La Soñador ~: February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 4-5 ~ Cain and Abel

Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and enjoy the bible story.

Genesis 4-5 - CAIN AND ABEL

NKJV Genesis 1-2
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%204-5&version=NKJV

Sacred Name Bible Genesis 4-5
http://www.sacrednamebible.com/B01C004.htm
http://www.sacrednamebible.com/B01C005.htm

Hebrew Interlinear for Hebrew Scriptures Genesis 4-5
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm

Matthew Henry Commentary on Genesis
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/?action=getBookSections&cid=18&source=2

Cain and Abel Activity Worksheets
http://www.trainupchildren.com/children/worksheets/cain-abel.pdf
http://biblestudy.pppst.com/genesis/cainandabel.html

My Thoughts -
http://blog.lasonador.com/2012/02/my-thoughts-on-my-weekly-bible-reading_01.html - My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 4-5

I also utilize several children's bible story books. Most children's bible story books do not contain the story of Cain and Abel. So I only include the one that I have that does include this story.

***

Liked this rain soaked ranting from La Soñador? Check out these similar posts.....

La Soñador ~: Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 1-2 ~ Creation
Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and ...

La Soñador ~: Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 3 ~ Adam And Eve
Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and ...

La Soñador ~: Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 6-9 ~ Noah's Ark

Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and ...

La Soñador ~: Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 10-11
Our Homeschool focuses on a section of scripture at a time. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and enjoy ...

Monday, February 27, 2012

We Need To Know About The Tribes of Israel

Christians and the Torah

Since my family has chosen to celebrate the Feasts of the Lord and learn and follow the Torah, we have come against MANY nay sayers. Most of these are arguments arise from fellow christians.

Many churches today teach that we are not under the law of the Old Testament. They teach that the Old Testament laws were for the Jewish people only. They basically teach that more than half of the bible doesn't matter to us at all. They highly stress the New Testament, which is important, but reject the Old Testament almost in entirety. They teach that the Old Testament laws are actually bondage to sin. Some cite the following scriptures.

Romans 6:10-18
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Romans 7:1-6
7 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

WAS PAUL TRULY REJECTING THE TORAH OF GOD? Was Paul truly teaching christians to throw away, ignore, and reject the Laws of God?

Romans 7:6 in the NIV says that last bit of scripture like this.....
"Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit."

While we are not required to live to the "letter of the law" which is impossible for our sinful nature, are we not STILL called to serve the Lord. Are these 'laws" not still HIS ideal of perfect living?

We throw them out, claiming freedom, not even clinging to them as a guidepost in a fallen world. And because of this we have followed the world in so many areas of our lives.

So I choose to follow the laws to the best of my ability and lean on the blood where I fail. I admit to being a 'newby' to levitical law, since for over 1600 years the church has tried to expunge any hebrew traits to our faith.

In this same argument we also come across another CONSTANT conflict with the teaching of the mainstream church. Why do we, you, even I, accept ENGLISH TRANSLITERATIONS for the name of God and Jesus, when in fact we know the actual names?

Don't know what I'm talking about?

WHY do we say Jehovah or only Lord God, when we KNOW that the Hebrew name of god is Yahveh, and WHY do we say Jesus when we KNOW that the Hebrew name is Yeshua?

My name is Caroline. When I am in Spain, my name is Caroline. When I am in Russia, my name is Caroline.

Considering that the bible gives such CLEAR weight on the NAME OF GOD and the NAME BY WHICH WE ARE SAVED, why do we not use the actual name? Why do we accept the teachings of the false church?

IF the name of Jesus Christ, is in fact NOT his name, and is in fact a transliteration based on the name of the sun god ZEUS, how do we call on it for salvation? If the name of the saviour is in fact Yeshua, would that name not be the name by which we must be saved?

WHY has the church THROWN AWAY all hebrew heritage? WHY is this anti semitism still accepted within the 'christian church? Isn't it biblically, and historically the antichrists' desire to rid the world of the Hebrew people and all of their paths?

Please note that the word JEW only refers to the tribe of Judah (the conglomeration of the two remaining tribes). The word Hebrew refers to the entirety of tribes of Israel, 10 of which have been lost since hundreds of years before the coming of the messiah.

Please understand. Please consider.

I am NOT negating grace.
There is grace.
Grace was needed.

