The Family Integrated Church

While perusing my Vision Forum 2012 catalog a few months back I noticed a movie titled, "Divided." I read the brief description of the movie and thought, "Hm, sounds interesting." Since then I have been hearing little bits and pieces of what a Family Integrated Church (FIC) is. What I'm gathering is that the FIC does away with things like Sunday School groups and youth groups divided by ages. Families would attend a Sunday School or family group together instead- as one family. Here is their website, which I found and began looking at today, if you'd like to look into it further.

The thought of how our church is run has been rolling around in the back of my head for those few months. I have yet to see "Divided" but plan to when we start our subscription to Puritan Picks this January. (My husband and I are getting the subscription as a mutual Christmas present to each other.)

So, where am I going with this?

Honestly, at this point it would have still been a thought that was rolling around in my mind somewhere had I not read two articles today in The Home Educating Family Magazine. I have not subscribed to this magazine as of yet but have been interested in their Facebook posts, giveaways and what treasures their magazine may have. I have tried to order a subscription twice in the past but for some reason, just did not get all the way through the process. How I got this free issue, I don't know. It just showed up in the mail yesterday.

As I read through the article titled, "Mission of the Family, Mission of the Church: A critique of the Family Integrated Church Model" in the 2011 Issue 3 printing, I heard the argument against the FIC. I put the magazine down and gave it some thought. Then I re-read the article. I also read an article review of the movie "Divided" in the magazine.

Something just wasn't clicking for me.

How could a magazine that believes Deuteronomy 6:7, say that the idea of a FIC is a poor idea?

One of their main arguments is that singles and the elderly are left out of the picture in FICs. Why would that be? If EVERYONE is attending Sunday School together then why would that exclude an elderly person? Why would it exclude a young adult? Maybe I'm misinterpreting the purpose of the FIC. Are they wanting a church full of JUST families? That would be hard for me to believe. Especially when I know of some of the homeschool fathers that support FIC such as Doug Phillips and Voddie Baucham. If I am wrong, please let me know!

In the review of the "Divided" movie HEFM argues that "It is notable that the film does not offer any measured response to FIC. There are many conservative, biblical Christians who reject FIC and I am sure it would not have been difficult to interview a couple of them. Leclerc does not allow any of them to speak." That's like asking why Ken Ham doesn't include the response of an evolutionist in any of his films. Realistically, documentaries are mostly one sided, no matter what the documentary is about, so that argument isn't valid.

"I see young people abandoning the church and though I am saddened by it, I Am Un-alarmed." What???? I read that sentence over and over trying to have that make sense.

Then in the next article, "I believe there is little debate...when it comes to fathers being...servant leaders of their homes and the family growing in love and admonition of the Lord while worshiping Him together in Spirit and truth." (bold emphasis mine)

Isn't that what the FIC is for, not against?

"A look at the demographics of the FIC movement reveal that FIC's are predominately made up of homeschool families with K-12th grade students. That statistic undermines the very term 'multi-generational' " My question to that would be, "Who do you think is going to begin the FIC churches, a bunch of teenagers?" No, it would be families that want to worship together as a family.

My only conclusion then is that a home schooling magazine that encourages Christian parent to bring their children home to be educated would be condoning a traditional church that separates a family for the better part of Sunday, that sends babies off from the security of their parents, lumps a bunch of young children together in one room and sends teenagers off on Sunday nights (or whatever night you have youth group) all to be taught from someone else other than their parents? Sounds to me like............well............. government school.

I could see Christians that already send their children to public school questioning FIC, but Christian homeschoolers?

With all that said, this is something that my husband and I will have to give a lot of prayer to. I'm not suggesting that anyone leave their traditional church at this point. We have no plans of looking elsewhere for now. It's just a thought that will need a lot of wisdom and guidance from the Lord.

What are your thoughts on Family Integrated Churches? I'd really love to hear!

One Reason We Homestead

In light of a short conversation I had and one overheard today, I felt compelled to share just one of the reasons we homestead. The conversations had to do with our government and food, specifically food prices. (Let's not even go there on recent GMO approvals!!) The talk got me thinking, one of the main reasons that we homestead is independence. Now I know that may sound cliche. We are living here in America right? The land that was founded on independence! The land where you could escape from the religious and lifestyle laws that we imposed onto you? For freedom! And yet all I really see is America becoming more and more dependent on it's government. Democracy? Pssh. Freedom? Ha. Why don't you ask the farmer in Wisconsin who's farm has been raided by the government time and time again about how free he feels. Raided by the government. Shut down. And for what? Because they're selling a wholesome, nutritionally sound product?

