The school year is winding down...Exams are over, we've finished out most subjects already and are finishing up things like math, Spanish, English (research papers), etc. I start working on quarterly reports for this quarter next week along with plans for our next school year...(Rachel's last and David's final year of elementary school...can you believe it?)
Work is busy and the juggle is tough, but I'm managing...Can't wait for summer and some time to work a little less (school vacation, paperwork and planning til mid-July then summer session - only a half day of lessons with many of them hands on). The house needs a deep cleaning and we need to do a yard sale...We also have to check out the college and the culinary school that Rachel is considering.
Opening the pool soon...Looking forward to a few happy lazy days...
Here's a summer song for you...a goodie and an oldie...Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsW8rXPcnM0&feature=related
Monday, June 7, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Had a killer toothache yesterday and a fever, but woke up at 3am soooo much better. My dentist is off right now and I have to rejoice that I'm better. Would like to hold off going to him until he's back instead of going to his relief doctor.
Julie and Julia is on. Love that movie. It's planted some great ideas in our 17 yo dd's head. She wants to be a chef, but one that is focused on healthy cooking. She is planning to do a cooking blog during her nutrition course for her senior year using Cooking For Life, a wonderful cookbook done from both a Biblical and health oriented perspective.
Better get back to bed and catch some zzzzzzzzzs.....
In honor of our future chef, one of her favorites....Great God by Carman...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ruLMhNqSQ&feature=related
Julie and Julia is on. Love that movie. It's planted some great ideas in our 17 yo dd's head. She wants to be a chef, but one that is focused on healthy cooking. She is planning to do a cooking blog during her nutrition course for her senior year using Cooking For Life, a wonderful cookbook done from both a Biblical and health oriented perspective.
Better get back to bed and catch some zzzzzzzzzs.....
In honor of our future chef, one of her favorites....Great God by Carman...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6ruLMhNqSQ&feature=related
Friday, April 23, 2010
Doing Better
Sometimes, as a Christian, I miss the mark. I get so busy, I don't read the Word or pray as much as I should or I handle a situation in a way that is less than I should. Yeah, I know I'm human and I don't want to beat myself up, but still, I want to do better. Becoming a Christian is not and ending point, it's a beginning point of a lifelong journey to become more like Jesus each day.
To that end, this song has really inspired me....Be blessed....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY&a=x8Px3KwO-co&playnext_from=ML
To that end, this song has really inspired me....Be blessed....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY&a=x8Px3KwO-co&playnext_from=ML
Monday, April 19, 2010
How Great is Our God.....
Just a quick post on a busy, busy day. I marvel and it brings me to tears how much He loves us, in spite of all of our flaws...Thank You Abba....I love you soooo much....
http://connect.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=132a64b675e261658b79
http://connect.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=132a64b675e261658b79
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Give It Up...
Happy Sunday everybody....
I love music...almost all kinds of music, but praise and worship music is my favorite. Over the years, thanks to some wonderful teachers and music programs in the schools I attended, I've had the opportunity to sing everything from operetta to madrigal to folk rock and choral music. But it was after I asked Yeshua into my life that the music I sing changed as He was changing me. I stopped singing anything but music for Him.
This took me down a totally different path. Over the last 30+ years, I've sung at various churches and fellowships, rallies, and participated in various cantatas and music events and even coffeehouses. But over the last almost 2 years, the Lord opened an even more amazing door for me to walk through.
Along with Ralph (when he's able to be there) and our 25 year old son, J, I've been beyond blessed to be able to get involved with our local IHOP. Now IHOP for many stands for International House of Pancakes, but that's not what I mean. IHOP also stands for International House of Prayer.
International House of Prayer (and I'm quoting their website) is "an evangelical missions organization that is committed to praying for the release of the fullness of God’s power and purpose as we actively win the lost, heal the sick, feed the poor, make disciples, and impact the seven spheres of society (family, education, government, economy, arts, media, and religion). Our vision is to work in relationship with the larger Body of Christ to serve the Great Commission, as we seek to walk out the two great commandments to love God and people". Basically, it's a praise and worship movement, something that is unlike anything else I've ever seen.