But at a certain point, which in our hearts we MUST FACE, rejection of the WILL OF THE LORD IS SIN.

John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Look what else you throw out when you completely abandon the laws of God.

Leviticus 26:3-1
3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing;
you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;
I will rid the land of evil beasts,
and the sword will not go through your land.
7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.
8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;
your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
9 ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves;
I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.

Did you read, hear, EAT those words? Did your heart swell and yearn when you saw the PROMISES that IN THE TORAH?

Now we were not freed from the slavery of Egypt. But weren't we freed from the spiritual slavery of sin?

Romans 6:15-16
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

And if you are not obedient to the Torah, the laws that GOD specified and laid out..... which rules are you being obedient to?

I understand that the Messiah walked the earth. I understand that He poured out his blood as a perfect sacrifice.

Wasn't the sacrifice's purpose, since the very beginning, to cover where we FAILED TO LIVE UP TO THE STANDARDS OF GOD?

And what are the standards of God, if not the levitcal law, called the TORAH.

I suppose you could perhaps say the Messiahs perfect sacrifice covered where you don't live up to the law and so now you don't even bother trying and don't have to.

If the law was truly done away with, there would be nothing to live up to, and nothing in which we are failing or falling short. If the law was truly done away with, there would be nothing to condemn ANYONE WHO CAME AFTER the Messiah. We would all live forever, without sickness or pain or sin. We know that this is NOT THE CASE.

As my husband explained, "I have a son. I absolutely love him. There is almost nothing he could do in this world to change the fact that I love him.
Does he disobey? Yeah. He's not perfect.
Is it impossible for him to obey me all the time? Yeah. We are all sinful by nature.
Since he will falter from time to time, should he just give up now and not obey his parents? No.
Should you or I give up because we can't live up to the glory of God? No."

The Law still exists and still stands. And our falling short can be covered by the GRACE found in the PERFECT SACRIFICE of Yeshua.

The Law is STILL IMPORTANT to our God, Yahveh.

Jeremiah 31:33

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Hebrews 8:10

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Hebrews 10:16

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

Romans 2:12-13

12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified;

And if you reject the above verses because you are not of the house of israel, consider this....

Romans 11:16-19

16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”

True believers are GRAFTED IN to the Olive Tree, the House of Israel.

If you accept the Messiah, and are a child of God, by FAITH, you are adopted, and GRAFTED IN. You are ISRAEL. You are the DESCENDENTS of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are the people of God.

>Romans 11:19-24

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Also, by celebrating the Feasts of the Lord, we find much MORE depth and meaning in our faith in the Messiah. The Feasts of the Lord were filled with prophecy and promise about the Messiah and our relationship with Him.

Quick Overview

Feast	Date	Meaning	Status
1. Passover/Pesach	March/April	Redemption/Sacrifice/Death of Messiah	Fulfilled
2. Unleavened Bread	March/April	Santification/Burial of Messiah/No decay	Fulfilled
3. Firstfruits/Grain Harvest	March/April	Represents the Savior as first of the harvest	Fulfille
4. Weeks/Shavuot>	May/June	Pentecost/Holy Spirit sent by YHWH	Fulfilled
5. Yom Teruah (Trumpets)	Sept/Oct	Believers' New Year/Messiah returns to Israel ("Rapture")	Future
6. Day of Atonement/ Yom Kippur	Sept/Oct	Day of Atonement/Messiah saves Israel	Future
7. Tabernacles/Sukkot	Sept/Oct	Wedding Feast/Golden Age/Messiah starts Millennium	Future

Taken from http://therefinersfire.org/feasts2.htm

Do you seeeeeee? The FEASTS of the LORD TELL ABOUT the Messiah? And we REJECT THEM? We call them "BURDENSOME"?

If you really look at them, aren't they in fact a beautiful blessing from the Lord directly to His people?

How much are we missing in our walk, when we REJECT the blessings and wisdom of the Lord? How much are we missing when we assume that the church before us KNEW better? How much are we actually falling for the ploys of the enemy by accepting the status quo and not seriously taking the bible for the WISDOM AND TRUTH of the God that we serve?

Joshua 24:15
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve YHVH, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH."

***

Liked this rain soaked ranting from La Soñador? Check out these similar posts.....

