Archive for blessings
Wordless Wednesday
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A Milestone…
“He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” [Matthew 18:2-5]
Sweet Blessings,
Not Quite a Smile, but…
Posted by: | CommentsA 6 word story contest. In my post, A Story to Win?, I said I’d let you know if God smiles on me or another entry. At the time, I meant whether I won or not.
I didn’t win this contest. Katie won. You can read her winning 6 word story at She Reads – along with the other top favorites.
Not quite a smile, but a definite grin! Why? Because, out of nearly 400 entries, mine was chosen as one of the top ten! I cried. Just a little. =) I’m amazed and encouraged. I have so much to learn, and “miles to go before I sleep,” but it would appear that God approves of the direction I’m headed. I long to perfect walking in His will…
Sweet Blessings,
*miles to go… is a line from the poem – Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost
Friday’s Fave Five #103
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Living to tell The Story sponsors Friday’s Fave Five Meme. An opportunity for me to pause and note 5 Favorite moments of my week or to give thanks for 5 wonders or blessings or …
1.) A tall glass of freshly brewed, sweet, Southern iced-tea. A faithful companion when I need to stay awake long past my bedtime.
2.) 
225 republished classic books for children. Available in EPUB or Kindle format. Downloaded to my PC, for now, with the hope of a Kindle sometime this year!
3.) 28 new NetworkedBlogs followers. I want to reach 100 and have my first giveaway – 47 more to go – oh, my. Can you still remember when your blog had less than a hundred followers?
4.) The beauty and power of prayer. James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
5.) Introduced my younger children to a little Mannheim Steamroller this week. Simple fun.
I’m thankful for everyday, and no matter what circumstances around me may indicate, the truth is that I have abundant life in Christ Jesus.
Blessings,
Penny
Wordless Wednesday
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A Herald of Spring ~ Yellow Forsythias
“…and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or “What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:29-33
Blessings,
*Photographs and contents of this blog are the property of Knee Deep In Grace and may not be used without written permission.
Thank you.
Friday’s Fave Five #102
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Living to tell The Story sponsors Friday’s Fave Five Meme. An opportunity for me to pause and note 5 Favorite moments of my week or to give thanks for 5 wonders or blessings or …
1.) Loving memories of my mother. A St. Patrick’s Day baby born during WWII. Her daddy made her an Irish Kawleen. We knew her as Ma, Mom and Gramma. She died in 2003, just 3 months after being diagnosed with colon cancer. She would be amazed at how often we think of her and how much we miss her. Even I am amazed at how real her life seems to the children that didn’t even have a chance to know her. One of my little ones walked into my room, yesterday, and said, “Today’s Gramma’s birthday and I have the perfect present for her.” Before I could say anything, she blew a kiss Heavenward and said, “Happy Birthday, Gramma.”
It’s so easy to hear my mother’s voice and her laughter. I hear them when I talk with my sister’s. I hear them in my own voice and the way I phrase a sentence when I speak to my children. I see the hint of her features when I look in the mirror and it makes me smile when one of my older children touches my hair and says, “Oh, Momma, your hair is starting to feel silky, like Gramma’s,” and a younger one says, “I wanna feel.”
She was a good woman. She loved God and she loved us. Growing up, she was everything I wanted to be. I look forward to “meeting her in the morning, just inside the Eastern gate, over there…”
A Skelton photograph
2.) Ah, the sunshine. The warm breeze. The chill is out of my bones and I am sure that spring has arrived! A sweet respite before the hot, humid; sometimes languid days of summer.
Photo by PK
3.) $3.99 All You Can Eat Papa’s Pizza Buffet. Tossed salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers and shredded cheese; broccoli salad with raisins and dried cranberries, nuts and sunflower seeds. Thin crust loaded veggie pizza, thick crust three meat… your way, any way! Have you noticed grocery prices, lately? I don’t know how he does it. 1 case of head lettuce – $62. This time last year, 1 case of head lettuce – $38. Good food. Good people!