As far as I'm concerned (and you can call me crazy if you want) I'd love to take my family off to a place where the government no longer knows we exist! I'd be glad to hand in my social security number for someone else to use. Really, by the time Gavin is old enough to even draw social security it will be gone anyway.

Our current home is still run heavily on the help of the government. We have power and a phone, health insurance and vehicles. We have a mortgage! But we are working towards moving as far away from the support as possible. Doing what you can- at your home, with what you have available to you, is the first step in the right direction. So we have a garden, which I want to expand this year. We raise chickens, turkeys and hogs. We make our own soap and detergents. I sew some of our clothes (although I'd like to do more.) We're self employed.

Small steps in the right direction. On my to do list: get a milk cow, raise honey bees, raise lambs, raise beef, move off grid, grow a HUGE garden, and have a HUGE orchard. Some issues we just won't be able to get around, like having vehicles. My husband needs his work truck for...work. I don't know how many trees he'd be able to trim with a horse and buggy. We can't grow our own grains at this point so we have to buy grains to mill into flour and for our animals. Building supplies for the house. We can mill our own wood but, nails, screws? I guess it all just depends on how independent from the world you want to be. There are luxuries that I do appreciate- like gas stations and my dishwasher. But the further removed we can be from it, the better off we're going to be in the future.

*I am now stepping down from my soap box. Thanks for listening!*

what in the world?

Have you ever had one of those days where you were asking yourself "What in the world?" as the day progressed? That was me, yesterday. Here's why.

First, our carrots. What's up with them this year? I picked about 10 yesterday and over half of them weighed more than 1 pound.....each.Seriously? How do carrots get this big? In a normal sense, I mean. This seed was just planted in May, it's not as if the carrots have been in the ground for a year!Next, green beans. I swear that I packed all the jars the same and yet one came out looking like this. As if some little critter got into the jar in the pressure canner, drank half the water and ate about 1/4 of the green beans. How did that happen?Finally, eggs. More specifically turkey eggs. How many do they lay? I read somewhere, I thought, that a turkey may only lay one egg in their lifetime. Really? Is that true? Well, we got one yesterday. It's the egg in the middle. Has anyone ever eaten a turkey egg? I'd suppose they are about the same as chicken eggs. For some reason though I have this idea that I'll crack it open and something hideous will be lurking inside. Kinda scary.

Here's the thing...

Quilting 101 isn't quite going as planned. (Remember my post about my best laid plans not always working out?) So I've decided that instead of stressing over it every day I'm just going to extend it to the entire fall season. That way I'm not limited just to September, since it seems to be slipping away too fast. And since my last poll showed that quite a few readers are experienced quilters, I may just be preaching to the choir here. But for those of you who are wanting to learn, I'll be sharing a few easy techniques. Is there anything is particular anyone is wanting to learn more about?
I actually pulled out some rows of blocks, that I already have sewn, to try and work on this week. They just need to be sewn together, a border put on and then the top is ready for quilting. But I do have a baby quilt looming over my head like an anvil (yes, it's the one you're thinking of Mom) that I need to do as well.
Although it is supposed to be sunny today, we have had a ton of rain the past 3 days which has pretty much annihilated the garden. Mold, popped tomatoes, fallen sunflowers, you get the picture. I tried yesterday to save as much produce as I could. When I came in the house Wyatt said, "Mom, you're soaking wet!" Yes, but I had to save my produce!! How has your weather been?
Today I'll be canning tomatoes and trying to figure out something other than grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. Hubby is hunting and the pressure of not having to make a huge dinner is off. He'll be back soon though and I'm sure the kids will appreciate a better dinner!
So that's my quick update. Sorry for a no picture post. Those aren't much fun.

time in the kitchen

I was just thinking this morning, while I was in the kitchen, about how much of my day is spent in it. For example yesterday I did the dishes, baked bread, made tortillas, soaked granola, made baby food, made breakfast, lunch and dinner, mopped the kitchen floor........ all of that simply in one room of the house! It got me wondering, how much time does a homemaker spend on average in the kitchen each day? I added a poll over to the left for you to vote. Let me know, realistically, how much time you really spend- I'm anxious to hear!

keeping up appearances

photo from: Shery

Appearances are a funny thing. They can make you think that something is one way when it may be something else entirely.

