Abigail's Birthday Blessing

On Feb 5 1998 you took your first breath into this world. Your little head full of hair, your eyes bright as stars, your hands and feet sweet and gentle, your tender quiet peacefulness overwhelmed me with joy. Abigail, truly you are the meaning of your name – fathers joy.

Shortly after you were born I lifted you up to God and thanked him for allowing me to be blessed with you. As I held you up so high with my arms reaching toward God I prayed that God would bless you with His spirit, strengthen you with His might and use you to His glory.  

As you grew your tender nature and sensitive spirit was always an encouragement to your mother and I. Your discernment of right and wrong was amazing at such an early age as you tenderly would turn your face away from what was not right. God had gifted you with wisdom that was carried out with child like faith that convicted me of wrongs in my life that I had needed to change.  God was using you already by the age of 3.

You were so trusting and always followed your mom and sisters instructions.  I remember naptime with you and Madison. I would lie in the bed between the two of you and when Madison thought I was asleep she would wake you up and ya’ll would sneak out of the room.  I so miss those days of holding you that close.

And on this day of Feb 5^th 2011, I want to solemnly bless you for the rest of your life as you become the woman that God intends on you to be. The day will come when I have to give you up to a young man and that day will be here sooner than I want. But you must be prepared, your heart must be pure, your mind must be on Christ, your vision must be on Gods Kingdom and His will.

Today Abigail I want this blessing to resound in your heart for all the years you have in this earth.  May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.  If you will hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which He commands this day, the Lord your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on you and overtake you, if you shall hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground. Blessed shall be your basket and your store. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out.   Num 6:24-26, Deu 28:1-6

Abigail may you be fruitful and multiple, may your children and your children’s children be blessed with good health and God’s vision that will carry on for generations to come.  May you increase in fear of the Lord and wisdom and understanding.  May you always be filled with humility and compassion. May you know His will and be in submission to Christ at all times.

Finally- Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.   Rom 15:13

And the God of peace be with you. Amen.   Rom 15:33

Love,

Daddy

The Importance of Understanding History + Navigating History: Egypt—Giveaway!

Posted on 20 November 2010 by Robin | 104 responses

I love History. It is fascinating to me. But it wasn’t always like that. I remember in school being completely bored with history trying to memorize dates of when people lived and important happenings, reading in the textbooks all the short snippets of facts that seemed to have no connection at all. I only really remember one time that history seemed interesting and that was in elementary school when our class read Johnny Tremain.

That all changed when I started homeschooling my daughters. History came alive—it was exciting, adventurous and so interesting. Why? We used living books to study history; books that were written by people who were truly interested in the subject and brought the stories of the past to life. We read biographies, historical fiction, first hand accounts, etc. It became one of our favorite subjects to learn about. My daughters enjoy history so much they started their own publishing company featuring their paper dolls of Christian women from history, Daughters of His Story.

So what does history have to do with Raising Homemakers?  Don’t homemakers just cook and clean and live boring little lives? NO, they don’t.

Homemakers nurture their families in so many different ways. They are the caregiver, teacher, family historian, character trainer, nutritionist, peacemaker, seamstress, etc. Throughout history homemakers have inspired their husbands, children, and future generations to persevere and thrive.

By studying history with our children, we can help them understand who they are, where they have come from, and see how the Lord has been working in the hearts of men and women  throughout time. We can teach them how to understand the past and different cultures with a biblical worldview.

Four God-fearing, adventurous young men are going to travel to Egypt . . .

Navigating History: Egypt

At the end of this month, a team of young Christian filmmakers will be traveling to Egypt as part of the Navigating History Project, just announced by Western Conservatory. “Navigating History: Egypt” is a 6-episode adventure travel series designed to teachhistory, geography, current affairs, and worldview analysis from a Biblical perspective. The series will focus on the events and influences that shape nations, illustrating that ideas have consequences and that culture is never neutral.

“What we want to do is show students how to use unchanging theological truth to assess every aspect of culture and history . . . past, present, and future.”
—David Noor

Egypt, the oldest continuous culture in the world, has been influenced at various times in its history by the four dominant ideologies of the globe—ancient paganism, Greco-Roman humanism, the Christian Church, and the rule of Islam—making it an ideal place to show that culture is religion externalized. Along the way, the team will be providing book recommendations and pointers for further study. Unlike television shows where hosts are shot and edited by invisible camera teams, every aspect of production and travel will be visible to those watching from home, as every member of the team serves both on-camera and as production staff.

