A Song that is Dear to Me...

Click on the link below to hear this song...I also posted the lyrics...this song is so uplifting to my soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7bE_y75AA&feature=related

Mighty To Save
by Hillsong Australia

Everyone needs compassion,

Love that's never failing;

Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,

The kindness of a Saviour;

The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to save,

He is Mighty to save.

Forever,

Author of salvation,

He rose and conquered the grave,

Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,

All my fears and failures,

Fill my life again.

I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in,

Now I surrender.

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to save,

He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,

He rose and conquered the grave,

Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,

We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus (x2)

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to save,

He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,

He rose and conquered the grave,

Jesus conquered the grave.

My Saviour, you can move the mountains,

You are mighty to save,You are mighty to save.

Forever, Author of Salvation,

You rose and conquered the grave,

Yes you conquered the grave

Sprinting Turtle Coming Thru!!!!

Turtle Anyone???

Today on the way home from school I saw this big turtle hastily crossing the street. I love turtles and pulled over and grabbed him. All the way home in the car he climbed all over the floor. My brother had to make sure he didn't climb under my seat and out by my feet as I was driving. He was HUGE! He was almost the size of a 12 inch dinner plate. He was not afraid of me and actually scratched me with his looooong claws. This guy/girl is definitely a land turtle...I'd never seen 1 inch claws on a turtle before! At home I had fun snapping some cool pics of him before letting him go free to find some dinner in the garden outback. I couldn't believe how quickly he could run...yes...this turtle was literally sprinting away from me when I put him down. It was hilarious to behold. I laughed when I saw how the pic turned out with me holding the turtle....I look like a waitress offering fresh turtle or something...but I posted it so you could see the size of this guy! I'll have to google him figure out what kind he is...let me know if you find out what type he is. I don't think he's an Eastern Box Turtle, but I could be wrong.

Yes, I am a Nature Girl

Yes, I am a nature girl. I have always loved, and still love bugs, snakes, turtles, and all manor of creeping, crawling critters. I happened to be walking through the woods behind my house and spotted a rotten log. That's were these big, black, hissing 1 1/2 inch beetles live. My brother and I used to catch these suckers all the time when we were kids and keep them for weeks. They are still so cool!

The 912 Project

It's not all about red states or blue states...but the United States...take times to check out the 912 Project. Good stuff.

http://www.the912project.com/

My Lips Will Praise You - My heart's song today

This is the song of my heart for today...Worship songs are some of the best ways to dwell upon the LORD. My soul is nourished by the spiritual feast He daily sets before me. I love this song...it's one of my favorites.

My Lips Will Praise You...

My lips will praise You

For You are holy

My voice will ever rise

Before Your throne

My heart will love You

For You are lovely

And You have called me

To become Your own

I am Your own

And I will worship You alone

I am Your own

I am Your child

I am Your own

And I will worship at Your throne

I am Your own

And I will love You

Soft Summer Morning...

We have one of those Topsy Turvy tomato growers. Basically the tomato plant is grown upside down. There's a green, canvas bucket with a hole in the bottom. When the plant is small, it is inserted in the hole and held in place with foam that fits snuggly in the hole. And the canvas bucket is filled with dirt of course. You just pour water and plant food in the top of this doohickey and it works like a charm. At first I didn't think we'd get any tomatoes, now the plant has had a growth explosion!!!

I love taking pics of cool looking mushrooms. Some of them are simply disgusting to look at, but then others, like this one, have such beautiful texture.

Find this itsy-bitsy spider web in a little hole near our house. The whole thing was about 2"x2".

Flowers are so photogenic...guess that's why I like to take pictures of them all the time.

These pink flowers are just the one's we've got planted around the mailbox. They're so pretty.

Just some more smiling flowers around the house.

Outrageous LOVE!!!

