Our Owl Week October 25, 2009

What a fun week we had studying and learning the letter O and all that goes along with it! We did read a book this week but it’s not part of our curriculum list. It’s one I found in the library called “White Owl, Barn Owl” and just went along well with our O week.

The book gives a great explanation about barn owls, where they nest, what they eat, how they sound and feel. My son really liked it and asked almost first thing in the  morning for me to read it to him. There were some new words for him to learn – pellets, nesting box, vole – but I think he gleaned a lot from the story.

For our craft, we found a pre-printed pattern that used hearts to put together a heart-shaped owl. This correlated well to the story because the barn owl is described as having a heart-shaped face. My son mostly glued the owl together (he’s not real into crafts right now.)

We also live near a bird sanctuary at a local park and took a trip there for a our owl week . We got to see a few owls – a great barred owl and horned owl. They were pretty sleepy but a few had their eyes open. It wasn’t getting pictures through the cage but I managed.

Of course we had to have an owl snack so we made owl cookies! My friend made these with her daughter so I thought we’d try them. They were easy and turned out cute but didn’t taste all that sweet… next time I’ll change up the dough instead of following the recipe!

Our week wasn’t only about owls. Our O book included other O words – octopus, otters, ox, oatmeal, opal. We practiced counting, letter matching and cutting with scissors. We also had an “orange” day and searched for all the orange things we could find. We mixed red and yellow paint to make orange (a darker orange), and my son “practiced” painting the letter O!

I also chose to make our main word of the week “obey” and used fun flashcards to show the word to my son. I kept it at our kitchen table so he could always see it while eating. And we memorized a new verse, Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.” My son already knows it, thanks to his Bible songs CD. We talked about what it means to obey and this will be a lifetime lesson I believe! We read Bible stories about obedience – the prodigal son, Noah and how Jesus calmed the storm…even the winds and waves obey Him!

Mike and Mary Anne October 21, 2009

I’m a bit behind on my blog posts but that’s what a baby and a preschooler will do to you! We did our M week a couple weeks ago and had a ton of fun! The book we focused on was Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. This book is part of the Five in a Row reading list, which is designed for 5-8 year olds.

My son received this book as a gift from his uncle and since we have it we decided to do this one as it corresponds with M. It’s a fun story about how well Mike cares for his steam shovel, Mary Anne. My son actually has a miniature steam shovel pictured below and it happens to be read just like Mary Anne!

Our Bible lesson for M week was none other than Moses. We read the stories of Moses that are in my son’s Bible (Passover, the burning bush, the Ten Commandments) and designed our own burning bush. It’s my son’s hand traced onto construction paper with torn/cut pieces of orange and yellow tissue paper glued to the “bush.” Looks pretty good!

I also decided to focus our days around certain “subjects,” such as math, science, music/art, language arts and history/social studies. This has helped me do a few activities per day and gives me more order to what we do. Of course, some days activities overlap or happen on a different day but the guideline is there and helps! And music day was quite often as my son enjoys hitting his “drum” with his “drumsticks.”

For language arts, we practiced our letter M by finding objects that begin with the letter. My son is not interested in writing yet but we can practice how a letter is constructed by making it out of shapes! He made the letter M with macaroni and he played with the leftover macaroni in a bowl of water. He found that dried macaroni quickly turns soggy if left in water.

Other fun things we did this week: we made edible mud with yummy gummy worms! The ingredients: crushed Oreos, chocolate pudding and gummy worms. Tastes great and once you’re done eating, you can put a bulldozer in the goop and have a ball!

Our final M project was what I call fun folders – we created a folder collage of Mexico, the country where my husband is from. We found some pictures that represent Mexico and some other 3D items to put in the folder. My son calls it his Mexico Book and he looks at it often

Planting Carrot Seeds! September 14, 2009

We’re just trekking along with our little homeschool preschool and last week read The Carrot Seed, which is part of our book list. This was such a simple book about a young boy who has faith that his carrot seed will sprout while everyone around him tells him it won’t. My son loved it! I found it at the library and it’s an oldie – check out the pics below!

