Gather the Family Review & Giveaway!

We were recently sent a copy of the video Gather the Family, from Franklin Springs Family Media.  Gather the Family is a film about gathering your family to worship.  It is about making dads feel confident and not inadequate.  It is about reminding us that this world is full of things that use up our time and that we need to purpose to carve out a special time to worship the Lord in our homes with our family each day.

I have to tell you that this film was a huge encouragement to me.  I watched it with out The Hubs, but hope to watch it together soon.  This film was full of encouragement from several fathers, including R.C. Sproul Jr, mothers (even a single mother) and children to faithfully have a family worship time.  It was a great blessing to hear some of the older children talk about how the Lord has used family worship to grow them in the Lord and bring their family closer together. 

One of the best things about this film in my opinion, is that it made family worship a very simple thing to do.  These families encourage you to worship as a family even with very small children, even if you are a single mother and even if dad isn't a professional theologian.

I read Bible with my children during the day while dad is at work.  The Hubs and I have discussed reading the Bible together as a family, but we have yet to put this into practice.  I am so thankful that Franklin Springs allowed us to review Gather the Family and I am prayerful that the Lord will use it grow our family in this area to honor Him! 

I think that every home should have this video and WATCH it.  You can purchase your own copy directly through Franklin Springs Family Media for $18.95

If you have seen this film before please comment and let me know what you thought about it and how it impacted your family.  Thanks!

Franklin Springs Family Media has offered a copy of Gather the Family to one of Y O U ! ! The giveaway will end on July 22, 2011.  Here is how you can win....

Please leave a SEPARATE COMMENT for each way that you enter and YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

• You must be a Follower or Subscriber of LSG to Win! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you follow.
• If you have just become a new Follower or Subscriber please tell me how you heard about this giveaway.
• Spread the Word! If you have a blog and post about this contest please come back and leave me a link to your post.
• Please visit the Franklin Springs Family Media website, let me know which of their other family friendly videos you would be interested in.
• Facebook or Twitter about this giveaway and leave me a comment to let me know about it.
• Like Franklin Springs Family Media on Facebook.

Please note that Franklin Springs Family Media provided me with a free copy of the film Gather the Family for review purposes only.  I was not in any way compensated  for my review.

2011-2012 Curriculum Choices Part 1

After much prayer and consideration, and a nudge from a good friend, I think I've  f i n a l l y  got my curriculum for next year figured out.  I think. 

For those of you that don't know, we have been using My Father's World for the last 3 years.  For some reason I was not really crazy about Creation to Greeks.  I loved, loved, LOVED the Old Testament Bible studies but really got tired of studying Egypt.  I was telling a friend today that I felt like we studied Egypt for like 40 years : )

So when you home school and you are not happy with a curriculum you can either 1) suffer through it, 2) do a switch ola or 3) tweak it.  I am deciding to tweak it!

I really wanted to continue the chronological wheel of MFW but just felt l I really did ALOT of tweaking to our curriculum last year and need to change something.  I have been eyeballing KONOS for a long while now.  I just couldn't really seem to wrap my little finite mind around it, so I dug a bit and learned a little more about it.  The more that I learned the more that I liked it.  I was really drawn to the fact the the focus is character traits.  So, long story short I decided that I wanted to find KONOS used and do it along with MFW.  Crazy right??!!  I did indeed find it used, all 3 KONOS volumes as well as the timeline figures to go with it. 

After looking through the KONOS curriculum I began to reconsider doing MFW.  I decided to focus on just KONOS.  We tried a part of the Attentiveness unit at the end of our last school year and really enjoyed it.  We loved the read a louds, the discussion, the hands on projects and such.  BUT, I still didn't feel settled in my mind with it for some reason.  I had been asking the Lord to lead me to the right curriculum and give me a peace about it, but I just really didn't have it. 

Fast forward to last week, my friend Marta (remember the girl from the zoo) stopped by to see the KONOS books because I was trying to get her to co-op and do Konos with me (mind you I am the one that got her using MFW).  She is an hour and a half a way from me but I figured, hey we'd work that little detail out later : )   Once she looked at the MFW book I'd be using next year (Rome to Reformation) and Konos she said, hey why don't you tie them together.   The Lord reminded me that this was the original leading that I had.  But I really didn't think I could do it since there isn't a ton of Roman studies in Konos.  Marta encouraged me to just sit down and take a look at both curriculum's, and that is just what I did last Friday evening. 