“Each lesson which students learn about Egypt will help them face the challenges of the questions facing young Americans today — in America.We want students to be sharp analysts of America’s political issues, church issues, and family culture issues. Egyptian culture illustrates the consequences of modern challenges with alarming clarity.” —Isaac Botkin, team leader

Episodes and live Q&A sessions with the team will be aired at 8:00pm CST every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting November 29 and continuing through December 17.Subscribers who join the three-week journey will have access to web site resources and updates. The tight deadlines for each of the episodes will add another element of drama for the viewers anticipating the next installment of the adventure. With live timers and GPS tracking,subscribers can monitor the team as they move between destinations and race against deadlines.

Give-away

Western Conservatory has generously offered to give away a free pass for one of you to be a subscriber to Navigating History: Egypt.

To Enter: (Please leave a separate comment for each thing you do.)

- Comment on this post . . . and (optional) answer the question:
“If you could travel to any country in the world, where would you go, and why?”

- Facebook, Comment, Tweet, Email, Post the link to this giveaway.

Giveaway ends on Tuesday, November 23rd at Midnight EST. (Check back on Wednesday to find out who the winner is!)

5500+ miles later......

   WOW! We have been a whirl wind tour of the Southeast U.S.  We started out going to Louisiana and Texas for a family visit and the ATI  conference at Big Sandy Texas. This was such a wonderful trip for many reasons. First off was conference. What a blessing this year was. Big Sandy is the best ATI conference we have ever been to. Well worth the drive. We are blessed, our kids so enjoy this time each year.  The girls start the count down for conference months ahead, researching the speakers, praying and preparing their hearts for what God has for them to learn. It is a blessing to know they enjoy more than just the fellowship and meeting new people. We knew no one going into this Big Sandy trip. They were still excited to be going. After arriving we learned there were a few people we knew from back home that were attending so that was an extra blessing I feel God gave the kids. The speakers were wonderful this year, as always. We left up lifted and ready for a new year. 

It was a long drive.... ;)

The Louisiana part of the trip was wonderful as well. It is always a treat and a blessing to spend time with family. JP's family in Louisiana are a pleasure to be with. Land to roam, Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins lot's of outdoor activities. We were met our first night by family, a bon-fire, a weenie roast, smores and lots of laughter.  I have a wonderful sister in law who is a treasure to be with. I love sharing with her God's revelations in our life and listening to what God is doing in their family. We cry a little, talk about the Word of God and laugh a lot! The property is peaceful and a nice retreat all in itself for relaxing, meditating, reflecting and rejuvenating. I always leave rested (well mostly lol).  GREAT VISIT LOVE OUR LA. FAMILY!!  I needed it for what was coming next. First home and.........

Cousins! :)

The kids rode their dad's dirt bike from when he was a kid.

Shooting is also a fun active we can do while we are there.
Eli is here shooting his BB Gun with his cousin sitting safely behind him. 

After getting home from this trip JP had a quick Business trip to San Antonio. We were Glad to have him back.

Then we came home and started our garden!

 Just a few days later.......

 We had a dear family come and visit us. We love them and there encouragement. Such a blessing. Thanks Shoughs for sharing your time and making a 3 hour out of the way effort to visit with us. We love you.

Cades Cove on Elijah Oliver's trail.

We had a great day of worship and fellowship

Then on to  Florida, visiting family and friends. This is always a much anticipated trip of the year for the children. This is where home is. Grand parents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends! CRAZY BUSY!! There is never enough time here to see and visit with everyone. So glad we have mom and dad to stay with and visit. I must admit I love it when people come and see us. Then we have one family to ourself. Mom and Dad are understanding of the kids desire to run here and there. We are never in bed before 1 or 2 am. LOL Home is always such a comfortable place. You never out grow that. The kids come in and it's like they never left. Thanks Granny and Papa. My dad was ill while we were in town so we do not have pictures doing anything. We will make up for it in August.

They are blessed to have such wonderful friends here, so are we. Kindred Spirits are few an far between. What an awesome God we serve! No matter how many miles, what continent, country, state it's like we were never apart. I love it. God brings them just when we need them. No mater if it is a note, email, skype call or a real visit. It's a great time. So many we can't name you all,  but you know who you are. 

