PLEASE help me! I feel like I am over-run by homeschooling books sometimes. Our home isn't small, but I feel like I just don't have adequate space for everything! How do you all organize your spaces? I would appreciate advice, pictures, whatever! Thank you!! Susan

Yes. This is my issue. I want to buy a few cans of freeze dried food & there are so many websites and choices. I was hoping someone here could recommend a brand that they've actually purchased and tasted. I will look at your links. Thank you.:) Susan

Thank you. I do have som non-perishable foods and will continue to keep those on hand, but I'm specifically looking at dehydrated foods that have a shelf life much longer than canned goods and such. I will check out the link now. I appreciate it!:) Susan

Hi, This may seem like a weird question. If you stockpile food for emergency preparedness, where do you buy t? What is your favorite brand (as in flavor and price). Thank you! Susan Oh, and do you have a list of certain items you recommend having? Food, flashlights, water, first aid , etc. Is there a list somewhere? You can PM me if you prefer.

Well. This is my second marriage, so I actually do think I understand. My first husband did not want to "work" at it, so it failed. Susan

I agree. I actually get annoyed when I have friends refer to my marriage as an exception. They insinuate what we have is unusual and lucky. It kind of irks me that they give credit to "chance" and not the fact that Grey & I have an amazing marriage because we created one. Most relationships start off the same - with mushy feelings and rose colored glasses. Falling in love is fairly easy. Staying in love takes effort. It's intentional. Susan

Sometimes when I have a glass of wine I experience peaceful parenting:D. Susan

:grouphug: Seems to me that you've found a good solution. I pray it is successful. Susan

IMO people that have successful marriage apply effort. It is not luck. It does not magically happen. Marriage requires wise choices, maturity, and selflessness. It requires both partners giving. I think divorce rate is high because this is not easy for some people. Or sometimes, it is only one person in the marriage doing all of the work. So, I do feel that marriage takes effort (or work). That doesn't mean it's exhausting or laborious, just that it requires intention. Over time, it just becomes habit for most, just as ill-communication and disrespect become habit in other marriages. Susan

I checked them all. At first, I get very emotional. Then, I pray. Then, I research & plan. I don't talk to "lots" of people, but I do seek advice and discuss it in depth with my dh. Susan

No. I would NOT buy a house next to a known sex offender or any house that could be a danger to my family. Yes, there are people all around that do things I'm unaware of, but that doesn't justify purchasing a place next to something I was fully aware existed. Susan

I's speak my peace and then leave it alone. I think spouses do have the right to express preferences, but it shouldn't trump the other person & I would not be passive aggressive in trying to make them change. Susan

Operation. Hungry Hippo. There one where two plastic guys fought? But I can't remember the name. Oh, and this is not a game, but I loved Stretch Armstrong! Susan

In thinking about this post, it reminded me of something I read by Anne Rice the author. She gets it. It's not our's to stress about. “In the moment of surrender, I let go of all the theological or social questions which had kept me from Him for countless years. I simply let them go. There was the sense, profound and wordless, that if He knew everything - I did not have to know everything, and that, in seeking to know everything, I'd been, all of my life, missing the entire point. No social paradox, no historic disaster, no hideous record of injustice or misery should keep me from Him. No question of Scriptural integrity, no torment over the fate of this or that atheist or gay friend, no worry for those condemned and ostracized by my church or any other church should stand between me and Him….I didn't have to know how He was going to save the unlettered and the unbaptized, or how He would redeem the conscientious heathen who had never spoken His name. I didn't have to know how my gay friends would find their way to Redemption or how my hardworking secular humanist friends could or would receive the power of His Saving Grace. I didn't have to know why good people suffered agony or died in pain. He knew. And it was his knowing that overwhelmed me…” ― Anne Rice, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession

:iagree:

In these situations, I think people get afraid. They think if they allow sinners in their home that they are condoning the sin and agreeing with it. Jesus lived contrary to that belief. I think Person A should too. Love is already defined for us in the Bible. We have a clear example of what it looks like in action. Susan

Most of the fall festival we have attended are considered a community outreach. Therefore, many people from the community attend (non Christian) and the kids wear halloween costumes. some of which are scary sometimes. I didn't see it any less filtered than what we were exposed too in our neighborhood. Most homes aren't scary either. I think we have 2 in our entire neighborhood that do that...but even still, it is in good fun. Not to be satanic or mean. We avoid those homes though because my kids would be too scared. Susan

:iagree:

Either would be fine. Me personally though? I would just give it away. We have a lot given to us though, so I tend to have an open door policy of giving things away for free and in return, we somehow always get for free:) I don't think selling things (even to family) is negative though. Susan

I'm offended that you think that!! :tongue_smilie:

That is my issue. When people are so vocal and judgmental and live a life filled with irony (i.e. noticing the speck in a brother's eye when they have a telephone pole sticking out of their own). I get annoyed. Susan

I've been watching Extreme Couponing on netflix. I'm thinking about giving coupons a try (not that extreme..but why shouldn't I use them?). Other than that, I live on a tight budget, meal plan, and I always spend every dollar on paper before I actually use it. Susan

Yes, but I think Christmas is Christian. I think the hype surrounding it (gifts, music, food, trees) is cultural fun and not anti-God. Susan

I SOOOOO agree with you! It is annoying to me that churches have "fall festivals" as alternatives to trick or treating. What? You are still dressing up and getting candy! It's not an alternative at all! Susan

No, not regularly. We do enforce bedtime though & that creates time for us to be alone and really enjoy each other. Susan