I am not sure one needs a graduate degree to figure out the problem. Spiritual abuse's root issue is called the wretched man syndrome. It's when you think you can live a holy life by putting yourself under a law system. Only laws of dos and don'ts can only end up driving you to do that which you don't want to do. Paul describes it Romans 7. If you are under grace, you are not under the law. Instead you live out of the love of Christ which is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost when you believed. It is not uncommon to find pornography, oversexualized marriage relationships, perversion and even suppressed homosexuality, child abuse and such when you are placed under a conservative view of marriage that promotes excessive amounts of children, shaming of sex talks, conservative clothing, suppressive female roles, and dominate male roles. The flesh is weak and what is told not to do all of sudden becomes aware of the desire to do and then bam you a dumb kid stumbling on child porn and completely becomes sucked in some insidious evil. If one had been taught to mind the things of the Spirit instead of the law, well a child might have been more equipped to avoid such a disastrous trip down pornography mountain. The fact is a child getting access to pornography on the Internet can lead to broken and messed up view of sex and exploration. Here is a very interesting talk on the facts and reality that our children can be one click away from perversion. although I don't agree on the solution offered, it is eye opening.

Um we must have the same teacher...?? We got a very similar thing and I was thinking it was too much but I guess it's the new norm. A flower, soda, candy, homemade card and oh yay a gift card to one of her numerous favorite places etc. each to be brought in on a different day. The letter was worded the same. Wow, I feel like schools are becoming standardize in so many ways that it's creeping me out. Well, I think the gift cards is a bit much. A free redbox movie code will suffice.

The Albuquerque zoo is nice. The Botanical garden and the aquarium is a combo park and it was a lot of fun. Both are very inexpensive in comparison to what most zoos cost. A train goes between all the parks. We really enjoy stopping at all three. The zoo is filled with exciting animals. We really enjoyed the seals, the koalas, and tigers. My kids also enjoyed the enchanted giant garden with fun castle, dragon and giant ants. The aquarium had beautiful tanks filled with amazing fish, Sharks, sea turtle, etc. There is a fun touch tank where you can touch sharks and rays. We had fun in Albuquerque.

I think to understand why He chooses to manifest His love or to express Himself in a particular way one has to understand why He has allowed such darkness into the world. I think hearing a testimony from a believer who has suffered many great tragedies and still gives glory to God helps to shed light on why God chooses to do things by His Word and Spirit in this broken world. Warning: This testimony might be offensive to some.

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I will say that the femmy cup doesn't open inside me very well (at least the way I think it should) and yet because of its design it did not leak. This was my biggest worry. I could just see myself getting frustrated trying to figure how these things open up inside and create that necessary vacuum seal. Many reviews of other cups say there is a slight learning curve. I picked the femmy cup based on the reviews that you didn't really have to get it perfectly placed and opened right like the other cups. However, I haven't tried it on a heavy day yet. It has one of the largest capacities supposedly compared to other cups. I got the low cervix one. It's very comfortable and nothing sticks out like I have read in reviews of other cups. I can't even feel it's there. There is a loop on the end to make it easy to remove. The no spill design works too.

I am trying out my first cup. I got the femmy cycle. I got it on my last day and it worked fine. No leaks or anything. I am nervous trying it out on a heavy day. Not having to go to the bathroom every hour will be worth it if this thing doesn't leak. I don't know what took me so long to try this.

I have bought one terrible vaccuum (@ 70-85 bucks) after another. I finally spent the money on a Shark. Love it. I got the navigator DLX. I am plenty happy. The difference of just fifty dollars was worth it.

