Week 9 Check-in

So far I have read 62.2 percent of the Bible and after reading my tonight I will be up to Jeremiah 48.  There are so many parts of the Bible that I do not understand but I am praying that God will show me understanding.  Last night I read Jeremiah 29 which within that chapter is my favorite verse Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  But I also love the next two verses that follow, Jeremiah 29:12-13 "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  These three verses show that God does have plans for us and that we need to call upon Him.  Although, in verse 13 it states that we will not know Him until we seek Him with all of our heart.  Not just a part, or a little bit but all of our heart. I hear many people who are believers but do not truly know God.  They do not have a relationship with Him because they do not take time each day to pray or to read the Bible.  The Bible is here for us to know God more.  I admit there are days where I do not give God my full attention.  I pray for conviction in this area.  Over the years my walk with Him has gotten stronger and stronger and I thank Him every day for my salvation.  Since I have started this reading my connection with Him has become even stronger.  I am beginning to see the many things He has done for those of Israel and Judah, and how that He does it because He loves them.  Kind of makes one think why we do certain things for our children.  Because we love them, as He loves us.

For more Bible in 90 Days Reading jump on over to Mom's Toolbox.

What is that in the sky?

My family and I are about to reach our one year mark of living in Alaska and I cannot believe how fast time is flying.  I remember the first night we were in Alaska I woke up almost every hour to look out the window to view the Northern Lights.  Actually, from the time we arrived in Alaska up until our 23 hours of daylight I would always wake up during the night to check for the Lights.  I would jump out of bed in the middle of the night to look out my bedroom window or step outside out back and look up into the sky, and to my disappointment I never saw them. 

Last night while I was online a friend of mine on Facebook mentioned that she was outside watching the Northern Lights.  I jumped up ran out back and saw nothing.  Nothing.  I could not figure out why I could never witness this beauty that God has created.  Then it hit me "DUHHHHHH I am looking south not north."  So I ran through the house flew open the front door, ran onto the front lawn and voila, there they were.  This past year I was looking in the wrong place.  After, I saw the Lights I ran back inside, up the stairs to my bedroom, woke up the hubby, and told him "THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE OUT!!!" His response "cool" and then he rolled back over to his peaceful slumber that I interrupted.  I then ran back outside and stood there trying to take pictures that ultimately did not work.  After deciding that I would not be able to take a picture I stood there praising God for the beauty that He has created for all of us to admire.  Many people believe that there is a scientific fact on how these Lights work but I do not believe in science I believe in God. 

A few nights ago my good friend Lilianna was able to capture a beautiful picture of the Lights and I wanted to share it with you.  Thank you Lily for allowing me to use your beautiful picture; you are an amazing photographer.

Photo Credit: Lilianna Moon

I have said this before when I have referred to the beauty of Alaska; pictures do not offer justice.  One really has to witness this beauty themselves. 

Have any of you ever witnessed this beautiful sight?  If so, where were you located?

Time is Precious

Over the past week or two I have had some things come to my attention and I have prayed about how this situation is going to be fixed.  I feel the best thing I can do is to step back from the situation and pray.  I need to pray that God will take over the situation and handle it His way.  I do not want to waste my time on petty things especially with those who gossip.  I do not mean to sound rude but time around my household is very precious.  My hubby will be heading off to defend our country and will be gone for awhile.  Time is precious.

When I look back at the time I had with my hubby I want to have happy moments.  I know that there will be little spats because that is part of the deployment process between husband and wife.  However, I want our overall memories to be happy, and joyful.  I want to be able to treasure every minute I have with my hubby.  Time is precious.
 
I want my children to have good memories of their daddy before he leaves.  I do not want them to have memories of us always on the go and never having our family time.  It is important for children to have their quality time with their parents, regardless of a deployment.  Time is precious.

