The 3rd time is a charm.

So my soul can be sorta hard of hearing. You know sometimes God has to say things a couple times for me to get it. Well today he had to say it three times for me to really get it.

First of all I was listening to Natasha Bedingfield this morning. She is one of my favorite secular singers and I love listening to her music to get myself awake and going when I have a busy day. Well I was singing along with her this morning and the lyrics to one of her songs that I have always loved just stopped me in my tracks:

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined

I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Well when I heard that last line "ending unplanned" well the Holy Spirit just spoke to me and said..."That is a lie" I started thinking about it and as much as I love the meaning of that song (being that each day is new and you can make something out of each new day) the fact is my ending is not unplanned. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Proverbs 16:9 says "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

Praise God my ending is not unplanned. My heavenly Father has an awesome plan for me. I am not undefined I am what He says I am. I am his daughter. I am a mother. I am a worshipper. I am a preacher and a teacher. I am exactly what he has called me to be and the things that I haven't became yet but that are in his plan I will become in his time.

As for being unwritten I read a quote today (2nd time God spoke to me) that read "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is writing a love story to the world" -Mother Teresa. The story might be unwritten but the Author knows exactly what he will write, a love story to the world, and I have given myself over to play whatever part he wishes to give me.

Finally I read a post by Amber at "Striving for 31" and I knew that God had something he really wanted me to understand. There was this quote

"In some ways, I feel like I am handing Him the notebook of my life and I am turning the page to a blank one, inviting Him to write whatever He wants for today. Over and over again, I beg Him to come and write on my life. Without Him, my story is not worth reading. But with Him, I can't even imagine how it is going to turn out. It's that little thing we call redemption, I suppose!"

and also this quote

"I want to go beyond my comfort zone and let Him write the story on today's page. In a way, it's terrifying. But life isn't worth living if we live it only for ourselves. There is too much pain, too much sin, and too much sorrow. So instead, I choose Jesus. And I ask Him to pick up the pen and write His love over my life today."

Well I guess after a three point lesson it is time that I finally get it. God has a plan for my life. I can't hold on to the pen and try to make sure he writes it the way I want it. I wanted a little sweet China doll to become my daughter but he is writing in a story that involves a child from Ethiopian descent. I wanted to work full time and buy a home and a car and all of the other unimportant things we kill ourselves to posses. But God wrote a story about a Mom who took a step of faith and decided to cut back her hours and homeschool her children and choose to be active in every minute of their lives. In God's version I decide to stay in the home he gave me and drive the falling apart blessing of a car he gave me. In God's version people look at me like I am crazy when I say I want to help children in need of a home, when sometimes it's all we can do to keep our own two clothed and feed and educated. In God's story I choose to bite my tongue and pray for those who despitefully use me. (I won't tell you how it is handled in my version but it involves tar and feathers. :-) In God's version I choose to walk out the dream he gave me for Operation Giggle and Sarah's Hope and in my version I just mark those things off the list as things I just don't have the energy to do. In God's version I chose to help others and do without...I am not to that part yet and I have some growing to do before I get there. (Can I just pause right here and say in my version I might punch Dave Ramsey in the mouth. I know, I know, he is a great man with great ideas about saving and living with-in your means but if my flesh were in charge I would just give him a right hook...I'm just saying...)

But the great part is that God sees the big picture. He see's what I can't see. He has my best in mind. He doesn't have his mind changed by his daughters groaning and complaining. He will do what is best for me. He is God Alone...without my help. Unchangeable, Unbreakable, Unstoppable...that is what he is.

So I will rest easy knowing that he is on my side and he will not change, break, or stop until my life reads like a classic.

In Christ Alone,

My heart sings....I AM FREE

I am so excited!!! I went to a BCHE meeting last night. That is our Home Education Group here in our little town. I was AMAZED by the women there and I cannot wait to jump into Homeschooling! All the questions that had hung over me like a weight were answered and although I know I have a LOT of hard work ahead of me and when I think about getting my mess of a house wonderful home organized and ready for this it makes me want to take a nap. I know I am capable and I really can't wait to get started!


Please pray about my job. I have let my Manager know of our plans and I have worked out a schedule that will allow me to work between 5 and 20 hours per week and still do homeschool and attend church. I am hoping that they will let me go permanent part-time because this would make health insurance available to me. I know that God is in control and I trust him to have his way in all of this!