Of course, we spent time outside “gardening” and planting seeds. We did actually plant a few carrot seeds in a large pot I have but these take a while to grow. We’ll see if anything pops up. My son did choose to plant some flower seeds as well – he chose poppies. Funny story – after he planted the flower seeds in one pot, he decided all of that soil with the seeds belonged in the large pot that had the carrot seeds! Yikes! So, now we have little sprouts in the large carrot seed pot and I have a feeling those are the flowers. We’ll see in a few weeks.

We also cut off the top of a carrot that has a little sprout on top and put it cut side down in a bowl of water and watched the sprout grow – and it did!

Another fun activity was making letters out of carrot matchsticks! I wasn’t expecting my son to actually eat the skinny carrot sticks but after he made a few letters he did eat them and thought they were yummy! Fun food!

We’re still focusing on memorizing John 3:16 and we’ve created a catchy jingle to go along with it. My son has several of the words memorized already so I’m thinking within a month he’ll know the whole verse.  This week was also letter H week and we read our book about Little H and all the H words we could find – hair, hands, hat, hippo and of course helicopter. Anything the drives or flies and makes lots of noise is my son’s best friend! See you next week!

Find a Friend in Corduroy August 23, 2009

The first week of using the preschool curriculum Before Five in a Row proved to be a great one for my son. We spent the week reading Corduroy, a sweet story about a lovable bear who spends a night in a department store searching for his missing button and in the end finds a friend. My son and I also focused on the letter F this week as we chug along in our weekly ABC lessons so the letter F tied in perfectly with Corduroy as we discussed friends!

Some of our activities this week that centered around the book included counting buttons since Corduroy has a missing button on his overalls that he desperately wants to find. We bought a cheap pack of multicolored buttons at the store and my son was ecstatic to count them and put them in piles. At 3 years old, he was able to count the buttons individually up to 20. We named the colors in English and Spanish and he knew them all.

We also covered Corduroy in buttons! We made an image of Corduroy out of construction paper with green cardstock overalls and my son glued on all the buttons he wanted. So Corduroy would never be without buttons again. Here’s his handiwork below:

The other great thing about the Before Five in a Row curriculum is that it gives a Bible verse that corresponds with each story. So for Corduroy, we memorized the first part of Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times.” And my son has memorized it. We talked about friends, how they treat each other, the names of my son’s friends, how Corduroy now had a friend too.

When we were out and about, we were able to talk about lessons we learned in the story as they related to everyday life. In the story, the young girl, Lisa, uses kind words and obeys her mother. These were great lessons to discuss with my son, showing him how life works best. And when my son choose to disobey this week, we went back to Corduroy and talked about how Lisa obeyed her mother in the store and how God wants us to obey. Our obedience to God and His commands in the Bible show that we love Him.

Next week’s book is Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Should be fun!

Homeschooling begins…or has it always been? August 21, 2009

Well, here we go! This past week, I started my first “official” week of homeschooling my 3-year-old son. He’s attending the Little Lamb Preschool and he’s the No. 1 student! I say that we’ve started the official week because I’m now documenting what we’re doing but since my son has been born I’ve been homeschooling him, in a sense. I’ve been teaching him all he needs to know at this age. At 2 years old, I took it a step further and introduced him to “school time” where we would spend time learning colors, shapes, numbers and his ABC’s. Our main focus has been reading a book focused on one letter of the alphabet and spending our week doing crafts, activities and games on that letter. We’re still doing that but we’ve added more to our “curriculum.”

What we’ve started is a program called Before Five in a Row which is so simple for preschoolers. We read one book per week for five days in a row, hence the name, and do crafts, activities and games focused on that book. Our first week, Aug. 17-21, was all about the book “Corduroy.” My son loves it! I’ll post some pictures of the activities in a separate blog post soon.

