After many months of work behind the scenes we are finally ready to launch our new site. I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t tell you that I am on pins and needles wondering if others will enjoy what we have created. I am having trouble forming coherent sentences that describe what I’m thinking and feeling, so maybe it’s best if I just stop. I hope that you will take a moment to drop by Homeschooling Simply and leave us a note.

It has been painfully obvious that I have be absent a great deal from this blog over the last couple of months. I have been working behind the scenes getting my homeschooling blog ready for launch with the goal of launching it later this week. We’re getting antsy and excited as the launch approaches. Much like you would feel with the impending birth of a baby. I guess it is much like my baby because I have put incalculable hours into it’s development and birth.

Rachel has been helping me a great deal with the technical side of things. This has been a learning adventure for the two of us. We have worked with some tools that have made building this site easier than it has been to build our sites in the past. There have been many hours of considering options and trying out new things, only to undo the work we just did because it didn’t work like we wanted. We are happy with the results we are seeing, though I don’t know that we will ever be content with it. I think we will always see things that we could tweak. After we finish the homeschooling site, we are going to re-work our evangelism site as well.

Hannah created the header image for me which took a great deal of work and creativity. Part of that is because we were working with what we had on hand. We don’t have a lot of fancy lighting equipment, so we relied on natural lighting which in turn meant we could only shoot pictures during a very small window of time. She did the editing in Photoshop Elements which is a very basic editing program. It did allow her to edit the image and take my idea, expand on it and create something better than I had imagined.

Caroline has been helping me with varying tasks around the house, and just generally wherever I needed it. This has allowed me to do lots of research in design and content. Without all of their help I wouldn’t have been able to do all that I have on the site.

Gene will be writing on the site with me. His main focus will be encouraging fathers/husbands. He won’t write as often as I do, due to time constraints from work. He will also be helping me in product development. We have a couple of things that we are already developing and hope to get out in the next few months.

In the midst of trying to get all of this done, we have also had the Semper Reformanda conference and these last two weeks everyone except me has had an upper respiratory virus. Things have been slower going toward the launch than I would have liked, but things all work out in their time.

Be sure to check back later in the week, and hopefully I will have the launch announcement up!

Last weekend at the Semper Reformanda conference I was able to hear Paul Washer speak in person for the first time. I have been listening to him preach for about 5 years, but I must say that watching him in person was very different for me. In one of the sessions he spoke about being a slave to Christ. The word pictures he created really stuck in my mind and I have spent most of the week contemplating them.

The term bond-servant is defined as, “a slave”, “one who gives himself up to another’s will”, “those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men” and “devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.” In Ex 21:5-6 the example is given of a servant who willing stays indentured to his master, having his ear pierced with an awl demonstrating his permanent servitude.

How could Paul (Rom 1:1 & Titus 1:1), Peter (2 Peter 1:1) and James (James 1:1) all call themselves bond-servants? Haven’t we been told that we have liberty and freedom in Christ? Does Christ truly expect us to be His slaves? The answer to both of those questions is, yes. We have liberty and freedom in Christ . . . freedom from the bondage of sin. Christ does want us to give ourselves up for His will. In Luke 9:23 we are told to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and to follow Him. That doesn’t really sound like a suggestion of something we might want to consider. If we look at the first part of that verse it begins with, “Then he said to them all, “If anyone would come after me. . . ” Jesus was plainly stating that in order to be followers of His, we are to deny ourselves.

I have been asking myself some questions all week.

“Do I act as a bond-servant or a slave who wants to escape?”

“Do I serve Him willingly?”

“Where do I focus my attention?”

“Where is my joy?”

“What do people see in me?”

The answers to some of these questions change moment by moment. My hope is that I will continue to ask myself these questions in an effort to keep my focus where it needs to be.

I am a slave of Jesus Christ. My desire is to serve Him with all that I am and with all that I have. I don’t have a Master who is beating me about the head to force me to obey. My service is willing, and paltry in comparison to what He has done for me. I fail Him daily, but He is a loving Master who is quick to forgive.

I am no longer a slave to sin, but a slave to Christ alone! I freely and joyfully put on the chains of servitude, out of gratitude!

Many times I have asked myself this very question. Do I write out of vanity and pride, or is there a deeper purpose? Many think that writing online should be abandoned because at times conflicts arise due to a misunderstanding or just a plain difference of opinion. I must admit that there have been times after certain conflicts that I have considered throwing in the towel. Then I will ask myself the above question.

The first and foremost reason that I write is to proclaim the gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world. Through this medium I am truly able to witness around the world. I have had many visitors from countries where the freedom to spread the gospel is limited. I can’t remember all of the countries, but I do remember that there were several from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. Another wonderful thing about writing online is the ability to share the gospel, even when I’m sleeping. While proclaiming the gospel of Christ I also want to shine a light on the many false teachings that are prevalent today. Many people are being taught a gospel that is unidentifiable when compared to the scriptures, and this is a very real concern for me. I’m not a great theologian by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to use the understanding and knowledge the Lord had given me to bring glory to Him.

Another reason I write is to encourage other women. The world today bombards women with false images of who and what they should be. I want to take my little corner of the world to shine a light on being the women that scripture illustrates. I want to encourage women in their roles as keepers of their homes and as wives and mothers. I want to remind them that they are to focus on Christ in all that they do, and our actions should be borne out of a love for Him.

I also write so that my thoughts will be recorded for future generations. None of us are promised tomorrow and it would be presumptuous to assume that I will be around to share my thoughts and experiences with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I want them to hear about Christ from my words.

I don’t believe I am a great writer by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, commas and I really don’t get along well. My goal with my writing isn’t to gain accolades for my ability, but to constantly shine a light on Christ.

We have been working behind the scenes to create a new homemaking blog. For several years we have had Keeth Family Homemaking, but since we are entering a new phase of life, we decided to begin a new homemaking blog as well. The new blog is Joyful Homemakers. The authors will be Hannah, Rachel, Caroline and myself. We hope to share recipes, household hints, and other homemaking adventures with you. I don’t know about you, but around my house, homemaking is often adventurous. We hope you will drop by and leave us a note to let us know you visited.