NEEDED help for Single Mom

My name is Julie Sky and I have quite a need.  I am a Christian single mother and also a flight attendant based out of Colorado Springs.  I do not have family here and I have lost my sitter.  I home school my 13 yr. old daughter and our former babysitter was a homeschooler who homeschooled my daughter when I worked along with her other children.  Well, due to financial reasons she had to return to work and I lost my sitter.  What I need is a Christian family who homeschools to watch my daughter.  She already has her work and does not need to be personally taught.  She is a great Christian young lady who is polite, respectful, and kind.  We are moving from Breckenridge and I will need someone by this weekend.  The situation is critical as I will need a sitter for 2 trips this month.  I normally fly 3 trips a month and am gone a total of 9 days out of the month.  I have my schedule a month ahead of time so there are no surprizes.  If I cannot find a sitter for my daughter I will lose my job and we will be in trouble.  Could you please help me find a family who would be willing to help us?  The need is great. Please call me at your earliest convenience.  Julie Sky,  303-720-8125 or julieeaglesky1@yahoo.com.  

A Letter from HSLDA: December 2009

As former homeschool moms, we remember how December was usually full of activities that competed with school time. Church play rehearsals, Christmas concerts, get-togethers with relatives, crafting special gifts, and other events eat up time. Don't feel guilty about cutting back on course assignments by eliminating 3–5 problems from each math lesson, scaling back on composition writing, or skimming over a chapter in history. Also, look for academic content in the holiday activities in which your teens participate. For example, count that concert attendance as part of a music course, incorporate family seasonal reading time into the literature class, and log the hours your teen spends Christmas caroling as part of her community service. You’ll see that these activities then become a part of your schooling for December instead of being perceived as distractions from school.
We also recommend that you take extra care to maintain control over your calendar during the holidays. Be purposeful in scheduling time of relaxation for you and your teens. Plan some evenings when everyone will be at home together and you can enjoy hot chocolate and a Christmas movie classic or enjoy reading Scripture or singing Handel’s Messiah! The many wonderful opportunities available during the holidays will require deliberate restraint to guard against exhaustion. Taking a hard look at the calendar before it becomes overloaded will reap good fruit.

                                   

Did you know studies show that discouragement and despair are heightened during the holiday season? The majority of us have experienced this firsthand. The main reason tends to be unmet expectations. We envision and expect a perfect holiday with no personal conflicts, no financial concerns, and no lack of cooperation from teens. When this scenario fails to present itself, we are disappointed.
In order to refocus your thoughts, make an honest assessment of your expectations for the holidays and ask the Lord for wisdom in knowing which ones He would have you release to Him. If relations with extended family are strained, consider spending quiet time in prayer for these relatives asking the Lord to give you grace to cope with them.
If your teen’s lack of cooperation is more evident during the holidays, take great care not to respond in anger but to ask the Lord for an opportunity each day to encourage your teen or to tell him that you love him. The Lord may use these kindnesses to change his heart.
If money for gift giving is non-existent, focus on giving gifts of time and abilities. For example, have each family member make a coupon book for others in the family. A teen might present a coupon to a sibling that offers to make his bed for a month. A mom can give out coupons to each child for a batch of homemade cookies. Other coupons could provide time for a hike or walk in the park or making a special meal. Another suggestion came from a mom whose son had very little money to spend on gifts, so she asked him to memorize a poem from Valley of Vision (a collection of Puritan prayers). When he recited it to her from memory, it was music to her ears; and it represented a love gift of time from her son. Perhaps there is a passage or chapter in Scripture that your teen could memorize for you—it doesn’t cost a penny, but it is a heartfelt gesture.
Here are some additional ideas to fend off low spirits and melancholy you may feel during December. Make a priority of staying in the Word of God—no matter how busy you are! You can’t be refreshed if you aren’t drinking in and meditating on truth. Perhaps you’ll want to purchase a special Christmas devotional for the month to do with your teens or perhaps schedule time to read over the Christmas story as a family. During your homeschool day, play Christmas carols as background music. These songs are rich in lyrics, beautiful in melody, and they will set a wonderful atmosphere in your home.
You and your teens may enjoy planning a simple way to bless someone less fortunate. It may be purchasing gifts for Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree ministry or for a family in your neighborhood or church who is experiencing difficult times this season. Other ideas include baking cookies and delivering them to volunteer fire departments, visiting the elderly in nursing homes as your teen uses his or her musical talents to brighten the residents’ day, or setting aside a few extra minutes during each school day to pray for specific servicemen and women who will be spending Christmas far away from friends and family.

