Turkey
Hats
Apple-bees
Nurses
Kids
Snow
God
Instructors
Victory
Ice cream
Numbers
Goodness
I know I wasn't going to post anymore this week, but I just had to share this. Isaac and Jacob did this acronym today. They struggled with a couple of the letters, but they were eventually able to come up with some great things to to thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
"Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." I Chronicles 29:13
I could go on and on, but my point is that these blessings are year round. I desire to remember all of these and more, even through the rough patches in my life. God has given me so much to be grateful for! When I am feeling down in the dumps or focusing on my pitiful old self, I just try to pull up that list of blessings. I can't wallow in self pity too long when I'm mentally busy counting all the reasons I should be thankful!
"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done." Psalm 105:1
According to this verse not only to I need to be giving thanks, but I need to shout it out. I need to share with others the blessings of our Lord. Oh, I am convicted by this. My world here in the country is small and protected. I don't get out much except for church, homeschool functions, and going to get groceries. I feel restricted in this area. How do I share when the awesomeness of my Savior when my life is so sheltered and circumstances prevent me? I'm ready to share God's blessings with others, but feel limited at this time in my life. How do you shout out God's goodness? Leave me a comment. I would love to hear your ideas.
*I will be taking the rest of this week off to focus on giving thanks with our families. I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving and I will catch up with all of you next week.
Over the past couple of weeks I haven't approached this ole job of mine with much ambition. I have been filled with lack of excitement for mommy/home-maker/wifely duties. I felt stuck and I didn't like to rut I had landed in. I let this build up until I didn't feel like any portion of this job the Lord has given me. I just moped through the days, I didn't really live intentionally. I just kept wishing I could get away even it it was for only 2 hours. Until I read this...
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24
The Lord used these two verses to show me my selfishness. The part that got my attention was that I should be working with all of my heart. Touché. I certainly wasn't doing that. I was going through the motions and doing what needed to be done half-heartedly. I wasn't even close to using my whole heart. I had filled my heart and mind with selfishness. My focus was on myself not the Lord or my family.
Lord,
Help me to serve my family with my whole heart. Forgive me for my selfishness. Help me Lord to remember that when I am doing this job you have given me, not only am I serving my family, but I am serving You. Help me to show my family the love I have for them by being the wife and mother you intend me to be.
..."Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:19-20
Setting: Occupied Holland during World War II
"The Germans are going to take away our dog", sobbed Joris. "She'll have to go to Germany and I'll never see her again!"...
"I don't understand God," Joris went on rebelliously. "Why doesn't He stop the Germans? Why does He let them go on and on, doing awful things to people when He is almighty and could stop them?"
Here was a theological problem. Father Kobus sat down to it, pushing into the pew beside Joris.
"How would you like God to stop them?" he asked.
"He could kill them all," said Joris fiercely. There was a silence. Joris heard his own words echo through the church and they frightened him.
"You mean, you want God to kill all the fathers and mothers, the babies and the little girls and boys, the old grandfathers, the artists and the people who make songs...just because they are Germans?" Father Kobus asked gently. It was Joris' own argument, used against him!
"No, no," he said hastily, "I did not mean that."
"Then what do you expect God to do?"
"Well, He could kill Hitler and all those awful people who started the war," argued Joris.
"And not give them the chance to be sorry, to save their souls?" asked Father Kobus. Joris had not thought of that. ...
"Well?" asked Father Kobus.
"Could He not as least make the Allies win?" Joris asked.
"He will, He will," the priest assured him. "They are winning. But it won't solve anything for long. Wars never do. The evil is inside, and has to be conquered inside. That is where God works. It is in your heart that the Lord will conquer." ...
"Then there is another thing," Father Kobus went on. "If God interfered too much with us, we would not be free. You have a dog. Would you like it if she only followed you when you dragged her by a rope?"
Joris' eyes lit up. "She doesn't," he cried. "She follows me everywhere because she wants to. She looks for me when I'm away. She watches me when I go to school, with her front paws on the windowsill, and once, when I had a cold and couldn't go out, she lay at the foot of my bed all day long!" Joris' triumphant voice rang through the church.
"Hush, child, hush, said Father Kobus, smiling a little. "I can see that your dog loves you. And it is the way God wants us to love Him. He wants us to follow Him out of our own free will."
This exerpt taken from The Winged Watchman by Hilda Von Stockum, spoke so clearly to me I just had to share it with you. Sometimes it is difficult to explain to my children why bad things happen. When I read this I knew I now had the perfect answer to why God lets evil people live. Father Kobus' reply to Joris will now be my stronghold. I won't flounder when my children raise their sad, questioning eyes to me in confusion. I'll be able to answer honestly and precisely, "It's because God cares for their souls. He wants them to be sorry for their sins. He wants them to follow Him, because they love Him. He wants to give everybody the chance to know His abundant love and glory."
"Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." I Peter 1:8
There are days (few and far between, thankfully) when I don't feel like being a mom. I know shocking, but true. Those are the days when I wish I could change my job title. Because if I have to hear one more "M-O-M, I need, or I want, or can you....", I'm going to implode. Really! I feel overwhelmed by trying to do all and be all.
When I'm having a hard day and I'm stuck down in the trenches, trying to claw my way out, I try to take some time to refocus. Because lets face it, if I don't I'll turn into a she-monster that nobody will recognize.
