mrsmegmcclure's Xanga

Reflections on 9/11

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 20:42:04 GMT

Where were you five years ago today? That is the question of the day as we observe the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I must say that life for me five years ago is drastically different than it is today. I was a single working mom and I was at work when I heard news of the attack. Howard ,a national guardsman who worked on our table, told my friend Rena and I that a plane had just crashed into the WTC. The news had not said who was behind the attacks yet but Howard knew,I assume because of his military experience, that it was Bin Laden. I quickly called my mother, who worked in the same building, to see if she heard anymore news. She told me that the second building had just been hit. Its hard to describe the feelings I felt that day , a mix of fear and confusion, wondering what was going to happen next. As the news of the attacks spread through the building there was a plant wide break to have a few minutes of prayer. After work that day I went to TN with my boyfriend ,now husband, and my children. We discussed with my IL's if and where the terrorists would hit next. Atlanta,Chattanooga,and Oak Ridge were all within a pretty close vicinity of where we lived and the local news was commenting that they could be possible targets. My husband and FIL ,in a good 'ole boy fashion, were discussing arming themselves against any Muslims they might come in contact with. Not that it would be very likely they'd ever have come in contact with any as we live in a white Bible-thumping Baptist county. Two emotions I remember vividly that day was a strong sense of patriotism and also strong feelings of hate towards these people who had just attacked our great nation. It was time when the air was thick with a spirit of being united in our patriotism regardless of our race, color, creed, or political affiliation.
Fast forward five years later as we observe the memorial of this tragic event. We watched "Flight 93" today and it was a good movie. It was tough to watch and those feelings of hate really bubble to the surface. I have to fight this emotion and remember we are to pray for enemies. On that note I will be saying prayers today not only for the families of those affected by 9/11 and our troops fighting in the mideast but also for these terrorists and the rest of the muslims in the world that G*d may soften their hearts and lead them to faith in our Messiah, Yeshua. We should keep the people of Israel in our prayers as well. Septemeber 11 was a tragic event, and though it may not be on the same scale, the Israelis face terrorist attacks on nearly a daily basis. May G*d's Will be done and may Yeshua come quickly so that his Shalom may reign supreme throughout all the earth.
In closing I have exciting news to share. I was contacted today by a woman in a neighboring town about a new Messianic Congregation. It is small, about 50 members, but they have moved into a store in Cleveland and are "going public". Baruch HaShem!! I had about given up hope that I would find like-minded fellowship due to the rural area we live in but the L*rd answers our prayers....PTL.....perhaps just not on my impatiently set time table!!! I emailed Serena back about the location and details on the fellowhip and I am anxiously awaiting her reply. Perhaps,HaShem willing, we will be fellowshipping with like-minded believers this week.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 04:27:38 GMT

Now time to delve into some "meaty" issues that I was to tired to begin last night. While I was sick I missed the opportunity to blog about a time we have entered into called Teshuva which began on the first day of Elul(August 25th). Teshuva is a Hebrew word that means "returning" and is closely associated with the English word "repentance". The Hebrew root of teshuva literally means "to turn" and it implies turning toward something and away from something else. This time period,Teshuva, is 40 day period which culminates with the ten High Holy Days beginning on Rosh Hoshana and ending with Yom Kippor(Day of Atonement). As we enter into these 40 days it is a time for introspection,seeking the sin in our lives, repenting of it to both G*d and those whom we have offended, and returning to Him and His will in our lives. I am currently working through a four week study on Teshuva and watching Perry Stone's Manna Feast. You can watch Manna Feast online at http://www.voiceofevangelism.org/video.cfm. Perry Stone is a traveling COG pastor based in Cleveland,TN and he is joined on the show by Bill Cloud,a Messianic pastor, also based out of Cleveland. Bill Cloud is hosting a Hebrew Roots conference during Hanukkah that I am really looking forward to attending!! See http://www.billcloud.org/Restore.htm for details on the conference. Jessie I'd love for you to attend one evening with us. Anyways before I chase this rabbit trail any further let me steer myself back on course.The kids and I have been reading Psalm 27 together everyday and we are working on memorizing both that and the thirteen attributes listed in Exodus 34:6-7. Tonight I have been working through the first weeks devotion,though I am a week behind due to this illness, and it instructs me to reflect on the sin in my life. Here are several areas I need to work on:

I need to approach Torah with others in love. My mother,bless her heart,will debate with me to no end on the validity of Torah and I am constantly being drawn into long discussions which end in accusing each other of being wrong. She is set in her ways and trying to "shake the foundation" of what she was raised to believe by quoting Scripture is not going to work. My best approach is to live this life obedient to God's will and let her see the changes in me. In doing so I pray she will want to research what brought these changes over me. The second person I need to model this life of obedience rather than criticism is with my DH. This area is much harder for me as he agrees that the Torah is still valid today but drags his feet in implementing it into his life. I must realize I cannot force him into anything but rather be a model for him and pray fervently that he returns wholeheartedly to his Faith. The third area is not a person but a group that I have shunned in my zeal for Torah life. I was quick to leave the church behind in search of a Messianic Congregation. We have had no luck finding one and I truly do miss fellowship with believers. We may not agree on everything but at one time I had those blinders on myself. Perhaps G*d can use me to show others that His will and commands are eternal but once again I must remember to do so in love.
The second area I need to work on is submission to my DH. I really struggle in this area and am praying that G*d gives me a gentle and submissive spirit towards him. I need to let him be the head of this family as G*d has intended. I am still reluctant to relinquish spiritual headship to him at this time. I am working on this but I am not comfortable with him leading this family spiritually. He was not raised in a religious home and does not study to improve this situation so I have a really hard time letting him make decisions in this area. I truly believe there are times that G*d can use the woman to lead her family, and that it is her duty,when her husband is not doing so himself. What are ya'lls thoughts on this?
A third area I need to work on is ridding myself of idols. Now mind you I am not worshipping a statue as if it is G*d but I have a few things in my life that take time away from Him and that is essentially what a idol is. This computer is a huge idol for me. I've been tempted many times to just turn off the internet and rid myself of the temptation but I need to find a "happy medium". I use this computer to access Hebrew Roots/Messianic message boards and groups and that is the only fellowship I have with like-minded believers at this time. I also use it for teaching my DC both educationally and spiritually. However, there are many useless things I do online and to many hours wasted that could be better spent in Bible study,prayer,and with my family. The TV can also become a idol for me and I find myself often watching shows that I barely have a interest in. I need to turn it off a lot more and not be distracted by the background noise.
A fourth area also deals with television and movies as well. Over the course of the last year I have purged myself of books that weren't christian in nature,other than a few political books,I have narrowed my library down to Christian/Messianic fiction and non-fiction. Oh, and my homeschooling books as well. Although I have taken some steps in the area of television and movie entertainment I have not come nearly far enough. My mom has been calling me on this lately with a few things that I have been watching with the kids. Her big gripe was wrestling. I justified this by I watched it when I was growing up and it only has a few bad things in it. Well earlier this week I was "put in my place" so to speak by the following article:

BROWNIES WITH A DIFFERENCE
( by Stanten Sikes )

Many parents are hard pressed to explain to their youth why some music, movies, books, and magazines are not acceptable material for them to bring into the home or to listen to or see. One parent came up with an original idea that is hard to refute.

The father listened to all the reasons his children gave for wanting to see a particular PG-13 movie. It had their favorite actors. Everyone else was seeing it. Even church members said it was great. It was only rated PG-13 because of the suggestion of sex -- they never really showed it. The language was pretty good -- the Lord's name was only used in vain three times in the whole movie. The teens did admit there was a scene where a building and a bunch of people were blown up, but the violence was just the normal stuff. It wasn't too bad. And, even if there were a few minor things, the special effects were fabulous and the plot was action packed.