It's changed me. Our local IHOP has become my second home. Aside from being with Ralph and the kids, there is nowhere I'd rather be. Ralph and I recently had the privilege of leading our 2nd Messianic Jewish seder there. The first, last year, was for 15 people. This one was for 26 including walk-ins, mostly believers with a couple of people who were not believers.
It's exciting to see how this is growing.
I can't be at IHOP nearly as much as I'd like to be because of all that is going on in our lives right now, but the time I am there is the most amazing thing.
I have the incredible privilege of helping our oldest son lead worship for a couple of hours each month at a monthly 12 hr. prayer meeting there called The Burn. Out of that has come a revival of praise and worship in my own heart, songs that only God could write (and I haven't music myself since high school and college) and an incredibly deep, deep hunger to get closer and closer to the Lord.
Which brings me to our music for the day. This is a link for live worship that is done from the International House of Prayer homebase in Kansas City. Please stop by and enjoy this link Forerunner Christian Fellowship and others on the IHOP website. There are praise and worship links there as well as this, but this is the link for Sunday services...Be blessed...
http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000048153
I love music...almost all kinds of music, but praise and worship music is my favorite. Over the years, thanks to some wonderful teachers and music programs in the schools I attended, I've had the opportunity to sing everything from operetta to madrigal to folk rock and choral music. But it was after I asked Yeshua into my life that the music I sing changed as He was changing me. I stopped singing anything but music for Him.
This took me down a totally different path. Over the last 30+ years, I've sung at various churches and fellowships, rallies, and participated in various cantatas and music events and even coffeehouses. But over the last almost 2 years, the Lord opened an even more amazing door for me to walk through.
Along with Ralph (when he's able to be there) and our 25 year old son, J, I've been beyond blessed to be able to get involved with our local IHOP. Now IHOP for many stands for International House of Pancakes, but that's not what I mean. IHOP also stands for International House of Prayer.
International House of Prayer (and I'm quoting their website) is "an evangelical missions organization that is committed to praying for the release of the fullness of God’s power and purpose as we actively win the lost, heal the sick, feed the poor, make disciples, and impact the seven spheres of society (family, education, government, economy, arts, media, and religion). Our vision is to work in relationship with the larger Body of Christ to serve the Great Commission, as we seek to walk out the two great commandments to love God and people". Basically, it's a praise and worship movement, something that is unlike anything else I've ever seen.
It's changed me. Our local IHOP has become my second home. Aside from being with Ralph and the kids, there is nowhere I'd rather be. Ralph and I recently had the privilege of leading our 2nd Messianic Jewish seder there. The first, last year, was for 15 people. This one was for 26 including walk-ins, mostly believers with a couple of people who were not believers.
It's exciting to see how this is growing.
I can't be at IHOP nearly as much as I'd like to be because of all that is going on in our lives right now, but the time I am there is the most amazing thing.
I have the incredible privilege of helping our oldest son lead worship for a couple of hours each month at a monthly 12 hr. prayer meeting there called The Burn. Out of that has come a revival of praise and worship in my own heart, songs that only God could write (and I haven't music myself since high school and college) and an incredibly deep, deep hunger to get closer and closer to the Lord.
Which brings me to our music for the day. This is a link for live worship that is done from the International House of Prayer homebase in Kansas City. Please stop by and enjoy this link Forerunner Christian Fellowship and others on the IHOP website. There are praise and worship links there as well as this, but this is the link for Sunday services...Be blessed...
http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000048153
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Ripples in a Pond
I've been watching and praying about this volcano eruption in Iceland. The effects have been so far reaching, like when you throw a rock into a pond and watch the ripples in the pond afterwards.
