TeamBaughn

Tri-Cities Baptist Church hosts Maximum Impact Simulcast 2009

2009-03-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Maximum Impact 2009

Maximum Impact - 2009

"Leadership That Inspires"
Friday, May 8

On Friday, May 8, Tri-Cities Baptist Church joins over 500 other satellite locations across America to host the LIVE 2009 Maximum Impact Simulcast broadcast, "Leadership That Inspires". This annual leadership event is a rich source of ideas, insights, and strategies for truly effective leadership - translating leadership dilemmas into basic principles and memorable lessons that you can apply in your daily work. The 2009 lineup features ten great leaders of our time - including John Maxwell, Tony Blair, Kevin Carroll, Liz Murray, and Linda Kaplan Thaler.

We invite you to take advantage of an unparalleled opportunity to tap into the wisdom and experience of these experts while simultaneously developing relationships with other local business profession-als. This event is unsurpassed in credibility, applicable content, and cost-effectiveness. It truly is a "must-attend" training opportunity for people in all stages of their leadership journey.

Click here for detailed information on the simulcast, a list of local cosponsors, speaker bios, and information on how you can register and take advantage of early bird discounts!

Take Math to a New Level with Math on the Level!

2008-06-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Are you struggling with HOW to teach your kids math? Have you tried all of the homeschool heroes so long recommended in math, and still haven’t found what you need? Do you have a super bright child that gets math easily and needs to skim ahead? Do you have an older child who is still struggling with concepts, but tired of being in younger math? Would you like ONE simple math program that you can buy ONCE for ALL of your kids?

You have got to see the wonderful new math program I found! Math on the Level was a delightful discovery from the CHAP homeschooling convention in PA. Creator Carlitta Boyles started out homeschooling her own kids with the principles in Math on the Level. Other moms in her homeschool group asked her for help with their kids, and out of that Math on the Level was born!

The Math on the Level approach

To make math real, the curriculum emphasizes teaching math through practical, family-life experiences. With Math on the Level, the world is your classroom!
Because each child is unique, math instruction is focused to each child’s maturation level, not age or grade level. (No topics are grade leveled.)
Its organization and practical emphasis let you teach different-aged children together if desired and include math instruction in your family activities (even in unit studies).
An effective yet simple to use record keeping system helps you be sure that all necessary math concepts have been covered as well as plan and track each child’s individualized 5-A-Day review.
To address different learning styles, more than one teaching approach is included for difficult topics.
Instead of using a generalized set of 30 (or more) daily practice problems that you hope will give sufficient practice for your child, the Math on the Level 5-A-Day review system lets you tailor the review to your child’s actual level of need and make sure each child gets the right amount of practice without busywork.
To ensure long-term retention, every math concept the child has learned is practiced continually throughout the curriculum at least once every 3 weeks (and more often as needed).

I highly recommend you check out this fabulous new math curriculum! It was rated HIGHLY in the Spring 2008 edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, with a great TOS review (you will have to scroll down the page to find Math on the Level!!)

Europe's Hottest Homeschool Speaker Coming to the Tri-Cities to do a FREE Workshop Mon June 9th!

2008-06-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

Another one??? Yes….we are having ANOTHER incredible homeschool speaker in our home next week! It is Jane week! Monday, June 9^th at 7:30 pm, is a Free Workshop with Jane Bullivant, from across the pond in England! Jane is so popular that HEAV (in VA) has flown her out for their homeschool conference this week, and she is a featured speaker! And you are going to LOVE Jane, she is witty, funny, speaks all over the world, loves the Lord and homeschooling and all is such an inspiration in that delicious English accent! You will fall in love with her the moment you meet her! You can pay $75 to go to HEAV, plus gas, hotel and meals, or you can see her locally Monday, June 9^th at 7:30 pm for FREEEEEEEEE! This is mom’s night out, and we would love to have dads too! The Old Schoolhouse Magazine will have give aways and prizes, so you might win something grand!

JANE BULLIVANT (from the HEAV brochure!)
www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
Jane is an international author, columnist, and broadcaster based in England. She works with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to encourage and inspire parents in the adventure of educating and raising their children to be the people God created them to be. Jane's dynamic presentations are bursting at the seams with warmth, humor, and practical advice for parents wishing to take their homeschool to the next level. Jane and her husband Darren homeschool three turbo-charged children (11, 10, and 6) and their escapee hamsters. Jane's books are available world wide and have been translated into several languages. Her latest book is titled Skydiving for Parents: Raising amazing kids without going into freefall, and was recently named as an iParenting media award "greatest product" winner of 2007-2008.

Jane will smash two classes into an hour and half of pure encouragement Monday, June 9^th at 7:30 pm at the Baughns house in Gray TN.

Exploding the Myth of the Perfect Homeschool ~ Jane Bullivant
This presentation explores the effect of perfectionism in the homeschool and reveals a fresh approach to striving for excellence without being a slave to the schedule.

Beat Homeschool Burnout ~ Jane Bullivant
It is entirely possible to raise and educate your children in excellence without burning yourself out in the process. Organization is not the answer; it’s merely a tool. The answer to beating burnout? Come and find out. Homeschool frenzy will be a thing of the past!

Who: Jane Bullivant, England’s hottest homeschool speaker!

When: Monday, June 9^th at 7:30 pm

Five In A Row’s Jane Lambert to speak in Gray TN June 13, 2008!

2008-06-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Since they are in town for the Real Life Marriage Weekend (are you signed up yet?) we had to schedule a FIAR event as well. The Lamberts graciously said yes, even though it will be a jam packed weekend! Just think, you can get an extreme marriage makeover and learn how to simplify your life with FIAR all in the same weekend!

The Lamberts are an absolutely wonderful couple and you do not want to miss seeing them while they are back in the Tri-Cities area! Jane has a delightful way of describing how to use Five in a Row. You will be captivated (and set free) by the simplicity of using FIAR in your home with multiple levels of kids and seeing first hand just how easy it is to do. Steve will talk about what FIAR can do in the life of a child, all the way through college. They are both tremendous encouragers with a love for wonderful books, and a heart for teaching children in the unique FIAR way!

It is such an unbelievable blessing to meet and talk to the authors and creators of curriculum. We are to be careful of what goes into our children’s minds, and having the opportunity to talk to the Lamberts, ask questions, and really see how to use FIAR is again, a blessing!! We would have loved this opportunity when we using FIAR in the early days.

When: June 13, 2008

Where: Gray TN,

Time: 10:30-12:00

Email me at lisa@theprudentwife.com for more information.

The Prudent Wife to Launch June 2008!

2008-05-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, Lord willing, it is finally here! We are in the final touches of putting The Prudent Wife Website together! We are going to launch officially in June of 2008 and are so excited to bring you our signature videos full of money saving adventures, great meals, healthy tips, homemade green cleaners and a website dedicated to helping you survive the turbulent financial times we are in and prosper!

Why has it taken so long? Well, instead of a team of 30 creating this site, all the recipes, photos, and videography, you have one very busy homeschooling family doing it all! This has truly been a labor of love, diligence and hundreds of hours have gone into this site, with hundreds more to go get it launched! We are very appreciative of a dollar here at The Prudent Wife, and we were determined NOT to launch until this site until it was well worth your money! If we can’t save you the membership price dozens of times over, it is not worth launching - period!

We appreciate your patience and your prayers as we head into launch! Visit us online at www.theprudentwife.com

Real Life Marriage Conference – Journey Church in Gray TN - June 13-14, 2008

2008-04-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered where the “Marriage Retreat” for homeschooling parents is???

Real Life Marriage Conference – Journey Church in Gray TN - June 13-14, 2008

Every Successful Homeschool Marriage

Begins with a Strong

Foundation.

How strong is the foundation that your homeschool is built on?

Let’s face it. Homeschooling is a huge commitment. Navigating the unique intricacies of balancing homeschooling and marriage can create tension and stress. It’s easy to focus on the job of homeschooling your children, and give your marriage the “leftovers”.

It's easy to focus on the job of homeschooling and give your marriage the leftovers.

RLM: Homeschool Edition’s mission is to help restore balance and revitalize your marriage through a weekend filled with Christ-centered workshops, general sessions and personal time designed specifically for homeschooling parents.

We believe that God’s word still has the best advice
for restoring hope and rekindling the passion of the one-flesh relationship.

Real Life Marriage Weekend: Homeschool Edition is not your ordinary marriage retreat weekend. Why? Because no "ordinary" marriage workshop or retreat can possibly deal with the unique issues we face as homeschool parents. Come and see why this is one homeschool event you can't afford to miss. Whether your marriage needs a little tune-up and refreshment, or whether your marriage is already at, or even past the breaking point, set aside these two special days and ask the Lord to meet you and your spouse at RLM: Homeschool Edition. The Lord is faithful!

At Real Life Marriage Weekend: Homeschool Edition, you will

Revitalize your vision and discover together the JOY of homeschooling...
Reconcile the difficulties of living on one income in a two-income world...
Realize how homeschooling can actually make your marriage stronger...
Rekindle romance and Rediscover the joy of sexual intimacy...
Reconnect with one another and learn how to make effective communication a priority...
Receive the tools and skills to create a true and living partnership with your spouse...
Route an exciting new course for your homeschool years and beyond.

Don’t just survive the homeschooling years … thrive! Join us for this Christ-centered, homeschooling marriage makeover.

Real Life Marriage?

Real life for real marriages. We all know the pressures and stresses that come with homeschooling our children. We have all had times when we've said "we can't keep doing this." Real Life Marriage Weekends are designed to give you that bit of encouragement and resources to keep going.

Steve and Jane Lambert and Jay and Heidi St. John bring years of homeschooling and ministry experience to encourage you and your spouse. We want every homeschool family to experience the joy and freedom that comes from following and learning from Christ as we walk with him.

