Sneak Peek!

Hey Everybody,

I wanted to share our cover with you! Y'all know I am just about to bust! The magazine has gone to the printer and will be out next week!

I hope that you are all enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a wonderful day yesterday visiting with both sides of my husband's extended family--one for lunch, the other for dinner. By the Lord's grace, both of his grandmothers are still living, in their right minds, and in good health. That is amazing, isn't it? And they are precious. The funniest thing I heard yesterday was at the lunch table was when Rich's dad was sitting next to Rich's grandmother (his mom's mother).

She said, "Ray, you know that I'll be 90 on January 27, don't you?"

And without missing a beat, he replied, "Really? I thought you were well over a hundred." It was so funny.

At last night's dinner, on the Powell side, there were around 70 people and five generations present. What a treasure! And we were all going nuts over the latest addition, Baby Riley, like we had never seen a baby before! It was so much fun!

btw, If you are on a "Black Friday" hunt for bargains, Home Educating Family magazine is also offering some great discounts this weekend, if you would like to subscribe. Just click here.

Catching Up!

Hey Everybody,

I am still catching up from being out of town last weekend! I've been home since Sunday afternoon, but my bag is still not completely unpacked! For those of you who are organized, get-it-done people, please pray for me! :) It will all get done, just probably not as quickly as I would like!

The Pure In Heart Conference was just amazing! I had such a great time with the 11 & 12 year olds. We laughed, we were silly, we had fun, and best of all, we spent some real time in God's Word, looking at the truths that are there for us to treasure. I heard that the girls were calling me "the hyper one"--now how in the world did they come up with that? :)

I took tons of pictures, y'all, but right now, I'm not sure where my camera is, LOL. Yeah, I know, I think I'll go unpack now...

EXTREME MAKEOVER

Hey Everybody,

By the time you are up and reading this, we'll be on our way to the Pure In Heart conference!

I am so excited about this weekend! The Lord gave me some new ideas for props and examples to use, so I am hoping that will really help the fifth and sixth grade girls that I'll be teaching to "get it!"

One of the things that we will be teaching the girls has to do with the word "distorted." Now, that's not a word that you hear most 10 - 12 yo girls saying! However, it's a great word that grabs their attention! I'll be explaining how the true definition of beauty has been "distorted" by the media and our culture. The point is to help them be able to distinguish what the world says about beauty vs. what the Lord says about true beauty.

I remember when I was eleven years old. There was not a lot of beauty to be found in my outer or inner appearance. Thank God for the extreme makeover that can only be found in Christ Jesus, right? Please pray with me that the hundreds of moms and daughters who are attending the event this weekend would allow the Redeemer access to their hearts and minds, so that He may perform an extreme makeover on each one of them!

FREE COPY OF HOME EDUCATING FAMILY MAGAZINE

Hey Everybody,

I mentioned a few weeks ago that my family is going to be on the cover of the Nov/Dec issue of Home Educating Family (HEF) magazine (something we are really excited about!), and today I want to let you know that you can actually get a copy of HEF FREE when you go to their website! It says on the little pop-up form that, "Sample issues are sent with next published issue," so that would indicate that if you sign up now, since we are on the next issue, you would get that one FREE! Does that make sense?

I thought you might like to know!

Honoring Those Who Serve

Hey Everybody,

The most Christ-like thing you can ever hope to do is lay down your life for another. In many ways, we moms do this every day: laying down our lives, time, resources, desires, and investing our hearts and souls into the lives of our children. But they belong to us--they are part of us--and we love them. What about laying down your life for a stranger?

Thousands of men and women do this every day: our precious United States soldiers. A few years ago, I had the wonderful privilege of leading a mom's group of army wives at Fort Campbell, KY. I met many of these courageous heroes, and I got to know their families. I loved the days I got to spend sharing with those ladies and also, welcoming their new babies into this world.

One day in particular stands out. I was on the post making rounds at the army hospital with the chaplain. He took me to meet a very special young couple who were welcoming their third child into their family. The young dad was sitting on the bed with his wife and holding his new baby. He was wearing a pair of red gym shorts that exposed his double amputation. He had lost both his legs in a bombing during his tour in Afghanistan. I didn't mean to stare, but I couldn't take my eyes off his scars. His legs had been amputated well above his mid-thigh. As I stood there trying to celebrate the joy of this young family, I could not get over the fact that I was standing next to a man whose scars were there because of me. And it occurred to me that in this life, it was a glimpse of what it might be like when I stand next to my Lord Jesus and see His scars for the very first time. I was completely overwhelmed with emotion: gratitude, wonder, sorrow, pride, and reverence.

How do you say "thank you" to such a hero? And what do you do when he says that he would do it all again?

Oh, America! With such heroes as these, our hope is not lost.

Harvest Time

Hey Everybody,

What does life look like for you these days? We are finally having some beautiful fall weather here in Middle Tennessee, and I am so thankful! It has rained so much lately (I'm talking for weeks!) that I wondered if we were going to ever see some pretty fall days! Sunshine makes a big difference in my outlook. Does it yours?

If you get a chance to go to a farmer's market this month, or even if you want to take a few minutes to really browse through the produce section of your local grocery store, I encourage you to stop and enjoy the colors, tastes, and textures of the harvest season. What a God we serve! Fall colors are gorgeous! Whether on the trees or on the table, they show the attention to detail that comes straight from our Creator's unfathomable mind!

Funny thing: While I can enjoy the harvest, I don't enjoy it with the same sense of pride and accomplishment as the one who worked the field. That's because my "field" isn't acres of farmland that I tend to and pray over each day. No, I'm working an entirely different field as a parent. I tend to and pray over hearts each day. I ask God for His providential care over the seeds I plant, and I wait. While I wait, I pull the weeds, scatter the fertilizer LOL, and pray some more. Throughout the day, my field of hearts is topmost in my mind, and I eagerly anticipate the harvest!

Of course, I wonder. I wonder what the harvest will look like. I wonder if every seed planted will bear fruit. I wonder if I sowed the seeds deeply enough. Did I see every weed? Did I use enough fertilizer? Or too much? And like the farmer, I realize that once I've done my part, it is what it is. I'm done. What happens underground, below the surface, within the heart--well, that is not my job, anyway. The Lord tends to the unseen work between planting and harvesting.

What a relief!

Learning as I go,