Apologia LIVE Retreat Ticket GIVEAWAY!

I have some super exciting news to share!  Last summer I had an amazing opportunity to have lunch with several of the ladies from Apologia, including Rachael Carman, the author of How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids.

During this luncheon I learned alot about Apologia and how they are focusing more on resources that offer support for the homeschooling mom.  One fantastic way that they are doing this is by offering the Apologia Live Retreats for homeschool moms.  

I have not been to an Apologia Live Retreat but I have listened to the past two years of them on CD's. As I listened to Before the Throne 2011 and Standing Strong 2010, I got to hear homeschool mom's like Rachael Carman, Zan Tyler, Jeannie Fulbright and Debra Bell encourage me through scripture and offer me godly wisdom from their past experiences.

This year Apologia Live presents

Celebrate the Journey!

Celebrate the Journey of homeschooling, wifehood, and being a mom during the good times, the bad times and yes, even the ugly times.  Join us as we look at the scriptures and seek encouragement from veteran homeschool moms on how to Celebrate the Journey!

Apologia Live invites you to a retreat designed to encourage and support homeschool moms.

Featured Speakers:

Rachael Carman

Heidi St. John

Zan Tyler

Debra Bell

Elizabeth Smith

Jeannie Fulbright

Sherri Seligson

Anne MacCallum

You can read more about these fabulous speakers on the Apologia Live Retreat's blog.

Ok, now for the exciting news!!  Apologia Live Retreats is giving away ONE FREE TICKET to a LSG reader!!  

This giveaway will include ONE Regular Ticket to either the Baltimore, Maryland or Atlanta, Georgia Apologia Live Retreat. This includes one registration, a $115 value, that will include 6 General Sessions and 2 Prayer Sessions on Friday afternoon and evening, starting at 3:30 pm and running through Saturday at 4:15 pm. The Retreat ticket also includes lunch on Saturday. (Please note that this giveaway does not include hotel accommodations or the Nuts & Bolts Sessions, these would be the winner's responsibility if interested.) 

Baltimore, MD  - March 9-10, 2012

Atlanta, GA - March 23-24, 2012

This GIVEAWAY will run until January 30th, 2012.  Here's how YOU can ENTER TO WIN! 

• Visit the Apologia Live Blog, then leave a comment about what you are most interested in about the conference.
• Friend Apologia Live on Facebook and then let me know about it.
• Follow Apologia Live on Twitter and then leave me a comment.
• You can spread the word about this giveaway on your blog and leave me a link back.

 Please leave a comment with each entry as well as your email.
Thanks so much for entering!

Lord willing, I am going to be at the Baltimore, MD Apologia Live Retreat, I would love to meet up with any of you there : )

Please note that Apologia Live will be providing the ticket to the winner. I will also be attending the Apologia Live Retreat as a gift from them for promoting the retreat (Thanks Apologia, I can't wait!)

 

A Biblical Approach to Early Childhood Discipline

Just wanted to share something with you all.  As I have mentioned before, once the kids are nestled all snug in their beds at night sometimes I finish folding laundry, mopping the kitchen floor, etc. and I like to listen to messages while I am doing these chores.

I have been listening to FamilyLife Today's Dennis and Barbara Rainey give sound biblical wisdom on raising children.  They have 6 grown children of their own and have been in the thick of raising children.  This couple really encouraged me as I listened to them talk about some of the very challenges that I am currently facing. 

 You really should listen to the message on your own but I wanted to share some of the golden nuggets that really stuck with me:

• I really liked their suggestion of sitting down with your spouse and each of you coming up with 10 things that are most important in raising your children.  After each of you come up with your Top 10 then come together and agree on the Top 5 that you both agree are important.   
• Dennis Rainey gave the scripture Hebrews 12:5-11 and explained that after he would discipline once of his children he would read them this verse.  I LOVE this idea and want to work on memorizing this passage of scripture: 5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
• Barbara explained connection with that they modeled the correction that the gave their children after God's discipline of Adam and Eve in the garden.with how they disciplined their own children. 

They have several messages that look very good.  I think that it is very profitable to glean from those that have gone through the very same things that I am going through.  Hopefully you will enjoy them too!

I Got to Meet & Stamp with Shelli!

If you have every heard of Stampin' Up! then chances are you have heard of Shelli Gardner.  She is the owner and co-founder of Stampin' Up!

Do you all remember those cards I posted a few weeks ago?  Well, the demonstrator that held that workshop, Maryann, won a Work Shop of a Lifetime with Shelli, meaning that Shelli was going to come to town to do a special workshop for Maryann.  Well, this was the first time that I had ever met Maryann, who is super sweet BTW, and when she was telling me about the workshop I said, "I wanna come!"  Long story short, I was in! 

Last Monday evening was the workshop.  Shelli actually was the "demonstrator" and did a great workshop.  Once we arrived we were able to make a cute little tag for pens, and Shelli demo'ed 2 cards.  We got to make one of them ourselves, although I was so busy chatting with Shelli that my card looked like I had never stamped before, LOL! 

Shelli, is so friendly and easy to talk to.  My sister and I got to talk to her about how she and her sister started Stampin' Up!, her family (I told her that they take the best family pictures!) and I had her show me how to properly tie a knot on a card. 

Shelli posted some pics of the workshop on her personal blog So Shelli, if you wanna check them out.

Ever Need a Little Godly Encouragement?

I have been listening to a series that I found online by Martha Peace.  Martha is truthful, funny and best of all a she is a Godly woman.  In this series she shares her testimony, which I really enjoyed hearing.  She gives wisdom for women with unbelieving husbands, husbands that don't lead their families and then there are several messages from a women's conference that she did.  She shares a little about her books The Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective and Damsels in Distress: Biblical Solutions for Problems Women Face. 

The messages I have listened to, have been very encouraging to me.  I enjoy how she seems to a very real and down to earth  person.  Some of the stuff she says just makes me giggle. 

I hope that you enjoy listening to Martha Peace too!

Making Cards Again!

I used to be VERY into scrapbooking and card making, I even used to be a demo for Stampin' Up!  Somehow, I got away from this little passion of mine.  My sister has started going to these Friday night card classes and she had invited me a few times but I had thanked her and said naa.  This time when she told me she was going I think I might have invited myself to go : )  So glad I did, I had a great little time. 

We had so much fun that she even came over on Saturday and we made more cards while our kids ran wild played nicely together out back.

Here are the few things I accomplished:

Can't wait til the next one, doing this made me realize how much I missed it!  I am  going to be doing a scrapbooking class soon too.