However, even with all the justifications the teens made for the '13' rating, the father still wouldn't give in. He didn't even give his children satisfactory explanation for saying, "No." He just said, "No!"

A little later on that evening the father asked his teens if they would like some brownies he had baked. He explained that he'd taken the family's favorite recipe and added a little something new. The children asked what it was. The father calmly replied that he had added dog poop!! However, he quickly assured them, it was only a little bit. All the other ingredients were gourmet quality and he had taken great care to bake the brownies at the precise temperature for the exact time. He was sure the brownies would be superb.

Even with their father's promise that the brownies were of almost perfect quality, the teens would not take any. The father acted surprised. After all, it was only one small part that was causing them to be so stubborn. He was certain they would hardly notice it. Still the teens held firm and would not try the brownies.

The father told his children how the movie they wanted to see was just like the brownies. Satan tries to enter our minds and our homes by deceiving us into believing that just a little bit of evil won't matter. But, the truth is even a little bit of poop makes the difference between a great treat and something disgusting and totally unacceptable.

The father went on to explain that even though the movie industry would have us believe that most of today's movie are acceptable fare for adults and youth, they are not. Now, when this father's children want to see something that is of questionable material, the father merely asks them if they would like some of his special dog poop brownies. That closes the subject.

Put the movie you want to see to the test. Would you be comfortable taking Christ with you?

It really makes you think doesn't it? Especially asking yourself if you would take Jesus with you to watch this movie or television program. I'll be the first to admit there is A LOT that I watch that I would never think of taking Him to see!!! This is going to be very hard for me ,though I know it shouldn't be, as what little I have changed so far has taken awhile and a lot of effort. I know that with the L*rds help I can and will make this changes no matter how much the selfish part of me wants to say,"its just a little bit of bad stuff". I guess I will close on this topic for the night but I will be sharing my thoughts and musings on the second weeks devotion tomorrow.

Jason goes back to work tomorrow,a day earlier than he thought, he called in to talk to someone this evening and he said he'd see him tomorrow. This schedule is so messed up even my DH can't keep up with it...LOL. He was also told they are going to begin cutting back hours until after Christmas. While I love having my DH home more with only one income this slow season hurts. He was talking about picking up a part-time job if it got to bad but I really don't want it to come to this. I love him for even considering this,rather than having me go back to work, but I believe G*d will bring us through this slow season. I suppose that is a area I should have touched on above we both need to learn to be better stewards of our money. Even if they cut his hours back to the 40 hours they were talking about this is still more than we were making when we were both working in Georgia. I suppose we have both become accustomed to the higher income and will have to make some cut backs if it does indeed get very slow. On another note Jason did finish the chicken coop today and our new bantams,Abraham and Sarah,are happily residing in their new home tonight. We did underestimate the amount of chicken wire we needed to make the run so they are confined to the chicken house until Jason gets another day off. I believe that the next day will be Monday or perhaps I can get out there and finish it up for him while he is at work. At least I won't have to be roused out of sleep at the crack of dawn anymore. I am not a morning person and that was getting rather old...LOL.
Well I am going to sign off for the night. I have to get Jason's uniforms laid out and read through this week's Torah portion. Take care ya'll.....

