Today

My girls have completed their 9th week of their Orange-ade Stand.  They are pleased with it and excited to continue.  I think Ria is particularly happy about it lately because it means she gets to have more time working on her baking class.  She LOVES to bake so far!  She's graduated out of cake mix cookies AND peanut butter cookies.  She'll probalby move on to some sort of rolled out cookie dough next.  She's also close to finished with muffins (from scratch) and bread (kneaded in the Kitchen Aid, though).  She's making SUCH good progress!!!
Today was a good day at their Orange-ade Stand.  They had a number of repeat customers who came for the first time today and then came back again.  :)  What fun for all of us!  Two couples of our neighbors dropped by and frequented the girls' Stand.  That was a treat, too.

Ria and I spent some time tonight working on the Homeschool Supplies order.  Ria is SO excited that she's been able to choose her books!!  She's going to study Anatomy and Physiology for Science.  That is the subject over which she is most excited.  She's also going to be doing Math, History (Ancient Romans), Spanish, Piano, Poetry, Grammar, and Business and Economics (via their Orange-ade Stand and other businesses to follow).  So, we are all excited about new books to arrive in the next couple weeks!  :)

I'm thinking a bit about how the Lord uses difficulties to make us what He would have us be.  I'm sure this is, in large part, because I'm feeling the "grind" of some of my own difficulties.

There's this comparison of us to a clay pot in the master potter's hands.  I'm sure you've heard it before.  Our Lord forms us and then places us in a fire (kiln) to finish us.  To test whether we are finished or not, he takes us out of the kiln and thumps us.  If we thud, we are put back in the fire to finish.  When we are finished, He will thump us and we will sing.  To my way of thinking, the "sing" is referring to literal singing in praise, but also simply to thankfulness for the test or thump.

I don't know about you, but it seems like maybe I get all screwy when I'm put in the fire.  So Father God takes me out and sees that I'm not right (formed as He wanted me to be), so He drops me to the ground to smash me up, then picks up those pieces and proceeds to grind me into powder so that he can add water,stir me into the correct consistency and then proceed to begin anew the process of forming (spinning on a wheel as in the movie Ghost or building me via slabs or coils or whatnot).  Perhaps this is a bit extreme... but it definitely feels like it fits in these last few weeks.

Either that OR perhaps I just keep on NOT singing right when He takes me out of the fire, so then He puts me into hotter and hotter fires... probably that's more correct.  That's more reasonable, for sure.  But it sure FEELS the other way lately.

I'm also feeling frustrated about other people's opinions when expressed as if they are THE way rather than an opinion.  I was just told today that every child needs to go to public school so that they could be socialized.  I gave my opinion in return.  Of course, though, I was wrong because I'm "so young."  Seriously?  Well, I have news for anyone who thinks I'm wrong for my children in our family... in essence, you are saying our God is wrong because ultimately HE is the reason we homeschool.

It would certainly be MUCH easier in SO many ways to put our children in public school.... but every time I have asked our God, He has directed that we should continue on course: homeschool.  And so I do and will.

These children do NOT suffer with or from any socialization problems or issues.  They are able to be far more social than most children in public schools.  They do not sit locked in a desk for somewhere around 6 hours each day; required to be silent and work.  They are not threatened with silent lunches when the lunch room gets too loud (though I do require a quiet time each day, but that is because I know my children need naps and/or alone time). 

My greatest concern over other people's opinions is that when they are expressed the way the one was today, they obviously think I am doing something WRONG.  And in my experience with such individuals, they want to prove to me how wrong I am.  :(  I do hope that this particular person is just expressing their opinion in a strong manner and will NOT try to hurt me or my family to prove me/us wrong.  Another example of the increase in the heat of my fire lately.  And, honestly, this isn't one of the greater of the increases in temp!