Everyone needs to take a break

While hubby was out of town, the kiddos and I took a break from school and went off to visit my folks at some property they own on a gravel bar.  First stop was a local nursery to pick up some pumpkins.  On the way in, Mookie was bemoaning the fact we were not at a "real" pumpkin patch and this was not going to be any fun.  Wrong!  First thing we saw was their grass maze, to which I lost them right away...

On the other side of the grass maze was a huge checkerboard which they loved because they've been chess fanatics over the past weeks (you can't move a muscle with out a query of  "do you want to play chess?" ).

Playing checkers and climbing a mountain

There was also a "mountain" to climb, where we found some swallowtail caterpillars.  Then on we went to our gravel bar where we explored nature with our family and even enjoyed some time with my aunt and uncle who came down too. What a wonderful way to spend a beautiful fall day in Kansas!

Shorty exploring at the gravel bar

A New Scout Experience

  A couple of years ago, Mookie was a part of an American Heritage Girls troop in Topeka but the cost was a little more than our limited budget could handle, not to mention the gas & time it took for the hour round trip.  So, we sat out a year and prayed that we would find something similar that was more of a fit for us as a family.  Well, we found it!  A homeschooling friend of ours turned us on to a Christian based scouting program that can be done independently or as a group - what a blessing!  It's through Keepers of the Faith with their Keepers at Home program.  Several other homeschooling families were also interested so we created our own group that is going to meet once a month.

  We had our first meeting Friday and had a blast!  The subject was tree identification.  We met at a friend's house who has several acres and an ample amount of trees and gathered examples of 10 specimens as we hiked around her lake. 
  The girls (and moms) had a blast!  The weather was a perfect fall day and the fall colors were just beautiful!  Mookie and her friend pretended that they were Indian princesses on the trip, "you can be Pocahontas, and I'll be Sacagawea".  Of course it wasn't all work, the girls took time out to pet the local "wildlife"...
We then retired back to the house for some excellent hot cocoa and trail mix provided by our leaders for the day.
  It is such an answer to prayer to have this opportunity to do scouting with our friends!  Next month, I'm helping lead the meeting and we're going to have tea parties as our topic!

A Love For The Lost

Having previously read published accounts of David Brainerd's life, including that edited by Jonathan Edwards, I was familiar with Brainerd's compelling life story. The chance to review this Kindle formatted work made availble courtesy of Christian Focus 4 Kids and Brian H. Cosby's rendition, published as part of their tremendous Trailblazer Series of Christian biographies, provided the opportunity to share his life story with our children (ages 8 and 9). Both are avid readers and enjoyed the digital format of this publication. While our oldest was certainly able to dig into the book on his own, both he and his younger sister preferred to sit down in the quiet time before bed and have Dad read a portion to them. Supplementing our discussions were topics for further thinking provided at the back of the book, broken down by chapter in a topical format. These offered points of discussion during devotional time or as starters for discussing a chapter we were either reading or had just finished.

The difficulties young Brainerd faced offered opportunities to talk as a family about God's sovereign plans for each person and the fact that as Christians we are not to expect a life of ease and comfort, but rather a life of faithfulness and obedience that will ultimately glorify our Creator, even through times of trial and suffering. The life and ministry of David Brainerd was short and often filled with physical pain and self-doubt about his own worth and abilities. Despite this however, in his short life David exhibited the fullness of God's grace, mercy, and a Spirit-filled life that accomplished much for the kingdom of God through sharing the Word with the natives living in mid-18th century colonial America. Pillars of the Christian faith such as John Wesley, William Carey, Robert Murray McCheyne, and Jim Elliot all acknowledge the personal effect David Brainerd's life story had on them, and it's doubtless that countless others have likewise been drawn to his life witness.

The chance to review this work is timely. Some 265 years ago this week, David Brainerd passed into eternity (October 9, 1747) at the age of 29. His witness however is as strong today as it ever has been, calling on this generation, as those who came before and those to come, to remain faithful to God's call and persevere through any circumstance in the service of our King.