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 07:22:41 GMT

Finally I am back to civilization and feeling pretty good. I have been battling a fierce flu bug for two weeks and unfortunatly this blog got put on the back burner. I feel somewhat guilty for neglecting it for so long. Please bare with me as I try to make sense out of the million thoughts that are swirling around in my brain just dying to come out in type. I may skip around a bit but hopefully I'll get to all the things that I've been "storing away" during my convalescence.
Lets see the most recent happening was our trip to the county fair this weekend. It truly was a enjoyable experience. I love small town life and the county fair exemplifies so many aspects that I love. It is almost as if you step back in time as you stroll through the showbarn to view the different types of livestock, the contests for canning,gardening,quilting,purses,clothing,etc. and all the booths set up for local politicians and businesses. As you walk the aisles bluegrass music calls you to sit down and take a breather. What a feeling it was sitting amongst the people of this small town,friends and neighbors you haven't seen in awhile, and belting out some gospel hymns or a good ole' renditions of "Rocky Top" while catching up on each other's lives. I truly love this town,despite my occasional gripe about the distance to civilization,I would not trade this rural life for anything. We went two nights,one night to walk around and one night took the kids to ride rides. The night we took the kids to ride it was a beautiful evening right up until we were getting our armbands. As I was getting mine the "bottom fell out of it". We ran through the torrential downpour to seek shelter in the showbarn. We were really worried that the rain wasn't going to let up but no way were we leaving after we shelled out $75 for armbands. We ordered some chicken and enjoyed some music while we waited for the rain to stop. After thirty minutes of pouring rain it finally slowed to a light drizzle. Jason and I agreed we just had to deal with it and headed out to let the kids enjoy the rides. Cole(2) rode everything he was big enough to get on including the ferris wheel that I was to scared to get on. He really surprised me as the last time we went to Dollywood he was frightened of almost all the rides. The only adult rides they had were the "dizzy" rides,which Jason hates, so he gladly took Hope and Cole to the kiddie rides while Juan and I rode the "grown-up" rides . I snapped a few pics but most were pretty blurry as the rides were in motion. I especially like the one of Jason squeezed into the kids airplane ride...LOL.

**Click to see larger size**

I couldn't get any good pics of Cole as he was to busy having fun to flash mom a few grins to show how much he was enjoying the fair. You can see the back of his head in the one picture where they are on the swings but that is as good as it gets. We spent a few hours there and everyone came home and collapsed from exhaustion. Poor Cole he can't seem to understand that the fair has packed up and moved to the next town. Every morning he wakes up and says he is going to the fair today. We may actually go to the town it moved to,Athens,since Rachel didn't get to go this weekend.

Friday afternoon Jason took me to the doctor and we stopped by the local pharmacy on the way home to fill my RX's. Two of the employees attend the Baptist church we used to visit and everytime we go to the pharmacy they invite us to church. *Note to self: I must train my husband to better explain our Faith*. We went through the drive thru to pick up my 'scripts and the woman tells Jason we should start coming back to First Baptist. My husband says,"Well we would but we got involved in Messianic Judaism". Okay already at this point he already makes it sound as if we've joined some forbidden cult but it gets worse. The woman gets this dumbfounded look on her face and says,"What is that?". Jason looks at her and serious as can be says,"We worship the Jewish Messianic.". At this point the lady is completely lost and for good reason what kind of answer is that??!!?? He made it sound as if we've joined this cult that worships some Jewish guy. I really wanted to sink under the seat in embarrasment and I am looking for the pastor to visit us any day now. I am sure the pastor knows what Messianic Judaism is but I still look for visitors to convince us that we shouldn't "put ourselves under the Old Law". In my husband's defense he is new to this and was kind of put on the spot. It really isn't easy to explain(especially in a short conversation) and I don't know that she would have understood my explanation,Torah-Observant Christian,any better. At any rate I am brushing up on my theology points in case I have to "debate" with the pastor or whomever may visit.

