Yesterday, we hit a few garage sales.  I haven’t been doing a lot of garage sale-ing this year because our finances have been so tight.  But, we had a little extra this week, so we decided to hit a couple.  I spent a whopping $12 and got a bunch of clothing for Riley and a couple of things for Colt.  Here’s what I got:

5 pairs of jeans for Riley for $4.50.   4 are from the Children’s Place and 1 pair is Cinch brand.  All have adjustable waist bands.yippee!!

We stopped at one garage sale and they had a TON of T-Shirts with super heros on them.  Riley is SO into super heros right now and he was so excited.  To make it ever better 2 of them were super heros AND Legos   Plus, one of the spiderman ones lights up

I got a total of 6 T-Shirts for Riley

I also got him a pair of fleece “Hulk” pj bottoms and 1 complete Transformers pj set.  Riley’s one happy kiddo!  Riley’s fall/winter clothing is pretty much complete, I just need to get a few sets of long Johns.  We also got Riley a pair of boots, but I forgot to take a picture

I also got Colt a pair of camo pants and a pair of Levi denim shorts.  So, Colt’s fall/winter wardrobe is 1 item closer to being complete.  I still need to get him a few more pairs of jeans/pants, about 7 long sleeved shirts, pj’s and long-johns.

I often find clothing for Riley at garage sales, but almost never find anything for Colt.  It’s a bit frustrating because I have been having to buy a lot of clothing for him new.

set up with her husband.  We love that she set up her camera, explained kind of what she wanted the image to look like and then had her mom and sister take photos of them as a couple.  She has inspired us to try something like this soon with our own hubbies (if they’ll let us!) 

This is already a great pictures, so my edits are already hard to decide on.  The first thing I think needs to be done is to crop away some of the background and then just to make the photo POP a bit more.  I actually ended up doing 3 edits on this one.  This is how I edited the photo in Photoshop Elements 7:

Edit 1:

1. Cropped the photo
2. Amy McMaster’s “Squeaky Clean” action, flattened.
3. Coffee Shop’s “Butterscotch Vintage” action.  Set the “Color Fill Contrast Boost” layer to 30% and set the “Color Fill Layer” to 30%, flattened.
4. Resized and prepared for the web.

Edit 2:

1. Cropped the photo
2. Amy McMaster’s “Squeaky Clean” action, flattened.
3. Pioneer Woman’s “Colorized” action, flattened.
4. Resized and prepared for the web.

Edit 3:

1. Cropped the photo
2. Amy McMaster’s “Squeaky Clean” action, flattened.
3. Pioneer Woman’s “Black White Beauty” action, flattened.
4. Amy McMaster’s “Apricot Cream” action, flattened.
5. Coffee Shop’s “Sharpen” action, set to 1, flattened
6. Coffee Shop’s “Vignette” action
7. Resized and prepared for the web.

This was a challenging edit for me because the photo was already really good.  Those are the hardest for me to edit because I’m not always sure how to improve them

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First of all, I want to state up front that I am NO Bible expert and I am certainly not an expert on inductive Bible study.  In fact the inductive study I am including in this post is my very first inductive study.  But, I have had several questions in regard to inductive study and I thought a post might be in order (so here you go LizBeth!)

I was first introduced to Inductive Bible Study from Courtney over at Women Living Well.  She did a post about “How to Study Your Bible With Colored Pencils”.  I had never heard of such a thing, but I was intrigued.  So, she introduced me to Kay Arthur’s books.  These are the books I originally bought to learn how to do inductive studies:

This book contains all the information you need to start doing inductive Bible study.  This is the book to get if you want to learn how to do and inductive study.

This book was great to actually teach me how to use the inductive Bible study system.  It’s broken down into 28 lessons which walk you through doing inductive studies.  This was great for me as a beginner, to really help me understand how to do inductive studies.

This book is perfect to help you when you do your inductive studies.  It includes the main key words , introductions to every book in the Bible, ideas for study, and much more.  This really helps me when I get stuck.  It’s not required to learn how to do an inductive study, but it’s very helpful when actually doing a study.

