Stone Soup for Five: Summer review, what I'm loving, and what's coming up!

Summer review, what I'm loving, and what's coming up!


SUMMER REVIEW

Feeding the cat.  

(Not really, but he sure wishes he got this instead of his rather pedestrian dried kibble.)

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Corey had the privilege of  baptizing two of our sons in the lake that we've camped near almost every summer of their life.  What a blessing!

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When we got back from our annual campout, we got right into replacing our 25+ year old roof.  We decided to do it ourselves (but with the help of many, many of our good friends who sacrificed hours and hours helping, teaching, instructing, and doing the hard manual labor of removing three layers of decades old shingles and laying new ones).  


There were seven days of feeding 15-20 people three meals a day (which is actually fun to do with friends in the kitchen!).


Seven days later and the last ridge shingle was laid.  You know that feeling when you have something worrisome (like your roof leaking and caving in) hanging over your head for years and years and it is finally repaired and replaced and good as new?  It still feels like I won a lottery.  So blessed to have so many friends help and support us!
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In September the wildfires went crazy all around us.  For over 10 days we had all windows closed and two air purifiers running full speed to keep the air somewhat breathable.  Though we were never in danger of having our home burn, we were a short drive away from this one.  Praising God that no one we knew lost their home, but so sad for those who did.
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So now we're back into a COVID-normal start of the school year.  This is my last year homeschooling my youngest son (though I'm not really even doing that as his last couple classes are taught at a co-op).  When I started homeschooling I never thought I'd finish, yet here we are, my baby a Senior.  Crazy how time, even COVID time, just keeps marching on.



WHAT I'M LOVING

When I can, I love tuning into the Bible read through with Mark and Cori.  They are reading the Bible straight through this year and even though I joined in late, I love listening along while they read the Bible and commentary.  I usually have it on as I'm doing my morning chores, working on the computer, and getting ready in the morning.  It is a longer show, but wonderful to stop and start as you need to.  They have a wonderful ministry going here and I pray the Lord richly blesses it.  It starts on YouTube live every morning at 9:30am and they read through till they're done with the day's reading.


Tea with teens.  I'm so thankful to get back into meeting with a few different teen girls to mentor and listen.  I learn so much about how they see the world and the pressures they are facing.  I have no idea how to do it well, but I know it mostly involves listening, pointing them to Christ, and tea.

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COMING UP!

I'm nervous about a break out session I'll be presenting at the 2020 Apologetics Conference.  It'll be a virtual conference this year and check out the incredible line up of speakers!  Josh McDowell, Neil Shenvi, Elizabeth Urbanowicz and Hillary Morgan Ferrer. If you don't know who they are, they are kind of Apologetics superstars and each one has been such a blessing in my life through their books and podcasts and videos as I've taught and worked with and raised teens.



I'll be doing a short break out session about teaching High School Apologetics in a homeschool class setting (Saturday October 24th at 1:30pm.  You can join  and virtually heckle me!  

If you want to join in, you can still buy tickets at a reduced cost.  And it is absolutely worth every penny.  If you work with teens, interact with adults, or live around or with children, you'll get amazing information on how to remove obstacles to help share the truth of the Christian faith without being an obnoxious jerk.

If you want to know more or join us (and I hope you do, it's so packed with useful wisdom that you can use in everyday life), here's the link:  https://theambassadorsforum.com/2020-registration/

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ANNNND!!

I've been working all spring and summer on a brand new resource for you!  It's called Watching Jesus and it is a new series of booklets (that fit perfectly inside most Bibles) that will walk you through the book of Matthew.


I'm thrilled with how they are coming out and have been using them myself since spring.  This method of carefully watching what Jesus does and says has been such an incredible blessing to me.  I'm working daily on it to make it the best it can be for you and it will be ready SOON!


It will be available only on my website as an instant download PDF that you can print and use immediately!  I'll send out more information as it gets closer to being done!

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Now, if you've read this far, you're one of the faithful! 
I'm looking for a few of you who would like to beta test booklet one of this series for me. 
Wow! Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to beta testing! I have enough testers for now, but keep watching for more updates!

Hope you are all doing well.  I'll talk to you again soon!




6 comments:

  1. I would love to test your booklet!!

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  2. You can reach me at tsbisme@hotmail.com

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  3. Love the cats expression over the drumstick, ha ha. Wonderful to see the kiddo's being baptized. I was baptized in June or July, 3 years ago. Glad you are able to rest easy on the roof worries, I sure know how that can weigh on a mind. I still find myself occasionally going uh oh, when it rains hard, but then I realize duh, I have a roof now. Just be sure now, to stand back occasionally or sit in the car and look at your roof to appreciate it more, ha ha. I am also glad no one was hurt or injured in the fires. We had the smoke drift our way - all the way out in Virginia, near the Kentucky border. I love the purple tea set. <3 You all stay safe. <3 -Lisa-

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  4. So good to hear from you Kari and all the good stuff! I am excited to join the Tethered to the Truth Conference and can't wait till Watching Jesus is released!

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  5. Your Watching Jesus looks exciting! Thanks for whetting our appetites! I also live on the west coast, in California. It has been a crazy August through October! Our home is safe, the smoke has been horrific. Our oldest daughter was evacuated from the house they'd bought less than a year earlier in the CZU fire. A few weeks later a friend's daughter, the same age as our oldest was evacuated from the Napa fire. Tough year - only points us to look up, from our knees. Wishing you the best at the conference! I'm sure you will bless all who attend your session!

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  6. I am anxiously awaiting your booklet as very soon I plan to be in Matthew and this is an excellent idea and direction as I am reading. I believe this will help us all to know Him more intimately!

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