Oh...I forgot to mention Sophia and Jesse's science yesterday as part of their curriculum. It's Sophia's favorite class. I really like doing it with her too. Yesterday we were on the computer looking at pictures of different birds to identify them. We could have been on there for a long time. Both Jesse and Sophia are using Rod and Staff science but different grades. I haven't heard anyone recommend them, and I'm not sure how I stumbled on them. But, it's working out great for both of them.
Today's Bible theme is God wants us to depend on Him. Genesis 32:22-3. I'll put some notes from the Calvary Chapel website at the bottom of this post.
Slept in and didn't exercise.
0630 got up and ready for school - needed to do some school prep before school started today.
0700 Levi woke up andwas ready to go
0800-0830 Bible class
0845- Leave for Jesse's robotics class and take Sophia and Levi too.
Jesse always gets done his class early and he says he is supposed to leave when he's done. I do school work outside with Sophia and Levi plays. There is a covered area with picnic tables. I was going to ask Jesse's teacher how he is doing in the class (wondering about him leaving so early). I brought my camera so I could take some pics of what he is doing. I went into the class as it was finishing and asked to take some pics. The teacher, who I know from soccer, said, without me asking, that Jesse is doing really well in the class. She said he always finishes first. And by finishes she basically means he figures out how to program his computer to program his robot to make it do what he wants (what's in the lesson). She said he is quicker than the 7th and 8th graders and that she needs to find more for him to do. Wow. He more than "gets it." I said that's why he's in this class, because he needed more to do at home too to challenge him. So I don't know if I really have an answer for Jesse or more of a question. What does he need to challenge him more? What do I do to challenge a 9 yo who whizzes through robot programming that other kids were still trying to figure out? I don't know. I'm hoping he'll help figure it out! In the mean time, I'll keep asking questions about how to work that part of his creativity and ability.
Here's Jesse programming the computer/robot:
Here's the robot:
Here's Jesse attaching the robot to the computer and then he takes the robot to the big robot trial area to see if it does what he wanted it to do. It did. And it did it on the first try.
1015:
When we got home, I dropped of Jesse and Sophia and picked up Luke and kept Levi. Off to Luke's PT appointment. The PT did an eval and said it looks like there is some inflammation in the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle which is one of the rotator cuff muscles and the most common to get that type of injury. Whew. He doesn't think there is a tear! He gave Luke some exercises and cleared him to play soccer and to bag at the commissary. He said slide tackles are not a very safe move and set the player up for injuries like these. I asked him to tell Luke that and he told Luke no slide tackles until he's healed and that they aren't ever a good idea. Luke says there aren't any "safe" moves, to me after we left, and isn't sold on the no-slide-tackle idea. Here's what a slide tackle looks like, so you can imagine how an injury could occur if the other player falls on you when doing this.
The slide-tackler is the one on the ground....
1130 Returned home and got ready to teach Caroline and Jesse. I had Rachel come from 1200-2:00 today to watch Levi after I got back and before his nap. She's been gone for about 2 weeks. It was good to have her here today!
12:00- 2:00 I did a grammar lesson with Caroline and Jesse. We are using Analytical Grammar (AG) Junior this year. I used the regular AG last year with Luke and decided to try the junior this year with Caroline and Jesse. It is going really well. Then we did a history lesson, with Sophia too, about the process of becoming a Knight. Caroline and Jesse are also reading Robin Hood and really enjoying it. Then I did a writing lesson with Caroline and Jesse. We watched the Institute for Excellence in Writing lesson together. I'm familiar with it now, since Luke and Josh have done it before. Caroline and Jesse are doing really well with it. Very exciting. Much different dynamics than when Luke and Josh did it a few years ago.
2:00 Read to Levi and he went to sleep for his nap. Luke went to work at the commissary- he was so happy.
3:00-4:00 Made phone calls. Got Josh a hair appt for tomorrow. He found a great picture of what he wants. Did chores. Caroline and I made a peach/apple crisp for tonight.
4:00-5:00 Ran, ok drove, to the PX for some necessities. I tried to pick up pizza, but I didn't have time to wait.
5:00 Home to get Sophia ready for gymnastics and Jesse ready for Scouts. Steve got home before I left.
5:45 Took Sophia to gymnastics. Picked up pizza for dinner. When I was leaving the pizza place with 4 boxes of pizza (I like to get extra for left over for lunch the next day), a young soldier, who was a customer, smiled and said , "Are you having a party?" as I was walking past. Over my shoulder I replied, "I have six kids." So, yes. ( :
6:15 Ate pizza.
Steve and Jesse got home early.
Ate peach/apple crisp with homemade whip cream. I had extra whipping cream from making the butter!
6:45 Back to pick up Sophia. She came home and ate.
7:30 Steve and I took a short walk while the younger kids got ready for bed, Josh watched sports and Luke worked on his PSAT prep. He takes his first PSAT next week at the local high school. He took a prep course this summer.
Then....getting kids ready for bed....typing the blog....
Notes from the Calvary Chapel website for today's Bible lesson:
PSALM 145:18
"The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call
upon Him in truth.”
Jacob had been traveling back to the home he had left many years
before and back to a brother who had threatened to kill him. On
his journey, he encountered a host of angels! He named that place
“Mahanaim,” meaning “two companies or groups,” possibly one
going before him and one, behind him.
What a comfort to Jacob that God was with him and would keep
and protect him wherever he went. However, the scheming Jacob
still resorts to his own efforts to accomplish God's promises in his
life. How can a man who is so strong in himself ever come to a
place of leaning totally upon God? Truly, Jacob's greatest need is to
become a broken man before God. He needs to trade his self-sufficiency
for an attitude of dependency on God. God finds a way
to work in Joseph’s life—he is about to have a life-changing
encounter! God wants us to depend on Him.