So, just WHAT is inductive Bible study?  It’s a systematical way of digging into the Word of God.  Inductive Bible study is broken down into 3 parts, observation, interpretation, and application.  But before we get into the different parts, I want to talk about the tools you will need to do inductive study.

1. You will need a copy of the book you’d like to study, printed out on paper using double space between each line and with extra wide margins for notes.  I simply print out my own .  I go to Unbound Bible and simply choose the Bible version I want and the book I want and then click search.  This will pull up the entire book.  I then copy and paste the text to my MS Word.  I then set the margins wider and double space.  I also have each chapter of the book on a new page (using page breaks).  Then print.
2. You will need a set of colored pencils.  I  use Crayola 12ct Twistable Colored Pencils.  These work great for me and I don’t have to worry about sharpening them
3. You will also need a pen (I use black)
4. you will need paper, I simply use regular notebook paper, I prefer college rule.
5. A dictionary, just a good basic one.  I would love to get the American Dictionary of the English Language (1828 Facsimile Edition)(Noah Webster’s), but until I can afford it, I’m just using what I have.
6. Strong’s Concordance, keyed to the Bible version you plan on using (I prefer KJV). I use one similar to this one, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible Expanded Edition

While not required, I also like to have a couple of other Bible versions available to refer to.  I have the New King James and English Standard Version.

Before you begin, I always start my Bible study with prayer.  I like to pray for understanding of what I’m reading and to be shown areas that I need to apply to my own life.

Observation is when you just read through the book and observe what’s going on.  Answering the simple questions who?, what?, when?, where?, why? and how? (WWWWW&H)  As you read through, you will find key words/phrases (words often repeated), people, place and times.  You will mark these items with your colored pencils in a distinctive way to help you recognize them.   You may also observe lists in which you want to keep track of.  Also, look up words you don’t understand.   I fill out a basic “at a glance” information (answering WWWWW&H).  An example of this “At a Glance” form is included in Titus Inductive Bible Study download. Basically this step is to help you get the gist of what’s going on and what the book is about (key words).  During this step, I read Titus at least 12 times! 

You can see my markings key and my marked book of Titus by CLICKING HERE.  This is a simple PDF copy of the markings I made in Titus to help you get an idea of how this step works.

The next step is interpretation.  This is basically discovering just what the Bible is saying.  For this step, I used my dictionary and my Strong’s.  I took the key words and looked up each instance it was found in the book in my Strong’s and made a note of the Strong’s number, definition and how the word was translated in the Bible.  I then made list of what I observed for each key word.   I look up in the dictionary any words I don’t understand and also refer to my other Bible versions when I need help clarifying something.  During this step I read Titus at least 3 times.

You can see my entire Titus Inductive Bible Study (the interpretation step) by CLICKING HERE.  This includes my Titus At A Glance form, Titus Observation Chart, and my Key Word Observations and is in PDF form.

The final step is application.  This is where you learn how to apply Bible truths to your own personal life.  You get reproof, correction and training on doctrine.  You apply the doctrine/truth you’ve learned to your own life.  You correct misunderstanding in doctrine.  As I read the Word, there are always certain verses that really POP out to me.  This is the Holy Spirit showing me Scripture that I need work on in my personal life.  I mark these verses in a special way.   For these verses, I like to use the SOAP method.  I do the SOAP method on each of these verses that POP out to me. 

You can see a sample of how I’ve used the SOAP method from THIS BLOG POST.  I didn’t make a PDF file for this because some of the items are personal and I don’t feel right in sharing them, hope you understand .

So, this is how I do an inductive Bible study.  I don’t follow all the steps listed in Kay Arthur’s book, but I took what worked for me and added a few things I’ve learned in other places (like the SOAP method).  This method was great to use and I ended up reading Titus at least 15 times, which really helped me to remember what I read and helps me to “hide” His Word in my heart.  I really grew from this study and am now looking forward to finishing my second Inductive study!  I’m currently working through the smaller books of the New Testament, until I get the hang of it and then I’ll give a try on a longer book.  I’d like to work this way through the entire New Testament and then start working through the Old Testament.  My Titus study took over a month to do, but I worked in small chunks of time when I could.  It could certainly be done faster if you set aside a specific time for it each day, say an hour.  I’m currently working on my second inductive study, this time on Philemon (another nice and short book!).  I have grown so much as a Christian, just by doing one inductive study, and can’t wait wait to see how I grow with each additional one I do!!  I cannot recommend this Bible study method enough!