I feel that many people need to worry about their own families, their own children, and their own self because time is precious.  Where I live many husbands and wives will be out defending our country and unfortunately there are many here who feel that gossip is the only thing that there is time for.  Gossip is not for me and I do not long for it in my life.  So while I am spending precious time with hubby I will be praying for those who are caught up in the gossip ring.  Time is precious.

"A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much."
Proverbs 20:19

Day 50 Check In

I have finally reached the halfway mark of the Bible in 90 Days Reading.  I will be starting Isaiah 20 and by the time I go to bed tonight I will have completed Isaiah 28.  I have bookmarked my Bible and saw how much I have read and very excited for my accomplishment so far.  I finished Proverbs over the weekend and I love this book.  To me the book of Proverbs offers wisdom that I can use in every situation that I am in.  My favorite scripture that I use on a daily basis is "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6  This is the first scripture I had memorized and one that I use daily.  It brings me much comfort knowing that if I just lean on Him and not myself He will direct my path. 

This post is linked with Mom's Toolbox.

Menu Plan for Aug 23-27

Even when I have a simple menu I am having a hard time following it.  However, I NEED to follow my menus so this week it is my goal to follow it down to each meal.  I will conquer this laziness I am dealing with when it comes to meals.  I will!

Monday~ cereal
                homemade chicken nuggets with pineapple
                hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill

Tuesday~ cereal
                sandwiches
                leftovers from our Sunday dinner of baked ziti

Wednesday~ french toast sticks
                     sandwiches
                     parmesan chicken with green bean casserole

Thursday~ muffins
                 sandwiches with oranges
                 spaghetti with homemade bread

Friday~ pancakes
             grilled turkey and cheese
             ham with mashed potatoes and homemade biscuits

I know we are eating sandwiches a lot this week but I change them up so it is not the same each day.  Also, on Wednesday my daughter has ballet at noon so I just bring sandwiches that the blessings can eat there.  I will follow my menus this week!

For more menu ideas jump on over to Org Junkie.

Confirmation

Do you ever have moments where you think you should be doing something but it is "out of the ordinary" to many people?  Well, I have been having those moments and I have been praying to God to help me overcome these feelings.  A lot of these feelings have been towards the vision of my blog.  When I first started this blog I had no idea what I was doing, or let alone have a vision for the blog; I just jumped in. 

For a long time I measured how well I was doing by my followers on Twitter, Facebook, and my Feedburner readings.  Please know that I thank God for each and every one of you.  I never understood what I could do to bring in "more traffic" to my blog.  I was measuring my "success" on numbers and asking why I was not getting more traffic.  I mean I was participating in many carnivals, trying to post every day, and trying to write about things that I thought would interest people.  I would see other blogs and think "wow, I wish mine was like this."  I started comparing myself to other bloggers and lost who I was along the way. 

After much prayer God has shown me what I needed to do.  For awhile He was telling me things I needed to do to but of course like all children I was kicking and screaming.  I started doubting Him.  You would think after so many years of doubting Him that I would just do what I am suppose to each time He asks.  But that is part of building wisdom and obedience. 

Now, I am listening.  My vision for this blog, The Forever Neighbor, is to be simple.  That is it.  To be simple.  I am a simple person and there is no reason for me to try to be someone I am not.  I am so BLESSED to have my followers and I am very thankful for all of them but I am not writing for numbers anymore.  I am writing to help others.  God had me start this blog for a reason and I need to listen to Him. 

From now on I may not post every day; it may be a few days between posts.  I will continue to post about frugal living, homeschooling, military life, and being a follower of Christ.  Of course that is not limiting me to just those items but that is what I am.  I am a follower of Christ, frugal living, military wife, homeschooling momma. 

I am simple.

Our Curriculum for 2010-2011

Two weeks of school completed and I am so happy with how well everything has being going. I still have not yet received my entire curriculum but praying it will be this week. As we are waiting for some of our items I am supplementing with the curriculum we used last year that we did not quite finish.