We came home to this, dad really missed us while we were in Florida !

 And this! :o Our garden exploded! 

No time to gaze in amazement because in just 8 short hours we were back in the SUV. 

"On the Road Aagain!" 

Last but not least back to Louisiana for the Davis Family Reunion which our wonderful host and cousin "Johnny" pointed out...."no one here is named DAVIS!" LOL! Anyhow we love getting together with all these fabulous people from all over the country. We have family come in from as far away as Chicago, Utah, and Florida. WOW! So none of us being officially Davis's seems to be OK. I think it is the host and hostess with the most! Cousin Johnny and Ann are so fun to be with and Yes cousin Johnny, "It's the Shirt!".All of the effort put in to this by all the first cousins Johnny, Tookie and Aunt Mary ( I think I am leaving out a first cousin, maybe Bobby??? Correct me if I am wrong family.) We love this new family tradition.

Cousins

 "It's the Shirt!".

;D

It was Boudin....we ate it all, this is sausage

                                                                  The whole crew

Brothers deep in conversation

Surprise...a Scott man Fishing.

Beautiful Sunflowers at Tookie's!

 So after all of this.. over 5000 miles in 2 months, we are home! THANK GOD. Thank God for family and friends and thank God for home. We had a blast all the way. Now we are home and tending to the school we do in the summer, our garden and some much needed hiking! (I will post pictures from our next hike.)
Psalms 34: 1-3
¹ I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.

³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

                       
Love to you all and thanks for making our travels so so special! You all mean so much to us.

Check This Out!

It's Mean and you fight it with a Machine!

Does anyone know or remember what this is?

It's called the color Green and it's growing in our yard!

I opened my window one morning and the "green beams" of color blinded me.

Once recovered I was at first a little skeptical of this "green" stuff. Then I remembered it from last year! I went from utter terror of this green invasion to absolute jubilance at the remembrance of what green means. So if you are hiding in your house and occasionally mustering up the courage to peeking thru the window shades at the "green raid". If you too are having this same sort of experience, don't be scared! The english word for the green stuff you see outside is "Grass". Webster's definition of it is this :

grass

 [gras, grahs] Show IPA

–noun

1.

any plant of the family Gramineae, having jointed stems, sheathing leaves, and seedlike grains.Compare grass family.

2.

such plants collectively, as when cultivated in lawns or used as pasture for grazing animals or cut and dried as hay.

6.

grasses, stalks or sprays of grass: filled with dried grasses.

7.

the season of the new growth of grass.

–verb (used with object)

8.

to cover with grass or turf.

9.

to feed with growing grass; pasture.

10.

to lay (something) on the grass, as for the purpose of bleaching.

–verb (used without object)

11.

to feed on growing grass; graze.

12.

to produce grass; become covered with grass.

Now too much "Grass" in your yard and you can't see your house so, you must "mow".

Described here by Webster:

mow

¹   [moh] Show IPA verb,mowed, mowed or mown,mow·ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.

to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.

2.

to cut grass, grain, etc., from: to mow the lawn.

–verb (used without object)

3.

to cut down grass, grain, etc.

—Verb phrase

4.

mow down,

a.

to destroy or kill indiscriminately or in great numbers, as troops in battle.

b.

to defeat, overwhelm, or overcome: The team mowed down its first four opponents.

c.

to knock down.

(line 4 is the "slang" term for mow)

Here is Daddy showing Eli how to tame the "green beast".

You too can be a yard Knight! :D

The only survivor of the Eli yard Massacre!

Behold Sir Greenyard, Knight of Scott-land!

The youngest yard Knight of all!

May his story of the taming of the yard be past down for GENERATIONS!

(Yeah he's the Man!)

Now not everything is green! Like this little flower so white and clean that my sweet brother Sir Greenyard presented to me after his conquering of the Scott-land! ;)

See, it's Natural! It happens every year and it CAN'T HURT YOU!

So, on another Sunny nice day get out there and roll in it. Yes I said ROLL-IN-IT!

It wont eat you! I promise! It's just been a while since we have seen it.

SPRING IS SPRINGING!

(Side-affects for some may be itchy watery eyes and sneezing or even a rash.)

(If this sounds like you consult a doctor for some minor treatment that will help you get back out there!)

I Hope this post has helped you to embrace the coming change!

God Bless

Alyssa