I've been thinking about posting on this topic for a little while but for some reason, God has just really laid it on my heart this morning.

Do you ever feel the "keeping up with the Jones'" pressure? If you've never heard that expression before it's a lifestyle of having things bigger and better than another person. I see it all the time, even in our small town. Why aren't we happy with who we are and what we have? Why has our culture become a "I HAVE to have this now!" or "This will make me feel better if I have it!", "I'll be more accepted (or popular) if I have this." I'm talking about all people here, not just fellow Christians. God tells us Christians that we are to be satisfied in Him, but even other non-believers should re-examine their needs and wants.

What is it about someone's self-esteem that makes them feel as though they need the big house, and the expensive furnishings, the new trucks and the toys (oh, the toys! the boats and the quads and all the other un-necessaries?) And what example are we setting for our children??

I get a lot of people that say things to me like, "How do you do it all?" "I wish I could do all the things you do." but let me say that appearances can be deceiving. What you see on my blog here is me; there are no made up people, or animals, or ways of life. What you don't see though is the stack of laundry on my couch, the sink full of dishes, the used mini-van that seriously needs to be washed, the grass that needs mowed, the clutter on the kitchen counter. I'm a normal person with a normal life. Those things just aren't fun to blog about! :)

My husband and I live on one acre but are constantly dreaming of more. To get there though we need to keep our priorities in check. Hubby's truck is 11 years old. My van is 6 years old. Our home is small and old. We've never owned a new couch or a new vehicle. We live by the sweat (literally) of my husbands brow. Along with trying to save for something bigger though, we also have to remember that everything in the here and now is just a material possession. Nothing here is eternal. I don't need to have this and this and that to feel good about myself or my family. I am satisfied. I know that we love each other and that God loves us. And like the Beatles said, "All you need is love." Well, you do need a couple more things than love but not all the excess that we see nowadays!

How do you feel about this? Do you sometimes feel as if you don't measure up? Well guess what? You DO! Maybe not in the eyes of your boss or your neighbor but in the eyes of our Lord. He loves you, thinks that you are wonderful- yes, wonderful, and wants to give you the true desires of your heart.

Know that when you look at someone else and think, "Wow, I wish I had a life like theirs," that they have their issues too and most likely the more "stuff" they have, the less happy they truly are. Be thankful for what you do have, the things you've been blessed with, not what you don't have.

I think that if we could all take a step back and realize that all the "junk" lacks meaning that we'd be a happier society today.

**Can I also add that, to what degree are you willing to go into debt to have all these things? We're in over our heads in our homes, our counties, our states and our nation!**

tuesday randomness - in pictures

This is my husbands creative redneck side at work...Wyatt in the garden My husbands ornery side at work. This was my to-do list. He thought he'd add a few "groceries" to the list... We really did need yogurt though. Mason So-cute Scott

a little random

1. I'm making our usual sourdough bread today but instead of the milk I'm trying raw cultured buttermilk. Should be interesting to see how it turns out.

2. I can not wait to start the hand stitching process of binding my quilts.......if I ever get a free moment today (besides this one.)

3. For all of you who have been praying, Karen (our pastor's wife) is doing better! Praise God! She just move out of ICU today into a regular room. She is now talking (whispering) and has some arm movements. She is starting PT this week too. The Dr.'s now think that the tumor was NOT cancerous and we'll find out for sure tomorrow! She has a long road of recovery ahead of her so keep praying!

4. I scored a sewing machine at the second hand store today but I'm not sure I want it. The guy said they couldn't figure out how to thread it so I could take it and if I got it to work I could bring them back $5. I'll have to look at it closely.

5. It's so nice to have Wyatt home from school today.

6. Leftover lasagna for dinner tonight.

7. I so want this for Mother's Day.

8. Remodeling is so NOT fun. Unless you're an almost 2 year old with a power drill.

9. I want to make a new apron. I'm going to use this pattern that I purchased.

10. I also just bought this skirt. How cute is that?

11. I'm on Facebook now......finally! Wanna be my friend?



That's it for today folks! :)

just a note

I'm sorry to say that I have nothing exciting to blog about today but I wanted to mention something that has been on my mind for a bit. Email. And comments. The ones on my blog. I LOVE all of your comments and I also love responding to your comments but I can't if you don't have your email in your blogger profile! So many times I get questions that I would love to respond to, sometimes in depth, and I can't because there's no email. If you choose to not have your email in your profile for personal reasons, then I totally understand. Just know that I'd love to write you back!

random tuesday

Welcome to Tuesday. It's storming here today; lots of rain and very high winds. We haven't had any thunder yet but it's in the forecast. I have a bunch on my mind today so we're going with "random" here.