Here is what I will be using for my first grade son:

Bible~ Name That Bible Character
Language Arts~ Learning Language Arts through Literature Blue Program
Reading~ Bob Books sets one thru five and Reading Pathways 
Spelling~ Bob Jones Spelling 1
Math~ Horizons Math
Science~ Developing Critical Thinking Through Science Book 1
Social Studies~ My America, My World
Art~ Teaching Art to Children
Foreign Language~ Sign Language  We use DVDs that are from the public library and we also use flashcards.

Here is what I will be using for my fourth grade daughter:

Bible~ Beyond Belief
Language Arts~ Learning Language Arts through Literature Orange Book
Spelling~ Bob Jones Spelling 4
Math~ Horizons Math
Science~ Developing Critical Thinking through Science Book 2
Vocab~ Wordly Wise 3000 Book 4
Social Studies~ The History of Our United States
Art~ Teaching Art to Children
Foreign Language~ Sign Language

I am trying some new curriculum this year and I pray that it works well with us.  I will be adding reading aloud, and the blessings will still continue in their sport activities for PE.

Psalm 80:17

I am still on track with my reading and after my reading today I will have completed Psalm 108.  During my reading yesterday I came across Psalm 80:17 and had an "uh huh" moment.  The passage reads "Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself."  I know that the OT mentions the coming of the Lamb but during this reading I have not really seen the messages as I had yesterday.  I mean it was plain as day, black and white, jumping out at me from the page.  Also, over the weekend God has shown me where I have backslid some and that I need to improve in those areas.

This week I will reach the halfway mark of this challenge!

For more Bible in 90 Days jump on over to Mom's Toolbox.

Not Eating Out

After spending two weeks in a hotel and eating out two to three times a day, when we arrived home from the lower 48 the last thing I wanted to do was see the inside of another restaurant.  The morning after we arrived home I went to the Commissary and spent about $300 to restock up our food supply, and our stockpile.  I have been making all of our meals and oh how I have missed that.

We have been home for two weeks now and I have seen a little bit of a savings in our checking account. Not eating out has really helped us save some money.  The hubby and I have been doing a plan of not buying anything unless it is a necessity and so far we like it.  Of course, this week we have totally blown that plan but will be back on for next week; I will explain more next week.

For more Frugal Friday tips jump on over to Life As Mom.

Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

When the hubby and I decided that we would homeschool one thing that I really became nervous over was the curriculum I was going to use.  I had so many questions and I went around to my friends or other homeschooling mothers asking what they used.  I had gained a lot of great ideas and now it was up to me to figure out what was going to work for our family.   

I will be honest and say that it took me days, and probably a good month or two before I decided on a curriculum.  I did pray asking God to help show me what I was supposed to use.  I then studied my children and wrote down their strengths and weaknesses.  For example, my daughter is strong in language arts but with math she can struggle.  So I knew to look for a math curriculum that would be on her level and would not go to fast for her.  My son, on the other hand, needed a math curriculum that was not to slow and could move at a faster pace for him. 

When I was online searching for an item I would call the children over to me and have them look at the material.  The main website I used had example of the pages used in the book, and I would have the kids try to answer the questions and I could get a good idea if the material was too hard or too easy.
I loved the curriculum I used last year but this year I am changing things up.  I am still using a "smorgasbord" of a curriculum but changing our Social Study, Science, and Language Arts.  When I say "smorgasbord" I mean that I do not use just one type of curriculum such as Bob Jones or Abeka but I use some Bob Jones some Abeka, and some Alpha Omega.  Using this type of curriculum really works well us. 

I have received most of our curriculum but waiting on a few more items.  I should be receiving our Bible and Art Curriculum in the next couple of days; I am like a little kid waiting for a birthday present in the mail.

Next week, I will post what curriculum we will be using for the year.

Do you homeschool? Have you ordered your curriculum?  If so what are you using?