Last night I had a terrible time getting to sleep.  I tossed and turned until about 1:30 and finally got up and tinkered around on the computer until 3 or so.  Got up bright and early at 8, with probably around 4 hours of sleep.  This has been happening a lot lately, I think it’s just one of those fun perimenopause symptoms I’ve been having the last year or so.  I’ll survive, but plan on turning in early tonight.

Today, I have some errands I need to run, which include paying a bill and buying groceries.  Marty’s on paid vacation…but is working anyway so we can get an extra paycheck.   Which is so nice right now when things are a bit tight.  Marty’s job is safe, but things have been really slow at his work this summer so his paychecks have been smaller than usual.  I just thank the Lord that he has a good job and that he works for a really great guy who acknowledges Marty’s talents and doesn’t want to lose Marty as an employee. 

This week is going to be busy, as I’m ramping up to re-launch my digital scrapbooking business next week.  Top that off with the fact that we’ll also start back homeschooling next week and you can see I’m a bit over committed   But I’ll get everything done eventually and once next week is over, things will calm down.  I sometimes think it’s a blessing to be busy, because it doesn’t give me a minute to be bored or idle. 

I’m looking forward to school starting back up and I think the boys are as well.  I think they are bored out of their minds right now if the bickering is any sort of indication .  I can’t believe that this is Colt’s last year!  My “baby” is going to be 18 in a few months.  God has certainly blessed me with my boys!

So, I may not be around a whole lot on my blog and I’ve already been cutting back on the time spent on Facebook.  I have several other projects I’d like to work on this week.  I need to finish typing up my Titus inductive study.  I also have 2 afghans I’m working on.  They are both baby afghans, but don’t have any intended owner as of yet.  They’re just something to work on in my spare time or while watching TV.  I love to multi-task while watching TV…lol! 

I’m still plugging along with the Bible in 90 Days challenge.  I’m on day 52, but should be on day 57.  I’m behind as usual .  Weekends always mess me up on my reading, we’re just too much on the go and usually have a lot of family plans.  So, instead of trying to get caught up, I’m just going to continue reading 1 reading every day that I can and not worry so much about being caught up.  The most important thing is that I’ve made it a point to read the Bible nearly everyday, which is an improvement from what I had been doing.  If I don’t finish in exactly 90 days, big whoop!  I’ll finish with in a week or 2 after that and will still have read the entire Bible.  That is what’s important to me .  As for my inductive Bible Study, I’ve started working on Philemon.  I’m going to work through all the short books of the Bible first and then work up to an inductive study on the larger books.   I’m enjoying the whole inductive Bible study thing and I’m learning so much.  Much more than I’ve ever learned before.  Discovering this method of Bible study has been a real Godsend!  For the first time in my life I’m actually learning and discovering what God’s word has to say and WOW!  I can’t believe the growth that’s coming from it.  It’s like I’ve awakened from a long sleep.  Praise the Lord!!

Well, I need to get off of this computer and get ready to go to town in a little while.  There are a few things I need to get done before we leave, like get a load of Marty’s work clothes in the washer.  Have a blessed day everyone!

I often get questions in regards to what I believe and/or have questions raised about what “glasses” I use to look at life and my faith.  So, I decided to write a post and list my beliefs, so that they are here on my blog for all to read. This way, I can refer people back to this list when questions arise.  I may on occasion add to this list and it will act as a FAQs on my beliefs on subjects of faith.  If you have any questions on any of these or on other subjects, I will be happy to answer them.