The Real Life Marriage Conference has a location!!!

Real Life Marriage Conference - Gray TN - June 13-14, 2008

The Journey Church

102 Old Stage Road – Corner of North Roan/Old Stage Rd

1 ½ miles North of Boones Creek off 36

2 ½ miles South of Highway 75

For more information on the conference and to register - http://www.reallifemarriages.com/ We have had the pleasure of meeting the Lamberts and the St. Johns and they are going to BLESS YOU tremendously! We highly, highly recommend this and will be there with bells on!

Susan Seaman is coordinating this event – for questions contact Susan Susan Seaman 423-967-6281. I am just doing PR….what else would I do?! Praising the Lord Susan is in charge….

LivingHistorySites.com to Explore Boston 2008!

2008-04-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts - here we come!

The hot new history lovers website, www.LivingHistorySites.com is going to Massachusetts this spring! Watch for reviews on the best historical places of interest, restaurants, family friendly hotels and more!

Discover a whole new world with Living History Sites all over the United States!

2008-03-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Our passion for living history has bubbled out in a brand new website that is getting ready for launch soon! Explore a whole new world of history in full color at www.livinghistorysites.com From historical reenactments to the homes of poets, you will find out about living history sites, farms, old mansions, plantations, battlefields, and more in a family friendly site aimed at sharing history with families! If you are passionate about history and your kids don't get it, this is the site for you to blow the lid off their slumber and make history come alive before their eyes! Homeschoolers, home educators, living historians, this is your guide to the best spots in the US! Living History Sites will be your real life guide to history! Join us for the adventure!

The Old Schoolhouse Goes DIGITAL!

2008-03-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Goes Digital!
We are so excited to announce our newest project at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.
The Old Schoolhouse Digital Magazine!
With our new digital subscription, you will get to enjoy all the same great content from your favorite homeschool magazine, but in a new format - digital!
Want to know why you’ll want to subscribe – even if you already get the print edition?
• Instant delivery—no waiting for your mail carrier to come.
• Huge savings - take a break from mailing costs—a big bonus for our international subscribers.
• Click on links throughout the digital magazine to easily visit interesting websites.
• Enjoy the same high-quality content and beautiful design.
• Flip through a real online magazine, not a pdf file.
• Save all your TOS issues to your computer.
• Easily share articles with your friends.

Just take a look at a sampling from our Summer 2007 issue.
• Relax! How to De-stress Your Homeschool, page 92. Who couldn’t learn a few valuable lessons from this gem? PLUS, because it’s located on our front cover, just click on it and you’re there. Talk about saving time! Now you can read your favorite magazine AND have time to spare. Take this article’s advice – relax!
• Homeschooling a preschooler? With our digital magazine’s fantastic search tool, you’ll find 4 results for “preschool” in this issue alone AND each lists its own excerpt, article title, page number, and link. Practical, efficient, and informative. Get the most out of your digital magazine.
• What do you use to teach your child English? Did you know Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc. provides a Bible-based English series? See their ad on page 72. And since your friend just asked you that very same question yesterday, why not email her the advertisement with our handy share tool. You’ll bless your friend and knit your homeschooling hearts together.
• Get inspired in this issue’s Show and Tell featuring the Shaw Family sharing their experience homeschooling on the sea, page 46. You’ll want to read this one over and over again so make sure to use our ever-practical digital bookmark. Save digital issues to your computer, bookmark your favorite articles, and stay encouraged. It’s a smart resource available instantly at your fingertips.

For only $16.95, you get a whole year of digital TOS issues plus 19 FREE gifts! Our digital editions are created simultaneously with the print edition, but instead of having to wait weeks for delivery, you'll have your digital magazine in days! And you'll be automatically notified by email when each new issue is ready!

BUT, to inaugurate our Premier Edition, we’re running a month-long introductory promotion especially for charter digital subscribers. With our special graduated pricing, you’ll SAVE over 35% off the regular digital price, an exceptional value for new and international subscribers: The sooner you subscribe, the MORE YOU SAVE and the MORE BONUS GIFTS you'll receive!!

THIS WEEK ONLY, subscribe for $10.95 and you’ll receive 5 FREE bonus gifts!
Now take a look at these FREE bonus gifts:
International Geography Quest Project Pack, by In the Hands of a Child – Retail Value $25.00 FREE
Geography tells you where you are, how you got there, and where you might be going. This 112-page Project Pack is jam-packed with information and activities! It includes a 21-page Research Guide about the Science of Geography, Five Themes of Geography, Studying the Geography of the Earth, People on Earth, wildlife, and so much more! With 22 hands-on activities your child can put to use what he or she has learned through this study! PLUS—Use the 21 additional hands-on activities to complete a lapbook on any country! Expand your horizons today with the International Geography Quest!

Breakfasts for Busy Moms, by Urban Homemaker, 50 pages – Retail Value $9.97 – FREE

This ebook is designed to make breakfast a treat while keeping it healthy. Learn how to cook a wide variety of nutritious breakfasts, including hot, kid-pleasing cereals using the nutrient packed two-stage process. Packed full of information on meal planning, do-ahead tips, ingredient information, egg breakfast recipes, company casseroles, and more. This book is sure to become a household favorite.

Organic Gifting, by Vintage Remedies – Retail Value $12.00 -- FREE [no info on spreadsheet yet or online]

Resource Guide for Educational Travel on a Shoestring, by Homeschooling on a Shoestring, 79 pages – Retail Value $5.98 – FREE See The World. Teach your kids. Have a blast... AND come home with money to spare! This extensive resource guide includes hundreds of Web sites, books, magazines, and organizations. This resource book is your essential road map to family fun and learning--across the country or around your hometown. Discover ideas for memorable--and inexpensive--vacations and field trips, surprising sources for travel money, ways to build closer family ties with your children and teenagers, and more!
Quiet Times in Loud Households, by Joyful Mama – Retail Value $7.95, 111 pages -- FREE An exciting guide to diving into a devotional lifestyle with the Lord that will not only sustain you as you raise the next Generation for Christ, but a devotional lifestyle that you can pass along to them as they grow. If your devotional life needs some new life infused into it, this book is for you!
One-month Subscription to Classroom Zoom, by Teacher Created Resources – Retail Value $4.15 – FREE ClassroomZoom is an all-new online source of over 10,000 lessons and activities gathered from the very best of what Teacher Created Resources has to offer. It's easy to zoom right to the lesson you need. You can search by grade level, by subject, and/or by specific keyword. In addition to the lessons and activities, a subscription also allows you to access:
• Math Wizard software, so you can create your own math worksheets.
• Crossword & Word Search Generator, so you can create puzzles to supplement lessons in spelling, vocabulary, geography, history, science, and other subjects.
• Clip Art, so you can add pizzazz to all kinds of projects.
When you try ClassroomZoom, you’ll see how much fun it is to zoom!

Now who wouldn’t love to get ALL these FREE gifts? Think of the possibilites –
• Enrich the lives of you and your loved ones
• Invest in your child’s education and ensure his academic success
• Save time AND money shopping for birthday, shower, and holiday gifts – give these bonus gifts away or use the invaluable information inside to create unique and personalized gifts your friends and family will treasure always
• Pamper yourself – these gifts are our way to thank you for subscribing. Please, let us bless you!

BUT, to get ALL these fabulous gifts, you need to subscribe by midnight March 18, 2008. Next week the price will go up to $12.95, and subscribers will only get 3 bonus gifts. Still a great deal, but you don't want to miss out on the extra savings and the 2 extra bonus gifts!
Your one-year subscription will include 4 digital issues AND immediate access to your first issue – the Premier Edition of our current Winter 07/08 in digital. You'll ALSO receive our Fall 07 back issue FREE, when it becomes available in our digital archives. That’s five digital issues for the price of four! PLUS, you'll love our FREE bonus gifts!
Hurry! This offer won’t last long. Prices will go up each week until we reach the regular digital subscription price. Enjoy HUGE savings and FREE bonus gifts, order early!
Go digital! Subscribe TODAY at http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/

Thoughts on Worshipping the Savior This Christmas Week

2007-12-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

Lifted straight from my new weekly newsletter! Sign up for encouragement at our new website at www.theprudentwife.com

I wonder, my dear sisters in Christ, if you are struggling this fine wintery morning. As the sparkle of frost dances across the trees and glitters on every surface, it is easy to see that Christmas is a week away, here in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee. I wish you could see the view from my window, as the smoky fog curls up from the lake, moving silently as the sun rises. The blue mountains in the background stand still, quiet and stalwart in the distance. As the sun crests the hill and moves higher into the sky, the frost sparkles one last time, before it begins to melt in the coming day.

Dear sisters are you feeling like the frost on this glittery winter morning, alive and bright until the light of day melts you as the weight of your responsibilities overtakes you. Ahh, but the plans we started with this Christmas season always look different than the paths our lives somehow take. Beginning with the best of intentions to embrace simplicity, to slow down, to let there be days of no activity, to do Advent every single night…do you notice that even simplicity is a “to do list?” We have to make a “to do” list just to slow down! There are blank spots on our calendars, surely that must be a mistake and they beckon to be filled as the month goes on. The most frightening thing of all is the massive “COULD DO” list dancing merrily in our heads! We COULD do this and we COULD do that, and wouldn’t it be nice to cram one more Christmas memory in.

As our plans for a simple memorable Christmas focused on the Savior seems to be slipping away, remember, it is not too late. We have a week to put Martha in check and become more like Mary, worshipping at the feet of our Savior. A week! We can turn aside from the busyness and sit at His feet. Oh join me dear sisters, and please send this on to other women you know who are struggling through the season!

