Spelling software program give-away!

Tablet Of My Heart is having its first give-away next week, Monday, September 7!  If you’ve ever had problems spelling or if your child has, then you know how frustrating it can be (for parent or child!).  It is not only important for success in (home) school, but a high degree of literacy – including spelling and grammar – is considered an essential skill among employers. The most excellent work can be marred by bad spelling and grammar.

An easy to use, reasonably priced, and fun spelling software program is now available using your computer and a PC microphone – SpellQuizzer.  It is a great compliment to copywork or your spelling curriculum. SpellQuizzer was not designed with any one spelling curriculum in mind, since you or your children create your own custom spelling lists. 

Letting your child create his own list definitely appeals to independent learners.  She can create lists from the books she is reading, current events, the dictionary, or surfing the web. Leah’s first list came from vocabulary in the first chapter of Meet The Great Composers.

You can can import and export SpellQuizzer spelling lists to share with other SpellQuizzer users, and there is a  page specifically designed for homeschoolers.  Several free downloadable spelling lists are at SpellQuizzer, which include pre-made sound recordings. SpellQuizzer is in the process of adding new lists. 

 This program recognizes both U.S. and U.K. spellings, and warns you or your child when he is creating a spelling list if it is spelled incorrectly as it is entered.   This is a spelling software program that is fast, fun, and works!

SpellQuizzer is offering a free giveaway of this software program, so if you’d like to enter the give-away, enter your name and url below with Mr. Linky. Post a blog, sharing about this giveaway at Tablet Of My Heart, and share the good news with others.  The randomly chosen winner will be announced next Monday, September 7!   PS:  Be sure to spell your name and blog url correctly!  (WINK)  Your site must be family-friendly, and the url must go to your give-away blog, not your blog.  Title the blog “Spelling program giveaway,” please!

The Potter and the Clay

Several years ago Ray bought me  a beautiful picture that is one of my favorites. It is of a lovely, young Oriental woman on her knees. She is inside a clay pot, and outside are God’s large hands, shaping the vessel on the potter’s wheel, based on Jeremiah 18:1-12 when God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house.  As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are we in God’s loving hands.  Sometimes when God is working with this hard, stiff clay, it does not yield easily. God has to wash us more with the watering of His word.  Sometimes, just as a potter must put pressure on the clay to center it and shape it, God must allow pressures and difficulties in our lives to mold us into the image of Jesus, to create us into the beautiful vessels He intends us to be.

Today’s podcast is on the story of the potter and the clay. http://www.bethjones.net/the-potters-wheel-becoming-the-vessel-you-are-meant-to-be/ .

 Be sure to tune in, and be encouraged with God’s word. I was inspired to do the podcast after watching an online,  illustrated sermon by Joshua Ben King at Evangel Temple in Jacksonville, FL. Learn the key to becoming God’s distinctive, beautiful, honorable vessel.

The Potter’s Wheel: Becoming The Vessel You Are Meant To Be

God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house and there He would speak to him. God wants to speak to our hearts, too. We are like the clay that is in the potter’s hand – and sometimes that means pressures, difficulties, and even fire!  Join Beth today as she shares what she learned from a video of an illustrated sermon of the potter and the clay, with Joshua Ben King at Evangel Temple in Jacksonville, FL.  We are to be yielded to God so we can become the beautiful vessels God desires us to be.

Finding your new church

Today I had a meeting with the pastor of the new church we’ve been visiting for the last month. We have been searching for a local church home with our move to a new town this past year. I had a lot of questions about the church’s protocol, doctrine, weekly schedule, etc., as I  was raised in a different denomination church that was based on sound Biblical doctrine (the Word of God is very important to me). 

The leaders of the church where we were members of for the last 12 years believed in the spiritual gifts, and allowed people to operate freely in them, which I also strongly believe is necessary for a Biblical, growing, thriving church.  What were this church’s views on salvation, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, using women in ministry, encouraging the Body of Christ to use their spiritual gifts?  Did they have a good youth group? Did they support missions? 

I’ve been attending this church for about a month now and have enjoyed it.  One of the things that really blesses me about this particular pastor is that he is very humble and open to God doing what He wants in the service. The pastor is not afraid to let God’s Spirit move and wants God to be in control.  What a concept! 

