Just How Strong Are You?

Last Saturday my 90-year-old father-in-law fell as he was leaving a New Port Richey, Florida Dollar General, loading groceries into his motorized scooter. A police officer found him on the ground and took him to a hospital for treatment.

 

He was bruised, weak, and they found a racing heartbeat for which he's being treated. He will be transferred to a physical therapy facility soon to gain strength for the trip up to Ohio where we will care for him at home. Right now he can't even stand up.

 

His neighbor noticed he wasn't around for a couple days so she called around to different hospitals until she found him, and with his permission she called us.

 

He began coughing a great deal tonight on the phone and since there were previously no signs of congestive heart failure, I have to assume the coughing and throat-clearing is a side effect of one of the heart medicines they put him on (I researched this).

 

Today the inevitable happened.

 

I had a person tell me I can't handle caring for my father-in-law, along with my own children and their issues, along with homeschooling, laundry, cooking, cleaning and paperwork. Caring for an elderly person is like caring for a newborn, she warned.

 

While this person meant well, I know a verse she doesn't; her warnings didn't scare me.

 

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

The world will tell you to take the easy way. Put him in a nursing home--everybody does it. Divorce that husband you can't stand--everybody does it. Go back to work, put the kids in daycare and stop living so poorly--everybody does it.

 

Everybody does't have Christ.

 

But you do and I do.

 

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I don't know what is going on in your life, but I know this: When the going gets tough, people will tell you it's too much. "You just can't handle it and you have to face facts. It's nice that you have your religion and everything, but prayer isn't going to change the amount of work you'll have to do."

 

Today, the conversation ended with this question. "Just how strong are you?"

 

I'm as strong as He needs me to be.

 

1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

When we dare to live for the Lord, we will always be as strong as He needs us to be. He will always sustain us, always renew and strengthen us, when we work for Him.

 

Most bosses expect you to pull your own weight--pull ahead of the crowd even. But God, the ultimate boss, expects us to follow where He leads--in his footsteps, through his strength.

 

Live each day with joy, knowing you will always be as strong as He needs you to be. Deficits don't exist for Christ followers. There are only assets for us here, and treasures stored in heaven for later.

 

Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Rejoice, the Lord is near.

 

Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

Part 2 Student End-of-Year Evaluation

Earlier this week I shared what 9-year-old Paul thought of his school year. Today I share Peter's end-of-year evaluation.

 

I agree that the main theme this year was war. War is sad, depressing and lonely, with battles all over the land. Land is ruined and crops and buildings destroyed. People grieve a lot about the death of loved ones, and it is only with God's help that they get past the terrible sadness.

 

The benefit of war is freedom and yes, freedom is worth fighting for, but I think it would be very sad to leave my wife and kids. I wouldn't want them to suffer over my death. But I would fight if I had to.

 

Favorite Fiction Books:

 

Kitchen Madonna - The boy in this story started out sad because he didn't see his parents enough. He was kind of neglected because they worked so much. He had a lot of different housekeepers and nannies. His new housekeeper was also sad and lonely. He loved her and wanted to help her, so he and his sister worked very hard to make her a kitchen Madonna. This was something she had in her home in the Ukraine. To her it was a "good place".

 

When the boy worked hard to make the housekeeper happy, it made him happier too. He worked closely with his sister and grew to like her more, and he worked with people in the neighborhood too, and grew to like them. He used to never talk to anyone, even his family, and he stayed in his room.  In the end he was completely changed by love. Love healed him and his housekeeper.

 

Gone Away Lake - The book had a lot about nature, which I am very interested in. It talked about insects and many different flowers and plants. The characters were very nice and in the end they were all happier because of the friendships they made at Gone Away Lake. The elderly people were less lonely and the children appreciated all that the elderly people shared about life and plants and history.

 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler - The girl in the story wants to run away with her brother and plans it out very well. She brings money, and they hide out in a museum. Soon they find themselves mixed up in a mystery about a famous statue. The kids are really smart and that makes the story so interesting. At the end, when they are running out of money, Basil Frankweiler helps them solve the mystery of the statue and then drives them home. I liked it because it was fun, adventurous and very smart.