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did ever such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross,

O the wonderful cross

Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live

O the wonderful cross,

O the wonderful cross

All who gather here by grace draw near and bless

Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were an offering far too small

Love so amazing, so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all

~by Chris Tomlin~

This is the song of my heart today, tomorrow - FOREVER!!! I am so thankful for all that God has done for me. I praise him for the fact that when I look at the cross, I am reminded that I am forever FREE!!!

He owed me nothing. My sins were hideous in the sight of my sinless Creator - Holy God. My sins separted me from knowing God and His son Jesus. I owed God a ransom for my trangressions. But there was nothing I could do to earn His favor. I knew even my "good works" were tainted and could not outweigh my bad ones. But Jesus paid my debt for me! He did for me, what I could not do for myself. He made a way for me to get to God!!! "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) My Jesus died on the cross for my sins all because of love. He suffered for me so that I did not have to. I am no longer facing eternal separtation from God...

Unreasonable, unbelievable LOVE! My heart was dying separated from Christ. Now I am united with Christ, my Father and friend. My heart was filthy, but now when God looks at me He sees that through the work of Jesus, my heart is "whiter than snow". (Psalm 51:7) I praise You LORD, for seeking me out, calling me by my name, and establishing with me a personal relationship. I LOVE YOU LORD!!!

Romans 5:7-9:

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

Meet Max

Max is 6' 2". He has sandy blond hair, blue eyes, dark tan skin, big hands – rough from years of hard work, a strong upper body, muscled arms, and a handsome, face-splitting grin. Maxwell is incredibly outgoing and loves people. His precise and clearly articulated words often impress his listeners. He sounds quite intelligent, like a brilliant professor. He strikes up conversations with anyone about anything - anytime, anywhere & anyplace. Often he dominates the conversation with his opinion, sometimes not allowing the other person to get a word in edge-wise. He is not as good a listener as he is a talker. Some of his favorite topics include cars, engines, anything mechanical, anything having to do with air conditioning units, industrial fans, engines, steam powered trains, chimneys, fires and politics (really don't want to get him going on politics!). Often, he fixates on a particular topic far too long, completely unaware of his listener's increasing disinterest or frustration.

His intellectual abilities are far better developed than his social skills. He is extremely egocentric, rarely able to see another person’s viewpoint. Because of this, his ability to empathize with others is poor. Most people assume he is just eccentric - fairly normal for the most part with a few quirks. He is incapable of hiding his feelings and wears his heart on his sleeve. He has a childlike personality and naïve innocence which is clearly seen in his boyish behavior. In spite of his dominating tendencies and seemingly eccentric behavior, his honest personality wins the hearts of many. Others lose patience and seek to be rid of his company as quickly as possible. Some are highly amused, often too amused. They just sit back and tauntingly laugh at him, asking questions which provoke the reaction they find entertaining.

You may be asking what my point is. His description so far most likely describes a number of guys you have encountered. You might be saying: “So what?” However, as you get to know Max better you will see various abnormal patterns in his behavior, mainly in the way he socially interacts and communicates. Remember, you’ve only just met him. These certain abnormal behaviors I mention, become obvious overtime as you begin to interact with Max. Here are some examples of the abnormal behavior I speak of, some of which have already been mentioned: ***The following list of symptoms were taken from various online resources (see bottom of page for more info.)***

"Peculiarities in speech and language"

"Repetitive behaviors or rituals"

"Limited interests or preoccupation with a subject"

"Socially and emotionally inappropriate behavior and interpersonal interaction"

"Problems with nonverbal communication"

"Lack of empathy"

"Clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements"

"Problems with hand-eye coordination and other visual skills"

"Poor pragmatic language skills. (This phrase means that the child does not use the right tone or volume of voice for a specific context, and does not understand that using humorous or slang expressions also depends on a social context.)"

"Learning difficulties - which may range from mild or severe."