La Soñador ~: Hanukkah, the Biblical Feast of Dedication - Tonight we will be joining millions around the world lighting the third candle on their Hanukkah Menorahs. In Hebrew the word Hanukkah means Dedication. While many call this the Festival of Lights, it is more accurately ...

La Soñador ~: Why Would A Christian Say No To Christmas? - “Tomorrow there will be a festival to YHWH.” Sounds good right? Get together, worship god, have a grand time.... But God said, "Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them." Why ...

La Soñador ~: Whose Holy Days Are You Celebrating??? - Sukkot, the Festival of Booths.... Living in temporary structures, in joy and celebration, structures that are beautified and decorated to look like a Wedding Sukkah. They may be only 'shadows' of things to come. But at least they ...

La Soñador ~: Yom Teruah - The Feast of Shouting and Trumpets - And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.

La Soñador ~: Fire In My Bones - But the fervor was gone. The fire that burned without quenching was gone. The desire for Him was there but with just enough reciprocation to keep me going, 'Don't give up,' "Keep on keepin' on..."

>La Soñador ~: Biblical Holy Days - The Feast of Dedication and Lights - I love history! And that makes the celebration of Hanukkah particularly exciting to me!! In reality, all the biblical feasts have such historical significance and a rich tapestry of meaning. But the history of Hanukkah....

>La Soñador ~: Biblical Holy Days - The Feast of Unleavened Bread - I wanted my family to delve into the Word. I wanted my family to understand how the story was the same from beginning to end. I wanted my family to learn and understand the importance, and the relevance of the Messiah to each of us.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Where There's Smoke...

This morning when my son took out some compost and table scraps for the chickens to attack.... he started screaming for me.

I ran out to find....

A fire in my chicken coop. One of the heat lamps in our brooder box had ONCE AGAIN been trampled all over by my bigger chickens and this time it fell right off its hook. The house was filled with smoke. So with my son's help I got the box opened, and airing, the lamp unplugged and out and poured a bucket of water on the smoldering feed and wood.

In so many ways, this could have been catastrophic. My son saw the lamp fall. While he was too little to fix the problem, he knew exactly what to do! TELL MAMA! Also... while we mostly use hay for bedding in our coop, which would have been DRY DRY DRY and gone up in flames easily, most of my chickens are the MESSIEST eaters and scratch allllllll their feed out of the feeders and the floor is now mostly covered with spent feed. I used to try to keep the hay ratio up, now I don't bother. The feed was NOT highly flammable! YEAH!

There is however a large burnt hole in the bottom of my brooder now. My husband and I had already been working out plans to build a new and MUCH BETTER version. The lamp situation will be GOOD to think out thoroughly.

I am really grateful that this happened the way it did. I know that an hour (maybe even less) before we would be out and about, and the coop would have potentially been a total loss.

So I'm thanking the Lord, for his Providence to us.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Happy News to Share!!

We have a baby on the way!

We are so happy! Especially my children. It comes up allllll day long.

Last night I asked my son to tell me a bedtime story. (I do this often. It is VERY entertaining what they think up.)

"Once upon a time, there was a baby in mama's belly. And it was in there eight whole days! And then is started coming out. And Mama went, "Ugh! UGH!" PLOP! Out came the baby."

Reyabel added, "And they all lived happily ever after."

Best story ever! LOL

Homeschooling Resource - The Ghost Script on You Tube

My kids were cruising some kids videos on you tube and they a pretty fun channel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/corrosivehp

A musician who has made some cute videos with music and common childhood poems and songs.

Check it out.

My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 3

I love the Lord. I have found His word to be wise, discerning, and the Holy Spirit has guided my turning of those pages on many occasions when I did not know what to pray, or what to think, or what to feel.

I know that the Lord is GOOD all the time, and that His wisdom is above my own.

I trust Him completely.

But, for a long time I have considered the "curse" in Genesis 3 to be.... unfair.... no...

Unbalanced.

Let us read it......

To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

In pain you shall bring forth children;

Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

Then to Adam He said,
“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife,
and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you,
saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;

In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

And you shall eat the herb of the field.

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return.”

You see, having read further, I know that after the Flood, the 'curse' that was placed on men, the curse of the ground, was lifted.

WHY wasn't the curse on women lifted too?