We have 6 more days of school and then the Roe Family will be FREE of the constraints of the school system and we will be able to set our curriculum and our schedule around the plans that God has for our lives. Who knows we may even get to take a field trip to China in the next year or so! God is working on our behalf and I am waiting on bated breath to see what He is going to do in our lives. I know that I felt Him call us to homeschool and I know that He has also called us to adoption...His Word tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice and I can't help but think that the steps we have taken in the last few weeks have made our Heavenly Father smile. I don't pretend for one minute that we haven't also made Him frown or cry because of our sins and shortcomings... we are human end of story. But for some reason or the other HE LOVES US and I am so glad to know He is on my side!



In Christ Alone,

The Roe's Get Schooled

To Homeschool or not to Homeschool that is the question...


Well we have been praying and thinking and praying and thinking and we are down to the wire now. We really need to decide what we are going to do about school next year.

We LOVE our school and we had WONDERFUL teachers this year but I have been uneasy lately. I don't know if any other mom's feel this way or not but I just feel like God has called me to an awesome ministry...MOTHERHOOD....and then he gave me two little precious gifts that I chose to call Sarah Ann and Colton Jack and I enjoyed them and loved them and took care of them and then they turned 5 and I sent them away for 7 hours everyday. 7 hours a day I give them into the hands of others to mold them and teach them. Now I can tell you that if I think for one second that they have been taught something contrary to the Word of God I tell them that whoever taught them that was WRONG. End of story. My dad likes to say the Word of God is truth and every man a liar. I agree. But for 7 hours I don't have the ability to speak in their ear and tell them that God loves them and that I love them. For 7 hours they don't read the bible one time, for 7 hours I don't see their smiles or kiss their lips. That's somewhere around 1260 hours a year that I lose with them. And that is just not ok with me.

The second issue is that Colton is behind in reading. He is reading at 2nd grade 1st month and he is about to be finished with 2nd grade. I think that he needs more one on one time to get him on grade level or better yet ahead of grade level. In every other subject Colton is on target or ahead. Sarah is ahead in almost every subject and I am afraid she is getting a little bored. I just think I could fashion a school day for them that would cater to both of their needs and wants. I know this would be a BIG task and I don't think it's for wimps...which I tend to be a little wimpy...lol. But I just keep feeling God drawing me to do this.

I have a friend that I met back in China in September of 2008 who just happens to live in the same state as me (about 2 hours away) who homeschools. I have gotten lots of advice from her and I have actually decided to use some of the same literature as she is using (ok actually all the same literature but what can I say it all looked GREAT and I know nothing about where to start so I figured if we do this for and something doesn't fit with my kiddos I can adjust.) I am so thankful for those connections we make in life that make doing what God is calling us to seem a little more attainable!

Anyway lest we think I just accepted this like a good little girl let me tell you I have thought of several reasons this just wouldn't work...so here is a play by play of what my conversations have been with God...this happened over months not in one setting...THANK GOODNESS because it takes time to admit your wrong, well at least it does for me.

Me: I have to work.
God: Well yes you do but you can work from 3-8 and still get in part-time hours.

Me: I have NO ROOM!
God: Well actually you have a dining room and it is way big enough.
Me: (in a really whiney voice) But then I have to take all of my beautiful pictures down and that is my only "frilly" room.
God: Really Sherri?! What matters most a frilly room or the difference this could make in the lives of your children?!
Me: Wow...flesh stinks. The children matter most of course. (Again I didn't get to that answer without a few weeks and God stepping on my toes a few hundred times.)

Me: What about socialization...they'll turn into weird shy homeschool kids.
God: Their your kids...they are already weird... (HAHA just kidding I thought that on my own but I know He thinks it!)
God: YMCA, BCHE, ECT!

So honestly I am just getting sick of fighting it. I am not sure if Mitch is completely on board or not but I am leaving that up to God if he can convince me to keep my kids home with me 365 days a year I am sure he can convince my husband to let me.

Now that I have given into the fact that this will most likely be the route we take I am actually having fun with it so if there are any other homeschooling mom's who have ideas or advice I am welcome to it!

These are my top five questions for now.

1. What reading curriculum do your recommend?
2. What if my child has an IEP how can I continue to get Speech therapy for him?
3. How long do you devote to each subject (per day)?
4. How do you deal with behavior during school hours? Dad usually does the spanking around here and I would really like to use some other methods during school hours. (I want to say I DO believe in spanking and I feel like it is what I am commanded to do through the Word but I know if they were in school they would be expected to offer great behavior without the threat of spanking and I want to do the same. They are great kids but they FIGHT all the time!)
5. Do you know where I can get any good deals on storage cabinets or bookshelves for our school room?!

I am really looking forward to this...most of all I want to find JOY in our JOURNEY. I also want to do what is pleasing to my Heavenly Father, after all when the day is done that is all that really matters!

In Christ ALONE,