Here are a few things I do to help ease my feeling of over taxation:
How do you handle those days when you feel like running out the back door and not looking back?
To find out how other homeschool moms cope with doing it all, head to Homeschool Memoirs.
"Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being? declares the Lord..."
Isaiah 66:2
I took this picture this summer of a Monarch butterfly that my children and I raised from a caterpillar. After it had hatched from its chrysalis and dried its wings, I set it out on this Aster in my garden. I think this picture captures the amazing beauty of God's creation. The intricacies, colors and design of God's earth is amazing and testifies to his glory.
For more Wordless Wednesdays visit 160 Acrewoods
Stephanie at Simple Midwest Mom and "Wilma" at Little Toes and Cheerios sent this award my way. It acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Thanks Stephanie for choosing me!
I started reading Stephanie's blog about a month ago. I have enjoyed reading her perspective on being a mom, wife and just life in general. I enjoy making new blogging friends and I'm glad to call Stephanie one of them.
The rules are to send this award to 15 other bloggers. Well, since I just sent out an award recently I decided I better just leave this as an open call. If you read my blog and would like to use this award on yours, just consider yourself awarded, because I think you are all great!
Today's theme At the Well is- Getting to Know You- the goal for this post is to share with other ladies about yourself so that we can know more about one another.
Want to know more about the ladies who gather At the Well visit Chelsey at Joyfully Living for His Glory.
This is one of my families favorite fall recipes. There's never a drop left when I set this on the table!
10 cups peeled baking apples (about 8 medium)
1/4-1/2 cup sugar- depending on tartness of apples
2 Tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, cubed
Place apples in a 2 1/2-qt. oven safe dish. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; sprinkle over apples and toss to coat. Dot with butter. Cover and cook in 350 degree oven 30-40 minutes depending on how soft or crunchy you want your apples. You can also do this in the microwave. Cover dish and microwave on high for 15 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring every 5 minutes.
~This week has blessed us with 70 degree, blue sky, gorgeous weather. We couldn't pass these days up spent inside, especially since the normal high for this time of year is 45 degrees. So, we headed over to glean the cornfields after my dad harvested them. We took a couple hours off from school and gathered the corn that the combine missed. Our bunnies will be grateful for these treats this winter. And we got to enjoy the beauty of God's earth.
~Potty training isn't for the weak. Enough said.
~The time change is working against me. Crabbiness, whining, bickering, eating and sleeping schedules altered and that's just me, you should see the kids! Let's just say life is a bit skewed around here right now.
~On the plus side, we spend more time together in the evenings. Since it gets dark so early we are all inside to stay after dinner. Some nights we may just all grab books and read them. Or we may all gather in the master bedroom and watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Other nights it becomes a wrestle/tickle fest, in which I become the referee.
~Yesterday, Isaac had the opportunity to spend the day with his uncle who is a carpenter. His uncle and him went to build a chicken coop for a friend from our church. It was a a great learning experience. Isaac and his buddy Sam did all the measuring and lugging of materials. What better way to reinforce fractions.
~Raising a two-year-old is like trying to overthrow a dictator. Lauren is in the midst of her reign of terror. Little does she know, I have the upper hand. I have successfully subdued the last 3 overbearing tyrannists who have roamed this household!
*This post is political in nature. It is not my intention to upset anyone or demean anyone for the choices they may have made during this election. These are my opinions and what I believe, stated to the best of my ability.
As a child I never took much interest in politics. A President was elected, served his term and another took his place without much notice from me. Congressmen were voted on, proposals were passed or failed, political issues were discussed, all without my knowing. Politics didn't make sense to me (a good portion of it still doesn't) and at that age I didn't really care.
With my sons it is different, they have shown great interest in the election process. Maybe it is because Joel and I talk freely about politics in front of them. Or maybe it is because they are really listening closely. I don't remember my parents discussing politics with us as children, but I talk with them about it now. So, its quite possible I just didn't listen close when they were talking about elections. Maybe its just that this election held such hot topics. There was always something to debate and mull over. Whatever the case may be, my kids were involved. And will always remember this election which would make history, whomever won.
They knew who they wanted to win. They may not have understood all of the beliefs of each candidate, but they knew enough. They knew they wanted a certain proposal in our state to fail. They were so concerned about these issues that they started taking their own poll. Whenever we went somewhere they would count the signs in yards, keeping a tally. They were always pleased that their guy came out on top. In their minds it was a shoe-in.
Last night before they went to bed they pleaded with me to wake them when I knew the results. We settled on as soon as I woke up in the morning, for the much awaited announcement.
This morning there was disappointment at our house. Everything and everyone whom they wanted to win didn't. But, it provided an amazing discussion and learning experience.
We talked about God's will and His plan for our nation. About how we can't possibly know the plans God has, but that it will all work out for His glory. I tied our present situation, to the kings of Israel in Biblical times, who we are studying. I reminded them how God allowed some kings to rule who didn't follow God's leading because it was God's plan for the nation of Israel. Mr. Obama may not hold to all of our beliefs, but God has a plan for him and our nation. 1 Most importantly we discussed the importance of praying for our new President elect, his family and his advisors.
"But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations" Psalm 33:11