Today we went to Home Depot and the Farmer's Coop to buy feed and supplies to build a chicken coop. Oops, I forgot to mention that above that my husband decided to purchase a pair of bantam chickens at the county fair. His reasoning was that he always wanted to buy them when he was a kid and his mom would never let him have any so he was going to make sure our kids had them. I don't mind having the chickens and it'll be nice to get farm fresh eggs every week but he should have been prepared to house them. They have been staying in a rabbit cage in the living room for the past couple of days. He won't put them outside in this makeshift coop because he is afraid that the dogs or cats will get them. Both his parents and mine think we are crazy for having chickens in the house but until he gets the coop fixed we're stuck with them. He has the basic frame finished although the thing is far from sturdy. My DH by no means is a carpenter and he's to proud to call and ask my Dad to help him out. He insists he knows what he is doing but I fear this thing is going to collapse and the chickens are going to be running free in the yard. I can help him,I grew up with "Jim the Builder" so I have a idea of what I'm doing, but he thinks I'm a girl and couldn't possibly know anything about this "man's work"...LOL. So I'm going to let him have at and if it falls to pieces then maybe he will accept my help.

Well I still have so much to say but I've gotta get my behind into bed or I will be sleeping in 'til noon tomorrow. On that note I will end with To Be Continued.......

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 03:41:29 GMT

A woman in my Hebrew Roots group sent out a link for this and I thought it was neat so I had to share. You can get your own at http://www.aish.com/a/myhebrewbirthday/ and you can find out your hebrew name at http://www.my-hebrew-name.com/. This new editor is driving me crazy I can't get a hyperlink to work at all. The button doesn't work and I can't even put my own HTML to make it work. I don't understand what is going on with it. I guess the "old-fashioned" cut and paste will have to do...LOL. I can't get this graphic to blow up to full-size either. I'm just not having much luck with this blog tonight. I had plans to do a layout overhaul but at this rate I don't know if that would be a wise use of my time.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 02:51:30 GMT

We watched Talladega Nights tonight,well half of it anyways. I had high hopes for this movie as the trailers looked hilarious. I was almost immediately turned off by the fact there is no real storyline during the first 20-30 minutes of the movie. The attempts at comedy rarely were funny and there were a few scenes bordering on sacrilegious. I tried to ignore these scenes hoping for some kind of plot to unfold. Eventually there is a storyline about Ricky Bobby's rival with a gay Formula One driver who comes to Nascar. Of course they had to throw in the gratuitous gay kiss and poke fun at Nascar-watching southern people. Now I know its all meant in fun but I readily admit this kind of comedy simply isn't my cup of tea. Perhaps I get offended to easily and some will say I didn't give the movie a fair chance but my DH was the one to suggest not finishing it. I was surprised as he usually likes these kinds of "stupid" comedies but he said this one wasn't worth finishing.
There is a movie coming out in a few months that I am anxiously awaiting called "One Night With The King". It is based on a novel about Esther. I read the book this weekend and my what a page turner!! I finished the book in two days as I simply could not put it down. Esther is one of my favorite books of the Bible and it makes sense to make a novel about it as it reads like a novel in the Bible. There is a second book in this series,"Hadassah Covenant", which I hope to order this weekend.
I remembered one of the things I forgot to post about earlier so I have to include it here. I bought a Cleveland paper Sunday after reading the headline about a murder in Polk County. We live in a very rural area and this isn't something you see everyday. A car was discovered burning with a person inside by visitors to a local national forest. It was a gang related murder involving the MS13(a El Salvadorian gang). Its very scary as I honestly thought we had moved far away from hispanic gang central of Dalton,Ga. It seems there is a growing population of hispanic immigrants in Cleveland. I cannot say I'm thrilled and my knee-jerk reaction to Jason was to say its time to move somewhere up in the mountains,Tellico or Reliance. I know that seems racist but I've seen how a good community can be destroyed by a influx of hispanic immigrants. I'd like to think our city is safe from this as it isn't a very diverse area to put it nicely. However, Cleveland is really close to us and the body was found not far from our house. Ugh...why can our congress not take their heads out of their rear ends and see that there is little good to come of allowing these open borders to continue unabated. I know to them they see these illegals as little more than cheap labor for their deep pockets but here in the real world we reap the effects of increased violence,drug problems,a burden on welfare services, and communication problems in our schools and business'. I am so disappointed with the so-called Reps in government and I cannot see any viable alternative in the Dams. Sometimes, I have these daydreams of buying many acres of land in the mountains and going off the grid. The whole "compound" living is in my blood,LOL,but Id like to take it one step further of being as self-sufficient as possible. I suppose that would tie in to my fears that the world is approaching the dark days of the end times when all the "luxeries" of modern life may no longer be available. I'd have a lot of stuff to learn to be able to live "off-grid" and a lot of luxuries that I would have a hard time living without. For right now all this can amount to is a daydream as we aren't in a position to attain this dream but who knows what could happen in the future.
Well I've got to get Jason some clothes in the dryer and try to get some sleep. Goodnight.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:43:54 GMT

