One of the greatest places on the web to buy and sell new or used homeschool curriculum is www.homeschoolclassifieds.com. You can search for the best deals or list your own items to sell. Check out my items at the store Joycorner. You can list up to 7 items for FREE or they have very reasonably priced subscriptions. EnJOY!
Our friends over at Knowledge Quest have done it again!!! They have a load of fabulous new homeschooler apps for the iPad. Those who are blessed to have an iPad will definitely want to check this out. For those of us who don’t have one, they have a giveaway for a free iPad. Be sure to click on the home button on the left to enter the drawing for a free iPad.
My sweet bloggy friend, Marsha Drews, is giving away a Rosetta Stone Homeschool Level 1 program (retail $249)….cool beans!!! Check out her blog for easy ways to enter. Contest ends December 20.
Other Such Happenings Rosetta Stone Giveaway
Well, there are 16 more days until Christmas. Are you stressed out? Are you busy, busy, busy and forgetting to remember the reason for the season? What do you celebrate on Christmas?
I invite you to take a moment and do a spiritual inventory on this season. Do any of your gifts reflect your love for the babe in the manger? Have you taken time to walk with the Lord during the busy holiday season of shopping, wrapping, baking, writing out Christmas cards, visiting, etc.? What is the reason for the season?
1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
So why was the Christ Child born in a manger? The Bible says in Verse 10 says “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Verse 11 says “For unto you is born this day, in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. You see, it doesn’t end with the babe in the manger. That is just the beginning! God sent His only begotten Son to be born in a manger so that He could die on the cross for our sins. For my sins. For your sins. We are all sinners. No matter how good you may think you are, you are NOT perfect, the Bible says in Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Therefore, you and I are sinners. We all fall short of God’s standard of perfection. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
You see, there is a penalty for our sin. The penalty is death. Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death.“ Ezekiel 18:4 says “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
But, why would a loving God send His only begotten Son to be born in a manger only to die some 30 years later? Because God created you and loves you! John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
So the babe in the manger is a gift from God to all of us. However, it is not ours, until we receive the gift. So, how does someone who is not perfect get into Heaven? It is the recognition that we will never measure up to God’s standard of perfection, and coming to God with a repentant heart, and asking the Lord to save us. A repentant heart…what is that? Well, it is seeing yourself as God sees you – a sinner. It is asking God to forgive you for you sins. The Bible says in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
You see, I was brought up Catholic and always went to Midnight Mass. I knew in my mind that Jesus was born in a manger and even that He died on the cross for my sins, However, I never took that gift as my own, until April 14, 1998, when I received Christ as my Saviour. Romans 10:9-10 says “For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE IN THINE HEART (emphasis added is mine) that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
The desire of my heart is that ALL my friends and family and anyone that I meet might accept God’s free gift of salvation for themselves. I cannot say a prayer and save you. Only God can save you from going to Hell when you die. It’s your choice! I pray that you have the Christmas JOY that can only come from Christ. Jesus is my JOY!
Have a blessed, JOYful, Merry Christmas!
Join local homeschooling families for a fun day at Kingdom Kids Farm, 81 Halls Hill Rd, Danielson, CT today, Saturday, October 16th from 12 to 3 p.m. There will be lots of one-of-a-kind creations, yummy baked goods, farm fresh eggs, homemade soaps and much more. Come be a blessing by supporting local homeschooling families. See link below for more info. Hope to see you there!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=159002667463146
Today I read a post from Marsha Drews at Other Such Happenings that has brought true joy to my soul today. Be sure to click on the link and take the time to read it. You will be blessed for sure! Marsha has a deposit in Heaven. Her son, Christian (almost 4) drowned in her backyard on August 26, 2008. I found Marsha on a homeschool website and have been touched how she leans upon the Lord through her journey of grief. I follow her blog and it brings me smiles upon smiles.I have never met Marsha or even spoken to her. However, we have a special bond. We both have deposits in Heaven and we both love the Lord Jesus Christ and know that He has a purpose for our children being in Heaven. A special bond, indeed.
Sometimes I wonder if I am glorifying the Lord with the tears I shed for missing Josiah. It’s been 10 years. When does grief end? I know He cares. His word tells me that He captures each tear in a bottle.
7Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
9When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
Dear Lord, I want to be fit too!!! Thank you for bringing special ladies into my life that know my heartache too and always remind me to keep my eyes upon YOU! Thank you for Josiah and for Your perfect plan!
These are some of my favorite sites to buy/sell homeschool curriculum. Each has a link to the site and then my user ID in () so you can look up my stuff too, if applicable. 
EnJOY and spread the news around.
Homeschool Classifieds (joycorner)
Edify at Home (Joy Corner/5forJesus)
eBay(5forjesus)
Veg Source
HSLDA Curriculum Market
You can also try looking up Yahoo groups for your specific wants/needs. There is one for ACE School of Tomorrow, Saxon Math, Math-u-See, Sonlight to name a few.
Hurry over to Penny Raine’s to enter the fabulous APRON GIVEAWAY! I have an apron from Jumpinbloomers and I’ve ordered a couple items for my little girl. VERY SWEET stuff here! The contest ends Feb. 6th and is very easy to enter. Thanks Penny! Be sure to check out Penny Raine’s blog on my sidebar link. Have a JOYful day!
Just wanted to share the blessing of today’s snow storm… we were headed out to Dayville for co-op and because of the snow, the car started slipping. After slipping a couple more times, I told the kids it was ok and we would turn around to go home. Sam says…”Oh today wouldn’t be a good day to die” What? Why Sam? “Well, because I’m not saved yet.” So as I am panicking on the car ride home, I tell him that if he knows what it means to be saved, then he better take care of it now. A peek into the back seat and we see Sam bowing his head. I didn’t think anything else about it until later Sam told his Dad that he took care of the business and got saved. We had him explain what he meant and PRAISE THE LORD…there’s a new name written down in glory and it’s SAM’s….AMEN!!! Sam Morrison is a new creature today 1/28/2010! 
Sam is 6. January 2010
Come join me on THL for the 10,000 member milestone celebration, tell them “Dawn Morrison” sent you and we could both win some great prizes! Here’s the link:
http://www.thehomeschoollounge.com/?xgi=eCo7Qnm
This is a lounge for Homeschool Moms. There are separate groups for specific interests. For example, I belong to the Homeschoolers Love Freebies group, the IFB Sisters group (independant, fundamental Baptist) and the Beauty from Ashes group (infant loss support). I have been so blessed by this lounge. It’s kinda like facebook, but without all the silly applications and a great place to get encouragement and support as we homeschool. EnJOY every moment.
Dawn