I don't mean to whine. But I quite simply didn't understand. I don't believe for one second that God loves my husband, or my brother, or Joe down the street, more than He loves me. Why would He lift their curse, and leave mine?

Now these thoughts of mine, of course are not appropriate for my small homeschooled children. When they are older and wiser, made of tougher stuff, and/or when I am older and wiser, and have a better grasp of the word of the Lord. But, my daily bible reading is not just for my little one's ears. It is not just for their edification and encouraging and strengthening and yes, their testing....

It is for mine too.

So I took this opportunity to really study 'the curse' laid upon the woman.

Part A

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

In pain you shall bring forth children;"

I found an amazing article on Christian US: What the Bible Says About Birth. I was surprised to find that PAINFUL CHILDBIRTH IS NOT THE CURSE! Maybe some of you have already known this. But I know many churches, or at least church leaders who teach that we were cursed with painful childbirth. No, no, no. The Lord who loves us was not cursing us with PAIN.

In fact the word that is commonly translated as 'pain' here is the same word that the Lord uses to Adam regarding his labors with the ground, commonly translated as "grief". He was warning us.....

Now, in this fallen world, we are bringing our children INTO IMPERFECTION. And that is indeed sorrow.

As a mother, I understand this. Each time I discover, THERE IS A BABY IN MY BELLY! I am worried. What if my baby is unhealthy? What if I am unhealthy? What kind of hardships will my beloved child have to live through? There is sorrow in our conception.

But that does not negate that children are still a blessing. And there are MANY more verses about THAT!

Psalm 113:9

He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.Praise the LORD!

Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

John 16:21

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Found these at http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-children-25-inspirational-scripture-quotes/#ixzz1nADuSbhN

Part B

"Your desire shall be for your husband,,

And he shall rule over you.”

Now I firmly believe that the Bible is quite clear on a woman's submission to her husband.

1 Peter 3:1-3

"Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands,
that even if some do not obey the word, they,
without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,
when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.
Do not let your adornment be merely outward
—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—"

I know that this too is argued about in many churches and even TWISTED and DENIED by many church leaders. Let me tell you, if you think you know what is better for you than the Lord who created you, you are sorely mistaken. There is a WHOLE aspect of relationship with the Lord that you are missing if you do not walk in submission as the words says.

Matthew Henry had additional thoughts on the 'curse' and submission. While I know that I have not fully grasped this subject yet, I was intrigued and have been pondering and praying upon it.

He felt that our submission to our husbands was in fact the natural order, as it was meant to be. But now, with out sinful natures, we would STRUGGLE AGAINST IT, and it would feel burdensome to us, even to grief. How much of our grief.... is our struggle against the will of the Lord? I don't know... but I will consider next time my heart is hurting, for sure.

So, just as with childbirth, the issue of submission, was not a CURSE at all, as is commonly stated. And from now on I will not call it that ever again.

It was a warning from a loving Father, who knows our hearts and knows the path we will have to walk until we are back in His arms.

There is grief. There is sorrow.

But there is promise too.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

http://www.free-desktop-backgrounds.net/Nature-landscapes-wallpapers/Sunrise-wallpapers/Sunrise-in-forest.html

***

Liked this rain soaked ranting from La Soñador? Check out these similar posts.....

La Soñador ~: My Thoughts on Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 10-11 Part I - It can seem quite tedious when reading the generations of so and so, begat so and so, begat so and so. Many times you may feel the urge to skip these sections, ...

La Soñador ~: My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 6-9 - I wrote this article in 2002/2003 which was posted at the time on my online ministry site. It is not up and running at this time, though I consider from time to time to ...

La Soñador ~: My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis - 4-5 - Most Bible Story books made for children skip the story of Cain and Abel. I understand some of the reasons for this. The story is pretty dark, hatred and murder of one's ...

La Soñador ~: My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 1-2 - I am always astounded as I consider the creation of the Universe. And I am always astounded when I study the word of the creator of that Universe. Some basics first.

We're Getting BEES!

YEAH! I have just ordered my first bee hive, and will be placing my order for bees this evening when my local enthusiast is available to discuss such things with me.

After reading on the types of bee hives, we chose to use a top bar hive.

