Saving pennies

Along the lines of domesticity and generally (prayerfully) being a better steward of God's blessings on our family.  A few months ago, the kids and I started a special change saving can that sits on the bookcase in our kitchen.  It was just a plain old large coffee can that we covered with some neat wrapping paper and cut a hole in the plastic lid.

We dump loose change in - coins found in the laundry or in pockets or at the bottom of my purse or in Steve's car.
After lunch today the kids & I took the can- now full - to the credit union/bank to be counted and deposited.  We had over $200 in loose change accumulated in just about 3 months!  Definitely worth saving those pennies!

New Dinner Hit

In my quest to be more blissfully domestic I have been gaining ground in my kitchen culinary adventures.  Fancy verbiage for I'm getting better with new recipes that people will actually eat in my family.
Last night I attempted calzones for the first time ever and they were a success!  I used my normal pizza dough recipe (I have been making home-made pizza for several months now) and cut the dough into 4 chunks before rolling it out - not too thin - filling it and crimping the edges.  For the kids I made just regular sauce/cheese - sort of a pizza sandwich. 

Steve & I enjoyed BBQ chicken w/ carmelized onions & cheese.  It was very yummy! 
And as a bonus - because I made 4 of them (2 each variety) - all 5 of us had dinner last night and I have 1 each left in the freezer for when I am away so the "boys" will have an easy dinner one night.

Great bumper sticker

Testing Week

It has arrived... our week of standardized testing for both the kids.  I know there are many arguments around the benefits of standardized testing for children.  I am not generally a big fan of standardized testing as a method of determining progress or proof of learning for a student.  Our state does not require testing for students who are home schooled unless the parent chooses that method for assessment purposes.
Our family does standardized testing every-other-year for both of the kids.  It is for informational and experiential purposes only.  I do not submit the scores to anyone for proof of their accomplishments as home-schoolers.  We do a portfolio review each year with a state certified (and designated Highly Qualified) teacher that is then submitted to our district as proof of their progress for the year.
I first chose to do a standardized test in a fit of insecurity.  As home schoolers - heck, as women/mothers - we are all known to have those moments where we doubt ourselves and our choices.  I really KNEW the kids were learning a lot, but still had that nagging...'how do they compare' thing in the back of my head.  So I did some research and after finding a place where I could secure testing materials for the kids - we did the testing - got back great scores and moved on. Nothing earth shattering, they didn't have any test anxiety or anything.  Just another unique experience.
2 years ago we had the opportunity with our standardized testing cycle to be part of a national study commissioned by HSLDA to look at the scores of home schooled students and see how we (as a group) stack up.  We chose to participate and the kids did excellent that year (mommy brag - they were 97th and 99th percentile overall).
This year we scheduled our testing for the last week of March as J and I will be traveling to Ohio for a big home school convention at the beginning of April and it made sense to test and then have a fun trip as break time.
I think it is good for them both to have the experience of standardized testing. They will most likely have to take the SAT and ACT for college and this is prep for those higher stakes tests in a small way.  They also enjoy the opportunity to do something different and get a kick out of seeing their numbers when the results come back.  And it is always a plus to have something concrete in hand if the need should ever arise to justify ourselves to the establishment or just for the grandparents to have for bragging purposes. :-)

Chapter 18 Key Players & Historical Context

1. The classical culture of ancient Rome was the historical setting into which Christ & Christianity was born.
2. Constantine I was the emperor who called for the Council of Nicea because he was trying to unite the empire and the church.  His motto included the phrase "one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor"
3. The central issue of the controversy was the one surrounding the person and the work of Jesus Christ.
4. Arius was a priest from Alexandria who rose to fame (or notoriety) for teaching the Jesus was not God, but was a lesser creation.
5. Athanasius was a deacon who was an assistant to the Bishop Alexander of Alexandria.  He became a force through his zeal and unrelenting protection of orthodoxy in the church.
6. The men who attended the Council of Nicea were well aware of its significance.  This was the first ecumenical council since Acts 15 in the days of the apostles.  They knew this was history in the making.

Chapter 17 The Life of the World to Come

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

1. Christians live a life of hope based on the resurrection of Christ and the promise of eternal life with Him.
2. What you believe about what the future holds influences the way you live in the present.
3. The Creed connects the eternal with the present by pointing us forward, giving us a trumpet call to live a life of hope, of faith in Christ that shine optimistically in this dark world.  Not in a foolish, dreamer or Pollyanna-ish way, but in a firm belief in the promises of the One who gave Himself for us.
4. Death doesn't have a "grip" on Christians because in Christ's resurrection, death has been overcome.  There is nothing to fear, only cause for joy & hope.
5. If death is the final weapon, the enemies of Christianity are always frustrated because it has no sting for a follower of Christ.
6. Paul summarizes things perfectly in Philippians 1:21  ...to live is Christ and to die is gain.
7. Verses:
   Phil 3:7-14  But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
   Rev. 20: 6  Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
   Acts 24: 14-16  However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
   1 Peter 1: 3-9  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Chapter 16 One Baptism

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

1.  Christ specifically calls out baptism in the Great Commission given to the apostles (and therefore the church) in Matthew 28.
2.  Baptism is a unique sign, given to the church, of the ongoing apostolic mission of the church.
3/4/5.  Baptism is a sign of unity among God's people, brought together in Christ.  Ephesians 4:1-6 points to the unity we all must share in Christ as the church, becoming one body of Christ - called to do His will and work in this fallen world.
6.  Baptism is NOT the cause of the forgiveness of sins.
7.  Baptism is an outward sign pointing to or proclaiming our salvation from sin through Christ Jesus.
8. Verses:
Mark 16:16 "...Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
John 3:5  Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
Acts 1:5  "...For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Acts 2:38  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:47-48   Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
1 Cor 12:13   For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.