Prayer: Wonderful, merciful Savior, we praise you for creating the heavens and the earth and all that is in it. We thank you so much for sending your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be born of a virgin, on that Christmas so long ago. You are the only reason we celebrate, yet the season of your birth gets so wrapped in a flurry of activity. Forgive us for getting caught up in it all. Lord here we are again, at your throne begging for grace. Help us redeem our time, looking toward You in love and thankfulness and letting go of the “to do” and “could do” lists running in our heads. Help our focus to be squarely on you. We thank you for coming to earth to save us, for your sacrifice and your love. We love you Lord. Amen

2nd Annual Tri-Cities TN Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Book Sale

2007-12-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

Save the date! Announcing the 2^nd Annual Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Book Sale on February 1 & 2, 2008 in Gray, TN! Visit our website at www.midwinterconvention.com

We are pulling together all of the details for what promises to be an amazing, much expanded conference to inspire, equip and encourage you toward the finish line of this school year! We are even going to have some sessions designed for husbands on Friday night, so get a babysitter and make it a date night with dad!

After the holidays, with a long cold winter stretching before us, we all need a breath of fresh air in our homeschools. Join us for two days of encouragement in the Lord with nationally beloved speakers, Jan and Gary Bloom of Books Bloom! If you missed them in October, they have re-routed their lives to come back to the Tri-Cities for our Midwinter Convention! Jan and Gary are homeschooling pioneers with 3 children who have graduated and amazing stories from the front lines of home education. They are a fount of wisdom, with well honed experience, and a rare honesty about their journey. Most exciting of all, the Blooms will be bringing their amazing Books Bloom Library, with over 4000 of the finest living books, for sale!

We kept the surveys of last year’s participants in mind and are providing the conference you all asked for! We have moved locations to Crossroads Christian Church in Gray, TN which allows us to greatly expand the conference and offer even more! We have more room, expanded sessions, last year’s favorite speakers, and more – all as requested! Multiple sessions will be going on simultaneously, with a variety of different topics all designed to inspire you! You will be able to see several local speakers including Sonya Haskins and Lisa Baughn (it is very weird to advertise yourself…but what else can I do?) and more to be announced as final details are worked out.

Several homeschooling magazines will be represented, our local Living Books Library and a ton of resources for both the Tri-Cities and for this entire region! There are many exciting surprises in the works, look for more announcements as we get closer!

The 2008 Tri-Cities Midwinter Conference is going to be phenomenal! Save the date and we will announce more details on the www.midwinterconvention.com website soon!

We have been praying for you and for this conference since the first one! We would be honored if you would join us on February 1 & 2, 2008!

In His grace -

Lisa Baughn
Conference Creator and Speaker
2nd Annual Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention & Book Sale
www.midwinterconvention.com
Join us Feb 1 & 2, 2008 for a day of encouragement in the Lord!

Blighted Ovum Hope Lens -

2007-09-16T13:48:00.001-07:00

Well everyone - I would be honored if you would review my new Squidoo Lens. I had a great topic in mind, but events in our lives took a decided turn. The Lord impressed on me that I was to get the information OUT to the world, and so I decided to just create this lens, and hope to do happier lenses another day.

We found out over a month ago that we are expecting a post reversal miracle baby. At 7 1/2 weeks, our miracle baby was deemed a blighted ovum, and we were told we would miscarry, or that I should get a D&C immediately OR take a pill. I was pushed to get a D&C, so I would not have to endure it.

When I researched it and began to talk to others, I found out that there are a precious few women who dodge the death sentence, and go on to deliver healthy babies. While there is a very small chance, we are not giving up on our baby. Some simply cannot be seen on U/S until 8 weeks, 10 weeks or even 12 weeks. Imagine if those precious few with viable pregnancies (that don't LOOK viable on U/S) go ahead with a D&C - that is a string of abortions.

You can visit it at http://www.squidoo.com/blightedovumhope/ I would appreciate your comments, or postings, or whatever it takes to zoom it up in the ratings. You see, this word needs to get out. I am specifically looking for stories of other women who have faced a bleak pregnancy diagnosis, whether you share a blighted ovum diagnosis like me, or have had a threatened miscarriage, low HCG or hormone levels, etc. We would love to hear your story and share it with other women facing the same devastating news. You can write anonymously, or you can share your name, whatever is comfortable for you. We would like to know what your diagnosis is, the basic particulars, how you survived the diagnosis, what happened, and any miracles the Lord worked in your life through the process.

It is a very difficult and exhausting thing to live in a "pregnant body" and have the experts tell you your baby is dead - which is why other stories are so important. It is not called blighted ovum HOPE for nothing!

The writing is not my best - there is plenty to add - but it is a start. I KNOW there are type-o's. I waver between prayer, hope, exhaustion, research, prayer, constantly giving updates to our friends and family - and living a blighted life.

Thank you -

LisaB! who is still pregnant in Tennessee

Encouragement for Homeschool Families in NE TN and SW VA

2007-09-16T13:47:00.001-07:00

Encouragement for Homeschool Families

Two Fabulous Seminars Coming to the Area

Two exciting national speakers are coming to the Tri-Cities area in October! This is an amazing opportunity. I highly encourage everyone to choose to attend one or both seminars. Invite your homeschooling friends, support groups and anyone interested in educating their children at home. You will not want to miss these phenomenal speakers, so be sure to pre-register (required) for both. Whether you are brand new, feel confident and are charging ahead, have questions, feel a little weary after the first month of school or are just curious, you will leave these seminars equipped and encouraged with new ideas and tools to immediately use at home.

On October 2, 2007, the Maxwell family (www.titus2.com) of Managers of Their Homes fame, will be giving an "Encouragement for the Homeschool Family" conference. The Maxwell’s have written books and spoken for years in the homeschool community and will teach families how to be Managers of Their Homes: A Practical Guide to Daily Scheduling for Christian Homeschool Families filled with practical "how tos" for scheduling your family and making the most of your time (scheduling system included). There will be classes for moms, dads, and young ladies and men (who can sit quietly) so it will truly be a family evening. Seminar will be held October 2nd, 7:00-9:30 p.m. at Pleasant View United Methodist Church, 18416 Lee Hwy, Abingdon, VA (I-81 exit 13). Your pre-registration is requested. You may e-mail or call Miranda McCraw (blessed7x@comcast.net or 276-628-6008) or Diane Hawkins (abinghawk@ntelos.net) with how many adults and children (ages, please) will be in attendance. The Maxwell’s will have their books, CD’s and resources available for purchase. This will be a free seminar, with a love offering taken.

Two of our family’s beloved, favorite speakers will be here a few weeks later! Jan and Gary Bloom (www.booksbloom.com) will inspire your family for a lifetime in their "Seminar and Shopping for Booklovers, Teachers, and Parents" on October 19 and 20, also in Abingdon, at Pleasant View UMC Church, 18416 Lee Hwy in Abingdon, VA (I-81 exit 13).

Jan is the author of two indispensable homeschool resources that every book lover should have Who Should We Then Read? a complete anthology of fabulous living books and What Should We Then Know? The Blooms are parents of three adult children who were homeschooled into college. Jan writes for many homeschool magazines and travels with Gary across the US with their incredible library full of living books, speaking at homeschool conventions from coast to coast. As they criss cross the country, they visit all sorts of sales and libraries, carefully combing through piles of books and choosing the best books for sale. They are constantly replenishing the BEST traveling library in America, which will all on sale in October when they come. Over 4000 vintage and out of print books will be available to purchase, in-between their seminars. It is only $20 per family for early registration which includes a moneysaving coupon for $15 off your $50 purchase. The Blooms are a treat, not to be missed. You can add to your library with their great tips and selections and learn how to open the fascinating world of living books open to your children.

We often quote Charlie “Tremendous” Jones who said “You’ll be the same 5 years from except for the people that you meet and the books that you read.” Be different 5 years from now, meet some new people and read some great books! One of the most important things that homeschool parents can do is take advantage of continuing education offered in their area. Plugging into resources in your local area will help you find opportunities for support, encouragement, practical information, fellowship, and further education.

Lisa Baughn (who is profoundly GRATEFUL to see two homeschool pioneers coming to our area!)

Crisis Spin

2007-01-25T05:50:00.000-08:00

Spin a Crisis
“When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” -- John F. Kennedy

1st Annual Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Used Book Sale

2007-01-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

The Lord is opening up the windows of heaven to bless this little event! A huge thank you to everyone who has so enthusiastically responded to the 1st Annual Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Used Book Sale happening January 20, 2007! The book tables are FULL (we have between 15-20 people selling!) We are getting responses from all over TN, down to Knoxville, all over VA and even NC! As most of you know, The Journey Church in Gray generously offered their new church location to hold this event in! What an absolute answer to prayer – since we have far outgrown our basement! The church is minutes from my house, and off Roan/Hwy 36, which is a main road with LOTS of parking, so it will be easier for ALL attendees, it can be twice as big and we will have the sanctuary for our speakers!! Please see the website www.writeinjoy.org for the latest information, including a photo of The Journey Church, to make it easier for you to find! Can't wait to see you all Saturday -

Thank you for your interest, commitment and enthusiasm!