                                  

The holidays accentuate heartaches. If you are in the midst of a particularly painful time, we extend our sympathies to you. We offer you the hope that the Lord is your provider, redeemer, and restorer. He carries you on His heart because He is the healer of broken hearts. Whatever your situation, you are not alone. The Lord promises to give you comfort, so cry out to Him and seek His face.
If you are fortunate not to be experiencing grief this holiday season, ask the Lord for awareness of those in the homeschooling community who may desire help, solace, or comfort. Your involvement may be to open your home for some needed fellowship, to open your wallet to meet a particular financial necessity, or to open the Word of God and share an encouragement verse by way of a personal note.
If you don’t know of anyone needing help and feel so led, consider making a donation to the Home School Foundation, an affiliate of the Home School Legal Defense Association that channels donations to homeschooling families in want.

We encourage you to pray diligently during December so that exhaustion, discouragement, and disappointment will not be the hallmarks of your holiday season! May the Lord give you an abundance of joy and peace as you celebrate His birthday. He is the perfect gift coming down from the Father of lights. 
- HSLDA

"In Bethlehem Inn" Christmas Play

Of course you know the story, it’s Christmas!

You know Joseph and Mary, you know Herod;

you even know the donkey…

But what about the poor Innkeeper?

Does anyone have a heart for the poor, maligned Innkeeper?

Now you get to hear the “rest of the story”…

“In Bethlehem Inn” 

In Bethlehem Inn is a dinner theater, where the dinner guests have fun experiencing a fine Middle-Eastern meal while being enveloped in the historical events of that evening over 2000 years ago.  The members of the cast perform their parts, which includes serving the meal and making the guests feel right at home – their home that is, in 0 B.C Bethlehem.  He has taken in all he can and is trying to manage the food and sleeping accommodations (Holiday Inn this is NOT), with help from his servants, whose help is sometimes more of a hindrance.  As one of them notes – “you get what you pay for”!  Of course, there is one more person who arrives looking for lodging for himself and his wife, but there is simply no more room.  The rest, as they say, is His-story!

This is a wonderful experience that lands you in a familiar story, but really IN the story.  Have fun conversing with your servers, your hosts, and your fellow members of the tribe of Judah while enjoying a wonderful Middle-Eastern meal!

 

 
4905 W. 60th Ave (around back)
Arvada, CO
December 10, 12 at 6:30, 12 at 2:00
December 17, 18, 19 at 6:30, 19 at 2:00
Call for tickets:  303-456-6772  303-456-6772
Or go online and visit here
 
 
Ticket prices include the meal described above…
Single Tickets                                                              $25.00
Senior Discount Tickets                                               $22.00
Group Tickets (per group of 8 – a table)                           $160.00
Exclusive Evening (maximum of 64 people)                    $1000.00

Merry Christmas from the Denver Eagles

Please join us for
Denver Eagles Alumni Games
Come support your Denver Eagles, enjoy a reunion with your former teammates and bless Open Door Ministries! Bring out your Rec League players (Eaglets!) and let them see what their futures can hold by watching our current and past Eagles compete.

To replace our admission fee this year, we've decided to work with Open Door Ministries and share the gifts that we have received. They need some sporting equipment for their daycare center, as well as daily needs, and we thought that would fit well, with us being a Christian sports organization. Please see the list below and prayerfully consider what you can contribute individually or as a family!

We also discovered that the daughter of the lady we're working with used to play for the Denver Eagles!
·Date: Monday, December 21st

·Alumni Player Fee: $20
Sign up online at DenverEagles.org
Confirmation of registration upon receipt of payment
If enough players sign up, we will add a Double Alumni game at 5pm
Winner will play the current Varsity girls or boys team at 6:15 or 7:30pm.

·Location:
Colorado Christian University
8787 W Alameda Avenue
Lakewood, CO 80226

·Admission: To benefit Open Door Ministries
Please see the list below.

·Schedule:
Possible Double Alumni Game 5pm
Girls game 6:15pm
Guys game 7:30pm

·Concessions available for dinner

Admissions to benefit Open Door Ministries, see here.


Please use your discretion in what you contribute.
Every donation is appreciated so much!

*Non-perishable food items
*Cash donation to purchase equipment

Basketballs (outdoor) several
Soccer balls
disc golf disc (150 grams and lighter)
field cones
pool table
table tennis table
water bottles for each child (55)
indoor nerf basketball and hoop
dodge balls
T-ball stand
small nerf balls
lightweight plastic baseball bat
large (basketball size) nerf ball
any other indoor sports equipment

Sincerely,
The Denver Eagles Board of Directors....Have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! Remember Jesus Is The Reason For The Season. May God Bless you and your famliy during this Holiday Season.