Overall, it’s been fun and easy to sit down and read with my son. He loves books. And the added benefit is that his baby sister, who will be 3 months old next week, listens in too! So, she’ll definitely be ready when it’s her turn. However, that’s where my homeschool hesitation comes in. Can I truly homeschool my son beyond the preschool years? And then continue with my daughter when they will be three years apart? I believe I’m looking too far into the future when I need to focus on my reasons for homeschooling now. And I have reasons, actually more of a desire that I believe is from God to educate my children at home.

Since my son was a baby and I was introduced to people who homeschooled, I became intrigued by the idea of teaching at home. I love to teach and what better students than your own children? I’ve blogged previously about my reasons for wanting to homeschool so I won’t go into much detail here but my No. 1 reason is to be able to incorporate Biblical lessons into my children’s education. How great for them to be able to start the day, continue the day and end the day with prayer? To be able to learn about their world from God’s worldview.

How much fun will it be to “do school” for a couple hours a day and then enjoy other activities whether it’s playing outside, playing instruments or sports, going on nature hikes, visiting with grandparents, etc. that will enhance their learning? Of course, they’ll have more time for these activities since they won’t be bogged down with homework.

Most of all, I’m looking forward to creating in them a desire to want to learn and to love learning in all aspects of life. Reciting our ABCs while playing in the sandbox, counting buttons on the floor, learning about fractions while measuring flour for cookies, understanding weather patterns by being in them and enjoying God’s creation by admiring the world around them.

So, we will embark upon this adventure at home and I hope to document most of our journey here at my blog (which I’ve neglected for some months after giving birth to baby #2!). Our successes, sometimes failures, joys and challenges will be included so others can learn and see that they too can succeed in teaching their children at home if that’s the desire God has placed in their hearts. Thanks for joining us!

From earthly pilgrims to heavenly princes February 17, 2009

If you ask my son what he did this weekend, he’ll quickly tell you that he went to a princess party. Hmmm, you might wonder, what exactly is this 3-year-old talking about? Of course, my husband or I would expound by saying that he went a princess-themed birthday party for one of his friends who is a girl. Flowing gowns and shiny tiaras (not to mention a pink castle moonwalk) were all the rage at this birthday bash and my son quickly picked up on princess theme. Thankfully, he was much more interested in bouncing in the moonwalk than attempting to play the role of Prince Charming.

But for a little while, the birthday girl was treated as royalty since it was her day to shine. Turning 3 is a big deal and you should be able to don a Cinderella gown and glass slippers if only for a little while. You go from pre-schooler to princess in a matter of minutes and all the attention is on you. Even if all you want are the presents.

I was reminded of this weekend’s party while continuing to read The Pilgrim’s Progress and came upon an interesting paragraph that clearly describes Jesus Christ. At this point, the main character, Christian, has had his burden removed by leaving it in a grave at the foot of the cross and has been saved by his Savior. He must continue on his journey of faith along the straight and narrow path despite discouragement and doubt. However, he receives some refuge in what is called Palace Beautiful where he learns more about the Lord of the Hill, Jesus, who is described as…

“a brave warrior, who, at great cost to himself, fought and killed the one who had the power of death…He stripped himself of his glory in order to give eternal riches to the poor and humble, and to make heavenly princes out of earthly pilgrims.”

How beautifully John Bunyan (translated into modern English) described the Prince of Peace, the King of Glory. He exchanged all the riches He knew for us, in order to save us, to turn us into royalty. The Bible clearly describes this in Philippians 2:5-11:

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

And what was the outcome of His humility and obedience for us, the earthly pilgrims? First Peter 2:9-10 says is succinctly:

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

Those who believe Jesus Christ died for their sins and rose from the grave, those who claim Jesus as Lord, are chosen, are royalty, are holy. We are set apart for Him! We are truly heavenly princes (and princesses!) who have received eternal riches because of God’s great love and mercy. We are heavenly princes for more than just a day – for eternity! And because of that we are to proclaim the excellencies of our Lord and Savior, to tell other earthly pilgrims that they too can become heavenly princes because of what Christ has done on the cross and because He overcame death. At a great cost to Himself and a great benefit to us.