Imperfectly planning this whole thing to encourage you!
Lisa Baughn
www.writeinjoy.org

Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Used Book Sale
Saturday, January 20th from 9-2pm
VENUE CHANGE
The Journey Church
(formerly Way of the Cross Church)
102 Old Stage Road – Corner of North Roan/Old Stage Rd
1 ½ miles North of Boones Creek off 36
2 ½ miles South of Highway 75
Inviting ALL homeschool moms to the 1st Annual Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Used Book Sale which will reinvigorate, encourage, equip and inspire you on toward the finish line this school year! In the midst of New Years resolutions, goals and year end reviews, what better time to evaluate our homeschools than NOW! What is working? What is not working? Where can we refresh? Reinvigorate? Slightly change and tweak? Beloved fellow homeschool moms, are you tired? Exhausted facing a new year? Do you feel like you just need a day for YOU?
Encourage one another and build up one another ,just as you also are doing.1 Thess 5:11 NASB
Most homeschool moms feel exactly this way in January getting a case of the mid-year blues. The Lord put it on my heart to begin a new tradition, a Midwinter Mini Convention and Book Sale! This is the first and it promises to be a day of refreshing seminars, encouragement and tables full of living books, games, special needs materials, used curriculum and more, which will give you the lift you need to press on to the finish line of this year! Talk to veteran moms, new homeschoolers, and everyone in-between. Drop by for an hour, or stay all day. Enjoy homemade goodies while you browse the book tables, with good coffee and lots of chocolate! Listen to a few seminars, browse the used curriculum tables, sell your own books and enjoy chatting with other homeschoolers!
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. Phil 4:8 NASB
Hear inspiring homeschool parents talk on:
Entrepreneurial Education
Help! My Child Isn’t Reading
Learning Issues and Strategies
Online Safety -- Keeping Your Child Pure
Organization for the Homeschooler
Living History
Educational Philosophies
Homeschooling Teens
1st Annual Tri-Cities Midwinter Homeschool Convention and Used Book Sale

Victory

2007-01-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

Victory is the place where our breaking point becomes our turning point. -- L. Burt

We meet God

2006-12-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

We meet God through entering into a relationship both ofdependance on Jesus as our Saviour and Friend and ofdiscipleship to Him as our Lord and Master. -- J. I. Packer

Merry Christmas

2006-12-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the beautiful ridges and valleys of Tennessee! 2006 has been an eventful year in the World of the Baughns. I did not end up writing my annual newsletter for the first time EVER. I suppose it will be a digital delivery!

YEs, VA lost out to the beautiful rolling hills of Tennessee! Yes, we ended up in Tennessee, surprise, surprise, in a great little town called Gray. We had never heard of it, but it had everything we needed. It wasn’t one of our carefully researched target cities, but it is the exact one the Lord knew we needed to be in before we left. How did we find it, disgusted with not knowing where to live, after thinking we found it in VA (the farm that was falling apart) we decided a taste of home was in order. Looking for a Starbucks, we drove an hour from VA down into TN to get a cappuccino and passed this enormous church, under construction, that looked like Immanuel Baptist back home. We jokingly said, “There is our new church.” We stopped for lunch, looked at a newspaper and found this gorgeous house, so decided to run up and look at it. We stopped to talk to some construction workers in another house in the development. When we walked in and saw the high ceilings, the incredible view that reached all the way to the Appalachian (Blue Ridge Mountains??) and we were hooked. It was beautiful inside and out, had everything we needed to run a business and homeschool and live, and it actually fit all of our furniture! It was one of the first “normal houses” we had looked at (we had seen a lot of cool houses – they were just different than CA houses). It was home from the moment we walked in. We decided to try that church, and sat in on Pastor Arden’s class for newcomers. There was no question, we were home. When you find the right church, all else falls into place. So we bought the house, joined the church, started our computer consulting business, launched a couple of online products and got active in the community! We love it here. It is quiet like Grand Terrace, simple, people are nice. Things are slower here. People wave. They stop to talk. You can build a life here, a good life.

Emily has blossomed so much this year - she is amazing! We can hardly believe that our little girl, our "Tiny Baby" is all grown up. At 12 1/2, she is about 5' 4" now, with long flowing dark hair, she still has that light skin (although, it is rather teenagery now!) and those enormous green eyes. She has gone from looking like the younger sister in The Chronicles of Narnia, to looking like the older sister. She still has her gentle spirit and her lovely ways about her. She can be sweet as can be, funny and crack us up, silly as a little girl still, wild and play hide and go seek around the house, or like Tiny Baby and curl up with Mama.

Tennessee has opened up a lot of possibilities for Em. We just finished a Tennessee History class, put on by our homeschool co-op KACHEA. Her Sunday School teacher Mrs. Stover teaches it and I co-taught it. Mrs. Stover's daughter is one of Emily's best friends and the kids had a blast in school. It was her first "school setting class" and she did phenomenally well, participating in class, soaking up the history, answering questions (which is something, since we have been here less than a year), memorizing all of the land areas, rivers, sections, cities and more about our new state. She ended it with a phenomenal report on Sam Watkins, who fought with the Maury Grays of TN (each kid had to do a report on a historical figure), based on Company Aytch (H) one of our family's favorite CW books of all time. Her report was the best (but I am prejudiced) she dressed up like a Confederate soldier (in Dad's stuff, but she tried to take a REAL PISTOL to school....um...yah Em! This isn't a reenactment!) she had detailed maps showing his battles all over TN, and a storyboard on his life. Surprise, surprise, she discovered that she LIKES talking on a stage (wonder where she gets that!)

Emily has also been very active with "Dancing for God" which is a group of homeschool kids, led by Miss Caitlin, a very talented homeschool ballerina. Caitlin went to Ballet Magnificat and learned how to praise the Lord in dance. She came home, wrote her own program, implemented it, invited the homeschool community and is now teaching 28 kids in two classes. Emily is priviliged to be with Miss Caitlin - and it is amazing how the girls are growing. Caitlin is so good - the kids so excited to learn. Emily mentioned to Caitlin that her mom could sew, so somehow, I ended up as the Costume SuperMom, spearheading our group of moms, copying her Nutcracker skirt, making 28 tutus for the girls. I guess I have spent a long time in the business of making little girls dreams come true, and it was good to be back in business. The girls in both classes had dress rehearsal Tuesday - looking absolutely adorable in their blue leotards with their white ballet skirts. They performed for two different assisted living homes, sharing Jesus with the residents in both, much to their joy and excitement. The girls did so well, Emily did GREAT with a special role, and Caitlin was magnificent. We praise the Lord for being a part of such an incredible group - with someone as precious as Caitlin in Emily's life, in the big sister role she so desperately misses.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Fear less, hope more

2006-12-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, saymore;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours.
-- Swedish Proverb

Watch your....

2006-12-14T05:56:00.000-08:00

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; theybecome actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watchyour habits; they become character.
Watch your character; itbecomes your destiny.
-- Frank Outlaw

Tri-Cities To Host BLUEDORNS and SUAREZS

2006-11-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

The honor of your presence is requested for this phenomenal event happening in our home in Gray Monday night! RSVP and enjoy a wonderful evening with some of the most delightful folks in homeschooling! We will serve desserts, coffee, and have a time of encouragement with...

PIONEERS OF HOMESCHOOLING
Speaking in Gray Monday Night!
November 6, 2007

Gena Suarez: The Well-Integrated Homeschool
&Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn:
Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age 10

We have a wonderful evening of homeschool encouragement to share with area homeschoolers. Paul & Gena Suarez, Publishers of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn of Trivium Pursuit are joining together to encourage homeschoolers in a special 2 hour presentation. Gena Suarez will kick off the night with her Well-Integrated Homeschool presentation. In the Well-Integrated Homeschool, Gena goes over the numerous ways to achieve a relaxed mindset while homeschooling. Homeschooling should never be a chore! A laid back, joyful homeschool is a realistic, long-lasting homeschool. Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn will share with the audience a little bit about what homeschooling was like in the late 70's and early 80's, along with their thoughts on Ten Things to Do With Your Child Before Age Ten. Their publishing company, Trivium Pursuit, produces books and curricula to help parents use classical education in their homeschool. www.triviumpursuit.com Don't miss this night of encouragement and insight from these leaders in today's homeschooling world! There will be opportunities for door prizes, including a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and book giveaways by the Bluedorns!! No admission will be charged, but a love offering will be taken to offset travel and production costs. (No childcare will be provided for this event.)

Please RSVP by email lisabaughn@bmits.com and I will send you directions. We might need a few extra folding chairs. If you have a fabulous desert you love to make, we would love to have you bring it! Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity!

Never Give Up...

2006-09-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

NEVER GIVE UP....for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.- Harriet Beecher Stowe

Affliction

2006-08-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Affliction comes to the believer not to make him sad, but sober; not to make him sorry, but wise. Even as the plow enriches the field so that the seed is multiplied a thousandfold, so affliction should magnify our joy and increase our spiritual harvest. -- Henry Ward Beecher

Which one is moving you?

2006-08-16T06:29:00.000-07:00

Not only does sin hinder prayer; prayer hinders sin. The two are always opposed. The more careless we are about sin, the less we will pray. The more we pray, the less careless we will be about sin. Both sin and prayer are powerful forces. Which one is moving you?
-- Dr. Alvin Vander Griend

Southern Living's Favorite "Taste of the South" Restaurants in Nashville (for Rhea's Days!)

2006-07-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

Are you going with us to Nashville next week???? You won't want to miss sampling one of Southern Living's favorite Nashville restaurants!

NASHVILLE Arnold's Country Kitchen (Traditional Southern): 605 Eighth Avenue South; (615) 256-4455. Local country musicians, soccer moms, and business executives all pile into this red cinder block building in the warehouse area just outside of downtown. They grab trays and shuffle along for Jack Arnold's fresh meats and veggies, which are served cafeteria style. Choices often featured include turnip greens, catfish, fried shrimp, whipped potatoes, fried green tomatoes, and the juiciest roast beef intown. Lunch (Monday-Friday).

