The Lord Is My Shepherd...

A Psalm of David.

23 

 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

 Last week we studied the 23rd Psalm...The Lord is my shepherd.

 Do you like how I spelled shepherd wrong?! Don't know how I only did it on one and not the others. I'm going to claim preggy brain on that one. ;)

 In writing it on their fingers, it is there to help them remember the verse. 

"The, one and only one." "Lord, God, Creator of the universe." "Is, now and always will be." "My, own personal." "Shepherd, Guide and Protector."

If they memorize it this way, it will always be easier for them to look down at their hand, touch each finger, and recite the verse from memory, whether in a time of trouble, a time of thankfulness, or a time of feeding their soul. 

Psalm 119:11

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
   that I might not sin against you.

 We did one project everyday to help us memorize Psalm 23. The kids traced their hands and flipped them upside down to create sheep...added glue and cotton balls and a white eye..voila, you have yourself a sheep! I love our Bible curriculum we have been using the last 2 years for school. It's A.C.S.I. Bible for anyone wondering. There are 4 days of lesson plans with a practical daily "life story" that goes along with whatever Bible verse/story they are learning that week. Then there is usually a craft/project for the kids to do too. We have been using the 1st grade level. I would like to use the 5th for Alexis, but I just don't have the time in one day to do 2 different Bible lessons + all their school work. Therefore she helps teach along with me to the younger ones. She reads verses, helps them figure out the answers to the workbook questions, and writes for them when they need it. Plus, we have such a range of ages that 1st grade isn't too advanced for the littles, and still keeps the attention of the older. You've got to find a balance somehow, and this is how I've worked it for us. :)

 Here they are with their sheep!

 One of the days they cut out 6 sheep and wrote one verse on each of the sheep. Each of the kids had their own sheep and I finished the 6th one.

This is a way of bringing the Bible to life. It helps it become exciting and fun for them to learn and feed their little souls, along with building that strong spiritual foundation they need. Something I've found in the last couple of weeks is adding hand motions to our verses is a tremendous help in memorizing scripture. I let them help in picking what motions should go where. Then at dinner they recite them for Daddy and we discuss what they learned in their lesson that day. I've seen a big difference in Addie (who just turned 4). She seems to really absorb all we discuss and learn. You will usually find her running up to me asking, "Mommy, is this good?" "Is this is good word to say, or is it a bad one?" "Mommy, I didn't lie today! I told the truth!" I find it refreshing to have a little one who wants to please so badly and is willing to ask questions as to whether or not her actions are right, or wrong. 

Praise be to God the Father, for any growth in our home...

Blessings~Heather

Baby Update

  Just got back from my appointment with my midwife...I'm 1cm dilated, 80% effaced, and baby's head is -2 station. Not the best news (usually I'm at least 3cm by now), but I'm just glad there is progress! Thank you, Lord! Next week I hopefully get to meet my Dr. He's kinda like Dr. Cliff Huxtable from the Cosby show! lol You go into labor, and he comes to the hospital. I've only ever had it where you get whoever is "on call" with Kaiser and just been blessed to get midwives for almost all of them. So this is new!

  My midwife was the last of 5 that lost their license at the only hospital that allowed midwives to deliver. I don't understand it, but this is the reality here. So I hopefully got the next best thing with my new Dr. who comes highly recommended by my midwife. The only other option would be to deliver at home with Rebekah, but I'm not that brave. :) Next week we scheduled a "tour" of the Family Birth Center for the children. Bob and I thought it might be fun for them (and us) to get an inside look at where we'll be headed in the next couple of weeks. The oldest 3 are pros when it comes to this...the little girls aren't. Especially Shelby. So this might be a good opportunity to take the wonder and fear out of it for them.  Alexis is wanting to join us for the delivery again (this would be her 3rd time welcoming a brother or sister into this world)...Ty is asking as well. Not so sure about that. He thinks it would be neat, but do I really want our 8yr old son there? Again, not so sure about that one, even though they don't witness any of the graphic stuff...it just seems strange. We'll be praying about that one. :)

  That's all I have for now~Heather

Revolutionary!

  Alright, now you might think I've lost my marbles, but I think there is some serious logic behind this post: "Why You Should Stop Doing Kegels..."

  I have always done this (squatting) with all my pregnancies and had nothing but great results with delivery! I'm kind of "old school" with the way they "used to do things." I figured it would help get things "ready" down there. Labor is long and hard sometimes, and why not get yourself flexible before hand in a position that might help with the difficulty of labor and stretch those leg and butt muscles that will be doing so much work. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years (most likely squatting in the fields)...why is it so difficult now? Because we focus too much on modern medicine and books of what works "now." When the real question should be, "why change something that wasn't broken?" Oh oh, I know! Because we think we are smarter than folks from the stone age. But are we really? God gave us instincts for a reason. He gave us women with great intuition. He also created the body that is built for birthing! (Obviously things happen and medical intervention is needed...that's a whole different conversation). But for a regular no complications labor/delivery...I'm just excited that I've been doing something right! Yippee :)

  25 days and counting! Can't wait, yet I'm not prepared at all. I had the nurse at my appointment today shocked that we haven't even bought diapers yet! :)  I figure all you need for a newborn is food (which as long as things go as planned is "on tap"), pajamas, a blanket, a car seat, nursing pads, and diapers (which you can purchase at the grocery store on your way home!) Yes, we might be crazy, but seriously that's all you need! When it's your sixth child you realize all those other trinkets and gadgets that everyone tells you that you have to have, are just a joke. You make it as difficult or as easy as you choose. We choose simplicity...

Autumn...Perfection!

  

  Is it just me, or is anyone else ready for fall? It's my absolute favorite time of year! And this heat has not been my friend the last few weeks. I adore the sunshine, but this pregnant body is craving some cool crisp autumn air! I can't wait till I can actually put on a pair of great fitting jeans, and actually be comfortable. I seem to be expanding by the minute this pregnancy and I'm not sure the next 5 weeks are going to be very pleasant. So this outfit from early this year that I posted is calling my name. 

  Won't it be wonderful to bundle up, drink a hot Pumpkin Spice Latte (fully caffeinated), and have the air smelling like football season! I will miss the smokey scents coming from all the wood burning stoves back home mingled with the sound of rainfall, but I will enjoy the sunshine that comes with the cool crisp air here in the desert. Kind of a "having my cake and eat it too" place I live! Gets freezing cold, yet is sunshine for miles in the wide open sky. Ahh, Perfection!! The best bonus of them all is that it also means our little baby will be arriving! Can't wait to meet this little one... :)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

¹For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ²a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; ³a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ⁷a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.

Blessings~Heather

Encouragement