Category: Christine

We Cannot Change the People We Love

11/6/2020

Change is God's Business

I love this time of year. The variety and beauty of the colors on display coupled with the need to get out my electric blanket makes my heart rejoice. Pumpkin spice in my coffee and fires in the fireplace are special treats. This change in season is a change I welcome and embrace. I can quickly acknowledge that God is the Author of such a wonderful part of His creation. He deserves all the credit for His work and way. It is easy for me to see Him and His ability in every intricate leaf and cool breeze. Have I said how much I love this time of year?

Change of seasons for a Creator God is effortless. He spoke and all the world was formed. Change is His business. He can perform it at will and with a perspective that is guided by His sovereignty.

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Keeping Your Jersey of Faith On

10/9/2020

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I still remember the day I read this quote from Streams in the Desert by Lettie Burd Cowman.

“In His own world, He is content to play a losing game.” —Lettie Burd Cowman

My husband and I had left a ministry of twenty years to answer the call of returning to our college alma mater. His new position would be sports ministry director and head baseball coach. This was his dream job. He was about to complete his masters and this was an open door to what God had placed on his heart when he started this pursuit.

Many things about this decision did not make sense from a human perspective. The pay was less. I was pregnant with our eleventh child. Our oldest daughter was a senior in high school and would be left behind to complete her year.

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The Ultimate Shopping Hack From a Mom of Eleven

9/11/2020

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The Ultimate Shopping Hack From a Mom of Eleven

"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:" Proverbs 31:26-28

I love the Dollar Tree! Shopping there brings so much joy to this mom of eleven that it has become a weekly stop on my grocery day trips.

Many people ask how I feed and supply the many needs of my family. I give the Dollar Tree much of the credit. I am also a teacher, and my classroom has greatly benefited because of this store as well. Below is a list compiled to show you all the many ways the Dollar Tree supplies the needs of my family and my classroom.

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40 Things About Teaching That Will Still Be the Same

8/7/2020

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40 Things About Teaching That Will Still Be The Same

Another school year is upon me and all I have been able to focus on is how different it is going to be. Running through all the scenarios and fretting about the what ifs has had me in a real emotional mess. Since I will be doing a little of both, virtual and in-class teaching, I decided to make a list of things that won’t change even in these crazy times. I truly believe that the enemy of our souls has an agenda to make us leave behind the main things of our lives.

Some Things Will Still Be the Same

Relationships, routines, and the familiar processes have a very definite place in our society because they produce order and security. Satan is after the very heart of our community, and he is accomplishing his goal by disrupting our schools.

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God is in Tune With My Voice As if it is The Only One

7/10/2020

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God is in Tune With My Voice As if it is The Only One

Voices, voices, voices everywhere. News reports, Facebook feeds, tweets, and any other variety of media seem to be winning the day. Even if they tend to differ in opinion or viewpoint they are coming in loud and in surround sound. I find myself trying to avoid all of it, but then wanting to listen because I have a stake in every bit of the headlines facing our culture. But where can my voice have a platform? Where can the things that matter to me and most importantly the truth of God’s Word find a way to be heard?

This was a question that came out of my frustration for our current climate. Discouraged and disenfranchised, I found myself clouded by a sense of hopelessness. As I took my evening walk, I was contemplating many different solutions to my dilemma when a verse that came across my audio Bible app shed some light on my darkened perspective.

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Stick to it Even in the Midst of the Mundane

6/12/2020

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Stick to it Even in the Midst of the Mundane

This summer has taken on a strange tone and mood for me. After being home for several months as a result of the COVID pandemic, the normal school year detox and relaxing that would take place has been given a head start. Relaxing on the porch with a cup of coffee clad in my comfy t-shirt and yoga pants has been the norm for months. I have enjoyed soaking up all the downtime and letting the non-essential details of life take a back seat. So much good in our family has come out of this time, but there is one thing that can never be granted a lackluster determination. Relaxed living can’t mean relaxed parenting. This realization began with a telling comment from my husband. He said, “I feel like a life with no schedule has also driven us to a home without any discipline.” He obviously noticed what I had been observing as well. In this time of minimal schedules and loose bedtimes, there was also a trend towards casual obedience and diluted expectations.

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Conflict Management in the Home

5/8/2020

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Conflict Management in the Home During COVID-19

Doors slamming, voices raised, looks of frustration and disgusted, and even the occasional silent treatment have been some of the sounds of our quarantine. I know this may be shocking to hear, but with thirteen people cooped up in one home for going on eight weeks, it is unavoidable.

Try as we may to escape the conflict of many personalities, age ranges, and agendas, we end up seeing the clash of the Rossiters on many fronts. Yes, I know this flies in the face of the “Home Sweet Home” sign you may have envisioned, but transparency and real-life are winning out today.

Being the go-between on the Western Front of Rossiterville can be exhausting. Just when you think the battle is over and peace has been restored, fighting breaks out on another front.

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