The pros, as I understand them, include

More natural hive formation for the bee
Less intrusive when gathering comb and honey
Does not require smoking the bees
Less additional materials needed to repair/maintain the hive

We also decided to purchase our first beehive. Although there are MANY plans for building your own top bar hive, we chose to purchase a pre-made hive. The reason is simple, we would HATE to screw this up.

So I have just placed my order and it will be shipped within the week, from Bee Authority, and my bees will be ready for pick up in April!

I will have to get my north field tilled and those wildflowers (lbs of seed!!!) growing so those precious critters feel right at home.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Bye Bye Photos....

It has come to my attention that my older photos are now missing from the blog. They must have been linked from the previous page and not transferred over as I thought.

I'll get on it soon. :)

New National Education Standards, Further Destruction of the Future

I file this under "Reasons to Homeschool." That way I can make sure my kids are getting the BEST. I encourage every parent to likewise look to the interests of their own children. Please do not assume the government cares for them like you do, or that they will ever "Put The Kids First."

Friday, February 17, 2012

Shabbat Shalom!

The challah is in the oven. The candles are waiting to be lit. The head of my household will be home soon to share in our meal and our prayers.

Shabbat Shalom to all our brothers and sisters in HaMashiach Yeshua.

Why I Raise My OWN Chickens....

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-urinary-infections-20120215,0,4199087.story

http://www.algemeiner.com/2011/05/01/free-range-shechita-an-eye-opening-experience/

Hatching my own chicks, raising them and feeding them organic seeds and grains, the occasional homemade suet block, and allowing them to run FREE under the sun, scratching and digging for worms and bugs....

Not only is it KINDER, it is much HEALTHIER

http://www.healthbanquet.com/free-range-eggs.html

Approximately 200 million male chicks are killed simply because they are male,

and it is not quick or gentle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/01/chicks-being-ground-up-al_n_273652.html

I'm not Vegan.

I choose to fight this form of animal cruelty by taking personal responsibility for what I eat, how it lives, how it dies. I respect it, and I thank God for it.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Starting Our Chicken Co-op Group

In case we hadn't mentioned it, we love our chickens. They are quirky and fun. We love to laugh at their antics. They are beautiful. We love to look at the little details and colors in their feathering. And they are tasty. Nothing like a home grown chicken stir fried.

My hens have really started laying and their eggs are beautiful. So far, we have incubated almost all of them, eating only a few here and there, to bake a cake, make egg nog for a special occasion, or some bread pudding. Here is a basket of some of our eggs. There are duck eggs in there also. We can't eat the duck eggs, being allergic to them, so they will all go in the incubator. You can also see the white eggs from my Polish hen, the green eggs from my two pure bred Americaunas and the brown from my Americauna mix (I haven't figured out which one isn't pure yet).

This last week we purchased some eggs from another local chicken lover to fill up the incubator. Our plans are to hatch a few hundred meat birds and raise them over the summer. We have an open invitation to family and friends to join us in this endeavor and end the season with a get together, butcher and fill your freezer kind of deal. We have a few interested, but oddly many find this appalling. I suppose to some the distanced habit of having others kill your food is somehow considered less cruel. But I think the free ranged chicken who sees the sun lives a much happier life, than one shoved in a cage with the allotted 2 square foot of living space.

So we have filled our incubator. This old Leahy incubator holds about 200 eggs. We are not counting on a 100% hatch rate. If I get healthy chickens from a 50% hatch, that is really excellent in my mind. As my readers may know, in the past I have purchased eggs from other sources and they hatched, but were sickly. It broke our heart to watch them perish with no recourse. It is still hard to shake off that dark cloud. But looking at my own hatched egglings and to see how well they are doing goes a long way to push it aside.

For this batch of chickens we intend to build a chicken tractor akin to this model by one of my FAVORITE bloggers. I garner so much from this man's homesteading techniques. It really whets the appetite to dive into this agrarian lifestyle. We will keep only meat birds in the tractor, moving it frequently through the yard and supplementing with our local organic, whole food source. By the end of the season we will also determine how many hens and roosters will be needed to keep up our flock on our own. Meaning, we will be trying NOT to purchase eggs in the future, but just hatch our own with our incubator or with broody hens. Oh I pray the Lord sends broody hens my way!