What I Believe:

1. I believe that the 66 books of the Bible are divinely inspired and are without error or conflict.  I believe that the Bible is our instruction manual for life and should be used to settle every religious question.   What the scripture says is the final word on any religious subject.   ”All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (II Timothy 3:16-17).
2. Scripture is the textbook of the church and no other doctrine should be added and no doctrine removed from Scripture.  Any denomination that adds to or subtracts from scripture is wrong.  All Christian churches should have the same doctrine when it comes to the basic tenants of the Faith and when it comes to salvation.  ”I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.  (I Corinthians 1:10).
3. I believe that there is only one God and that the one God exists in a perfect union of three persons (Godhead or trinity) the Father (God), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.  “Jesus answered, "The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Mark 12:29).  “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.   Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify:” (1 John 5:4-7).
4. I believe that salvation comes through God’s grace by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins and through Him, we gain salvation.  I believe that to be saved, we must:
   – Believe. "And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Hebrews 11:6).
   –Repent of past sins. "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent"(Acts 17:30).
   –Confess Jesus as Lord. "Behold here is water; What doth hinder me to be baptized ? And Philip said, if thou believeth with all thy heart thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:36-37).
   –Be baptized for the remission of sins. "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"(Acts 2:38).
   –Live a Christian life. "Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
5. I believe that salvation comes through God’s grace alone and not through works.  “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 2:4-7).
6. I believe in the virgin birth. “And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34-35)
7. I believe the creation story in Genesis to be true and accurate as written. (Genesis 1:1-2:2)
8. I believe Heaven and Hell are actual physical places and that the saved will go to Heaven (eternal life) and the unsaved will go to Hell (eternal punishment).  “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:46)
9. I believe that women should not be pastors or teachers over men in church.  “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.  If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.  (I Corinthians 14:33-35).  “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. (I Timothy 2:11-12).
10. I believe that women should not hold positions of authority in the church.  “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you– if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.  (Titus 1:5-6)
11. I believe in the headship order of Christ over man, husband over wife, and God over Christ. “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.”  (I Corinthians 11:3).
12. I believe that life begins at conception and that abortion is murder.  “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.  (Psalm 139:13-16). “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.”  (Exodus 23:7).

Personal Convictions:
The following items are personal convictions and are not things I believe the Lord requires of every person.  But for me, I feel a personal conviction about them and choose to do as I feel the Lord has led me.

1. I have been convicted to dress modestly and for me, that means mostly dresses and/or skirts.  You can read more about why I made this choice at: http://homesteadmomma.com/?p=210
2. I have been convicted to cover my head.  You  can read more about why I made this choice at: http://homesteadmomma.com/?p=3494
3. In addition, you may also want to read: http://homesteadmomma.com/?p=3508

From today forward, all comments to my blog will no longer be held for approval, but will post instantly.  This is to save me time and also because I want readers to feel free to comment for or against my posts.  I am totally open for honest and respectful dialog on this blog and to me that means allowing those who have different opinions than I to comment on my blog. 

I know of several blogs which either don’t post comments that disagree with them, or blatantly alter comment contents to fit their agenda.  I don’t think this is right and want to ensure that readers and commenters to my blog have an equal voice. 

I am more than happy to have questions/comments posted that are respectful in nature. I don’t ask that you agree with me on everything. We’re all different and we all have different opinions. I’m all for open discussion and as long as I deem that your comment shows respect to me. The list below are ways to get your questions/comment deleted.

1. Hateful speech.  (calling names, pure slander/libel, etc.)
2. Use of curse words an/or taking the Lord’s name in vain.
3. Threatening speech of any kind.
4. Inappropriate content of any kind. (pornography, satanisim, etc)
5. Being argumentative in a disrespectful manner. (calling names, slander/libel, etc.)
6. Obvious spam (although I do have some pretty strict spam filter in place, at times some do slip through)

The items listed above are based on MY opinion, so if I deem it unacceptable, then it will be deleted. BUT, I will let you know just why I’m deleting your comment via email (if you list yours), or within the comment section.  While this blog is out there in the public for all to see, it is still my blog and it’s up to me to edit it, both in content of my posts AND any questions/comments that I allow.