How do y'all like the new layout? It took two days and I haven't got the text color quite right yet. It will have to do for now as I am feeling pretty "under the weather". Cole has had a cold for about a week and I caught it a few days ago but ten times worse. I spent two days only doing basic cleaning and cooking with the rest of my time spent huddled up under blankets on the couch. Yesterday I finally got enough energy to go out of the house. We went to Athens to eat at Monterray's. What a temptation that was!!!! My absolute favorite mexican food,other than a Torta which isn't available here,is tamales but they are stuffed with pork so are now a no-no!!! I resisted the temptation and settled for steak fajitas which were really good. Jason took me to a Christian Store Outlet when we left the resturaunt. The prices were really cheap and they had a great selection. Normally, I can spend hours looking in these stores but they didn't have buggies and Cole wanted to pull everything off the shelves. Needless to say we only spent a few minutes searching for the second book in the series I'm reading before leaving. The book,Hadassah Covenant,was out of stock but I'll go back later when I'm better prepared. We stopped at the Etowah Depot to let Cole see the trains. As we were walking towards a train car they have you can walk through Cole looks up at me and says,"Mommy, it boo-t-ful." That is the closest I can get to how he said it. It was so adorable and Jason and I had quite a laugh over it. We didn't make it in time to walk through the museam but I snapped a few pics of the train car:

Cole had a really great time playing in the train and he did not want to leave. My MIL gave us a "out" though when she called to say they were back from SC with her mother and she wanted us to come over for dinner. My DH's grandmother brought boxes full of toys for the kids. Just what they needed!! As if that wasn't bad enough Cole got a box of toys and I swear everyone of them was some type of noisemaking toys. Why do grandparents feel the need to purchase noise-making toys that they wouldn't want in their own house. *Note to self do not do this to my own dear children when I become a grandparent*LMBO. She also brought me a bunch of pots and pans which you can never have to many of. We tried to explain to them about taking a trip and not celebrating Xmas. I thought it was going to be hard to tell my mother but telling my inlaws was excruciating. They aren't very religious to begin with so when you try to explain to them about it having pagan origins and not being biblical they just kind of gave us these blank stares. They cannot figure why the heck we would deprive our children of toys,Santa,etc. I give up on trying to get them to understand. We talked it over with the kids and they are fine with it and really looking forward to the Smokies trip.

My sewing machine arrived in the mail today. YAY!! I was really suprised that it arrived here so soon. I just recieved shipping confirmation Saturday. I haven't got a chance to try it out yet but when I get off here I'm going to read the owner's manual before Jason gets home. Jess, if you're going to be home Saturday I may have Jason come pick up the sewing table. I think I'm going to move one of the chairs I have in the living room into my bedroom and put the table back there. I had the computer desk in that corner for awhile so it should all fit nicely. Well I do have to get off here though I am sure I left some stuff out but I'll touch on that later when it comes to mind. Take care all....

