesis 4:1
"Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought for a man."

sex is one of the ways husbands/wives get to know each other more than anyone else in the world.


4. sex is for pleasure in marriage.

this is the point where Satan twists it. we are tempted to do things that make us feel good. God designed sex for marriage, but Satan twists/perverts it. even though it may feel good for a short amount of time, it will damage us in the end.

Proverbs 5:18b-19
"Rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love."


5. sex was created to be enjoyed by a man and a woman in marriage.

marriage shows the world God's faithfulness to us. it was God's design for marriage to between a man and a woman.

Romans 1:26-27
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relation for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received themselves the due penalty for their perversion."


in romans 10:14 paul makes the following statement about belief in Jesus: "how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?"

the same principle apples regarding the beliefs of your children: how shall they believe that which they have never heard?

how well are you doing in making sure that your children hear the right things (God's truth) about sex?

what can you begin doing now that will help you prepare yourself to teach your children?

your children need to know that sex is worth the wait. how can you begin teaching them this truth?

josh mcdowell write the following regarding the beauty of sex in the marriage relationship.

God has set sex aside for marriage for the protection ad happiness of people. sex within marriage brings increased unity and opportunity to give pleasure to your spouse, as well as to find pleasure yourself. sex outside of marriage brings a momentary thrill, a release, a way to block out problems, but it brings with it an avalanche of negative consequences.

simply said, sex within marriage is within God's design and is good; sex outside of marriage is outside God's design and cannot ultimately b good. it might feel good for a moment, but sin can never be a good thing.

by reserving sex for marriage, God protects us from emotional hurt, from disease, from damaged relationships, from the misery that accompanies sin. sex needs the commitment, trust and longevity that marriage can provide....

just as sex is safe and free within the limits of God's protection, it is also able to reach its fullest and most exciting potential within those limit. there is no fear of rejection, no need to pretend, no need to sneak around, no guilt, no fear of a baby ruining your
life. this is God's provision for sex within marriage.

next is God's view of sexual purity.

simple woman's daybook

Would you like to linger on the simple things...then join me and many others in taking a little look into the day plans and thoughts of those who are focusing on simplicity...beauty of the 'everyday moments'.


FOR TODAY: October 12, 2009

Outside my window... it's gray and chilly - love it!

I am thinking... about my son

I am thankful for... the 10 year anniversary i just had with the officer

From the learning rooms... we will be learning the letter "L" this week!

From the kitchen... there's nothing going on in the kitchen, but at least it's clean!!!

I am wearing... green striped pj pants & a green t-shirt

I am creating... birthday party invitations

I am going... nowhere today.

I am reading... proverbs with my kids.

I am hoping... my son feels better.

I am hearing... i need a savior on k-love by among the thirsty - love that song!

Around the house... is actually clean today - yeah!

One of my favorite things... the pumpkin spice candle burning right now.

A few plans for the rest of the week: a little bit of school, possibly a visit with my sister, and a girl's night out at my house.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

the army helmet is brother's as is the bandanna/cape, the tinkerbell sunglasses are hers, and the officer made the axe for her. she marched into my room dressed like this.

you can check out the simple woman's blog for yourself if you want to participate in the simple woman's daybook.

10 year anniversary

today marks my 10 year anniversary with the officer. it has just flown by. we can't quite remember what we did before we had children. i guess that's the way it goes for everyone with kids.

i've been so amazed at what all God has done in our lives. how He has blessed, protected, and provided for us.

you can read about how i met the officer here, and this year's valentine's day post about the officer here, and this year's father's day post about the officer here.

i was trying to remember some of the old days stories about when we were dating or married and before kids but it's hard to remember all that stuff. here's what i came up with so far. only a few are before marriage and kids. i was trying to come up with 10 since it's our 10 year anniversary. we'll see what i can come up with.

1. when we first started dating, i was doing my student teaching. it was at my alma mater so it was all the way across town. on my first day of student teaching, i came home to my little condo i shared with my sister. there were a dozen red roses on the kitchen table wrapped in plastic. i saw them, but did "look" at them because i thought they were for my sister. she had a very serious boyfriend (or they were engaged - can't remember at this point), so i thought they were for her. it wasn't until my sister got home and she looked at the flower that we realized they were for me from the officer. he just sent them to wish me a "happy first day of student teaching".