My burdern acquired…my burden removed February 6, 2009

While recently reading The Pilgrim’s Progress again (since I didn’t get past the Slough of Despond the first time around), I read this bit of dialogue between the weary traveler, Christian, and a seemingly wise friend, Worldly Wiseman:

“This is a dangerous route,” Worldly Wiseman tells Christian, “You have already encountered the Slough of Despond; if you continue on this road, you will face weariness and pain, dragons and darkness, death and many other dangers.”

“But my burden is worse than any of the things you’ve mentioned,” insisted Christian.

“And how did you acquire your burden in the first place?” asks Worldly Wiseman.

“By reading this book,” Christian responds.

The book that Christian is referring to is the Bible, the book he is found reading at the beginning of The Pilgrim’s Progress. The book that tells him he is headed to a eternity of destruction if he is not saved. And how shall he be saved, he wonders? Upon meeting a friend named Evangelist, he learns of the Way of salvation and begins upon his journey.

In a sense, I, too, began upon a journey of faith after “acquiring” my burden of sin from reading “the book.” Growing up without a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ, God led me to read a Catholic Bible I had in my room when I was 22 years old. As I lived a life I felt had no purpose or specific direction (I was not, though, suicidal), the Bible would offer me some guidance, I figured. Rather, I met my Savior and learned of my need for Him after being shown by the Spirit that I was destined for an eternity of destruction due to my sinful ways. My burden of sin overtook me, as it did Christian. But praise be to God – He removed my burden through His grace, mercy and love. After that initial meeting, I began reading the Bible voraciously and God led me to a small Christian church where I was baptized into the faith.

It’s been almost 8 years since my conversion and through Scripture, God has shown me my life before and after Christ…

Before Christ, I knew God but did not honor Him as God or give thanks but became futile in my speculations and my foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21). I was cursed, for cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law (Galatians 3:10). Like all sheep have gone astray, I had turned to my own way (Isaiah 53:6). For I knew my transgressions and my sin was ever before me, and against God only had I sinned and did what was evil in His sight (Psalm 51:3-4). For there is none righteous, not even one and all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10, 23).

But God being rich in mercy and because of His great love for me made me alive together with Christ even while I was dead in my transgressions (Ephesians 2:4). God demonstrated His own love for me that while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me (Romans 5: 8). In my trouble, I cried to the Lord and He answered me (Psalm 120:1). I confessed my sin and He was faithful and righteous to forgive me and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I confessed with my mouth Jesus as Lord and believed in my heart that God raised Him from the dead and I was saved! (Romans 10:9)

For it was by grace I was saved through faith, which is the gift of God, not anything that was of myself so that I may not boast (Ephesians 2:8). Christ redeemed me from the curse of the Law having become a curse for me (Galatians 3:13). For while I was still helpless at the right time Christ died for me, the ungodly (Romans 5:6) and as far as the east is from the west God has removed my transgressions from me (Psalm 103:12). He has rescued me from the dominion of darkness and transferred me into the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13).

Therefore, I have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so I too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20). I have been bought at a price and I must glorify God in my body (1 Corinthians 6:20). And if I am in Christ I am a new creature – the old things have passed away and new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The Spirit Himself testifies with my spirit that I am a child of God and if a child, an heir also, an heir of God and fellow heir of Christ (Romans 8:16-17). I am a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a person for God’s own possession so that I may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). And if God is for me, who is against me? (Romans 8:31). For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

Humble beginnings lead to fond memories January 26, 2009

It was never meant to happen this way. I never intended to be in an apartment when my first child was born. Nope – it was not my plan. But then again nothing ever goes as planned. Or perhaps Proverbs 16:9 phrases it much more succinctly – The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

However, it did happen that way. When my firstborn arrived, my husband and I were living in a one-bedroom apartment. One that we liked sometimes and one that we hated most of the time. But it was home.

When my son was about 11 months old and our lease was up, my husband and I attempted to find a house to rent but nothing safe was within our budget. And buying a house was not in the plan at the time. So, we moved into another apartment – a two-bedroom, third-floor apartment. In the same complex. Its only redeeming quality was the lake-front view. But oh those ducks could be quite loud in the morning.