Menu Plan for Aug 9th-13th

First I would like to announce that this is my 200th post!!! I am so excited that I hit this milestone because when I first started back in late December I did not think I would even make it to 50 posts.  So now onto our menu:

Monday- waffles with smoothies
               leftovers
               parmesan chicken with green bean casserole

Tuesday- cereal
               sandwiches
               spaghetti

Wednesday- french toast
                    hot dogs with mac and cheese with pineapple
                    steak with rice pilaf and oranges

Thursday- muffins
                sandwiches
                fettuccine alfredo

Friday- pancakes
            grilled turkey and cheese
            enchiladas

Last week we pretty much followed the menu except three meals did not get used so I add one meal into this week.  This week will be busy between school starting, the kids' Tae Kwon Do, and my daughter playing soccer I wanted to keep the menu simple. 

For more menu ideas jump on over to Org Junkie.

Week 6 Check-in

Well, it is time for my weekly check-in of my reading of the Bible in 90 Days.  I have done pretty well with staying on track of my reading.  There have been days where I will be a half a day behind but by morning I am all caught up.  Since arriving back from our emergency leave my days seem to be off track but I am praying that God will help me remember what day it is and what needs to be done. 

At this moment I had finished reading the book of Esther last night and will be starting Job this morning.  When I was reading the book of Nehemiah and the book of Esther two things had jumped out at me.  In the Book of Nehemiah I realized that he was speaking in first person.  Up until then everything was written in third person but with Nehemiah it was nice to read from his perspective.  In the Book of Esther I saw that God was not even mentioned.  The book did cover the destruction of the Jews that Haman wanted to create but His name was never mentioned (from what I saw).

For the next week I will be reading Job, and about a fourth of the Book of Psalms.

For more of the Bible in 90 Days jump on over to Mom's Toolbox.

"Two Shall Become One"

On this day 11 years ago the hubby and I said "I Do".  The saying is true "I love him more today than the day we got married."  Our first wedding anniversary we spent half a world away.  Our fourth wedding anniversary we celebrated a week late because I had just arrived home from deployment.  Our fifth year we spent together in London, England.  Last year on our 10th wedding anniversary we spent in Washington DC.  This year we will be having dinner and a movie here in Fairbanks, Alaska; next year we will be spending our anniversary half a world away.  So this year is extremely special to me probably more special than any other year. 

I love my hubby and it is an honor to be his wife!

 Not only is it my 11th wedding anniversary it is also the celebration of me being an "Army Wife" of 11 years. I love being an Army Wife; there is no greater honor than supporting my hubby while he fights for our Freedom. 

 Here we are in Washington DC celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary.

Here we are in Williamsburg, VA

I am so blessed and I am excited about the many years ahead that the hubby and I will celebrate.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Chasteen!

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

Tonight the family and I went to the movie store and picked up a movie for our family night.  When I enter a movie store I always pray that the Lord will show us a good Christian movie or a movie that will teach us a good life lesson.  Well, tonight the Lord once again has provided for us.  The hubby found a movie called "The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry" and asked if we should get it.  After reading the back I thought it would be a good movie. 

I was pleasantly surprised when within the first 20 minutes of the movie the characters are talking about God.  The back of the movie case did not even mention anything about God or even have the Dove symbol from what I saw (I may have missed it though).  The main characters are three boys around the age of 12 whom befriend an older man, Jonathan Sperry.  Jonathan Sperry takes these three boys under his wing and teaches them about Jesus and how spreading the Word of God is very important.  This movie was so remarkable that my six year old son was even crying.  There were a certain parts of the movie where my son was "wow that made me cry." Bless his heart!

Some of the lessons Mr. Sperry taught was humility, love, forgiveness, and friendship.  I know that I walked away learning some new things, and I am praying that my children did also.

Military Deal on Airlines

I have learned something new from the airlines when the family and I went on emergency leave.  We were told that if you are military and are on orders (including being on leave) you are allowed three FREE checked bags weighing up to 70 pounds.  This only applies to the Servicemember; so the nice lady at the check in table told us to put all three of bags under my hubby's name.  Overall, we saved $125 from this discount.