1. Did you know that if you could give up one item that you usually buy at the grocery store that isn't that healthy for you (i.e. those Chips Ahoy cookies, those bags of cour cream and onion chips, those granola bars, that sugary cereal, etc.) you could afford to buy something organic? Like a gallon of milk or some butter?

2. Did you know that you could probably find organic produce for the same cost, if not less (or just slightly more,) than conventional produce? Case in point:

Safeway Fuji Apples- $1.49/lb....... Safeway Organic Fuji Apples- $.99 (on sale)

Safeway Organic tomatoes- $3.99/lb .........Health Food Store Organic tomatoes- $.99/lb

Safeway 5lb bag of Russet Potatoes- $2.50..........Health Food Store Organic Russet 5lb $2.65

If you do some searching you actually CAN eat healthier for less! :)

3. Here's what I'm working on right now......
Hope to have this top done by tomorrow.

4. I'm ordering my seeds from here next week. Gotta start thinking about gardening! Do you know that I only have 90 days until I start planting??!

5. Cuteness on a couch.
6. I made these the other day and they turned out good. Not great but good. I did use WW Flour though so maybe it was just a little too heavy. I used 6 of them and made a great Eggs Benedict Casserole (which I forgot to take a photo of.) Next time I make it, I'll take a photo and share the recipe! It was super easy and yummy!

7. Today I am, making bread, baking cookies, doing tax preparations, quilting, laundering, and hanging out with my family.

8. I made an Oatmeal in the crock pot last night and we ate it for breakfast this morning- yum! and oh so easy. I'll share that recipe tomorrow!

9. I'm making a list of the way we are self sufficient/green living already and a list of what we could do to become more.

10. Baby chicks will be here in less than a month so I need to get on figuring out their temporary accommodations (i.e. get Gavin to build me something.) We haven't had chicks that didn't have a mommy hen, in 5 years so we'll have to come up with something. We're getting 6 Buff Orphingtons

And maybe one or two of these Cuckoo Marans to try out.They look so much like Barred Rocks (Gavin will like that)

Well, that's about as random as I get today! :)

just 1/4 acre?

Has anyone read this book? I saw it in a reputable seed catalog and was curious. It says you can homestead on just 1/4 acre. I find that really hard to believe. The description talked about raising vegetables, bees, hogs, and even a cow. On 1/4 acre???!!

Do we personally have the room on our property for a cow? Sure we do! Can we put up a barn for it- yep, no problem. Would our cow be on green pasture? Nope. It would be eating hay and stuck in a barn with a small area for it to go outside and walk around in the mud. No thanks. Keeping it (the cow) would cost more than buying raw milk from cows that graze on lush green grass.

What type of garden is the book proposing? One where all your veggies are so crammed together that they are basically nutritionless since they're all fighting for the nutrients that the ground can't support?

O.k., someone tell me that this book is good- has some good ideas and worth reading because I am still interested to know how you can homestead on 1/4 acre. Or better yet, do you do it? Do you homestead on a little piece of property? I'd love to hear your ideas or your practices. :)

is it too late?

So today is January 6th and I'm just starting to think of a few resolutions for the new year. Usually I don't make any. Why do I need a January 1st to change things? I actually don't like change much but I think that this year and for the rest of my life I would like to make one resolution. I'd like to be more self sufficient in 2010 and from now on. So that's what I'm going to do. Along with that, I'd like to try and "do without" and "do with less" this year. If I need something- and I mean NEED it, then I'll first look at a thrift shop or a second hand store. I won't just go online and buy- with the one big exception of fabric! I will however, try and use my stash as much as possible this year and not buy new.

I'd like to grow more this year, bake more this year, sew more this year, create from scratch more this year.

What did you resolve to do?

babies movie

Have you seen this?
Oh my gosh, I can't wait until April! This trailer made me laugh out loud- how funny is it that babies are the same all over the world? :) I love the part at the end where the goat is drinking out of the kid's bath and he doesn't even flinch. Gotta love little ones. This is certainly a movie I'm going to see.

pride

Pride is not something you're supposed to be full of. It's not a Godly thing. But ya know, sometimes you need to have some pride. And in my opinion, one of the things that you can have pride in is your work. Now I'm no "super quilter." You don't see me creating masterpieces that win world wide quilt shows. Moda isn't seeking me out to design their fabrics. Quilt magazines aren't contacting me to design patterns. But, I do take pride in my work. If I make something that I personally feel is "less than adequate" I chalk it up to, "don't make one of those again" and then sell the quilt as a second with the full disclosure of what I felt was flawed. There are folks out there that may look at the quilt and think, "Flawed? Um, it looks good to me." But we quilters know. We can tell. It's important to be honest about the things that you sell; the things that people are spending their hard earned money on.