The way this is affecting travel really hits home. Being a limo driver, anything that affects travel affects Ralph and when travel is down, jobs and income are down....Not good (please pray for more jobs for him right now that are airlines related)....I have a wonderful friend online who have a son who's in Europe right now and her son can't get home. Even the president of Germany, who I hear was here in the States, was only able to get as far as Spain and can't get back to Germany. This is hitting home for everyone.
This one incident is affecting millions. Just like ripples in a pond...
Remember George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life? It's a favorite of Ralph's and mine. So much was changed and made better just by the life of this one man. How much can each of us as individuals make a difference for the better (or for the worst) just by our actions...Again, just like ripples in a pond...
And your song for the day...with a special dedication to our 20 yo dd, who loves this song... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWv-UOHzaIc&feature=related We are free to choose this make this world better or not. All we have to do is make the right choices...
The way this is affecting travel really hits home. Being a limo driver, anything that affects travel affects Ralph and when travel is down, jobs and income are down....Not good (please pray for more jobs for him right now that are airlines related)....I have a wonderful friend online who have a son who's in Europe right now and her son can't get home. Even the president of Germany, who I hear was here in the States, was only able to get as far as Spain and can't get back to Germany. This is hitting home for everyone.
This one incident is affecting millions. Just like ripples in a pond...
Remember George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life? It's a favorite of Ralph's and mine. So much was changed and made better just by the life of this one man. How much can each of us as individuals make a difference for the better (or for the worst) just by our actions...Again, just like ripples in a pond...
And your song for the day...with a special dedication to our 20 yo dd, who loves this song... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWv-UOHzaIc&feature=related We are free to choose this make this world better or not. All we have to do is make the right choices...
Friday, April 16, 2010
An Introduction...Hi Everybody!! :)
I'm watching Julie and Julia (great movie with an amazing performance by Meryl Streep - no one does accents like she does...) and it occurred to me that I let my blog go south and it was time to start a new one, so here I am. Please permit me to introduce myself.
I'm Pam, a.k.a. PamLa online. I'm happily married to my college sweetheart for over 30 years. We still celebrate the day we met. We got through our struggles like everyone else, but we're really happy together. Ralph is now into his 3rd career - limo driving - thanks to layoffs at his previous job (a technician at a somewhat high profile wireless telecom company, so I won't trouble you with names). More on that later...
We live on Long Island, an hour east of New York City. Long Island is an interesting mix. Ralph was raised out here. The topography is totally amazing. You can be in an area that looks like the New England coastline in one area, an old fishing village the next, winding roads like upstate New York in another, and the city in yet another. Culturally, it's great out here too, but the taxes, real estate prices and utility rates are horrendous.
Ralph and I have 5 children, 2 boys and 3 girls, ages 11 - 29, and, in part due to this rotten recession, not to mention rental costs, they all live at home still, which makes for a rather lively household, especially since we do all of this living in a small ranch style house. We have a nice little piece of land that I dream of farming (as in an expanded garden area, chickens etc. (we're zoned for farm animals, so it's possible), but for now, my little garden patch will have to do.
Our oldest daughter, 29, teaches 2nd grade in a small Christian school. Our oldest son, 25, is a mechanic in a co-generator company, and is a musician.
(He plays guitar with a couple of local Christian praise and worship bands and plays with me when I sing (more on that later)...Our 20 year old daughter is a home health aide and loves to work with kids. Our 17 year old daughter is a future chef extraordinare and is finishing her 11th grade studies. Our youngest son is 11 and is finishing 5th grade. I homeschool them both and homeschooled all three of our older children as well.
Since Ralph was laid off, I went back to work at night part-time. I work 4 nights a week as a research interviewer for a marketing research company.
My days are filled with homeschooling and playing Mom's taxi, and my nights are filled with research interviews, playing Mom's taxi, stolen moments with my honey (when he can be home...limo driving means lots of late nights...), and, my favorite home away from home, helping to lead worship at our local International House of Prayer for 2 hrs. a month at a monthly 12 hr. prayer meeting called The Burn. I love it there...Music is like breathing to me.