Loveless Cafe (Traditional Southern): 8400 State 100; (615) 646-9700 or www.lovelesscafe.com. Treat yourself to a Nashville classic located about 25 minutes outside of town. Known for its fluffy biscuits, you'll find Loveless better than ever after a recent renovation. The slow-cooked barbecue meats also provide a special treat. Don't forget dessert--they're made from scratch. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Sylvan Park Restaurant Murphy Road (Traditional Southern): 4502 Murphy Road; (615) 292-9275. It's hard to eat all your vegetables when Sylvan Park chocolate pie awaits. If you must eat a sensible meal before dessert, however, then this is the place to go. The offerings feel like Sundays after church: country-fried steak, fried catfish, Tennessee ham, and pork chops. Choose from sliced tomatoes, turnip greens, candied yams, soft-cooked green beans, and whipped potatoes. And don't skip the pies -- even if it wrecks your diet for a week. Lunch, dinner (closed Sunday).

The White Trash Cafe (Traditional Southern): 1914 Bransford Avenue; (615) 383-0109. It's no mystery why this little joint by the fairgrounds received its apt name. The interior decor, which features fuzzy dice, an "I Love Elvis" sticker, strings of Christmas lights, and stuffed animals, is made up of yard sale finds. The place opens at 10:30 a.m., and you may want to show up right about then. Once the featured items of the day (iron-skillet fried chicken and meatloaf on Tuesday and fried catfish on Friday) sell out, you're stuck with the leftovers. Lunch.

Why are savvy Homeschool families descending on Nashville next week??? For the most explosive entrepreneurial event on the internet! For more details, visit this site: http://www.educatingforsuccess.com/cmd.php?af=392797

Attitude....

2006-07-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

The only disability in life is a bad attitude.
-- Scott Hamilton

Stretching beyond....

2006-07-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

The entrepreneurial model is a completely different path to learn and teach one’s children. In the age of the internet, this is not the theory of yesterday’s university back when we homeschool parents were in college. No. The universe is completely new, it has changed in a profound way. What works with a brick and mortar, with success and achievement, is completely different when one attempts to make money online. It is an odd world, but one of the lessons we are learning is that we must first discipline ourselves to some mastery of this new world, before we teach it to our children. If you notice this blog is focused more on the parents right now, it is true, we are old dogs in need of learning new tricks!

In my Bible study this morning, I read the Proverb of the day. It is the 13th of July, yet Proverbs 12 was calling me.

The hand of the diligent will rule
But the slack hand will be put to forced labor. Proverbs 12:24

We have just moved to the beautiful mountains of Tennessee, from the sunny land of California. We have lived her exactly 3 months and are just learning people’s names, unpacking our boxes still, yet we are developing two companies, one a brick and mortar (computer consulting business) and the other an entrepreneurial online business, and we are DEVELOPING A PRODUCT to sell online. We have spent our summer divided between two very different plains – one reestablishing what was a solid, excellent business on the West Coast, going to Chamber Meetings, calling on strangers, developing marketing tools (brochures, web site) etc to get our “day job” going, and then we are learning a totally new entrepreneurial model in our “spare time” which is almost the polar opposite of the current brick and mortar model. And we unpack boxes, look for things like curtains, favorite books and cooking tools, try and plant a late garden and move into our new home, while we work out the bugs inherent in new construction. There is never a dull moment, yet we are GOING FORWARD, we are reading and learning, listening to phone calls, researching online, progressing through books and programs and learning every spare moment. We have to bridge the paradigm shift to bring these new marketing strategies to our kids, and our prayer is that it will open up their world in a whole new way. If we can do this, you can too!

Diligence and discipline are the themes of my life, the theme of the move, the thing the Lord most needs to work in me. No, I do not have great measures of each, but each is required to live an authentic life and each will impact our children for eternity. I have had enough of the “wood shed” type of discipline, that is not what I am talking about (having spent way too many years there) but I am talking about the order of one’s life and the diligence it takes to live and walk in the manner worthy of the gospel. And the discipline and diligence that it takes when it seems that the Lord is putting you on a completely different path, that you will stretch and stretch and stretch until you feel so thin, you must finally be skinny! No, it is just the new work in your life, and it is a new avenue I approach from the standpoint of “help meet” which is the role I am to teach my daughters.

The hand of the diligent will rule. Oh Lord, that I may have the hand of the diligent and teach that to my kids. And yes, we are quiet about this, no one really knows all this stuff we are doing and I wonder if I should share....but as our product debut ticks closer...

When I want to quit and am tired, as we work to bring a product (our own product – yesterday I was studying patent law VS copyright – this IS a new life!), I just look to Scripture for what the Lord has written in perfection and has stood the test of time. Sometimes I am convicted, sometimes encouraged, but always challenged. I pray that I do not twist it to make my life palatable, but that I live it out in a manner worthy of the Creator of the universe.

But the precious possession of a man is diligence
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing
But the soul of the diligent man is made fat Proverbs 12:27

Through presumption comes nothing but strife,
But with those who receive counsel is wisdom. Proverbs 13:10 (and that is why godly mentors if you are going to do these online businesses are SO important!)

Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles
But the one who gathers by labor increases it. Proverbs 13:11

We are assuredly gathering by labor, by stretching our brains and our hearts for our benefit today, and our daughter tomorrow.

Today, I attack writing the “Sales Letter” for our webpage…..

World Net Daily article on Entrepreneurial Homeschool Family

2006-07-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone --

Thought you might enjoy a World Net Daily article on homeschool entrepreneurism. The standard "prepare your kid for college" homeschool regime is being replaced by "prepare your kids for an entrepreneurial mindset!"

Homeschool entrepreneurism catches fireMother of 7 starts home-business revolution in Internet agePosted: July 7, 20061:00 a.m. Easternhttp://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50946© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

With homeschooled children in the U.S. now numbering in the millions, most of them being raised in a Christian worldview, what happens when all these students reach their teen years?Many go to college – despite the fact that higher education is increasingly steeped in leftist indoctrination and sexual obsession – toughing it out in an unfriendly environment in hopes of becoming prepared for the adult world of work and career.

Some try to avoid the ravages of secular culture by attending a Christian college.But an increasing number of homeschoolers are trying a different road. They are becoming entrepreneurs and business owners. Whether they later go to college or not, learning to be financially successful, especially from home – and in the age of the Internet, that's easier than ever – is turning out to be the missing ingredient many homeschoolers have been seeking in their home-education program.

Homeschooling parents share many of the same concerns: Why is it that what seems to work for other kids doesn't necessarily work for mine? What's going to happen to my kids when they get older? Will they be of good character? How will my child contribute to society and become financially secure?

Rhea Perry
Rhea (pronounced "Ray") Perry was once such a homeschool mom. Living with her husband Wendell in the rural Southeast, Rhea has been homeschooling her seven children since 1988.One of the first things she found was that her oldest son, Drew, then 14, was not exactly a model homeschool student. In fact, Drew was difficult to teach. "All the school options and everything worked for my oldest daughter, because she's very smart and very academic in nature," says Rhea. "But then there was Drew, who was a little bit different, and he would probably be labeled ADD if he was tested. I never tested him because I didn't want labels put on him, but I knew he was different and he just didn't fit in with the school situation he was in."

After trying different approaches, and realizing Drew just wasn't suited for the curriculum and methods Rhea had, in desperation – or perhaps it was inspiration – Rhea and her husband sent the boy off to spend a month with a Christian entrepreneur friend of theirs. During that month, 14-year-old Drew Perry learned all about the world of business, money, entrepreneurism and a new way of thinking about life, finances and success."When he came back, he was a changed person," said Rhea, and that change slowly permeated the entire family.

Soon, Rhea and her older children, including Drew, started attending professional conferences and learning a wide range of business skills and techniques.At the age of 18, Drew became a real estate investor, who today has bought and sold many homes – which he does on eBay! "Within three years," Rhea says, her former-misfit/now-entrepreneur son had replaced Wendell's income. "My husband was able to come home from corporate America and began taking care of his bedridden father for the next three-and-a-half years," she said."During those years, we didn’t have to worry about paying the bills. My husband could focus on caring for his dad as we believe families are supposed to do, and life went on as normal."

Little by little, Rhea shared her newfound love of entrepreneurism with other like-minded homeschoolers, first in small gatherings in her home, later in rented facilities, and now in major conferences featuring successful business talents – all aimed at teaching parents and their teen children about the joys and realities of being an independent entrepreneur."

Parents have an incredible opportunity to train their children to be serious contributors to society instead of being dependent on it," says Rhea. "I encourage families all the time to look around for opportunity and learn to create money out of nothing. With all the opportunity our free enterprise system offers, there is no reason why anyone who can read should be living paycheck to paycheck. If you don't know where to start, consider selling something on eBay. Many families earn their living there by becoming experts in just one market."In America, everyone has the freedom to control their own lives and not be beholden to anyone else, she says. "It just requires the right type of education. Yet, most of us get caught up in day-to-day living and don’t look up from its mundaneness to set our goals on something higher. Working toward financial freedom is not something that comes easily. It doesn’t come from an inheritance or from winning the lottery. Getting money is only part of the game of life; managing and protecting it is important as well."

If parents really want to impact their children's lives positively, Rhea adds, "they will teach them to own their own businesses, tithe, and channel their resources to positively impact society in whatever realm their hearts desire. Life is not about getting, it's about giving. Yet in the giving, what we get makes it worth the effort."

Rhea Perry's next "Entrepreneur Days" conferences, teaching teens and their parents to make money from home – featuring experts on everything from investing in real estate, the stock market and precious metals to creating multiple streams of income from home-based Internet businesses – will be held next month in Los Angeles and Tennessee.Lisa's Note: If you are interested in learning how to prepare your children to be financially free, don't miss this one-of-a-kind event!

For more details, visit this site: http://www.educatingforsuccess.com/cmd.php?af=392797 Be sure and click on the video - you will see me, LisaB!, enthusiastic after attending a conference in Nashville in March.We are stunned at what we learned.