Spending time in an apartment, on the third floor, with a rambunctious 1-year-old isn’t ideal but it was what we could afford. Of course being a stay-at-home mom I made the best of it. We colored, read books, played games, watched the ducks from the balcony, spent time outside on the balcony, filled up a baby pool with water on the balcony (don’t recommend that) and tried to not make too much noise for our neighbors below. Naturally, an early-rising toddler has no concept of how fast he’s running or how loud he’s stomping, and that your “neighbors” are still sleeping at 6 a.m. Oh and did I mention that carrying groceries up three flights of stairs isn’t all that fun either? (well it was mostly my husband’s job but it was still hard work!)

With enough prayer and faith in God, my small family eventually moved out of that apartment into our very own home. Our first house! Being almost 2 years old, my son would now have his own backyard and more space in his room to collect more toys that he really doesn’t need but that’s a different story. We loved our new house! It was and is a gift from God! I would change nothing about it.

It’s been more than a year in our new home, yet, most recently, I’ve found myself reminiscing about our old stomping grounds, our third-floor stomping grounds. Perhaps it’s because we now drive by that apartment everyday taking my husband to his bus stop and my son recognizes his first home and says, “Aparmen!” very happily. He asks me repeatedly to go there but I kindly remind him of our new home.

But looking back upon those “tough times” often being cooped up in the apartment, I think about the fun times we had when my son was small. His first bath in the real tub, his first birthday, his first steps, the way his room smelled like baby powder, how he loved watching the ducks, rocking him to sleep while humming, ‘It is well with my soul,’ and the fun games we attempted to play on our small balcony. Not to mention the constant prayers of faith asking God to one day provide us with a home to use for His glory. It’s so strange to think now that something so confining at one time could be the catalyst for fond memories at this time.

Those were our humble beginnings and even though our living situation has improved, we still face difficulties as we make sacrifices living on a limited income. But would I ever exchange the memories made in that apartment with my little baby over a larger, more secure income? Most assuredly not. I think in a way it was God refining me to force me to lean upon Him even more, to trust Him daily, with all my needs. For what need do we have for God, the Ultimate Provider, if we have no needs at all?

Dear God,
I pray to lean on you all the more as I find myself in hopeless and difficult situations. As I look around me and see trials and tests, I pray that my faith will increase as I remember that I am standing on solid ground, on the rock that is My Savior and Your Son Jesus Christ. Help me to remember from where You have brought me, a life of death and destruction, to where I am now, a new creation in You, and where You are taking me. Help me to remember that is You who is carrying me, as a Shepherd carries his young lamb on His shoulders. In Christ’s Name.

What I’m Lovin’ Now… October 10, 2008

1. Whataburger – I never thought I’d hear myself say this but I truly do prefer Whataburger over Chick-Fil-A! What is wrong with me?!?! It could have something to do with the fact that my son and I got sick from eating at a local Chick-Fil-A more than a month ago but I can’t be sure. I just seem to prefer Whataburger’s No. 7 with lemonade over Chick-Fil-A’s No. 1 with lemonade (except, of course, CFA does have better lemonade.) But I can always choose the sweet tea at Whataburger, which isn’t bad. Oh and my son enjoys Whataburger, too, so that helps.

2. My moms group – Our church started a moms group/Bible study a few months ago and it is so great! I’m having a wonderful time chatting with the other moms, making new friends and allowing my son to play with kids his own age. Not to mention I’m learning what God expects of me as a mom and that it is not perfection. Whewwww! That’s good news! But He does expect self-sacrifice, discipline and above all things love.

3. John 13 – For some reason, in the last few weeks, the story of Jesus’ humility in washing His disciples’ feet has been top o’ mind for me. When I read it after not having read it for a while, it just so spoke to me about my own attitude as a servant to my son and husband. “If you know these things, do them and you will be blessed.” I just adore Christ and am grateful for how much He has given up for me and for everyone else.