I will not delete comments/questions that are presented in a respectful manner. I’m not big on debate, but I will be more than happy to listen to differences in opinion presented to me in a respectful manner. But, you must also realize that I have a right to my opinion and I always try hard to present them in a respectful and kind manner and expect you to do the same. I honestly try very hard to present myself and my opinions in a manner that reflects Christ.

The Lord has really challenged me on some things and I’m working on some changes in my life to reflect what the Lord has been doing in me.  The focus of this blog may also change as well.  I really am not sure what I’m going to do.  In recent weeks, I’ve been struggling with keeping up with this blog.  Right now we are going through a slow time here at home and there’s just not a lot to post.  No real ‘”homesteading” stuff going on right now and often a lack of something interesting to say. 

I’ve also been getting rid of some bad influences in my life.  The Lord has convicted me about some blogs I’ve been reading and some online friends that I need to let go.  And, I’m following his lead on that. 

And with they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.  –1 Timothy 5:13

It’s so easy to get caught up in gossip and sticking my nose into things that I shouldn’t.  There have been blogs, forums and even Facebook that I read just so I can keep up with the gossip about other bloggers.  Not to mention, visiting blogs just to see what outrageous thing they’re going to say next.  And it certainly seems harmless at times to keep up with celebrity tabloid gossip, but it’s not.  God says that gossip in any form is wrong. 

While I will never completely go away Facebook for example, I have seriously cut back my time there.  I do enjoy Facebook because it’s the only way I can keep up with some family and friends and keep in touch with them.  The last couple of days, I’ve been removing some friends from my Facebook and removing some blogs from my reader.

My blog has started getting some comparisons to certain other blogs in which I’m not comfortable being compared with.  I’ve been accused of being prideful and far from humble because of some things I’ve posted.  It’s been said that some of my decisions have been influenced by some other bloggers, which really isn’t true, but I guess I can see why I’ve been compared with them on a certain level.  I’ve distanced myself from these bloggers for many reasons.  First of all, I’ve followed them for the wrong reasons—because I liked seeing who was “stirring the pot”.  Secondly, I DO NOT agree with everything they post and am seriously offended by some of it.  Lastly, I do not feel comfortable being painted with the same brush as they are.  I am not hate-filled and judgmental.  I’m not some crazy fundamentalist who bends scripture to make my point or fit my view.  I don’t rage against everyone who is different from me.  God has made each of us special and He’s going to use us and mold us as HE sees fit.  I’m going through a lot of growing pains as a Christian.

So what does all this mean for this blog?  It means that I’m going to seriously be working on my modesty, and I don’t mean what I put on my body.  I mean TRUE modesty.

1. I’m going to work hard on being humble.  I’m going to try to concentrate on putting others before myself.  To try harder to model my life after Christ’s.  I’m going to work harder on having a servant’s heart.
2. I’m not going to allow myself to be caught up in things that are not Christ-like such as gossip, controversy, and “pot stirring”.
3. I’m going to be content with what the Lord has provided for me and stop worrying about what other people are doing or what they have.
4. Ultimately, I believe that modesty is selflessness.  Our purpose is not to build ourselves up or to please ourselves.  Our purpose is to praise the Lord, to build Him up, to please Him.  We are to put God before all else.  We cannot fully do that unless we are modest.

Now that doesn’t mean I won’t post my beliefs on my blog.  I’ve always strived to post my views in a Christ-like manner, but I know at times I’ve been harsher than I meant to be.  This blog is meant to be a reflection on my life and what’s going on in it.  I’ve always shared the daily happenings in my life, our projects, and our disappointments and losses.  That’s not going to change.  But the most important thing to me is that my blog brings glory to the Lord. 

The shirt is one I got at the clothing giveaway in our town a few weeks back and the denim skirt is one that my Mom gave me for Christmas one year…so this was a free outfit .  As usual, but unseen, I’m wearing my white leather walking shoes and a cute matching headcover I made.

Here’s a better view of the headcover

Well I’m off to run errands!  Have a blessed day everyone!

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