Having been in the "tech world" for the last two decades, we have spent our career avoiding "internet marketing" and advertisers have made a career out of trying to get us into it. When you run a tech company, you are a target. Until we saw fellow homeschool families simply working on projects, and making good money, it didn't faze us that it might actually work for our family. We didn't think it was anything but hype, until we went to Nashville in March. Rhea's Enterpreneurial Seminar will explode open the best of the best, the safest, simplest, lowest risk ways to launch an internet business. Rhea will encourage you, share scripture with you and point you in the right direction. Rhea and her team of experts have already bought the programs, went to the seminars and are enjoying success and bringing dads home, teaching sons to be the breadwinner and daughters to be an entrepreneurs help meet! If kids can do it, families can do it, and even grandma's can do it - you can too!Let me know if you are interested in going, we would love to see you and invite you to our room for our special "Nashville Dessert Fest!" Our whole family will attend Nashville in August, and hopefully get some great site seeing in as well as some sight seeing!!
LisaB! from Tennessee
Please pass this on to a friend who might be interested in changing their life mid stream, have entrepreneurial kids, or just want to know more about running a business

Entrepreneurial Education for FAMILIES

2006-06-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneurial Education Seminar in Nashville and LA

This is the BEST event you can possibly take your entrepreneurially minded kids, teens and families to this summer. And it is right here, in beautiful Tennessee! We will be there and hope you will join us....If you are interested in attending an event that has already changed the mindset and lives of over 1000 homeschoolers, then listen to this. A veteran homeschool mom of 7 who has spent several years applying education to the principles of home business and traveling to professional conferences with her children is hosting a professional Business Conference that parents can attend with their young adults! There's nothing else like it in America!

It's called Rhea's Entrepreneur Days and offers:* Dads - a way to come home to work* Moms - a way to supplement your family's income* Young adults - entrepreneurial vision and knowledge to begin a career working from homeThis year it will be held in two different locations.

On August 3-6, it will be in Nashville, Tennessee.

On August 23-26, the exact event will take place in Los Angeles, California.

If one date won’t work for you, hopefully you can make it to the other location. Folks fly to this event from all over the country and even from Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. If you’ve never traveled to something like this before, consider it a special field trip and enjoy the local sites while expanding your family's potential.

For several weeks before the conference, Rhea interviews one of the guests on a bonus education call (at no charge except your long distance charges). You don’t want to miss getting to know her experts before you meet them! You can register for the calls at http://www.educatingforsuccess.com/cmd.php?af=392797.

At this conference, professional experts and millionaires will share their expertise on several different home businesses.The keynote this year is famed author and former school teacher John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down and the Underground History of American Education.Featured Guests are:Bob Circosta, co-founder of the Home Shopping NetworkMorgan Westerman, creator of the video, The Interview with GodChris Verhaegh, Stock Market Expert who mentored Drew when he was 14.Drew Perry - How I Became a Real Estate Investor When I Was 18Matt Bacak - Using the Internet for Lead GenerationAdam Ginsberg - How to Create Your Own eBay BusinessMauricio Martinez - How to Get Out of DebtJohn Dessauer - How to Buy Multi-Family Units by real estate investor Publisher David Hancock -Why YOU Should Publish Your Own Book and HowOur Sunday morning service will be presented by Rev. and Mrs. Ken Pounders of Priority! Evangelism.Special one-day workshops on Thursday will also feature:Basic Internet Marketing by “Dr. Adsense” Joel Comm, How to Create an Ebook by Glenn Dietzel and John Hollingsworth Stock Market Options Basics by Chris Verhaegh, 7 Simple Steps to Successfully Launch Your Small Business by Dave Hawkins, Learning Critical Thinking with Advanced Chess Strategies by Orrin Hudson (These are priced separately.) If you are interested in learning how to prepare your children to be financially free, don't miss this one-of-a-kind event!

For more details, visit this site:http://www.educatingforsuccess.com/cmd.php?af=392797 Be sure and click on the video - you will see me, LisaB!, enthusiastic after attending a conference in Nashville in March. We are stunned at what we learned. Having been in the "tech world" for the last two decades, we have spent our career avoiding "internet marketing" and advertisers have made a career out of trying to get us into it. When you run a tech company, you are a target. Until we saw fellow homeschool families simply working on projects, and making good money, it didn't faze us that it might actually work for our family. We didn't think it was anything but hype, until we went to Nashville in March.

Rhea's Enterpreneurial Seminar will explode open the best of the best, the safest, simplest, lowest risk ways to launch an internet business. Rhea will encourage you, share scripture with you and point you in the right direction. Rhea and her team of experts have already bought the programs, went to the seminars and are enjoying success and bringing dads home! If kids can do it, families can do it, and even grandma's can do it - you can too!Let me know if you are interested in going, we would love to see you and invite you to our room for our special "Nashville Dessert Fest!" Our whole family will attend Nashville in August, and hopefully get some great site seeing in as well as some sight seeing!!LisaB! from TennesseeP.S. If this is not for you, please pass it along to a friend who might be interested in changing their life.

On reasons....

2006-06-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

The reason that most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first. -- Robert J. McKain

A matter of choice

2006-06-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. - William Jennings Bryan

Favorite Bible Study Resources

2006-05-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Just so you know what our families are using with our Bible studies, it is the Strong's Concordance and numbering system and then I like to look things up in Dr. Spiros Zodhiates "Complete Word Study Dictionary." We have had the honor of seeing Dr. Zodhiates speak at several Bible seminars, and we have the utmost respect for him. Dr. Zodhiates is one of the most humble, on fire, committed, Holy Spirit led, DISCIPLINED Christians we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was born to Greek parents, so **modern** Greek was his primary language growing up and helps with discerning the Koine Greek of the NT (he has written an OT dictionary as well). His wife, Joan, is, from our observances, the quintessential help meet. He would go into his study and write these dictionaries, studying, etc for 12 HOURS a day, if I remember correctly! More on him below.

http://www.amgpublishers.com/www is his ministry and if I remember, he has written over 300 books and pamphlets, sold all over the world, and has never taken a DIME for them. He and his wife Joan live VERY humbly, preferring to give sight to lepers and establish ministries all over Asia. He is truly one of our heroes, and she has been a rare life, lived quietly behind the scenes and a true inspiration for me of what a godly woman looks like. Dr. Zodhiates is in his 80's now, I think, and his beloved wife Joan has Alzheimer's and they can no longer travel. They are in Chattanooga (along with Precept Ministries - which is why it was one of our top locations out here!) Not that that matters, but then again, it is good to know the sources that folks use!

Information:
Dr. Spiros ZodhiatesSpiros Zodhiates was born to Greek parents on the island of Cyprus. After completing his Greek education, he attended the American University in Cairo, Egypt, the National Bible Institute (now Shelton College), and New York University. He earned his Doctor of Theology degree from Luther Rice Seminary. In addition, Dr. Zodhiates has been the recipient of several honorary doctorates.

In 1946, he came to the United States at the invitation of the American Mission to the Greeks, Inc. At that time, there were 2 part-time employees who met in a small one-room office. Dr. Zodhiates became president of this organization in 1966. Now known as AMG International ("Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel"), it carries on a worldwide evangelistic and relief ministry and has its headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Dr. Zodhiates is a recognized authority on the Greek New Testament, and has edited an edition of the Modern Greek New Testament which was published by the Million Testaments Campaigns and the American Bible Society. He is the author of numerous exegetical books and booklets in both the Greek and English languages. In addition he is heard daily on the New Testament Light radio program, released over a network of stations across the United States and Canada.

Balance

2006-05-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

Listen to the wise words of Carol Thompson:

"Like an intricately balanced see-saw, the Christian view of money and things is a tension between austerity and luxury. Too much emphasis on the austerity end and I fall into asceticism, while over-indulgence on the other end may cause moral collapse. Without this balance all my energy could be spent devising ways to save money, all my conversation centered on what I don't have, all my time given to investigating bargains."

"At the other extreme I could be overcome in the small, petty work of consumerism. Balance means I cannot preoccupy myself with the materialistic part of life at either end of the see-saw. I want to enjoy life to the full, to see God in little things like a summer of camping, the spotted fawn on the edge of a thicket, the freshly cooked corn on the cob or a brand-new best-seller."
From Mary Hunts, Debt Proof Living Thought for the day.

Lavender Farms in Virginia

2006-05-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

I made the most delightful discovery, there is a lavender farm within an hour in Scott County, Virginia. Lavender fields in Northeast Tennessee - Southwest Virginia...does it get any better than that?

Pat converted the family farm in Dungannon, VA into lush fields of blooming lavender. Visit Pat's lovely website full of lavender products and be sure to enjoy her working lavender farm.
http://www.scottcountylavender.com/ Welcome to Scott County Lavender's New home on the web! We are pleased to announce that we will be open June 9th 2006 to July 16th 2006 from 9am until 6pm Tue-Sat. for "Pick your own Lavenders" Please call (888) 222-3715 for directions.

I spent the most wonderful hour with Pat at her store in Gray last week. She is a creative genius and a lavender lover extraordinaire. Pat is truly a generous lady, in every sort of the way, even offering me all sorts of lovely snippets of her garden to cultivate in our new home. We hope to be able to learn a lot from her...

Dogwood Winter Gives Way to Blackberry Winter

2006-05-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

A bit of a cold snap...followed by a bit of a cold snap. Dogwood winter is when you get a cold spell when the dogwoods are blooming in April. Dogwoods are glorious trees, absolutely beautiful. I want one!

When that spring cold spell lasts a little longer, or crops up again, it is called "Blackberry Winter" which is a cold snap when the wild blackberries are blooming. Blackberries are EVERYWHERE out here, the most lovely white flowers on bushes, entwined through trees and fences, lining every street, path, and it seems like property line around here. I thought they were some beautiful flower and I was really wanting some. Upon inquiry, it turns out they are blackberries, and wow - that just strengthens my resolve.