4. The weather – Fall in the Houston area is quite nice – you can have cool mornings, windy afternoons and brisk evenings. I can actually go to the park and playground at 4 pm and not become drenched with sweat. My son and I have been spending a lot of time outdoors and it’s been great. It certainly does wonders for his napping as well as our electric bill!

5. Honeycrisp apples – So, I’ve always been faithful to Gala apples but recently bought some Honeycrisp apples that were on sale at our local grocery store. And boy were they yummy! They weren’t too sweet but were definitely crunchier and juicier than Gala! I did a little research and found that there’s an entire Web site devoted to this variety of apple. Now, I just need to find more of them at the store and get them on sale. I wonder how homemade applesauce would taste using them?

Seeing God in everything…even Hurricane Ike October 2, 2008

Wow – I haven’t posted in several weeks! That’s what happens when a bout of bronchitis and a horrendous hurricane interrupt life! And another wow is really the only word to describe Hurricane Ike, which blew through southeast Texas and devastated many coastal cities. Where I live only superficial damage resulted but it was a storm that I don’t want to remember.

However, at one point during the aftermath of the Category 2 storm, I wondered if sometimes a hurricane or other natural disasters are used, maybe even needed, to get people to put priorities into perspective. Tons of people lost their homes and possessions. Crawling and digging through rubble, residents in Galveston and other beach-front properties tried to put some semblance of their lives back together. Even if they could only salvage a fork and a spoon, at least it was theirs. If they have nothing, then what do they have?

People who were without power for days and weeks found new ways to cope with significant amounts of time, much of which was spent during hot and humid days. But God was gracious in providing some cooler weather. But what thoughts raced through people’s minds as they were kept back from watching TV or using the Internet due to no electricity? What did they ponder upon? What changed?

There is no immediate way to determine how the hurricane has impacted people’s lives, other than those who are completely homeless. Many people seemed to remain hopeful in spite of the loss but deep down what questions were being held inside? How will I get through this? What will happen next? What if I don’t get my next paycheck? Where will I live? Where is God? Personally, I never heard Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7 more clearly:

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Only a few days after Hurricane Ike, I read my devotional for September 17 and was amazed at how God could be so timely. Only in His perfect and infinite wisdom could He have known that the words written so long ago in Streams in the Desert for that day would be needed for this day. Focusing on seeing God in every circumstance and situation in life, the message says:

To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain and loss, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

And what truly spoke to my heart and made these words of seeing God in all of life’s trials and tribulations even more applicable was a poem written by A.E. Finn that followed the devotional and I’ll post it here (the last one is MY favorite):

“Give me a new idea,” I said,
While musing on a sleepless bed;
“A new idea that’ll bring to earth
A balm for souls of priceless worth;
That’ll give men thoughts of things above,
And teach them how to serve and love,
That’ll banish every selfish thought,
And rid men of the sins they’ve fought.”

The new thought, came, just how, I’ll tell:
‘Twas when on bended knee I fell,
And sought from HIM who knows full well
The way our sorrow to expel.
SEE GOD IN ALL THINGS, great and small,
And give HIM praise whatever befall,
In life or death, in pain or woe,
See God, and overcome thy foe.

I saw HIM in the morning light;
He made the day shine clear and bright;
I saw HIM in the noontide hour,
And gained from Him refreshing shower.
At eventide, when worn and sad,
HE gave me help, and made me glad.
At midnight, when on tossing bed
My weary soul to sleep HE led.

I saw HIM when great losses came,
And found HE loved me just the same.
When heavy loads I had to bear,
I found HE lightened every care.
By sickness, sorrow, sore distress,
HE calmed my mind and gave me rest.
HE’s filled my heart with gladsome praise
Since I gave HIM the upward gaze.

‘Twas new to me, yet old to some,
This thought that to me has become
A revelation of the way
We all should live throughout the day;
For as each day unfolds its light,
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight.
Life will, indeed, a blessing bring,
If we SEE GOD IN EVERYTHING.

Yes, we can see God in everything because ALL THINGS can be used for His glory, for our refinement and for others’ encouragement. Yes, even a hurricane. For life will indeed a BLESSING bring if we see God in EVERYTHING!