GENES I S 32:24a
Then Jacob was left alone. . .
Here we see that "Jacob was left alone." Jacob was alone with God.
It was the only true way for Jacob to see himself as he really was.
There was no place for scheming or conniving here; God knows the
heart. It was just Jacob and God.
Such an encounter is vital for each one of us! Sometimes, we need
to be "left alone" with God in order that we may see ourselves as we
really are. God’s presence and light reveals the weaknesses and
dark places of our hearts. Our excuses and schemes fade away in
the presence of His holiness.
Now we see that a man appeared to Jacob while he was alone, and
the man wrestled with Jacob. It is significant that the man wrestled
with Jacob, not Jacob with the man. Who was this man, and why
did he wrestle with Jacob?
In Hosea 12:4, this man is called "the Angel." It may have been a
time when Jesus made an appearance before being born as a baby
in the manger. There appear to be several times in the Old
Testament that Jesus appeared as “the Angel” or “Messenger of the
Lord.” In verse 30, Jacob states, "For I have seen God face to face."
Jacob was chosen by God to establish the nation of Israel, God's
chosen nation. Jacob had to fully know his own weakness, but even
more importantly, he must know the power and all-sufficiency of
God. We see they wrestled all night. One would think that if God
was wrestling with Jacob, it would not have taken all night. Was
Jacob stronger than God? Of course not! What can we see in this
"long" struggle?
Jacob had a lot of “self” left in him. As we saw earlier, Jacob was a
strong, self-reliant man. He would not give up easily. Yet, we also
see a beautiful picture of God's long-suffering and forbearance with
us. God is patient and full of compassion for His children. He
bears with us, though we are flawed, stubborn, and often rebellious.
He accomplishes His purposes in our lives through His unrelenting
love and unending grace. Philippians 1:6 states, “Being confident
of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ….”
In verse 25, we see that the Lord "touched the socket of his
(Jacob's) hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as he
wrestled with him." God could have ended the struggle in two
seconds if He had chosen to do so. With just one touch, Jacob
became powerless. When the thighbone is thrown out of joint, a
man is utterly disabled. Jacob, by one touch from his wrestling
opponent, could no longer stand alone; instead, he clung to the
One who conquered him, relying on the One who was mightier than
he.
God desires that each of us understand our own powerlessness
apart from Him. He desires to be our strength in weakness. He
desires that we not be “self” confident or “self” reliant, but rather
that our confidence be in Him. God wants us to depend on
Him.
In verse 26, we read that the "visitor" wants Jacob to let him go.
Jacob refuses until the Lord blesses him. It is at this point, when
his thigh has been disabled, that Jacob cries out "I will not let you
go" and Jacob adds "unless you bless me."
Then the Lord asked Jacob his name. Did the Lord not know his
name? God knows everything, but as Jacob told God who he was,
he must have been reminded what his name meant: “heel catcher”
or “deceiver.” Jacob was well named, for he had a history of
deception and manipulation. However, now, he was disabled,
dependent upon another, and seeking a blessing. God was about to
make big changes in the life and character of Jacob.
GENES I S 32:28-29
And He s aid, "Your name shal l no longer be c al l ed
J ac ob, but I s r ael ; f or you hav e s t ruggl ed wi th God
and wi th men, and hav e pr ev ai l ed. "
Then J ac ob as k ed Him, s aying, "Tel l me Your name, I
pr ay. " And He s aid, "Why i s i t that you as k about My
name?" And He bl es s ed him ther e.
Here a wonderful thing happened to Jacob. God now calls him,
“Israel.” He is no longer to be the "deceiver"; instead, he would be
called “ruled by God." The name Israel means "governed by God."
Jacob would go from being a person who tried to manipulate things
through deceit, to a man who was in submission to God’s will and
purposes. God would now be “in control,” not Jacob. Sometimes
we need to be brought to the end of ourselves—our own abilities
and sufficiency--before we realize we need God to be in control of
our lives
Jacob then asked the “Man” his name, and the “Man” asked him a
question, "Why is it that you ask about my name?" Then the “Man”
“blessed him there." As we acknowledge our need and dependency
on God and submit ourselves to His control, He will bless us. God
wants us to depend on Him.
GENES I S 32:30-32
And J ac ob c al l ed the name of the pl ac e Peni el : "For I
hav e s een God f ac e t o f ac e, and my l i f e i s
pr es erv ed. "
J us t as he c ros s ed ov er Penuel the sun ros e on him,
and he l imped on hi s hip.
Ther ef or e t o thi s day the chi ldr en of I s r ael do not
eat the mus c l e that shr ank , whi ch i s on the hip
soc k et , bec aus e He t ouched the soc k et of J ac ob' s hip
in the mus c l e that shr ank .
Jacob named the place of this occurrence “Peniel”; the face of God.
Jacob had been allowed to see and touch God and was still alive to
share the experience. For this to be possible, God veiled Himself in
human form (Exodus 33:20; 1 Timothy 6:16). The name of the
place was not forgotten, though changed to Penuel. It was known
as Penuel at least until the days of the divided kingdom (1 Kings
12:25).
Jacob was left with a permanent reminder of his encounter with
God--his limp, reminding him that God had prevailed in Jacob’s
life. When we see Jesus, the scars in His hands and feet will remind
us, throughout all eternity, that He has overcome sin and death for
each of us.
May we not be stubborn as Jacob was for so many years. A life
ruled by self is a miserable life. Romans 12:1 states, “…present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service.” May we realize our helplessness and
hopelessness apart from our Creator. God wants us to depend
on Him.
