THEMES OF THE SIXTY-SIX BOOKS OF THE BIBLEConsider the themes of the sixty-six books: In Genesis, He is the Creator God. In Exodus, He is the Redeemer. In Leviticus, He is your sanctification. In Numbers, He is your guide. In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher. In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror. In Judges, He gives victory over enemies. In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer. In I Samuel, he is the root of Jesse; In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David. In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your intercessor and High Priest. In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship. In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies. In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies. In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles,but has the power to do something about them. In Psalms, He is your song-and your reason to sing. In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense of life and liveit successfully. In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity. In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon. In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, theeverlasting father, and more. In short, He's everything you need. In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for yoursin-sick soul. In Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful one upon whom you can depend. In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel-the one whoassures that dry, dead bones will come alive again. In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the everlasting God who never runsout of time. In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to comeback-even when you have abandoned Him. In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble. In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by yourside. In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom. In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will. In Micah, He is judge of the nation. In Nahum, He is the jealous God. In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One. In Zephaniah, He is the witness. In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts. In Malachi, He is the messenger God. In Matthew, He is king of the Jews. In Mark, He is the servant. In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel. In John, He is the Son of God. In Acts, He is Savior of the world. In Romans, He is the righteousness of God. In I Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel. In II Corinthians, He is the triumphant one, giving victory. In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free. In Ephesians, He is head of the Church. In Philippians, He is your joy. In Colossians, He is your completeness. In I Thessalonians, He is your hope. In II Thessalonians, He is your patience and discipline. In I Timothy, He is your faith. In II Timothy, He is your stability. In Titus, He is the truth. In Philemon, He is your benefactor. In Hebrews, He is your perfection. In James, He is the power behind your faith. In I Peter, He is your example. In II Peter, He is your purity. In I John, He is your life. In II John, He is your pattern. In III John, He is your motivation. In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith. In the Revelation, He is your coming King.From the beginning of the world to its end, there is no place you canlook and not see Jesus. He is everywhere. He is everything. "And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1:17)-- Author Unknown

Mommy Space Blog

My mommy blog is off to a great start, so if you haven't visited that site yet, be sure you do! I'm planning on adding a dozen or so more homeschooling links to the sidebar within the next week or so as well as add ways to earn income from home. Those are harder to come by, but I know there is such a demand and I have found a few things that work!

Check out my Mommy Space today!

Making Ends Meet

I wanted to share a link to a wonderful food ministry. This isn't available in every city, but it's worth checking into if you or a loved one is on a tight budget. The ministry is currently available in 32 states and works through churches and community organizations to provide groceries to anyone at about half the price of retail. The program is a super bargain for anyone interested and no questions are asked. Visit Angel Food Ministries for more information. ; )I wish I'd known about this when I was in college!

Faith Building

Well, to date I haven't yet found a work at home opportunity, but I'm trusting God. I know there's a plan! I just don't know what it is. Waiting on God is the perfect opportunity for faith building. If I trust God rather than try and manipulate my situation in some weird way in an attempt to make things happen, I know that when they do happen it will be all His doing. That's all I want!

Here are a few great links for moms!

WAHM.com, but my favorite part of this site is there message board where mom's share ideas about working from home: WAHM message boards.

I also love Club Mom. They too have a great message board: Message Board Index

Another good one is Christian Work At Home Moms.

How Many Hours?

How many hours on the computer is fair when you have little ones at home? I've been looking for home-based employment and so far have found that every opportunity has at least one down side. My newest lead for a job requires a commitment of no less than 30 hours a week including 5 on Saturday.

I've come to accept the reality of the situation... there may not be a perfect fit. Even if I went to work for myself, there'd be no escaping the time commitments that would follow. I haven't worked outside the home in 4 years now and all that time I've been without a car. Motherhood is so much about sacrifice. Being without wheels is not the way I imagined life with kids, but I'm very grateful for what I do have!

I believe that now is the right time for me to find home-based employment, just not sure what that employment should look like, how it will fit into our day, and how my family will adjust to a new schedule. I guess we're all a little spoiled! I just want the perfect answer... is that asking for too much? LOL

Adrianisms

Adrian Rogers (1931-2005)

I'd like to share a few quotes from Adrianisms... The Wit And Wisdom of Adrian Rogers. These may or may not have originated with Adrian, but they stuck with him!

• If you have a Bible that's falling apart, you'll have a life that's not.
• God doesn't want to give you the wings of a dove to fly away; He wants to give you the wings of an eagle to soar over your problems right where you are.
• Knowledge comes from looking around; wisdom comes from looking up.
• Tragically, many of our prayers are so vague that if God were to answer them, we woudn't even know it.
• God loves us just the way we are. But he loves us too much to leave us that way.
• Nothing is more destructive than sin. Sin fascinates, and then it assassinates, Sin thrills, and then it kills.
• Whatever master a man chooses will master the man.
• The difference between the Anti-Christ and Christ is that one gives you a number and the other gives you a name. When Jesus comes, will your name be called or will your number be up?