Who would have known of the wonders of a Tennessee spring. And now...it might just really be spring....

The Wonders of A New Home

2006-05-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Progress is paving our new home with cement. We had the pleasure of watching a sidewalk come in yesterday, along with two patios off the basement's French doors! Wow! We are feeling like "real folks" to have a sidewalk leading to our front door. Now we just need front steps and people can actually ring our doorbell without killing themselves to heft up on our towering frong porch!

We are so close to being able to garden, it is not even funny. We still have to wait for the landscapers to do their thing, so it may be a while yet.

I am saving my two Cracker Barrel rocking chairs until the landscaping is put in. I am waiting for the day my front landscape is together. I can then decorate our front porch with all of our cute things from back home, birdhouses, flags, a hanging basket of fuschia and potted shade flowers. I hope to paint a few of my wood pieces periwinkle (my signature color) and have a welcome and inviting front porch that will be a great place to relax in the evenings.

We are so thankful the Lord placed us here and look forward to seeing what He is going to do in this new chapter of our lives.

2006-05-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Only he who flings himself upward when the pull comes to drag him down, can hope to break the force of temptation. Temptation may be an invitation to hell, but much more is it an opportunityto reach heaven. At the moment of temptation, sin and righteousness are both very near the Christian; but, of the two, the latter is the nearer. -- Charles H. Brent

Thought for the day...

2006-05-02T05:02:00.000-07:00

God does not waste suffering; if he ploughs it is because He purposes a crop. -- J.O.Sanders

Thought for the day, on pondering this journey

2006-04-14T05:06:00.000-07:00

If knowing answers to life's questions is absolutely necessary to you, then forget the journey. You will never make it, for this is a journey of unknowables,-- of unanswered questions, enigmas, incomprehensibles, and most of all, things unfair. -- Madame Jeanne Guyon

Thank you Lord for being in control! We may not know the path, but we know the Maker of that path.

MOVING DAY -- Saturday April 8th

2006-04-05T21:07:00.001-07:00

You are invited to moving day, on Saturday, April 8th at 8:30 am, beginning in our Abingdon home and ending at our Gray home. We appreciate all of the help and people we can have! Email us for directions.

THANK YOU!

The house is coming along...

2006-04-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well, things are progressing at the new house. New this week:

The back deck is complete! It is enormous, much larger than we expected and fits our patio furniture and BBQ perfectly. It looks to be a terrific spot to entertain, we can't wait to have BBQs and start entertaining again! What a delight it is to see our stuff and know that it is warm enough to actually use it.

The carpet is in this week and looks fabulous! We are really glad we went with the cut Berber in a medium tone.

We came in tonight and saw the wood floors gleaming - Dean (the painter and finishing guy) told us that after the carpet comes in, he cleans the wood floors on his hands and knees -and it is GORGEOUS! I hope I can learn to keep them that nice looking. They are a nice, light hardwood -perhaps we should find out what they are!

The house is still not completely done, but we are moving into the basement and putting stuff in the kitchen and bathrooms. This is odd to move in before it is done - but we are absolutely delighted with each new visit to see what has happened. So much more goes into a new house - we really had no idea.

Suburban Details

2006-04-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

There are some delightful things about living in a brand new home in the country suburbs, after living out in the country....

TRASH SERVICE - oh what a glorious day it was to drive up and see a sparkling new trash can in front of our unfinished home! What a wonder it will be to have trash service again, to have a real trash can to put our refuse in. Since we currently live in the "county area" we have to haul our trash to the dump. A trash can will be so civilized and we will certainly enjoy it while we live in the city!

REAL HEAT...FROM A HEAT SOURCE - yes, in our new home we have a heat pump (we always called them heaters back home in California). What an absolute blessing it was to go into the house one chilly day and feel the welcome blast of a heat circulating through the house! Wow - no chopping wood, no mortgage woes, no insurance difficulties when one has a home with a real live thermostatically controlled heat source! We do wish we had a real fireplace, but alas, we cannot have everything.

These little things have made life so difficult for our first winter on the East Coast.

GARBAGE DISPOSAL - we will have a garbage disposal in the new home! Yah!!! There was quite a bit of debate on whether or not it is a good idea to have a garbage disposal with a septic system. We were planning to install one, but had to wire first. Now, it is included!

PANTRY - need I say more? With a gourmet kitchen full of tools, a complete set of Tupperware Modular Mates to neatly put in the pantry, I certainly love a pantry.

So even as I waffle back and forth between the two places, it is good to see the blessings that the Lord has provided.

Somewhere Between Black and White, Is Gray, Tennessee

2006-04-03T20:03:00.001-07:00

The long journey is nearing an end. We are about to settle in Gray, a semi-rural area of Northeast Tennessee, in a "country suburban" neighborhood. Gray is about 45 minutes away from Abingdon, VA, where we thought we were settling (long story).

On my 40th birthday, we got the keys for our new home in Gray. We can't move in quite yet, it isn't finished. We don't have an actual move in date, although April 5th is the hoped for date, and April 15 is the technical date. Gray is right next to Johnson City, in the "Tri-Cities" area of Northeast Tennessee. We will be smack dab in the middle of a large client base - which will be good for our network consulting business. You can see Boone Lake sparkling through the trees from our home, near the Holston River. We are nestled near the top of a hill with rolling hills in the distance and a view of the blue mountain ridges beyond. It is peaceful and we feel completely at home there and it seems that the Lord has just opened up the heavens to bless us. As I write that, a sense of peace and excitement come over me, and we cannot believe it, we have been so shattered on this journey, it does not seem possible. We are on a circular suburban street, in a nice little housing devolpment. It is a semi-rural area, with rolling hills dotted with cows and the multiple zoned neighborhoods so common out here.

Why Gray? One of the most difficult things we have encountered out here is finding a church. Without fail, we have gone to church every Sunday on this journey, except once on our journey across, and once while staying with Dave's Mom. We have tried Southern Baptist, regular Baptist, Southern Baptist in VA on the "liberal side" (oops!), Independant Baptist, Presbyterian, a family church service (at a seminar we attended, so that wasn't the normal family church setting) and none of them fit us. We have gone on Sundays, tried Weds night services, attended a Missions Conference (what an absolutely precious time - with my oldest friend Terri Shuerger seeing their missions work in and hearing Jon preach!), and now we have attended an Apologetics Conference. We have fellowshipped, potlucked and tried to find where the Lord wants us. While we have gone to some good churches, heard good, solid preaching and met welcoming, sweet people, we knew we were not where the Lord wanted us. Our hearts grieved so much for our beloved Immanuel Baptist, for Pastor Rob preaching the Word in season and out, for his boundless energy and enthusiasm and faithfulness in equipping the saints and preaching the gospel. And we won't even mention our utter grief at missing our dear, dear friends, the folks we have grown to know and love in our many years at Immanuel, and even the folks around us that we never got a chance to know, but we smiled at them every week and the world just seemed right when our church body was together, praising Jesus' holy name. Things were not perfect there, a church is run by imperfect, sinful people, but we never once doubted that the Lord had placed our family there, for that time. We will always thank the Lord for Immanuel Baptist in Highland, CA. Truly, we have found in our travels, that a good church is like a good marriage, and an excellent church is like an excellent marriage - worth sacrificing everything to have. I weep as I write this, I miss them all so much, and we know that some day, we will fully understand why the Lord took us out of such a wonderful church and out of a truly good life, and placed us on the East coast, but for now our job is to trust and obey.

Back to Gray. Part of that trusting and obeying is finding His place for us in this new land, and the deepest hunger we have had is for a church to be a part of, to serve with, to grow in the Lord with. While exploring the Tri-Cities area, we drove by a big church on the side of the road and we knew that was where we were supposed to be, as clear as day, but we partially dismissed it because it wasn't "what we were looking for," and we didn't know how to get over there, and it was an hour from our home in Abingdon, VA. We attended the pastor's perspective class that Weds night and had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Arden Taylor. He invited us back to church the following Sunday and encouraged us to try Tri-Cities Baptist Church. It felt like home, from that first night. He has that same boundless energy that our Pastor did, and from what we have seen a passion for the Word of God. He is clear that he is a follower of the Lord first and foremost, and a So Baptist second. We tried to ask him all of our pesky little questions, and he gracefully answered them.We had actually found the house earlier that day, and knew instinctively that the church and the home were a good fit, but sort of dismissed it. They were both in TN and we weren't looking in TN, we didn't want the country suburbs and we surely did NOT want a brand new home and a mini-mega church. 10 days later we attended on Sunday, and Pastor Arden walked up to us, shook our hands and remembered both of our names. Amazing! He invited us to attend the Apologetics Conference all week with Dr. Ron Carlson, who preached that morning and evening. From the choir, to the songs we love so much, Pastor Arden saying "It is good to be in the house of the Lord," it was comforting, completely new, yet familiar. Dr. Carlson was astounding, an incredibly brilliant man who opens the world of cults up for Christians. Each night as we attended, we met more and more people who were wonderful, caring, friendly, and gracious and each night the Pastor greeted us by name and encouraged us to keep coming. It was that sweet peace of finding where we need to be. We all realized that now that we had found a church, we didn't really care where we lived, because it was all going to turn out okay anyway. We came home Monday evening to a message from the Pastor inviting us to dinner the next day with his wife (which impressed us that he could find our phone number and that he cared enough to ask us out). We met them for dinner and had the nicest time - we were able to ask about the church, and they answered our questions and encouraged us to join and live nearby (we explained our desire to live NEAR our church and not commute an hour each way). We were looking for a homeschool friendly church to go sort of "hide" in, be annonymous in (uh-huh - us?) along the lines of a family church/family worship that sounded so appealing. Those "ideals" don't seem to be where the Lord wants us, but in the midst of a large church. Just like Immanuel, this church is full of humans that are imperfect. No doubt, we will see things that we don't like later on, as we will in every church (can you tell I don't like it when folks go on about the new being perfect?!) but this church has just quieted the longing in all three of our hearts - and we are finally, blessedly "home."We had to wait till Sunday to actually hear the Pastor preach (we did Weds night then 5 sessions with Dr. Carlson the week before) and went to both services. He preaches the Word, he doesn't pull any punches and he preaches the gospel straight up. Sunday was another comfirmation - we have found our church home. We won't actually join for a few more weeks - we want to be moved in, continue going and make sure. And with this most momentous decision finally being settled, the rest seems to be falling into place.