4.) Older children licensed to drive themselves to work and thereby enabling this momma to sleep in, just in case she was up until 3 a.m. writing or some such nonsense.
A Mustang dream
5.) A child’s laughter. Anyone’s child. Anywhere. I love to hear a child giggle and laugh. Innocent. Trusting. No inhibitions. In spite of all of the tragedy and heartache in this world, when I hear a child’s laughter I hear the sound of hope.
Photo by PK
“Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.”
*Photographs and contents of this blog are the property of Knee Deep In Grace and may not be used without written permission.
Thank you.
Friday’s Fave Five – #101
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Living to tell The Story sponsors Friday’s Fave Five Meme. An opportunity for me to pause and note 5 Favorite moments of my week or to give thanks for 5 wonders or blessings or …
1.) I’m sincerely grateful for this meme and the possibility of the personal archive of memories that may be built from it.
2.) Daffodils – everywhere – and the hope of spring, right around the corner.
3. I am married to a man after God’s own heart and his banner over me is love.
4.) I know that no matter what circumstances come against my family, we [individually and collectively] have a firm foundation on The Rock that holds and God will see us through. My thoughts and prayers are for Japan’s earthquake victims and their families and those in the path of the tsunami. May God have mercy on them.
5.) I have a little, inexpensive digital camera, but I was able to capture a lovely picture for my Wordless Wednesday post, this week. It reminds me of tea time with my Father God ~ a cup of peace in the midst of the day to day turmoil of life.
Counting my blessings and hoping you will count yours, too.
With a heart of thanksgiving,
*Photographs are the property of Knee Deep In Grace and may not be used without written permission.
Wordless Wednesday
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John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Sweetest Blessings,
*Photographs are the property of Knee Deep In Grace and may not be used without written permission.
My First Blog Award
Posted by: | CommentsI was recently discovered by Catherine @ Our Village Is A Little Different and she nominated me for the Stylish Blogger Award.
It matters not to me that this is not a one-of-a-kind award. I’m just excited that she picked ME! to receive it. “Thank you, Catherine. I’m honored.” In my enthusiasm to accept this, I neglected to read the small print. It never crossed my mind that I would have to give up chocolate for a year…
Fortunately, I don’t have to, but there are a few simple rules ~
- Thank and link back to the person who nominated you for this award.
- Share 7 things about yourself.
- Select 15 recently discovered, great bloggers, to receive this award.
- Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.
I believe that Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life and that absolutely no one gets to The Father, God, except through the saving knowledge of His grace – not works, but unmerited favor.
I believe there will be enough time to organize the clutter in my house when my children are grown. Right now, there’s just too many edu-fun things to do with them.
God never whispered in my ear, as a child nor as a teenager, and said, “I want you to have 11 children.” I wouldn’t give up or trade even one of them, but… if He had told me ahead of time, I’d probably have run the opposite direction, sure that this was the first mistake He’d ever made. I still feel ill-equipped, but I am so, very blessed.
If I could – I’d have a bin for everything (labeled) and every bin in it’s place (alphabetized).
Green. Sage. Forest. Olive. Spring. Pea. Camo. Moss. Clover. Emerald. Army. Asparagus. Sea. GREEN. Any of them. All of them. I really like the color green.
If you tell me something in strict confidence, you can count on me holding it in the strictest confidence. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” I don’t hang my dirty laundry on the line; so, I’m certainly not going to hang out yours.
I would downsize, pack up everybody, and move into a motor home to travel the country – in a heartbeat or at least in 60 days. It’s a mentality… only the back yard would change. All of the truly important things would stay the same. God, Family and Home. Faith, Hope & Love. All I need is a wealthy sponsor.
Please visit and if you’d like, follow my nominees:
Beyond the Silver and the Gold – A Filipino Family’s Homeschool Journey
What wonderful discoveries!
Blessings,
Giveaway
Posted by: | CommentsHeather, @ The Blessings Pour Out is having her first giveaway – MOST (movie). Christianity Today called the movie “life changing.”