Links of interest Adrian Rogers ministry: Love Worth Finding

Book may be purchased at: Adrianisms

Reverend Fun

My Mommy Blog

I've started another blog called Mommy Space that will hopefully become a valuable resource for any mother trying to make it all come together for her family. My goal is to provide information on making money from home, educating from home, crafting and cooking with kids, and whatever else pops into my head. ; )

My readers are welcomed and encouraged to provide any links they're aware of that might be beneficial to another mom. If you have a favorite site for coloring book pages for example, or a site that offers inspiration and encouragement to moms, then shoot me an email (see sidebar) or provide the link when you comment. ; )

There's not much to it yet, but here's the link... Mommy Space .

Survey Sites

Here's one of my little stay-at-home mom survival tactics that I thought I'd share with anyone interested. You won't get rich doing this, but registering with survey sites is a great way to earn a little spending money. I've compiled a list of my favorites so far, but because I'm joining new sites all the time... this list is subject to grow! With the exception of #6, 25, 26, & 27 I've been registered with the surveys listed here for no less than a year. I've found them all to be completely legit. Have fun. ; )

1. GoZing
2. Survey Savvy
3. American Consumer Panel
4. Click IQ (pays cash)
5. E-Poll (gift certificates)
6. Marketview Research (recently joined, so far only have tested products)
7. Zoom Panel
8. Brand Institute
9. Macorr
10. NPD Online Research
11. Harris Poll Online
12. NFO MySurvery (cash)
13. Ipsos I-Say Panel
14. Opinion Square (gift certs)
15. Lightspeed (cash)
16. Global Test Market (1000 pts = $50!)
17. Test Spin (gift certificates)
18. Survey Spot (cash)
19. Authentice Response (formally Survey Direct) most surveys pay $2
20. Greenfield Online (cash)
21. OTX (gift certificates)
22. Synovate (a lot of product testing)
23. JD Power & Associates (gift certs)
24. EJury (not a survey, but rather a mock jury, pays $7 a case)
25. Attitudes Accross America (just joined)
26. Opinion Outpost (just joined)
27. Big Look (just joined)

Please feel free to comment on whether you found this post helpful. ; )

My Husband the Comedian

I came home from my Bible study last night and my husband told me he'd had a fight with the UPS man. He then proceeds to tell me how the guy came with computer equipment of some sort & how he'd told him to take it back. That we hadn't ordered whatever was in the box! My heart started to race! I hadn't told him (yet) about the new printer. It wasn't supposed to arrive until July 25th-27th, so I didn't see a need to bring it up just yet.

Anyway, when I asked him how many boxes... he said one, then asked him "are you kidding me?" and he said no... I then let him see my anxiety. "I ordered a printer! I can't afford to pay for them to ship that box twice!" was my response. Then he started laughing at me. "It's in the basement" he told me. Whew!

Guess that's what I get! I wasn't trying to keep secrets... how can you hide a printer after all? I guess I should have maybe mentioned it when I ordered it. I totally believed him at the start because he's the type to do this... to send something back he didn't order. Guess that's a good quality though! Means he's honest! ; )

New Printer!!

I believe in getting excited over the little things. On Monday I ordered a printer, scanner, copier, fax combo made by HP. We've not had a printer for a looooong time. My husband knows how I like to have hard copies of everything & he didn't want to get caught in a loop of buying ink cartridges. So, I've decided that since he takes care of every other expense we have, this would be my baby! That might also help me to limit how much printing I do. I'm on a VERY restricted budget afterall.

I'd accumulated over $150 in Amazon.com gift certificates from taking online surveys... one of my little stay-at-home mom money makers. ; ) How rewarding! In addition to printing off things like recipes and coupons, I plan on using this system to help with our home-schooling endeavors. I'd like to make my own worksheets and coloring pages. Sure beats running to Kinkos!

Should I Write?

While I know it's incredibly difficult to get a children's book published, I do feel somewhat motivated to give it my best shot. I have several stories that I'm working on, mostly written when my daughter was a baby. All are faith based stories that just need a little fine tuning. I just need to decide if I want to illustrate the stories on my own. Honestly, this has been the biggest hurdle for me. I really would like to create the look for my own characters, but at the same time I know there's a lot of talent involved in being a good illustrator. If I illustrate it might be 10 years before even one book is ready to present to a publisher! Maybe that's a sign? lol

My kids have a collection of books published by Tindale Kids called Little Blessings. They're soooo beautifully illustrated and not by the author. Elena Kucharik is also known as the Care Bear artist. I think if I could pattern myself after anyone, it would be her. She's amazing! A lot of her drawings incorporate the use of water colors and they just pop with life and imagination.