**We were told that this is for all airlines but I would recommend checking with your airline prior to flying.**

Cash for Large Items

This past Spring I had order some homeschool curriculum for this coming year and I have been waiting for the items to arrive.  I was so excited yesterday when my daughter walked in with two boxes from the mailbox.  One item that I ordered was board game that teaches about budgets, and also how to count money.  While looking at the board game, I came across some more suggested ideas to use with your child I was a little taken back by one of their suggestions.  Under the transportation section it basically said that children need to learn that they need to make small payments for large purchases. 

Speaking from experience I do not want my children having that thinking mentality.  I want them to learn that you can save money to purchase a large item for cash with no payments.  After hearing Toni over at The Happy Housewife purchasing a 15 passenger van for cash or Crystal over Money Saving Mom paying 100 percent cash on her house it shows that it can be done. 

I will be teaching my kids that saving is smart and debt not so smart.  Of course I will be adding some Bible scriptures in there to show them what God thinks about debt. 

Bathroom Basket

When we were stationed in Maryland we had a master bath that had little storage.  The only storage we had was under the sink or on top of the sink and a small shelf unit that I stored our towels in.  It was frustrating trying to brush your teeth and you keep knocking over the hubby's shaving cream.  So, I picked up a cute basket from a yard sale and placed our everyday items in the basket.  I would then store the basket on top of the small shelf unit.  This opened up a lot of space for us and it really organized our master bath. 

This works for me!

For more WFMW jump on over to We Are That Family.

Coupons With Meal Planning

If you have missed the first part to this series you may click here.

Since becoming more frugal and trying to expand our dollars I have learned that coupons can help.  Before I sit down to make my menu plans I go to my usual coupon websites (here, here and here) and plan my meals around what is on sale.  For example, every couple of weeks there is a coupon available for 75 cents off a pound of Butterball ground turkey and this tends to be around the time the Commissary marks down their ground turkey to 99 cents a pound.  So in the end I purchase a pound of ground turkey for about 25 cents! 

When you have found your coupons you can then plan your menus.  Try to match your meals with your coupons or ingredients that could be used in many different meals.  Also, if your store has a clearance section stop by to check it out.  I have found many items on clearance that I have had coupons for. 

Remember do not purchase something that you normally would not because you have a coupon.  Of course there are exceptions; sometimes if I want to try something and I have coupon I then would purchase it.  That way if I do not like it then I do not feel so guilty over the purchase. 

Do you use coupons? Do you meal plan around coupons?

30 Percent Complete

I cannot believe that I have read 30 percent of the Bible.  I just finished reading 2 Kings and now onto 1 Chronicles.  I was doing really well with staying on track of my reading and at one point I was two days ahead.  Well, with us flying back I lost track of days and only read half of my Saturday reading.  However, on Sunday I caught up and now back on track. 

I do have to admit reading Kings got a little confusing with all the kings and the wars but I did get through it.  Overall, I am happy with my reading and learning so much. 

How is your reading going?

This post is linked with Mom's Toolbox.

Menu Plan for Aug 2nd-6th

Okay it has been long enough; I need to start using my menus.  After coming back from our emergency leave I have decided that things are starting to change.  Our schedule will start getting busy with school starting soon and both the kids will be starting fall sports and the hubby has training coming up.  So in order for me to be organized in the food department, menus are in order.

Monday~ waffles
                grilled cheese with strawberries
                tacos

Tuesday~ bagels or french toast sticks
                noodles
                free meal at an event being held by our housing offices

Wednesday~ cereal
                     sandwiches with yogurt
                     baked ziti with salad

Thursday~  muffins
                  leftovers
                  chicken tetrazzini

Friday~ snickerdoodle cake
             homemade chicken nuggets with oranges
             steaks on the grill with mac and cheese and strawberries

What are you eating this week? Any new recipes you are trying?

For more menu ideas jump on over to The Org Junkie.