These are the basic symptoms of someone with Asperger’s Syndrome. My relative, Max, was born with this syndrome. Thus far you may doubt how pervasive and serious this syndrome is, but as I said, you’ll understand more as you get to know him better. It affects everything social in his life – how he functions in public, one on one, with his mother, with his sisters, with his close friends, with the stranger on the sidewalk, with his boss, with his co-workers, with his neighbors, in a crowd, in a small group…the list is extensive. I hope you’ll stay tuned as I try to define and explain Asperger’s Syndrome. I look forward to sharing with you the many touching, funny, sad, frustrating, and delightful stories about Max’s life.


*Resources Used:

http://www.middisorders.com/

http://www.asperger-advice.com/

http://www.webmd.com/

A Major Force in Education -- Homeschooling in America

A Major Force in Education -- Homeschooling in America

Shared via AddThis

The U.S. Department of Education has released its periodic review of schooling in America, and it offers a revealing look at the growth of homeschooling. The picture of contemporary homeschooling offers some real surprises and raises some new questions.

"The Condition of Education 2009" is produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, and it contains a wealth of statistical data. Approximately 50 million children are enrolled in the public schools for grades K-12. In 2007 5.9 million children were enrolled in private schools and the percentage of those enrolled in "Conservative Christian schools" increased from 13 to 15 percent of that total.

Homeschooling was the choice of families for 2.9 percent of all school-age children in the United States in 2007, involving 1.5 million students......

Click on the link to read the rest of this fantastic article by Dr. Al Mohler.

Worms Anyone?

I love gummy worms. And well there were tubs of them for sale at Wally World (Wal-Mart). I, like the overgrown kid that I am, couldn't resist buying them. Yuuuummm! My favoite are the white and red colored ones.

We Got the Power!!!

My goofy bro. and I. We make a good yard team. By the time we were done mowing, trimming, trimming, and did I mention trimming?....the yard looked beautiful! We tackled some gynormous bushes in front of the house. They thought they were going to take over...we had other plans. I love givin' the bushes a haircut! I love it a little too much actually. I've been known to take the life of a few shrubbs from overtrimming them. We had more leaves and branches to rake when we were done than we do in the Fall!

What we're really like.

Yeeeeehaaaaaah people!!!!

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah!!!!! School's OUT!!!

Come on everybody

It's a zippa dee day

Come on everybody

Do you wanna rock on a doo dah day?

Come on yeah oh

Here we go

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-Ay

My oh my what a wonderful day (Come on sing along)

Plenty of sunshine heading my way

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-Ay

Oh Mr. Blue Bird's on my shoulder (What's up Mr. Blue Bird?)

It's the truth it's actual

And everything is satisfactual

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-Ay

Wonderful feeling wonderful day (Yes sir)

Come on everybody

It's a doo dah day

Come on everybody

And zip this way

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-Ay

Oh my oh my it's a sunshiny day (Sing along)

There's plenty of good times heading my way

Zip zip a dee doo dah

Zip-A-Dee-Ay

Doo dah day

Zip zip a dee

Doo dah day

Doo dah day

Zip zip a dee

Doo dah day ee ay (Man I love this song yes sir)

Brown Sugared Ham....Yum!

A little butter...ok...a lot of butter, a lot of brown sugar and some fresh spiral sliced ham...mmm...mmm. Fry er up til the ham starts to look nice and golden.

A little brown rice. Tastes soooo much better than white. It has a lot more flavor. We sautee' the rice with garlic and onions in olive oil. This makes a delicious rice pilaf. Maybe this healthy stuff will balance out all that brown sugar. ( ;

I hate cabbage! BUT I love it fixed like this. Sautee' it in olive oil with some butter, salt, and pepper.

Add some chunky applesauce and the meal is complete. Yeah...it was reeeeally good. Try it! The time required is only about 30-40 minutes.

Spring is Rockin' and Rollin'

My yard is full of blooms and bees! Here are a few bizillion pics of some of the many flowers growing everywhere! Peonies, Azaleas, and Purple Irises are the most beautiful part of spring.