We purchased a couple of these books for the kids Easter baskets. It felt wonderful to fill their baskets with more than just bunnies and candy. I'll always be looking for ways to keep Jesus in Easter and in Christmas... even in the gift giving!

Christian Employment

Here's a link I recommend whether you're an individual looking for employment or a Christian ministry looking for prospective staff members. Check out ChristianPlacements.com. They're goal is to successfully connect churches and Christians ministries with Christian job seekers by providing the largest freely searchable database of Christian and Ministry jobs on the internet!

For Christian Employment and Church Staffing: You can instantly publicize your position openings as well as search over 5,500 resumes; research salary packages; glean ideas from over 250 free online Christian job descriptions; and even perform background checks on potential employees.

For Christian job seekers: You’ll be accessing the largest Christian and ministry job database available on the internet. You can also add your resume and receive other career tips during your visit.

http://www.christianplacements.com Best wishes for success! ; )

Proverbs

I was reading through the book of Proverbs today and thought I'd share a few verses that caught my attention.

• 16:2 ~All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighted by the Lord.
• 16:7 ~When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
• 16:18 ~Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
• 17:24 ~A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
• 20:21 ~An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blesssed at the end.
• 21:22 ~Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Working From Home?

I'm on a not so new mission to find home-based employment. Since this has become so much a part of my life, it seemed only a matter of time before it found its way to my blog. I think maybe this is a good thing though. I'd like to have a blog that speaks to real people in real life situations. So many of us are looking for ways to bring in a few extra dollars every month and whether you're a stay-at-home mom like myself or a busy professional you might find some of the information I plan to post here in the near future interesting. Ok, maybe not so much for the busy professional, but in any case keep your eyes open for things that pay and things that don't!

If I find something and absolutely hate it I won't be unnecessarily cruel towards the company or business idea, but I will tell you why it does or does not work for me... then provide links where you can read up on the opprotunity for yourself. When it's appropriate to do so that is!

Reverend Fun

Bunny Update

This is a little late, but I wanted to post an update to my bunny post. These little furr balls sure grew fast and in fact only a week after having found them in our backyard we realized the mother had abandoned the nest. Hopefully not from anything we'd done. I was checking on the babies once a day and had developed the habit of filling a rubbermaid container lid with water. I have to say I was tickled when I did catch a couple of the bunnies in the bowl!

Anyway, we relocated the rabbits when they started spreading out into the lawn and away from their comfy little nest. I did just enough research online to support my hunch that the mother wouldn't be back and that the babies were big enough to survive without any special help from me. I rounded them up and took them to a nice little spot on the edge of town. They were more than happy to hop out of the box and check out their new surroundings!

Here's a photo. ; ) On the morning I released them I also spotted a double rainbow in the sky, so I'm posting that photo too!

Storms

I did not know His love before, the way I know it now. I could not see my need for Him, my pride would not allow. I had it all, without a care, the "Self-sufficient" lie. My path was smooth, my sea was still, not a cloud was in my sky.

I thought I knew His love for me, I thought I'd seen His grace, I thought I did not need to grow, I thought I'd found my place. But then the way grew rough and dark, the storm clouds quickly rolled; The waves began to rock my ship, I found I had no hold.

The ship that I had built myself was made of foolish pride. It fell apart and left me bare, with nowhere else to hide. I had no strength or faith to face the trials that lay ahead, And so I simply spoke His name and bowed my weary head.

His loving arms enveloped me, and then He helped me stand. He said, "you still must face this storm, but I will hold your hand." So through the dark and lonely night He guided me through pain. I could not see the light of day or when I'd smile again.

Yet through the pain and endless tears, my faith began to grow. I could not see it at the time, but my light began to glow. I saw God's love in brand new light, His grace and mercy, too. For only when all self was gone could Jesus' love shine through.

It was not easy in the storm, I sometimes wondered why. At times I thought, "I can't go on." I'd hurt, and doubt, and cry. But Jesus never left my side He guided me each day. Through pain and strife, through fire and flood, He helped me all the way.

And now I see as never before how great His love can be. How in my weakness He is strong, how Jesus cares for me! He worked it all out for my good, although the way was rough. He only sent what I could bear, and then He said, "Enough!"

He raised His hand and said, "Be still!" He made the storm coulds cease. He opened up the gates of joy and flooded me with peace. I saw His face now clearer still, I felt His presence strong, I found anew His faithfulness, He never did me wrong.

And now I know more storms will come, but only for my good, For pain and tears have helped me grow as nothing ever could. I still have so much more to learn as Jesus works in me; If in the storm I'll love Him more, that's where I want to be!

~Author Unknown