 He is willing to even set aside his prepared sermon when God leads him and the congregation in a different direction. He doesn’t want a religious program, but desires the presence of God.  I feel this is rare among pastors, and it is so refreshing to see the pastor step aside for God’s will to be done.

He shared a story with me today that was interesting. One Sunday as he was about to preach, God spoke to his heart and told him to sit down and be quiet.  He told the congregation, “I’m sorry, but God just told me to sit down and be quiet. “ 

He sat down on the front pew, and the congregation (and he) grew more uncomfortable in the silence as time passed by.  Suddenly a young girl ran down the aisle to the front altar, bursting out in tears, and gave her life to Jesus. The pastor said nobody had been talking, and nobody gave an altar call. It was simply the Lord drawing her to repentance and salvation.  He said after that, the entire congregation flooded the altars. Wow!

The presence of the Lord is in this pretty, little church with the steeple and the stained glass windows. The pastor believes in the gifts of the Spirit, and desires for the people – even women (shocked gasp!) – to use their gifts.  I have a peace about attending there, and my husband Ray met the pastor and attended the church. He likes the pastor (it helps that they were both Marines – Oorah!).  After a year of searching for a new church where we “fit,” I feel so relieved to finally find a place of rest and refilling. 

Many times people give up on church because it’s “full of hypocrites” or because they are bored. Jesus strongly rebuked hypocrites (Matthew 23), and Jesus is never boring (only church programs can be, where there is no life of the Spirit of God!).  Christians are not perfect, only forgiven.  We are just sinners who struggle each day and come short of the glory of God. We all simply need more of Jesus. 

As believers we need prayer, encouragement, and strength from other believers around us.  Corporate worship of God can be such a beautiful thing.  Sound Biblical teaching helps to equip us each week as we go out into the world to share the good news of Jesus.

If you are not in church due to hypocrites, wounding from church leadership or other members in the Body of Christ, or not being able to find a place that you really like or where you fit, I encourage you to keep searching. God has a perfect place for you, a niche just for you.

He desires to use the spiritual gifts inside of you for His glory. He wants to surround you with good friends and godly leadership to speak truth into your life and to help and encourage you.  He wants people there for you to pray for and with you and to walk beside you in this difficult but adventurous journey of life.

“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Luke 11:10, NKJV

Does your blog need an extreme makeover?

Makeovers can make such a difference, such as with the woman here at the right. What a transformation!  Beauty may only be skin deep, but it sure can make a girl feel better!

How about your  blog? Does it need an extreme makeover?  Have you thought about getting a fresh, new look for it for the fall?

Kelly McCausey with Fresh Nets does a beautiful job with your website makeover,  has great prices, is very professional, and will work patiently with you to give you what you desire and need with a  WordPress design.  She will help you to understand how to work with WordPress.

With FreshClub you get several graphics, plus an hour of coaching or WordPress editing for one monthly price with great savings. FreshNets also offers a customized Twitter background. Kelly offers a free, 20-minute consultation  to discuss your blog’s needs. Just click on the link below to find out more information today.

Great writing resource

Whether you are already a successful, published author or a “wanna-be” writer, there is a wonderful resource for writers by Felice Gerwitz, Information in a Nutshell: Writing and Publishing. Sharing her own personal writing and publishing journey, Felice gives very practical and extremely encouraging information to help you on the road to writing and publishing your book – whether you choose to go with the traditional publishing route or through self-publishing. I sat down to read this book late one evening after a long, busy day, and did not put it down until I finished it that night -  read it in one sitting on my living room couch!

This book includes chapters on researching information for writing your masterpiece, writing queries and proposal letters, finding good literary agents, marketing,  getting expert advice, and giving you many, helpful recommended resources. It is packed with great information on the writing and publishing process, all within 127 pages.

I love Felice’s honest, refreshing, uplifting writing, and especially enjoyed her sharing her personal path to publishing her books – both what she did right and the mistakes she feels she made. You can check out her other books and resources at Media Angels. She also has a Blog Talk Radio show each week on writing and publishing that I just love listening to called Information In A Nutshell.