We did a two day/one night trip last summer. Crazy. But worth it. We stayed in Flagstaff for the night though. It's just much cheaper to stay there. There are two ways to leave the Grand Canyon. Taking US 89 is more scenic in my opinion. It's not any longer really even though it looks like it is longer. We took US 89 on the way back and you get lots of views of the Grand Canyon. Plus there are volcanos too everywhere as you get closer towards Flagstaff. Sunset volcano park was beautiful. If you find you do have time, there is a very short (5min) lava trail hike that was awesome. There are ancient adobes buildings too off HWY 89 that you can go inside and explore. You can see many of the volcanos from the Hwy if you don't want to stop off or if you don't have the time. the Grand Canyon park has an okay museum in the main area. We picked up a free junior ranger book there. There are amazing lookout areas on the main path area around the main museum. They have a great bus system to take you to the many trail heads. one trail might be more than enough for a short trip. Honestly we didn't do any trails in the Grand Canyon. My kids are very young though. The US 89 drive has plenty of scenic pull off areas to stop and see many more spectacular views. If you take US 89, there are a couple more museums off the road too. They are small but nice. The views were great at those places. We drove through the Grand Canyon area mostly the first day and then headed back to the hotel in Flagstaff and then the next day we trekked back up to Sunset Volcano park and Wupatki National Monument. Those really aren't far from Flagstaff. Of course Flagstaff has Walnut Canyon too which is a great hike. I don't remember anything really exciting from the other route. The other route(180) brings you right to the main entrance of the Grand Canyon Village, where US 89 takes you to 64 to the Desert View entrance of the Grand Canyon, Both ways will bring you to the Grand Canyon Village. I just think 89 is way better. I can't believe we saw so much in two days and one night. We were so beat at the end of it. Have fun.

My son made me feel bad buying paper plates after reading some cat in the hat book, so I use a wicker like plate and throw a cloth napkin over it. This is just for sandwiches and snacks. Things like that. I moved all my dishes to the bottom cabinets except cups. This allows DS6 and DS5 to put all the dishes away. We only do dishes once a day most days for a family of six. We eat a lot of fresh whole foods so I guess that's how we cut down on all the dishes. I just don't care to cook really. Now if my husband is in the kitchen cooking....two loads of dishes automatically. He knows how to use every dish in the kitchen. It has to be some kind of talent, but boy, he can cook. Yum.

You might like Jelly Telly or Iamflix. I love that Jelly Telly is content that I can trust. I don't have to worry about the kids stumbling upon something inappropriate. Plus it's so cheap compared to Netflix. We were streaming from Xbox and the ads were awful. I am glad I got a Roku and found jelly Telly and iamflix.

This past month I lost 10 lbs. this is a huge accomplishment for me. After three kids, I have put on some weight, and it's hard to diet with kids. (I had 50 lbs to lose...now 40.) They can push your buttons and when i am hangry, I am not the best me. Here is somethings I did this month that was easy and key to my success. -macro nutrients 50% fat, 20% protein, 30% carbs. -recorded everything I ate and recorded my workouts on fitness pal. With fitness pal, if you workout particularly hard you will have calories that you can eat back. So if you are allowed 1690 calories on a sedentary day but you worked out burning 500-1000 calories, you have some more calories to eat. I wouldn't suggest eating them all back but I didn't restrict myself from eating some back if I was starving. -yes, you can lose weight on a high fat diet. It's not crazy talk. I am shocked myself. My fats came from avocados, nuts, coconut oil, butter, yummy sausage. My carbs stayed around 90-130 g a day. I went too low carb at first and was nauseous. If you feel fatigue and nauseous, up your carbs. I think it's better to lower your carbs slowly. -I was working out on a machine similar to an elliptical. I worked out probably too hard though because I injured my back. I averaged 3 one hour workouts a week burning 700-1000 calories at each workout. -calorie window. This eating in a 8-10 window is something that took time for me to master. This is my first successful month. I skip breakfast and workout on my fast. I did allow myself a coffee with stevia and a dash of unsweetened almond milk first thing in the morning. They say 20-60 calories doesn't really break your fast. -big salad lunch. I ate a super big salad everyday to break my fast. If I had a great workout, I ate a sweet potato too. -I am working to give up wheat products. I was 75% successful. I know the key to my success is to have substitutes on hand like rice when I make pasta for my kids. Ugh, I can be so lazy. -going to bed by 10:30 aka getting the rest my body needs. For February, I plan on adding weight lifting and giving up wheat products 100%. Why wheat? I learned that wheat affects the health of my bowels which is directly related to my emotional health. I think with finding what works is by listening to your body. Try out diets. See how they affect you. Low fat diets made me depressed. Eating too much protein makes me sick. This low carb, high fat diet makes me happy. I can see myself living this way forever. I think that is what makes a diet successful. Finding healthy habits that you can live with happily. Grace and peace.