Where am I going with this? Well, no where really. I just wanted to let you know how I felt. I guess it was part brought on by a quilt that I purchased and part brought on by the blocks that I won from Cathy. I was super impressed by her sewing. The blocks were gorgeous. I haven't seen, in person, one of her finished quilts but I would be willing to bet my hard earned dollar that they are lovely and well made. You can see her finished quilts here and below is the finished quilt top from the blocks that she so graciously gave away.

Thanks Cathy, I hope I did them justice and made you proud! ;)

attention all Farm Girls!

If you're part of the "Farm Girl Movement" and subscribe to Mary Janes Farm then I'm wondering if any one of you would be willing to share a copy of the February (I think that was the month) issue that had to do with Bee Keeping? I'd be willing to pay for either your used issue or a copy of the articles in the issues. Anyone? :)

thanks a lot etsy

Look what was on the front page at 6:02pm this evening; right before a pregnant lady is getting ready to eat dinner and is hungry.......

That is just so not right. My thighs are thanking you Etsy (not.)

If your will power is as strong as mine, which is non existent, then here is where you can get your own!

i admit it

I am so lame. I flaked off this morning about going to town and sewed instead. So, I still have no memory card. :( But, on the bright side, I did get the quilt top done for a friend's new baby boy! I have to pick Wyatt up from his last day of school!! in about 30 minutes then the little ones are going down for naps. Maybe, just maybe I can get to town after they wake up and before I need to do dinner. Fingers crossed! Because really, these posts are quite boring without pictures.

monday randomness #2

-I just saw that we only have a few bars of soap left and thought, I'd better make some more. Until I remembered that soap takes 6 weeks to cure. Ooops. Good thing Mandi is around.

-Thursday is Wyatt's last day of school- YAY!!!!!!!

-Tonight at 5pm is our ultrasound. I'll let you know who won out on the "should we find out the sex or not?"- Gavin or I.

-Our farmers market starts in 12 days.........yes, I am counting down.

-Today is sunny and I don't feel like sewing. The baby showers are done now so I'm thinking that the outside is calling my name. Much louder than my sewing machine at least.

-I'm making ranch chicken for dinner tonight and I can't wait- it is sooooooooooo yummy.

-Were you all aware that my husband is the greatest man in the whole wide world? Well, if you weren't, you are now! :)

-This post has no pictures because my camera card is acting up and erasing all the pictures that I take. Niiiiiiiiicccce. Good thing there are a few links.

-I found this neat little blurb about Crescent City today and loved how they said. "Life in the region is for a special breed..." hahahahahahaha

All right that's it. Sorry there was nothing interesting. I'll be back tomorrow hopefully with some baby news!

monday randomness and chicks!

- is it normal for your not quite 5mo pregnant belly to look like you're 7mo pregnant??

-the bad thing about having a wood stove for heat; "Honey, where is the box that Layton's new shoes came in yesterday?" "Um, I burnt it." "Oh, o.k. well, they don't fit him." I guess we're not returning those

-is it just me or do all moms of little ones only get to shower every 3rd day?

-getting dressed on Sunday; "Mommy you look like a princess!" then after looking at my bare legs (since I had on a knee high dress,) "Mama, you need some pants!"

-if you don't live on/ near to a dirt road then you just don't get it. but please, don't speed down the road- it creates clouds of dust that blow over onto other peoples kids and house and garden

-taking some great shots with your camera is fabulous, until you realize that the memory card isn't in

-did you know that sawdust is, by a 2 year old's standards, donkey food?

That's enough for now. Here are some shots of the growing chicks.....

dont'cha hate that

My morning started off with my daughter waking up at 4:50am and crying due to teething. I then thought it would be a good idea after she went down for her first nap to sew the back to Layton's big boy quilt. I cut the fabric and then sewed it together.............the wrong way. Ugh, really?? That's what happens when you are seriously lacking sleep. I probably should just stop sewing short of running my fingers throught the machine!! :)