Good marriage resources

Recently Ray and I found out that a Christian couple we know are seperated and possibly divorcing. The rate of Christian couples divorcing today is now significantly higher than for other faith groups, according to the survey done by the Barna Group in 1999, interviewing 3,854 adults from 48 contiguous states.  While this survey has received some criticism, what they did discover was very troubling about current trends in marriage.

The survey raised some objections, eyebrows, and anger, but the Barna Project Director Meg Flammang said, ”We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but … in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same.”

George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group, commented:

“While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time. Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families. The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages.“

What a sad testimony to us as believers who have the hope of Christ within us!   This is not spoken from a viewpoint of judgment, as I have been through the difficulty of divorce, too.  Sometimes marriages fail. In those impossible situations, we need to go straight to God’s arms of love and forgiveness, to receive healing and restoration of our shattered lives, and our children’s. 

However, as I highlighted in bold in the previous paragraph, Christians are not living lives of distinction. Yet we are supposed to be light and salt to a lost and dying world!  Furthermore, the Church is failing to be a place of healing and ministry to those who have gone through the terrible pain of divorce.

The ultimate responsibility, then, belongs to the husband and the wife to make their marriage work over the long haul. To be an example of Christ and His bride the church. To love, honor, and respect one another. Their homes to be a safe haven for themselves, their children, and those around them.  You can read more on marriage commitment and tips for marriage in my articles,  Marriage Is A Marathon and Marriage Tips.

Nina Roesner has written a very practical, encouraging book on marriage, The Respect Dare, teaching women to respect and honor their husbands – which brings about incredible results in their marriage. The bottom line is that our husbands just want respect, and women just want love.

Malia Russell of Homemaking 911 has two wonderful cd’s for sale on her website on marriage, Marriage 911, and Beverly Bradley’s teaching, Becoming Your Husband’s Helpmate. Both are reasonably priced, and will inspire and encourage you in your marriage. 

Malia also has great homeschool products for sale, such as The 2009 SchoolHouse Planner E-book and Creating a Rich Environment and a Fun Place to Learn E-book. Malia is an excellent writer and speaker.  Be sure to check out her insightful articles on her website, on topics ranging from marriage, freezer meals, home organization, to the difficult child. Just click on the link below to find out more information about Malia’s products.

 

 

New homeschool books arrived

Yesterday our daughter Leah’s homeschool books for this year arrived in the mail. There’s always something exciting about seeing that big brown box at our front door, and we enjoy opening it to find new treasures.

If you need some encouragement and ideas for the high school years, and good information on high school transcripts, SAT tests, and college preparation, check out Janice Campbell’s site here.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association also has articles and resources for homeschooling through the high school years and information on transcripts here.

A great book to read on homeschooling through the high school years is All The Way through High School by Renee Mason and A Survivor’s Guide to Home Schooling by Luanne Shackelford and Susan White. Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series is also an excellent resource for homeschooling from preschool through post-high school.

My prayer for this homeschool year, as always, is for Leah (and I!) to have the best homeschool year ever, to learn a lot and have fun, that our family would grow closer in intimacy with Jesus and that God would be glorified in our lives.  Each year I ask God to give me a scripture and/or a  motto for the coming school year, and this year’s is Matthew 4:18-20.

Do you have a special verse that God has given you to homeschool your child this year?  Do you feel that the high school years are more of a challenge than previous years because of the tougher subjects like algebra and high level sciences?

For my newest article on homeschooling (Charlotte Mason), click here.

Love is the ultimate brand-BTR show

We’ve all heard how important a good brand is for your business and/or website.  Love is the ultimate app and brand. Based on Tim Sanders’ book, Love Is The Killer App and 1 Corinthians 13, I shared today on the key for success in business and personal fulfillment. 

If you missed today’s live Blog Talk Radio show, Love is the ultimate brand, you can listen here today or download the show to your computer, Ipod, or Iphone from Blog Talk Radio here.

Lessons From The Time Traveler’s Wife

Life is brief, unpredictable, and often very hard.  Yet in Christ we have hope. God will never leave you or forsake you.  Join Beth today as she shares insights from the newly released movie, The Time Traveler’s Wife. She will encourage you from God’s word that when you feel as if your life and dreams are on hold and things are just too hard, joy comes in the morning.

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