On does God exist debate: One can not help someone who denies the truth that lies within them. You don't need a scripture, a science book, or anything to find this truth. It is manifested within. Now who is the real God? Ask Him that question. He will answer the seeker. if you want to know if Genesis thru Revelations is His word, open it and read it. Ask Him questions. Keep reading. Ask more questions. Keep reading. And so on and so forth. Why does God allow confusion? It's called grace and longsuffering. Proverbs 2 1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

There are a few free episodes from a few different Great Course series on Amazon Instant video. You don't need prime to purchase the free ones. It will give you an idea if she likes them.

For us the most positive way to regulate screen time and to make it more of a natural habit is by filling their day up with other things to do. Plan for its purpose. This is just my situation but there is no waking up to screen time. They play a little in their rooms because they are early risers, then eat and do chores, We then go to the gym for an hour or so. We come back home for lunch. Then we start school where there is iPad work intermitten throughout but I use the timer that turns the ipad to a passcode screen after ten or so minutes. Then they switch back to their textbook lessons. We usually finish up with school around four thirty. We eat dinner early so I usually get dinner ready and let them lose on their iPads. Once we sit down for dinner iPads are put away. So you see the day is just jammed pack that electronics just don't have time to absorb the whole day every day. My son could play all day on electronics, so I understand that some kids just can't self regulate. My daughter doesn't play with her ipad sometimes even though she can. I also heartlessly delete games and apps that I feel are not as productive as others and/or are taking up all my kids attention. Good luck finding a plan. Its trial and error.

I just love this post. This very much my life minus a yard, but I am satisfied without a yard. with my memberships to the zoo or botanical gardens and lots of great free parks, I am fine without a yard and honestly all plants probably are sighing with relief. We are a family of six living an apartment. it's our lifestyle choice. We like other things beside square footage, so we made that choice. I love the post above because this poster has learned to enjoy what she can do for others and see the value of what she has to offer. I think that is really key. Something that we do is pay a little extra for a special membership that lets us bring guests to the zoo with us. It's a nice way to treat new and old friends. You don't have to be rich to give richly or live richly. You just have to see the value of what your personal lifestyle choices have to offer to your friends. Everyone has something; good food, good conversation, good hospitality, a fun backyard, good research skills, etc.

I find it is helpful to have just an eight or ten hour window to eat all my calories. I started with ten at first because I would get this hangry/I'm-gonna-eat-a-kid feeling trying to do the eight hour window. I have worked up to an eight hour window without any hangry moments. I feel satisfied. Also a too low fat diet will make you tired and depressed, and a too low carb diet will make you tired and naseous. Both situations led to hangry binges. Good luck. I finally found a great diet that works for me. Good luck finding one that works for you. Don't give up. Try a new technique each week. Don't overwhelm yourself with too many restrictions. Get healthy and nurture yourself so you can recover well.

I have four children with mixed hair. All curly but different textures from thin soft, "white" like hair to thick Afro hair. With girls who have curly hair, it's best to learn what product works best for their hair as soon as possible. I know she is just three but girls with curly hair can learn to hate their hair and have a bad self image if they aren't taught to care for it and see the beauty of their curly hair. I have easy straight hair and I didn't appreciate this until I saw my step daughter had developed a bad attitude towards her hair (which happened before I came into her life.) I have gone out of my way to find all the right products for each child so they can appreciate their hair and themselves. Curly hair is higher maintance but giving your child confidence and appreciation for their uniqueness is worth it.

I like the idea of cleaning in zones. Flylady has a nice break down of zones and master cleaning lists. http://www.flylady.net/c/lp.php. I just use the app HOmeRoutines which is similar to fly lady's methods. It comes preloaded with zones and master cleaning lists. The app modifies easily so you can add and delete chores to each list. I mean I am not one to feel the need to fluff pillows so that chore was deleted. However zones like cleaning out the car never occurred to me (as I tend to just wing it in this area) so that was helpful. It's a very adaptable app. I like that it's separate from my regular calendar. I think it would just clutter my calendar to have a cleaning routine up with my dr appts, children activities and such.