We have our challenges, raising and living with a large family with adult children, homeschooling, dealing with all of the changes in our lives in the past year with Ralph's irregular work schedule and all of the changes that go with it in terms of personal time and family time, my going back to work part-time, less $ coming in than we're used to and more, yet, in spite of that, with so many folks out of work, we consider ourselves so blessed...Ralph is working, I'm working, the kids all pitch in and help and we're getting by...it's all good. God is good...
Another thing, we're all Christians living in the fullness of our heritage as Jews (I'm a Messianic Jew married to a born-again Christian). More about that as the days go on...
I think I'd like to so something special and end each post with either a Bible Scripture or a song that praises God. For this 1st entry, I'm giving you this song; I've been listening to this song a whole lot lately. After more than 30 years of believing in Yeshua as my Messiah, it still brings me to tears to realize how much He's done for all of us...even me....Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6iPL2bCsso&feature=related
I'm Pam, a.k.a. PamLa online. I'm happily married to my college sweetheart for over 30 years. We still celebrate the day we met. We got through our struggles like everyone else, but we're really happy together. Ralph is now into his 3rd career - limo driving - thanks to layoffs at his previous job (a technician at a somewhat high profile wireless telecom company, so I won't trouble you with names). More on that later...
We live on Long Island, an hour east of New York City. Long Island is an interesting mix. Ralph was raised out here. The topography is totally amazing. You can be in an area that looks like the New England coastline in one area, an old fishing village the next, winding roads like upstate New York in another, and the city in yet another. Culturally, it's great out here too, but the taxes, real estate prices and utility rates are horrendous.
Ralph and I have 5 children, 2 boys and 3 girls, ages 11 - 29, and, in part due to this rotten recession, not to mention rental costs, they all live at home still, which makes for a rather lively household, especially since we do all of this living in a small ranch style house. We have a nice little piece of land that I dream of farming (as in an expanded garden area, chickens etc. (we're zoned for farm animals, so it's possible), but for now, my little garden patch will have to do.
Our oldest daughter, 29, teaches 2nd grade in a small Christian school. Our oldest son, 25, is a mechanic in a co-generator company, and is a musician.
(He plays guitar with a couple of local Christian praise and worship bands and plays with me when I sing (more on that later)...Our 20 year old daughter is a home health aide and loves to work with kids. Our 17 year old daughter is a future chef extraordinare and is finishing her 11th grade studies. Our youngest son is 11 and is finishing 5th grade. I homeschool them both and homeschooled all three of our older children as well.
Since Ralph was laid off, I went back to work at night part-time. I work 4 nights a week as a research interviewer for a marketing research company.
My days are filled with homeschooling and playing Mom's taxi, and my nights are filled with research interviews, playing Mom's taxi, stolen moments with my honey (when he can be home...limo driving means lots of late nights...), and, my favorite home away from home, helping to lead worship at our local International House of Prayer for 2 hrs. a month at a monthly 12 hr. prayer meeting called The Burn. I love it there...Music is like breathing to me.
We have our challenges, raising and living with a large family with adult children, homeschooling, dealing with all of the changes in our lives in the past year with Ralph's irregular work schedule and all of the changes that go with it in terms of personal time and family time, my going back to work part-time, less $ coming in than we're used to and more, yet, in spite of that, with so many folks out of work, we consider ourselves so blessed...Ralph is working, I'm working, the kids all pitch in and help and we're getting by...it's all good. God is good...
Another thing, we're all Christians living in the fullness of our heritage as Jews (I'm a Messianic Jew married to a born-again Christian). More about that as the days go on...
I think I'd like to so something special and end each post with either a Bible Scripture or a song that praises God. For this 1st entry, I'm giving you this song; I've been listening to this song a whole lot lately. After more than 30 years of believing in Yeshua as my Messiah, it still brings me to tears to realize how much He's done for all of us...even me....Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6iPL2bCsso&feature=related
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