What I figured out was, where I couldn't pull from Konos to match up with the MFW history I could match up the science.  So, some weeks we will pull in some science from Konos and some week history stuff.  Hope this makes sense outside of my brain.  I am really excited to finally feel at peace about it our curriculum for next year.  I don't know about you but I am a little bit stressed when my school plans are in limbo.  Ya know what I am sayin'!

I tell you what we are doing for the 3 R's in another post.

Summer Reading

Every summer I go back and forth about whether to continue some schooling in the summer.  We have been homeschooling for 6 years and so far that hasn't happened.  And yes, the kids are quite happy about this. 

One thing that I do carry on in the summer is reading.  If we are home we generally still carry on a nap/ quite time routine.  The way that this looks is after lunch we all go snuggle on the coaches in the family room and I read.  If we haven't already read Bible for the day then we start with Bible.  Right now we have been reading from Keys for Kids, The Pearables and from Hidden Treasures (Doorposts).  We read the scripture and story (if there is one) and discuss it.

After Bible we read a short book or a chapter from a book we are working on.  We recently read The Three Weavers ( this book is a must if you have daughters) and we are now working on The Hedge of Thorns, both from Lamplighter Publishers.  I have read both before on my own a few years ago and I am glad to be able to read them with my children.  I highly recommend both of them. 

I also like to include shorter picture books for the boys since they are younger.  Like today we read Bible, a chapter from The Hedge of Thorns and then we read a Christopher Churchmouse story. 

Reading with my kids is probably my favorite time of the day.  I enjoy reading and discussing the stories and scripture with them.   It is a real blessing to hear the things that the learn from our reading time. 

I also like to have the girls read at least a chapter from their book and the boys each get a pile of books to go through before their naps.

Since we are reading anyway I decided to do a few of the summer reading programs that are out there.  We are doing the reading programs through Borders and Barnes and Noble.  If you haven't started a reading program with your kids there is still plenty of time left. 

As far as what I am reading, I have been trying to be faithful with my daily Bible readings from the M'Cheyne Bible Plan.  I am also trying to get thru the Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson and For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn.  I have been also reading alot of curriculum lately it seems. 

Do you have your children continue reading through the summer?

(I am an affiliate for Lamplighter Publishers because I absolutely love their books.  If you purchase a Lamplighter book from my affiliate link then I will receive a small commission and you will have a new book that you and your family will love! )

Menu Plan 7/10/11 - A Few New Recipes

I am trying out a few new recipes this week.  Hopefully they are good, my little crew can be not real easy to please in the food department.  Maybe we will find a few new family favorites. 

Here is what's cookin' this week....

Monday

Breakfast – Eggs, Toast & Fruit
Lunch – Cheese Quesadillas, Carrots Sticks and Oranges
Dinner- Caesar Chicken Pasta Salad w/ Squash & Zucchini

Tuesday
Breakfast- Waffles & Fruit
Lunch- Homemade Pizza & Fruit
Dinner- Ham & Broccoli Quiche & Salad  - I haven't made a quiche in a looong time!  I think the kids will really like this one.

Wednesday
Breakfast-Yogurt, Toast & Fruit
Lunch-Grapes, Cheese and Crackers
Dinner- Tuna Stuffed Shells & Mixed Veggies/  Tilapia for Me : )

Thursday
Breakfast-Pancakes & Fruit
Lunch-PB & Honey, Fruit & Yogurt
Dinner-Mexi Beef Casserole (I plan to make 2 of these - 1 to eat and 1 to freeze)

Friday
Breakfast- Oatmeal & Fruit
Lunch- Dogs, Macaroni and Cheese and Oranges
Dinner- Pizza

Saturday
Breakfast- Kids Choice
Lunch-Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, Cucumber Slices and Apples
Dinner-Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup and Broccoli

Sunday
Breakfast- Cereal
Lunch-PB&J’s, Fruit and Chips
Dinner- Turkey & Cheese Quesadillas w/ Corn

Here I am to Worship

by Chris Tomlin

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
All together worthy,
All together wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost
to see my sins upon that cross--

As a Christian, I am so thankful that Jesus paid it all! I will NEVER know the suffering and pain for my sins. Jesus paid for my every sin when He died on the cross.  It just amazes me that He loved me, a sinner, so much that he would take my pain and suffering so that I wouldn't have to.
It also amazes and humbles me that everytime the Father looks upon me, He sees His Son, Christ Jesus!

You can listen to Here I am To Worship, here.