 

Favorite Non-Fiction Books:

 

Man's Slave Becomes God's Scientist: George Washington Carver - I liked this book because it had a lot of information about nature and botany, which I really like. I want to be a farmer when I grow up

 

George Washington Carver had a very special relationship with God. He had a lot of faith. This book is also about education and how Carver helped black farmers learn important information about farming so they could make a living for themselves after slavery. He traveled by buggy to farms all over the south. He told them about the pest that was destroying cotton crops, and he told them to plant peanuts. At first they didn't listen, but then their cotton didn't do well so they changed their minds and planted peanuts like Carver suggested. They couldn't find buyers for their peanuts so Carver invented a lot of things to make with peanuts, with God's help. He prayed for wisdom and God answered his prayer.

 

Bruchko - Bruchko was a brave missionary who loved God very much. He had a lot of faith and had to suffer a lot while he worked in the jungle with the South American Indians. God saved his life more than once and he became pack brothers with Bobby, his special friend. Many sad things happened, like Bobby's death and the death of Bruchko's fiance. Bruchko persevered through many things because of his faith in God.

 

Main Improvements This Year:

 

I improved a lot in spelling, writing and math.

 

 

End-of-Year Assessment, Student Addition

We just had our end-of-year homeschool portfolio assessment. As much as I don't like extended vacations, we will take 6 weeks off, just doing reading and Bible. I think the children would plot their runaway if I didn't give them this time.

 

Personally I think we all do better with the structure of school, and I suspect the children agree, but they would never admit it. Behavior and the stress level around here are definitely better when their free time and structured time are balanced. I think maybe this is true for adults as well? God knew what he was doing when he told us, after the fall in the garden, that our lives would now include work. Some work each day keeps some sinning away....

 

Just my two cents and it's a good thing you can't throw tomatoes at me....

 

I had both boys summarize their year (American History Year Two -  Civil War to about the 1950's. This is what Paul had to say (I'll get to Peter tomorrow):

 

Paul, age 9

The main thing I learned about this year was war. I understand better that there are two sides to every conflict. Some wars are necessary and some are not. The World Wars and the Revolutionary War were necessary, but I think the Civil War could have been avoided. Ending slavery could have occurred over more time without such loss of life.

 

The benefits of war are freedom and sometimes, land. The cost of war is death, hardship, sadness, and bloody disasters. People live sadder lives because of the memory of loss and death. The people who lived through the war go on to live better lives because of their new freedom, and the people who died will never be forgotten.

 

If the war is justified, I would be willing to give up my life. I would have fought in the Revolutionary War and the World Wars, but not in the Civil War.

 

My Favorite Fiction Books this year:

 

Johnny Tremain - Johnny became much nicer and not so prideful. At the end he was willing to give up his life for his country. He cared about something bigger than himself.

 

Half Magic - I liked this book because it was adventurous and imaginative and had a lot of humor. The writing was very good. The children really wanted their mom to get married in the end. They missed having a father in the home, after their father's death.

 

Gone Away Lake - I liked this book because it was so imaginitive. I liked the characters a lot. The children loved visiting the forgotten houses in the woods. They liked the two elderly people and having the children around made the elderly people less lonely. The children were nicer in the end and more friendly, and happy to have good friendships with their new neighbors.

 

I read 17 fiction novels, mostly historical lit. I also read 16 non-fiction books. My dad read 11 read-alouds to us (historial fiction).

 

Favorite Non-Fiction Books:

 

Fabulous Facts about the 50 States - This book has a lot of facts about the 50 states, like how many square miles the state is, the state bird and tree, and many other interesting facts.

 

Kids Almanac for the 21st Century - This book  has many interesting facts about all subjects. It has colorful graphs and many charts. It teaches you so many different things and I love the variety.

 

Two Main Improvements This Year: I think I improved a lot in reading. I understand more words than before because I read so many books. I also improved in music--now I play the Piano!