The journey has been difficult and fraught with what we perceive as failures, but the Lord has been growing us and molding us, shaping us and continuing to strip us of our pride. All of our thoughts of what WE WANTED and our versions of WHAT HE MUST WANT FOR US, are pretty much gone. Stripping us of our hardened shells has been quite the job - we are a stubbon family! Perhaps all of this unease and unsettlement has been precisely what we needed, so that in our desperate prayers for guidance, stripped of our desires, in the still, small, quiet place, we could finally hear His voice without our own crowding it out. When you are cruising the stunning countryside, looking for the agrarian dream, wanting a cheap old farm house, it is hard to not think that MUST be for you. We came hoping to reproduce Dave's high school years on the farm, and it seems that we are to have a different version of what we just left, a countryfied suburban lifestyle. We do not understand this at all, but have a sneaking suspicion that perhaps the Lord has plans for us out here that have nothing to do with our plans. The desire to "go agrarian" is still firmly in all of our hearts, so we trust in the future, if the Lord so wills, we will end up with a small farm somewhere. When we really look at it, He knows best and it is obvious. It is difficult to decide where to live in an area so different from home, and this will give us the time we need to figure the area out, to start our computer consulting company and get that solidly going, to work on some other financial goals and plans, which will all ultimately afford us the time and ability to have that lifestyle. It appears that this is a temporary buidling time. How difficult it is to build a clientele, without worrying about keeping up with chopping wood, a rural road upkeep, 3 acres and the need to buy a riding lawn mower, and the temptations of a farm and taking care of animals, etc.

The new house itself could not fit our current needs better, it is beautiful. It is if it were designed completely for us, at this time in our lives, with our massive furniture, our business needs, homeschooling needs and our hope for more children (we just had a sterilization reversal on our "trip" out here). Every single thing we had wanted is in it, a REAL garage on a level with the kitchen, adequate space, a good sized kitchen, an enormous craft room that will fit our scrapbooking things AND our quilting and be a design haven for Emily and I, and a room for guests/books/desk. There are soaring ceilings and huge windows, tons of light and views on every floor. We have been at the house, watching it come along almost every day. It is exciting to see progress, but I admit I am very gun shy and trying not to take possession of it emotionally. We keep ending up there in the evening and seeing the most glorious sunsets, you can see for miles from the living room and the kitchen window! The basement alone is a reason to buy the house - it is enormous, approx 1100 sq feet and lit almost as well as the house with natural sunlight from 2 sets of french doors and half a dozen windows, and the same soaring ceilings throughout the house. There is absolutely no sense of claustrophobia in it, it is not scary in any way, but it is gorgeous! (Basements freak me out a bit - we don't have them in CA, land of earthquakes) Dave can section off and build an office in there to run our biz that will be comfortable and work for him for years. It will hold our fabric stash and all of our stuff, and still have plenty of room to make a family room down there if we wanted. It is peaceful, quiet and beautiful. One thing we have run across in many of the houses we have seen, Dave is unable to talk on the phone without the whole house hearing it, and we are unable to do lessons without affecting his ability to talk on the phone. We needed a home where we could do both things at once, without interrupting one another. Seems like such a small thing, privacy! While this home has three stories (1st, 2nd and basement) it appears to be private on each level and will allow that, yet the living space is open enough that we don't feel separated. Basements can be a blessing or they can really add a weird dynamic! This is the first home our cell phones have worked in, on all three floors. When you are on call 24/7, it is critical that your cell phone work in your house. All in all, there is that same overwhelming sense of peace we had in Grand Terrace in our last home. It is easy to see how we can build a life, a business, and have a terrific fit for our family in this house. And again, I am still shocked that we are getting this brand new, gorgeous home - and even though it is all I could want, it is a shock that we are going to be suburban! It is such a shock, we have been really hesitant to talk about it to our friends, because we really needed to pray it through and make sure that this is it. We also had to wrap our minds and hearts around the suburban thing, and that required a lot of soul searching and prayer that we just needed to quietly do. We have been at the house almost every day the last two weeks, and we love it there. It is similar to the feel of Grand Terrace, you can hear the birds singing, it is quiet, nice. As ever, it is not perfect, but wow - is it a great fit for us.

We were able to watch Suze Orman one night on one of the cable news channels in a hotel, somewhere during this travel time. We have seen her books and never heard her. She was counseling folks on home buying as the market softens and comes to a slow landing. Her biggest piece of advice to EVERYONE - do NOT buy it unless you LOVE IT. Hmmm. Reason - you might be stuck with it for awhile, and with the market softening, no more "speculative buys." Well, at the "farm" house we liked the land, but did not like the house, but I saw potential (money pit or not! LOL!). This new house - I love - it is beyond what I ever thought we could have right now. It is gorgeous. We looked at it a few weeks ago and decided to pass on it, not wanting to live in the country suburbs, not wanting a new house, etc. We left California with one destination in mind, we wanted to live in the countryside of VA, in a small town, in an old house with great bones to fix up. I secretly wanted a plantation, but hey, just because I have dreamed of one since I was a child, does not mean that is the Lord's best for us at this time! We wanted an agrarian lifestyle, moving toward being gentleman farmers on self sustaining land. We wanted a small church, homeschool friendly with family centered worship. We wanted to explore the back side of nowhere (as Rhea says) and frolic on our land and have multiple animals. We thought we got it all here in Abingdon (except for the great bones part), and it simply was not to be. Every attempt we have made to have this lifestyle so dreamed about, planned and desired, has been completely shut down. After several attempts, false starts and tries blowing up in our face, we are realizing that perhaps this lifestyle is not for us right now. Even though we are excited about the new house, we are all really grieving not getting the rural lifestyle we had hoped to get. It is still in our hearts, but for a later time. In all of our wildest dreams, it never, ever occured to us that we would buy a new house in the rolling hills country suburb of Gray, TN, right next to a city, and take for a time, a similar lifestyle to what we just left, but in a new place on the opposite coast. And after a lot of prayer and processing this, we all accept it and we are ready to fully embrace this life and just get on with things. We are heartened by the quiet reality that we have found the church we are to be in - and we realize that no matter what happens, it will all work out.

So you see, the strangest things can happen in life. We would never have found this house or this church in a million years - they were not even on our radar, had the whole fiasco in Abingdon not happened.I still don't understand why things didn't work out here in the house that was our price point. Price point was the hill we were willing to die on, and it almost killed us!

Even though I am perenially torn it also seems the Lord has a plan for us in NE Tennessee. We think it is the ideal place for block parties and barbeques and ministering to the neighborhood. The living room has soaring ceilings, big windows and the feeling of space, so we think we might be able to pack in two dozen for doing a home Bible study, neighborhood study or something - it is a great room for that and I don't think with its features it will **feel** crowded. The house is easy to entertain in and so very, very pleasant. There are lots of younger kids in the neighborhood, so perhaps a children's craft day or a Bible study or??? We always wanted to use our other home for the work of the Lord, and we certainly did to a large degreee. This one is set up even better and I pray it can be a place of refuge and a welcoming home. But having a foot in each place right now while we wait for it to be done, is not an easy place to be in. Full civilization - including Starbucks is one exit away from the new house, but we lose the lovely historic town we live in now. At the old house, my heart yearns for the deer on the ridge, the wild turkey strutting past, and you have a wonderland of creation unfolding in front of your window. We just have to realize that these are dreams and scenes for the future, and thank the Lord for the time that we have had with them now.

I know this is all over the place and way longer than you want to read! I just wanted to share what we have been blessed with. As I said, we are really shy about talking about the home in Gray, as so many other things have not worked out since we left CA, it doesn't seem possible that this will. But we need to trust and see that the Lord is good, and not mourn what cannot be! We need to be thankful that this house, as strange as it seems, appears to be where He wants us, and trust that He will finish writing the story in His sovereign grace and mercy. We need to believe that we can be blessed, and learn to accept His blessings and praise Him for them. We have not felt particularly worthy of being so blessed in a long time, it has been a devastating few years. In so many ways, it almost feels like we are starting our whole lives over, even after over a decade of walking with Him, it is almost as if we are brand new baby Christians again, in a very new, profound time of trusting Him, and that is the most exciting thing of all. I sense a sweetness of growth coming and I pray we are obedient to His call in this new direction in our lives. I pray we can get this focus off of ourselves finally, and this whole relocation, and get back to the call of encouraging the body, ministering to people and sharing the love of Christ.

Team Baughn 2006

2006-03-21T05:20:00.000-08:00

Team Baughn 2006 is the ongoing story of a family from California, called to a different land, across the continent. The Baughns had a wonderful life in Southern California, ran a successful computer consulting business, attended a great church, had many friends, had a supportive homeschool group and a life they were content with. Our passion for history led us to reenacting the Civil War, which led us to study several states on the East Coast. The Lord put a desire in our hearts to learn all we could about the states, so we could accurately portray someone hailing from another coast. He used our insatiable passion for history, to put a desire in our hearts for a simpler lifestyle, in the land of early American history.

Join us as our journey unfolds ....