From http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2006/08/talkin-bout-my-chicken-tractor.html

And just for fun, here are a few of our youngest chicks right now. Please notice the orange puffball there?? That is the ONLY chick we have hatched that looks like that. Completely unique. We have decided, hen or rooster, its a keeper. Such a CUTE CUTE CUTE little ball of fluff. Of course they are all really beautiful. I do love our chickens.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 3 ~ Adam And Eve

Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and enjoy the bible story.

Genesis 3 - Adam and Eve

NKJV Genesis 3
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203&version=NKJV

Sacred Name Bible Genesis 3
http://www.sacrednamebible.com/B01C003.htm

Hebrew Interlinear for Genesis 3
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm

Matthew Henry Commentary on Genesis
http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/?action=getBookSections&cid=18&source=2

Creation Story Book, Black and White Coloring Page
http://www.biblestoryprintables.com/files/BibleMinibook/BSPMinibookAdamEveBW.pdf

Creation Coloring Pages
http://freechristimages.org/biblecoloring/Adam_Eve_ColoringPage.jpg
http://www.coloringpagesabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/adam_and_eve_coloring_pages_012.gif
http://www.bible-printables.com/Coloring-Pages/Old-Testament/

Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paYDHG9h6hw

My Thoughts -
http://blog.lasonador.com/2012/02/my-thoughts-on-my-weekly-bible-reading_22.html - My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 3

I also utilize several children's bible story books.

***

Liked this rain soaked ranting from La Soñador? Check out these similar posts.....

La Soñador ~: Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 4-5 ~ Cain and Abel
Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand ...

La Soñador ~: Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 6-9 ~ Noah's Ark
Our Homeschool focuses on one bible story each week. I will share the resources I use for my own personal bible study and those I use to help my children understand and ...

Kefir - Daily Care and Recipes

I love my kefir.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that everyone drink kefir. It is an incredible probiotic, 10x as strong as yogurt. MANY digestive issues can be helped and your immune system strengthened by the daily intake of probiotics.

I use Milk kefir, but there is also water kefir.

MILK KEFIR DIRECTIONS-----------------------------------------------

Just Starting Your MILK Kefir

When you first get your kefir, it will be dormant. Put it in a pint mason jar with a coffee filter and ring and fill with milk. Strain out the grains every one to two days, for six days. DO NOT DRINK THIS MILK. DO NOT TOUCH THE GRAINS with your hands. They recommend using a plastic strainer and plastic spoon to strain it. I was unable to find a plastic strainer but my metal one seems to be fine and a plastic baby spoon to help strain.

After day six your kefir should have 'woken up' and be ready for its daily duties.

General Daily Care

Once every day to two days, strain out your grains and give them new milk. They can float freely in the milk, or be placed in a strainer that is slightly submerged. I have done both and they seem to work equally well.

If left two or more days in the milk, your kefir grains will grow, and grow and grow. They will be able to process more and more milk also. I find that about 2 tbsp of grains to 1 quart of milk is about right.

I commonly serve it with with some honey, or blended with some fresh berries, or home canned peaches. I also blend some with raspberries and sugar and freeze as a sort of frozen yogurt treat. My husband just loves to drink it plain.

Kefir is also excellent for your pets. As a daily supplement, or a pick me up to their digestive system. My cats and chickens LOVE IT.

Need a Break???
You can put your kefir grains in a little milk (like 1 cup) and place them in the fridge. They will need to be strained and given new milk once a month. DO NOT DRINK THIS MILK. When you decide to start using your kefir again, remember it will be dormant. You will have to wake it back up again, using the methods above, not drinking the milk for six days.

More Recipes.....

http://www.kefir.net/recipes.htm

http://maria.fremlin.de/recipes/kefir-recipes.html

http://tammysrecipes.com/about_kefir

http://healthfoodlover.com/hfl/2011/07/08/many-ways-recipes-milk-kefir/

I think I may try this one this week. I also LOVE LEMON!!!

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2008/07/lemon_kefir_ice_cream.php

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Happy Tu B'Shevat!!!

To celebrate the Jewish New Year of the Trees, we planted some fig trees, an apple tree, a cherry tree and a lilac tree (not practical perhaps, but I LOVE lilacs). I am also expecting to add to our orchard this year from a fellow freecycler who will be clearing out a very overgrown orchard that they inherited. Last year I got about 30 or more plum trees, and this year they think they will get to the apples and pears!