2. on valentine's day that same year, i was still student teaching at the same school. he sent up a huge (and when i say huge i mean one of those 2ft. by 1 1/2 ft. cards) card, 3 red roses, and an orange crush with a note attached that said "i have a "crush" on you".

3. i had used to have an husky/mix dog named tate. we wanted to get another dog for tate to play with. right by our house was a wal-mart. every year second chance would set up their adopt-a-thon in the field by the wal-mart. we went down there to just "look" at the dogs. we came home with jesse, our 12 year old dog. we realized the next year, we could not go to wal-mart while the adopt-a-thon was going one because we would go down there and we would adopt another dog.

4. when i had my son 7 weeks early, the officer was able to stay home with me. with the way his work schedule is set up, 8 days on and 6 days off, he was able to take two sets off. he was home with me a whole month after i had our son. since our son was in the nicu we were able to make trips up to the hospital every day several times a day. the officer's favorite time to go feed our son was at night. we were so blessed with meals from our sunday school class for most of that time. we were so excited to start our family. by the time my son was able to come home (only two weeks after delivery) i was feeling physically great and well-rested.

5. when i was pregnant with my daughter, i craved braums peanut butter cup ice cream. have you had it? it's the best but very rich! however, when i was pregnant, i couldn't get enough of it. i asked him one night to go get me some ice cream and he went to 3 different braums to find me some. okay this is the crazy part, i was on a waiting list at braums for the peanut butter cup ice cream. i know! i went in there once to purchase the ice cream and they were out. the lady said, "we have a waiting list for the peanut butter ice cream you know. when it comes in, we will call everyone on the waiting list. if someone says they want it, we will put back a carton for you." what? are you kidding - yeah put me on that waiting list. in case you are wondering, i'm not still on the list. after i had my daughter, the ice cream tasted different to me. it's still wonderful, but i can't handle all that richness/sugar anymore.

6. the officer deals with all the burnt, not quite right, something's funky, down right disastrous meals i have made. he puts up with taco salad (used to be once a week - now once every 2 - 2 1/2 weeks).

7. as i said before i am amazing God saved him for me. i was put on the steps of a police department when i was two days old half way around the world and God saved another police officer in the united states to take care of me for the rest of my life.
and i always said i would never marry a military man or police officer. he was in the national guard when i met him and a police officer when i married him. tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor. He says, "not your plans, my plans" and what do you know, they always work out for the best.

8. i have the greatest pleasure of being able to stay at home and homeschool my children. i realize this is a blessing. i realize not everyone who would like to do this is in the position to be able to do this. the officer works very hard, so i can stay home. when we first started dating, i mentioned "homeschooling". the officer was leery, but open. as time went by, he knew it was the best for our family. i am so happy he had an open heart and that God softened it. we make certain sacrifices (and i kind of hate to use that word because we would make the same choice every time) to live on one income. God has provided beyond measure for us. every time we need something financially, God provides. not every want, but every need. it's taken care of. i may shop the clearance racks, garage sales, consignment sales, and use coupons but for those of you who also do you know this is fun. it's so awesome when you find a great deal.

9. our families are the greatest. both our families. i love my in-laws. the officer brought a great family into my life. his parents have been married 37 years. i knew i would marry someone who's parents had stayed married. i was always drawn to that. the way the officer is with our kids (which is amazing) is an extension of how his family is. they would give you the shirt off their back. they are the most generous people - with everything. the officer's parents have completely embraced grandparenthood (is that a word?). my family is the best also, but i had always known that. both our families are big "family" people. we enjoy spending time with each other. we are both close to our families. we both enjoy spending time with the other's families. i wanted our kids to grow up with their cousins, and having a ton of memories with their grandparents. i have fond memories of spending time with my grandmothers. one of my grandmas always had pink stick gum in her purse. i can't remember the brand, but she always had some and she always gave us a piece of it. silly stuff like that - i want my kids to have a ton of those. so when i met the officer and i saw how close he was with his family i was immediately drawn toward him. i hope we are showing our children how valuable family is.

10. i made it to 10. i am not sure of what else to say though. it's been 10 years. we've had 2 kids and 1 lost baby. we've had 4 fish, 1 turtle, and 3 dogs. we've had 2 houses, 6 cars, 3 dirtbikes, and 1 boat. we've had great health. i don't know what God has in store for us in the next 50 years, but i can't wait to find out.