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 04:45:53 GMT

I finally did it...I ordered the sewing machine I have been drooling over for the past six months. I just couldn't say one more time when I get my sewing machine I am going to make "such and such". Shhh...I didn't tell Jason but I've got some money I've been putting in the account from paypal so I could buy it. When it arrives at the doorstep I'll tell him about it. As I was about to pay $70 for a tallit I thought it would be much better to put that money towards a sewing machine so I can make my own. Here it is:

http://www.hsn.com/cnt/prod/default.aspx?webp_
id=2259688&web_id=2259688&sf=
ct&dept=ct0052&cat=ct0053&prev=hp!sf!dept!cat

I got it on HSN for $249.99 but I opted for the flex-pay plan consisting of four payments of $62.49. I'm not sure how long it will take for it to get here but I cannot wait. I see a fabric/pattern shopping expedition in my future. Now that I can check that off my wishlist I need to start saving for a new all-in-one printer, a digital camera, and a bread machine...LOL.
Well I'm going to get off here and get the kitchen straightened up...take care y'all...

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 23:15:53 GMT

Here are a few more pages I did today. They turn out pretty small in a blog entry but you can click them to see a larger size.

Sharing Today's Creations

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 07:26:54 GMT

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:47:24 GMT

We had another wonderful Shabbat. It is such a blessing to relax from the hustle and bustle of life and refocus our attention on HaShem. Since the kids were not here last weekend we picked up last week's parsha,Va'etchanan,this week. Va'etchanan(Dueteronomy 3:23-7:11) covers the Shema and the retelling of the Ten Commandments. This week's Hebrew letter was(noon) pronounced like the english N. The kids completed their Torah Club booklet,read a story based on this week's portion from the Family Parsha site, and watched a Torah Tots video. They drew and cut out a picture of a scroll with the Shema wrote on it in English and Hebrew to hang in their rooms. We also made mezuzahs. A mezuzah is a small box that contains certain portions from the Torah. They wrote the Shema on a small piece of construction paper and rolled it up like a scroll and placed it in the box. The mezuzahs were taped to their bedroom door frames. I'm now trying to get them in the practice of going into the room and touching the box and sending up a quick prayer of thanks to G*d for giving us His love and mercy and His Word. I also got them started in the Adam to Abraham unit study. I discussed Genesis with them to spark their interest and had a discussion on what they already know. I wrote key events and characters from Genesis on index cards and the kids had to put them in chronological order. The first attempt they cannot use any reference and they only mixed up 4 out of 15. The next attempt I let them use their Day by Day Kid's Bible and they got them all in the correct order. We covered how the books of the Old and New Testaments are grouped and they made a drawing to help them remember. I read to them from Who's Who in The Bible and we watched Genesis(The Bible Collection). We covered the first two steps of the 4mat method:

Excite
Examine
Expand
Excel

Tomorrow they will begin working on step three and will have to do one of the following:

Create a outline of Genesis 1-12
Write a summary paragraph for each of the key events of Genesis 1-12
Create a Time Line or Story Board on Genesis 1-12

We spent 7-8 hours covering everything today. I tried to take a break a couple of times but they did not want to stop. Needless to say I didn't get to work through my own FFOZ materials today. I did read the parsha and listened to the audio commentary last night while I was preparing the kids materials. When they go to bed tonight I'll finish up with the written commentary and questions.
My DH and I came to a decision tonight on Xmas. Rachel has been making a "wish list" all weekend of what she wants so we decided it was time to explain we won't be observing Xmas this year. Instead we are going to take the money we would spend on gifts and rent a cabin in Smokies for a week. I was prepared to hear cries of protest but they were thrilled with the idea of vacationing in Pigeon Forge. We will leave out the day after Xmas since we do have to make visits to our families. I'd like to leave out Xmas morning but I expect they'll be quite a outcry over us not observing it here. If we don't visit their houses either I imagine it would be a big argument so I will settle for the later departure. We are going to try to make this a annual trip that way they will have something to take their mind off of what they are "missing out on". Of course we will still celebrate Yeshua's birth but we will do so during Sukkot which is most likely the actual day of His birth. There is a interesting article about that
HERE.
My DC are finally in the bed so I am going to get off of here and read over my Torah Club material.
Blessings.....