Stop by for a visit and tell her PK @ Knee Deep In Grace sent you.
Blessings,
Say hello, while you’re here. I value the gift of your comments. Thanks. PK
Blue Diamond and Hope
Posted by: | CommentsMy older children grew up going on adventures with Ms. Valerie Frizzle and The Magic School Bus and they are sure she would think that Professor Ana Lyze (Expert in Outlandish Oddities) is a long lost cousin, or in the least, a forever friend with a kindred spirit. They both delight in exploring, learning and teaching children, but there is a significant difference in the heart of Professor Ana Lyze. Here’s an excerpt from a letter of introduction, from the professor:
Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Professor Ana Lyze… My research team and I specialize in the obscure, the abnormal, and bizarre.
Outlandish insects, rare diseases, unique gems, and more. There are things in God’s creation that you’ve never seen before!
…read, learn and research The Curiosity Files.
(signed)
Professor Ana Lyze
She acknowledges God and gives Him the glory!
We first “met” Professor Ana Lyze, when we were given The Curiosity Files: Blue Diamond, to read and review. This is an 88 page eBook, from The Old Schoolhouse (R) Magazine.
click the cover to view sample pages
Because of the professor, my children found it appealing from the first page. It is presented in an easy-conversation style. The Curiosity Files are ideal for ages 8 – 13, but there are enough internet resources, video links and options for older learners included, that it wasn’t difficult to stretch the age below or beyond and still keep everyone interested.
Currently, there are 9 curious unit studies available from TOS -
- Blue Diamond
- Blue-footed Booby
- Cicada Killing Wasp
- Dung Beetle
- MRSA
- Puffer Fish
- Quicksand
- Red Tides
- Zombie Fire Ants
But, there are others in development, already. If you have an oddity you’d like Professor Ana Lyze to sort out for you, she’s a contributor to The Curiosity Files facebook page, and I know she’d like to hear from you.
Blue Diamond is a thorough study of… you guessed it, diamonds. Especially, those rare diamonds that are formed when boron mixes with the carbon, the blue diamond. “It is estimated that for every 10,000 clear diamonds, the earth produces one colored one.” One of the most famous blue diamonds, The Hope Diamond, is highlighted in history. Bible scripture is referenced and adroitly woven throughout the unit. The subjects tie into one another, seamlessly.
Diamond –> Blue Diamond –> the Hope Diamond –> our greatest Hope/Jesus Christ
photo courtesy Smithsonian Institution
There are puzzles, maps, quizzes, worksheets, games; crafts and experiments – with Notebook and Lapbook instruction, covering writing, math, vocabulary and spelling, history, geology and Bible study.
More than 20 websites are listed for more fact finding. My older children researched the conflict/war diamonds of Sierra Leone and Angola.
Blue Diamond was especially interesting to us, because my children’s grandfather was a gemstone cutter for 5 years and then a diamond tool cutter for another 30 years. “Diamonds are extremely hard and focus light well, therefore everyone from computer manufacturers to military contractors are interested in them.” This gave my children the why to go with the what they knew their grandfather had done. We have a couple of old, uncut and unpolished diamonds and one, small round cut, set in a shank, that we studied under a magnifying glass.
Between the academics, reinforcement activities and the discussions on Biblical grace and hope; our family heritage and work ethics, and the true cost of blood diamonds, this was an exceptional unit study.
All eBooks published by The Old Schoolhouse (R) Magazine have a 7-day money back guarantee. The Curiosity Files are available in 9-pack CD-Rom ($49.) and 9-pack instant download ($46.); they are also sold separately. Check TOS store for individual pricing though, because every time I turn around they’re having a sale or promotion on something and the prices are cut. Sweet deals!
Go to The Homeschool Crew Blog to read reviews of the other Curiosity Files.
Blessings,
This product was given to me, free of charge, in exchange, for my honest review, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I receive no other compensation for my reviews on this blog. The opinions expressed are my own.
