Super Fling Boogie

In an effort to allow the Holy Spirit control EVERY area of my life, I am working on getting my home under control. This will make SUCH a difference in my life! Peace and less time wasted, to name a couple ways! Anyways, we have been doing a Super Fling Boogie this week. We have decluttered/organized the kids rooms/closets, the lounge and the office. Tomorrow it's the master bedroom and bath.

The other area to tackle this week is Mt. Washmore. It has been raining for about 2 weeks and I am behind on laundry! It takes 80-90 minutes to dry a half load in the tumble dryer, so praying for no rain tomorrow so that I can start to catch up. We leave for holiday on Monday and I want to have all the laundry done before we go!

We started the Beth Moore study last night on Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman. It sounds SOOOO good! I'm really looking forward to it!

But for now, I'm late to bed and have to get up at 5h30. Still learning! ;) Goodnight, all!!!!

Orderliness

I started writing a post yesterday, but the power went out and was out most of the day! What a blessing in disquise! Yes, my laundry was screaming to be washed, but other than that, I got SOOO much done! :)

We started the morning off with school, a bit reluctantly, but got there none-the-less! We did the basics - Math, writing, reading, spelling... and then KONOS.

This week we are starting a new unit study in KONOS - Orderliness. We will be studying poetry, plants, animals, rocks, planets, solar system and seasons. The whole time we are studying those subjects, we will be focusing on orderliness.

Yesterday, instead of formal study, we PRACTICED orderliness. There was no electricity, and therefore, thankfully, less distractions! We headed off to the kids rooms and started organizing/decluttering. (The nice thing about this is that the kid's rooms are the "FLY Zone" for the week - killed two birds with one stone! Ok, just noticed when I linked to the FlyLady site that we're a week behind them, but we'll fix that when we get back from holiday. Better to be doing something than nothing!!!) We went through all their toys and put them where they belong - lego with lego, barbies with barbies, and so on. We gave away toys we no longer play with, got rid of shoes that no longer fit, and found long forgotten toys! Such a feeling of accomplishment. Now, hopefully studying orderliness will remind us why & how to keep it that way!

Today we're back to the books - we'll be working on the names and orders of the planets, reading poetry, and talking about creation. We will also be doing our first lesson in the Apologia book, Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Brandon is really looking forward to some science experiments - hope they come quickly!

Today's Quiet Time....

Today's WOLSA Quiet Time passage is Psalm 84. WOW! Really enjoyed it this morning! Here is a quote from Don Kelso:

"Tabernacles," "courts," "altars," and "house" are descriptive designations for God's dwelling place. "Tabernacles" and "courts" are plural since there were several rooms in the temple complex where people would gather for worship, in addition to the temple itself. Like the sparrow and swallow that dwell there (v.3), the psalmist appreciates the place but His deepest desire is for the God of the place. "Soul," "heart," and "flesh" speak of the entire being and are the equivalent of "spirit and soul and body" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

 

Psalm 84:10-12

For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside.

I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God,

Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord gives grace and glory;

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee.

The Bible in A Year

I decided today to read the Bible through in a year. I am using the list in the front of the Word of Life Quiet Time. In South Africa, our schooling system is Jan-Dec, so we are only in week 2 of our quiet times. I have a little catching up to do, but am excited! I haven't read through the Bible in a year since I was in Bible college, and that was a few ;) years ago. YAY!

If you're interested in joining me, let me know. I am going to read in the am and evening to start, until I catch up. That means today I read Gen 1-6:8.

Adoption Info

Our adoption was different as we are US Citizens in South Africa on a temporary residence permit, but thought I would share a little....

When the magistrate said that the laws had changed and we now needed an apostille for our paperwork, I wondered, "What in the world is an apostille, and how do I go about getting it?" and NOBODY could give me an answer! After months of trying to find out, I finally stumbled across a website that could help me, so thought I would pass on what I learned. I actually think that as I was looking for information the websites were being updated with it, because it took several search sessions before I could find anything.

We were trying to keep our adoption costs to a minimum, and therefore trying to avoid the fees it would cost to get the help of a lawyer (which we succeeded in doing).