This worked for me the other day. My DS5 had a cough that was keeping her and her sister up. It was driving everyone crazy. Poor girl. Found a natural remedy. Boiled 2tblsp of fresh organic thyme in water for ten minutes, strain the thyme out and add a tsp of fresh ginger and some lemon juice and honey to taste. The thyme is the most important ingredient. It will relax the muscles to stop the coughing. It will also hydrate the child to give a more productive cough when she does cough. It worked amazingly for my kid. Thyme is used in many countries to treat whooping cough. It's that good. Edited it for more clear instructions.

Woke up and picked up a kid and my back went out. I was determined to go to the gym anyway. After stretching it out, it felt sort of fine. I just walked around the track at slow speeds and stretched on a few of the machines that stretch the muscle around the mid spine. I have been icing it all day. The less mobile I am the more stiff I become and the more painful it is to move, but everyone says rest. I would keep moving but the pain is making me tired. School was cancelled for the day. Oh well this week is a wash. I will have the leisure to do some reading without any guilt. That is a plus. Work hard everyone.

I was so glad I took the plunge and got the student workbook for WWE 1 and 2. Before I was just doing it on my own referencing just the WWE book. Its not always easy for me to know what questions to ask for narrations, and the workbooks have a script all laid out with a passage to read and cooresponding question. In fact, even though we had been doing narration and copywork without the book for a year, I just decided to start from the beginning when I got the student workbooks. Maybe the workbooks might make it easier for you and your DD. You could start her in year 1 or 2 instead of 3 and build up from there. It's easy enough to accelerate through them. You can do a narration and copywork everyday and that will get you through the book twice as fast. She may want to do her copywork on a regular notebook paper, but the script makes life so easy. I think they have samples if you haven't tried those. It gives me a lot more confidence to have the script.

My DS and oldest DD both love Saxon. My oldest DD goes to public school and if she didn't understand the teacher about a particular concept, she will look in Saxon to find a better explanation. She finds it so much simpler to understand. I find when teaching my DS that the lessons are so straightforward that there is really little preparation needed on my part. He is in Saxon 5/4. I have no experience with CLE.

For notability, yes you can. If you see a box with an arrow pointing up inside the box, this is the button you push to open the file into another app. You will then go to the share button at the bottom and then save it as a pdf. Then it will give you the option to open in iBooks or Kindle. The stop playing button is at the bottom of the list of musical ringtones that you can choose from for when the timer goes off.

I am planning to buy this series of itextbooks. http://mobile-educationstore.com/itextbooks I love the adjustable reading levels, the interactive diagrams, videos, the highlighting feature, the questions and customizable tests. I think $15 is a great price considering I can use them with all my kids. I am excited about their future plans of other science books and government books. I am impressed with what I have seen from the videos on the series. This is kind of series that I am looking for in the educational world. I know that some have reservations over a heavy use of the iPad, but I have just found so many tools to illustrate a concept or stream line teaching. With three young kids back to back, I need all the help I can get. They are just too young for independent work. I need an assistant! I also picked up Reading Island series for free awhile back. I will say that it is an excellent series. It fine tunes any reading gaps but what I like most is that it teaches spelling phonetically. I don't think its a stand alone spelling series nor is it meant to be, but it does well pointing out spelling patterns. Putting words in alphabetical order, teaching sight words, spelling games and teaching correct sentence structure are a few more of the many games. My kids are all good readers but they are all learning somethings out of the series. A short video introduces each lesson, and they are well done. I also use the timer on the iPads heavily. The timer is set so that when it goes off, it goes to a passcode screen. This keeps a kid from getting too much time playing a math related game on the iPad during school hours. Once the timer goes off (usually 8-15 minutes at a time), they know that they need to switch back to their textbooks or find mom and do narrations, etc. Great features in ibooks is the making of flash cards with ease. You can highlight a text and it will become a flash card. I haven't found any texts in iBooks for young children that have me excited, but I think time will bring out more excellent textbooks. I did see that CAP has their Bible covanent books available on the Kno Textbook app, but it says it's only for rent. I prefer to own and keep my book, so that was disappointing. We are a classical school with a deep affection for technology.