For our region, this is the PERFECT time to plant fruiting and flowering trees and shrubs. I am so eager for spring to come and see all those fresh green leaves. I'm sure it will be beautiful.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

I Am Surrounded By Chickens

It is so funny to think that we haven't even been here for a year yet. It just feels sooooo much like home. It just feels right to have birds everywhere, and planning the garden. Just like it was meant to be. <3

I will share some of my chicken love with you today.

Good Morning Chickens!! I have just arrived to bring you feed and water.

This is our outdoor brooder. The chicks are mixed breeds from Americaunas, Welsummer, Astrolorps, and.... I have no idea. They are about 2 months old.

This is the other section of the outdoor brooder. These are also mixed breed chicks, Americaunas and White Bantams. They are about 1 month old. There are also a couple of the bigger chicks in here, because they were getting trampled yesterday.

These are our very first homegrown hatched chicks, mixed Welsummer and Americauna. They are about 3 months old and insist on hiding behind the brooder box.

Here is my compost bin, where the chickens love to hang out and dine. There is one of my Americauna hens, my White Crested Black Polish Hen (*wench*) and in the back, my White Bantam hen. They are about 9 months old and lay almost daily. Then there are a couple Plymouth Barred Rock roosters, and hens, and one Rhode Island Red that I can't sex yet. They are about 6 months old. They had a rough start but are going strong now!

This is my beautiful Welsummer Rooster. I have been dying to get you a photo of him. He is a GREAT rooster. He keeps track of his girls, warns of danger, and is not aggressive to my family. He is probably about a year and a half old. He certainly prefers my Americauna hens and unless laying, they follow him everywhere.

And ducks too!!!
You can see my Male and Female White Pekin Duck, Female Muscovy duck (on the right), two male Rouens and 3 female Rouens. They fight alot, but continue to hang out in a large group most of the time. They also love alot. So hopefully they will set and brood well for me this year.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 1-2

I am always astounded as I consider the creation of the Universe. And I am always astounded when I study the word of the creator of that Universe.

Some basics first....

I believe the Bible to be TRUE.

I believe the Bible to be LITERAL.

I believe the Bible to be VITAL.

As I considered my many choices of homeschool curriculum, teaching styles, getting overwhelmed and buried by the multitude of opinions, materials and costs, a question kept coming up in my mind.

"What is MOST important?"

I realize now, that this must have been God speaking to me. Whenever I have questions and there is an answer or a clear direction that gets pointed to again and again and again... this is God directing me.

What is MOST important?

I knew the answer. For me and my family, it is the Lord.

Joshua 24:15 - "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

So I pondered...

How does one CENTER their homeschool, their day, their very LIFE on God?

Very simply.

READ THE WORD.

Once you get in there, you find out a whole multitude of truths, directions, and most importantly, clear and decisive steps to take to be 'tight' with God.

Scriptures are good for me!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Scriptures are good for my children!

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

We also read that Kings were required to write their own copy of the Torah.

Deuteronomy 17:18 - “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites."

So.... that is what I have decided to follow in my home and particularly in the teaching of my children.

Right now my children are very young. So I sit every day and I read the word to them. I read it over and over and over and over to them. I read it until they know the story by heart. I read it until when my son tells it back to me, much of it is word for word.

Why?

Deuteronomy 17:19 - And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes,

Deuteronomy 32:47 - For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

Psalm 119:50 - This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.

John 5:24 - “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

John 6:63 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

John 6:68 - But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Philippians 2:16 - holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

1 John 1:1 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—

THE WORD IS LIFE!

John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Jesus IS the WORD!

Proverbs 8:30-31 - Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.

Colossians 1:16 - For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

And all of this Universe was created FOR, BY, and THROUGH Jesus Christ, because he DELIGHTED in us.

Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

It is an awesome (Extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear) task to teach these things to my children.

But I can find encouragement in the word also, as I face my duty.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I believe the the Bible to be true, literal and vital. I invite you to find out more with me as I continue this journey.

***

Liked this rain soaked ranting from La Soñador? Check out these similar posts.....

La Soñador ~: My Thoughts on My Weekly Bible Reading ~ Genesis 3 - I love the Lord. I have found His word to be wise, discerning, and the Holy Spirit has guided my turning of those pages on many occasions when I did not know what to ...