We had to have an apostille for US documentation, which included a marriage certificate and the copies of our passports. The apostille for the marriage certificate comes from the state in which you were married. Each state has their own application process and costs. The following website is helpful, just search for your state and follow the website link: http://www.eslstarter.com/how-to-apostille-documents.php.

Then this is where we sent our copies of our passports (once they were certified by the Consulate because they were simply photocopies):
"The Department of State, Authentications Office is responsible for signing and issuing certificates under the Seal of the U.S. Department of State (22 CFR, Part 131) providing authentication services to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals on documents that will be used overseas. This office receives a variety of documents from commercial organizations, private citizens, and officials of the Federal and State governments. Documents include but not limited to: company bylaws, powers of attorney, trademarks, diplomas, transcripts, distributorship agreements, articles of incorporation, good standing certificates, home studies, letters of reference etc. It also ensures that the requested information will serve in the interest of justice and is not contrary to U.S. policy."

It was a long journey with many challenges along the way, but I would love to be a help to anyone else trying to give a precious child a home! Please send me a message if you have a question, and I'll be happy to help if I can! Even if it's just to listen. :)

Stuff

This morning we found out that the magistrate has approved Mya's adoption, and now we're just waiting for papers from Pretoria saying that Mya is officially a Hawkins. Once we receive those papers, we will have to go to Home Affairs to have her first name changed to Mya.

We also started our new school year today! It wasn't as good of a day as I had hoped, but it wasn't bad, either. We got through Math, Spelling and KONOS, and called it a day after a few interruptions stretched it out longer than I had intended. We are busily doing a week of Cowboys to finish up our study on Obedience from last year before we jump into a study on Orderliness. I am looking forward to the change, and to diving into our Apologia Science book on Astronomy.

We went out to Spur tonight for dinner with the Pages & Embrees to celebrate this step in Mya's adoption. It is such a relief to know that all the running and trying to figure out what papers we need is over!

I have been so tired the last week or two! I am trying to start going to bed no later than 10, so that I can get up in the morning and have time for my quiet time and a bit of exercise, along with my morning routine of housework before we start school. These are my first attempts at self-discipline, throwing off weights and bringing my body into subject, though I'm sure that this is just the beginning of a life-long journey!

Ministry

Each year I pray about what ministries God would have me be directly involved with. Yes, I am a missionary wife, but as a mom of young children, and a homeschool mom as well, my involvement in the ministry of Word of Life South Africa is limited.

As a result of that, God has given me other ministry opportunities over the years! It is exciting to see where He leads and the changes that take place. For example, 3 years ago, God seemed to be taking most of my ministry opportunities outside of the home away! Little did I know that little Mya would be coming into our lives and that my ministry inside my home would multiply. ;)

At the end of last year, I felt myself challenged by God to become more involved in the lives of the people in our home church here in South Africa. For a little background information, I had several close friends at our church and due to many reasons, all of those friends are gone! So here I find myself vulnerable, stepping out to build new relationships.

As I prayed about ways to be involved in our church besides the music ministry, the young man in charge of our children's ministry approached my husband to ask him about starting the Olympian program with our youth! They soon approached me and asked me to pray about being involved as a leader. I could answer immediately as I could clearly see that this was an answer to my prayer! This has been exciting for me on many levels. :)

As a missionary, I am excited to see our home church catch the excitement of our ministry!
As a mom, I am excited about my children being involved in this ministry in our home church that encourages children to get into God's word daily, memorize scripture and serve Him in our daily life.
As a Christian, I am thrilled about the opportunity to be discipling my children's friends to have a closer relationship with Christ!
As a women, I am ecstatic about the opportunity to build stronger relationships with my fellow leaders as we encourage each other and spur each other on to run the race with excellence!

I am excited to see what curves in my road may come along this year of 2010, and am ready to start throwing off the weights that are holding me back and run this race with abandon. I just love my Saviour and want to please Him!

Christmas Baking

I love to bake, especially at Christmas time! This year I made magic cookie bars,

peanut butter fudge,

homemade ice cream

and a birthday cake for Jesus!

Happy New Year!

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Happy New Year from South Africa! This came to mind this morning as I contemplated leaving 2009 behind and heading into 2010, and I thought I would share it with you!

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Phil. 3:8-14