Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

Pattern Block Work

I told you earlier that I would let the kids have a period of play with the pattern blocks I bought them. Well, now it’s time to do some work with them!

We have been using a book called Pattern Block Book by Sandra Clarkson, published by Didax. I bought it from Rainbow Resources. I print out copies for each of my four youngest kids. They do the activities, and we explore the properties of the different shapes together.

They have played and made pictures and designs with them so much that the activities have been very easy – even for Abby (4). They are getting some good practice with spatial awareness and even some basic understanding of fractions.

They sometimes have to figure out how to use the same blocks to make a different picture. They moved their blocks to make a chick out of a rooster in one activity! It probably should have gone the other way.

They had to figure out which shape was missing after they used the blocks they were told to use. They had to look at a shape on a page and copy it with blocks. And in another activity they had to turn the paper over and build the shape again without looking at it.

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Here Emma is showing that she is not feeling too well. She had a runny nose and sore throat the last couple of days, but she is feeling much better today, Praise the Lord!

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Here Abby is showing that she feels fine, although she seemed to be harder hit by whatever virus came through than Emma actually was. Abby is also demonstrating how much she loves cheese balls by the orange powder all around her mouth!

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Emma wanted to take some pictures, so I actually got my picture taken for once!

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All of these activities were extremely simple for Fiona, Little Miss Artist. She couldn’t resist making some pictures just for fun along the way.

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This post is linked at love2learn2day



Be on the Lookout!

 

One thing I have learned along the way was to look for signs that God may be trying to speak to me.

He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible, of course, but He also speaks to us throughout the day, sometimes in little mundane things, sometimes through puzzles and riddles.

He is very intelligent and very much like we are, so we shouldn’t be surprised that He would enjoy playing with us. But sometimes we aren’t aware of what He is doing, so we miss the signs.

He uses numbers a lot in my life. I will suddenly look at the clock and see triple numbers. Whether I know what the numbers mean or not, I know I just got a little nod from God that He is here with me, and we have a little chuckle together. Many times I will look at the clock and see 8:17, which is my birthday month and day. I always know when I catch that He is telling me He loves me and is glad He made me. I just say, “I love you, too, Lord. Thank you for making me.”

When I see 3:33 on the clock and on license plates and in other unexpected places I think of Jeremiah 33:3 like in the picture above.

Numbers Have Meaning in Hebrew

Numbers do have significance in the Hebrew language and culture and you can research them and find out what they mean to know specific things God is saying to you at times. Here are the meanings of 1-10 in Hebrew.

The number 1 means “Oneness, Unity, Primacy, First, Beginning”;

the number 2 means “Divide, difference, oppose, judge, discern, witness, conflict, blessing, abundance, building, couple, dying to self.”

The number 3 means “Seeds, trees, fruit. Revelation, resurrection, gathering balance, equilibrium, pattern, counsel, witness, and strength. New life, sprouting, resurrection, fruitfulness, words of life (counsel), unity”

The number 4 means “Authority, government, rule, dominion, calendar, time, creation, kingdom, fullness, giving of the Torah (Law) and Holy Spirit.”

The number 5 means “Power, strength, alertness (wake-up!), Torah, grace, favor, service, gospel, fruitfulness, going forth, fast movement, anointed, prayers, and protection

The number 6 means “Image, man, beast, flesh, sacrifice, intimacy, finished work, knowledge, sacrificial love, number of man and beast, antichrist, idol, and judgment.”

7 means “completion, perfection, rest, wholeness, completeness, being ripe, order, stability, and holiness. ”

8 means “Literally to “make fat.” New beginnings, not just complete (like seven), but satiated.”

9 means “finality, judgment, harvest, fruitfulness, the womb, duality (good/evil), concealment, truth, loving-kindness, fruit of the Spirit, turning to look upon/gaze, hour of prayer, etc.”

10 means “Divine order, completed cycle, measure, or group (congregation) whether for good or evil, blessing or judgment.”

You can get more information about the meanings of these numbers here.

The other numbers have meanings, too, and it is fascinating to study this other language that God may speak to us through. As we went through our Journey of Fire, it was very encouraging to see signs that He was with us because, frankly, at times, we felt abandoned, as if we were on our own to flounder and guess as to what the will of God was. But He was directing and orchestrating a clear path for us and taking care of us all along.

Make sure that you only study the meanings of numbers from a biblical perspective. Angel numbers and numerology are not of God. They are occult practices that we should avoid completely. Here is a really good blog post about the meaning of numbers with scriptures that apply. We can study the Hebrew meanings of numbers, and we can ask the Lord why He keeps showing us a certain number or series of numbers. From the blog post I referred to: “When seeing numbers, I encourage you to take note what you are doing or talking about at the time as this can be key, or the season you are in.  Importantly, always ask God for yourself what he is saying to you.” I think this is great advice.

He also speaks to us through dreams and visions. If you have never considered this before, start to pay attention to the little things around you, and listen with your spirit – just be quiet for a minute and ask the Lord if He’s trying to say something to you – and you might just get a little message or kiss from God.

Seed Lessons

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As you can see, there are more little seedlings growing in our flower pots. The lessons we are learning about seeds are natural and spiritual. God is teaching us all through these lessons. I study so that I can teach them, and I learn more than I knew before! I love homeschooling!

We have been talking about how an apple tree can grow from a single seed. Then it produces apples which have seeds in them. Then some of those seeds get planted and more apple trees grow which produce apples which have more seeds in them – lots of apples with lots of seeds in them. Just think of the multiplication from that first tiny seed!

And spiritually, the things that we say and do can multiply, too. If we sow good seed – good words, good works, money to help others and to spread the Gospel, we will reap lots of good things in our lives.

Now when the kids say something bad, I tell them, “Ah, that’s bad seed. Don’t let that come out of your mouth.” And they know what I’m talking about.