In the Midst of Torrents

 

Keyboards tap, papers turn, pencils scratch and questions of misunderstanding flow in torrents.  Mom?!  Is coming for three different directions all at the same moment.

The washing machine chugs.  The coffee pot emits a gurgle.

My daughter flits from room to room busy with artistic endeavors. Chatting in her little girl voice about her creativity.

The clock ticks, ticks, ticks, seconds of our morning away.

Coughing erupts from my oldest and my youngest son sniffs incessantly at my elbow.

I lift my coffee to my lips, smell its calming goodness and swallow hot, comforting liquid energy.

For a moment it is quiet.

No questions. No noise. 

I simple, miniscule break in the commotion.

I breathe in deep. And it buoys me.

I can do this. It is my calling.

I can teach.  I can mother.  I can help and answer the calls.

In that moment of quiet God reminded me of why I do this. 

I gaze at my dyslexic son. I watch him as he works through his math. I feel like a ping-pong ball hopping up every couple of minutes to help him decipher.  I know his struggles. I  know the mountains we’ve climbed and the battles we have won.  I see the struggles that still lie ahead waiting to ambush him. 

As I pull my eyes away from him, I see the piles of laundry on the sitting room floor. The floor around the table is strewn with books and pencils. There are cups and rulers, calculators and a breakfast dish or two sitting on the dining room table.  Math books are pushed up against my computer ready for checking. The kitchen sink is calling for my assistance and the coffee pot needs to be shut off.

In the midst of what may look like chaos, there is growth.

And there is joy.

I am shaping lives. I am climbing mountains.

In the midst of distraction and constant questions there is learning.  Deep life changing learning.

Not a surface learning, memorize today; forget tomorrow. 

I can do this.  I want to do this.

I will be an integral part of my children’s lives.  And through our schooling we will make a difference.

I will remember to treasure hearing my name on my children’s lips, even if it is constant.

The washing machine spins to a stop.  The computer fan hums.  Pencils scratch. Papers flutter.

“Hey, mom?” flows like a burbling stream.  The clock ticks. My son hiccups.

I lift my cup to my lips, savor the hazelnut, and swallow.

And in the midst of the torrents I know I am blessed!

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~linked up with:

 

Scavenger Hunt~ 02/26

This weeks items: Crossed, A glimpse, Handwritten, Bliss, Gray

No time to chat this week….busy, busy, busy. But here are my pictures, although I felt it was another uninspiring week.

 

Crossed

Barb wire fence.

 

A Glimpse

Winter has decided to give us a good glimpse of snow this week.

 

Handwritten

I love receiving handwritten notes and so I try to send them out to others. It can really make someone’s day to get a note in their mailbox. Something they can touch, open and enjoy.

Bliss

Red berries making a bold statement on a snowy day

 

exploring the pond in the middle of a snow storm

 

Gray

 

 

Linked up with Ashley:

He Never Lets Go

Life can definitely leave us battered.  We think we are recovering from one trial when BAM! another comes and knocks the breath out of us. 

We feel bombarded.

We try so hard to stay upon the solid ground.  But, we feel attacked from every side, every angle.

Before we know it our foot has started to slip off the side of the sure foundation we are standing on.  Our toes begin to sink. Then our foot disappears in the mire.  Next thing we know we are steadily slipping from the fortress we had been standing on.  We are up to our wastes in worry and despair, clinging to the edge of the fortification with the tips of our fingers.

And our enemy smirks. 

He’s once again got us believing his lies.  He’s filled our minds full of fear and uncertainty. While we focused on his sickly whispers, he’s grabbed us by the ankles.  He’s pulled us down into the grime.  Further and further until we are left gasping.

It may seem a hopeless cause at this point, but remember we still have our fingers wedged into the fortification. Why we seem to hang there for so long I can’t begin to comprehend.  All we need to do is call out, because He never lets go.  Even when we let our feet slip off His place of refuge. Even when we listen to the enemy’s lies.  Even when we’re up to our necks in it. He doesn’t turn His back on us in exasperation. No.  He is right there with His hand out stretched.  All we need to do is call.

 

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered in shame.

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers him from all their troubles.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

He protects his bones, not one will be broken.”         Psalm 34:4-6; 17-20

 

The choice is ours to make. Will we let the trials of this earthly life drag us down into the suffocating mire of our enemy OR will we choose to grab hold of Jesus’ out stretched hand.  He’s willing to pull us back into his protective arms. He desires for us to hold on to Him.  He longs to hear our words. The choice is ours.  We don’t have to struggle on through the pain, fear and anger on our own.

We just need to call out for help and kick off what is yanking us down.  Surrender.

Open our mouths and accept His goodness and mercy.

Because He’s really got this.  And He’s really got that.  And He’s really got all the other things we try to make sense of.

Are you ready?

I am.

I’ve let my foot slip….again.

But, today, I’m claiming victory because Jesus is holding me and I am holding on to HIM! My fortress, my refuge, my Solid Rock.

“On Christ the Solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.” (Edward Mote)

Early Arrival

Scavenger Hunt Items: Love, Duplicated, Trend, Paper, Plastic

Inspiration alluded me this week.  I shot all of these, except for the first one, yesterday morning. As you will see by the repeating background. :)  Maybe next week I’ll be able to get shots that I’m happier with.

 

Love

I love anything that shouts little girl and ballet! Dance on! (archived)

 

Duplicated

This guy must have made his chrysalis on one of my potted plants last summer.  I brought some of them into my mudroom to save them for this summer and you can imagine our surprise when we saw him fluttering in the window two weeks ago.  Poor guy…he’s a a few months early.  I know he won’t make it, but I can’t help feeding him and keeping him “happy” until the end. (As for the prompt…see my orange halves…duplication!)

 

Trend

Oh boy! I almost didn’t join in for the hunt this week because of this prompt! I know nothing about trends! I decided to go with the trend to buy and collect vintage items.

 

Paper

I’m pouring over my seed catalogues. I can’t wait to garden.

 

Plastic

Polly Pockets are a big hit at our house right now!

 

 

Linked up with Ashley:

We Don’t Make It a Big Deal

****meant to have this post up a couple of days ago, but our internet was down. Hoping to catch up with all of you this weekend.****

We don’t usually do much for Valentine’s Day. This year I was just going to let it pass right by and not give it another thought.

My daughter had other plans.

Two weeks before the day even arrived she began making heart cards for all her family members, the widowed, elderly neighbor ladies, her dance teacher, her Sunday School teacher and anyone else who popped into her mind.

I still wasn’t going to do much about the day until Joel asked me what I was doing. He pointed out how excited our daughter was about the day.  Yeah, I had realized this. How couldn’t I when she asked me daily, several times a day, how many days it was until Valentines Day. I finally gave in. If Joel noticed this, being a guy and all, I figured I better put at least a little effort into making the day special for her.

I didn’t get all crazy and go hog wild, but I did do a few things that made her pretty excited. At 7:00am she came into my room and with a sleep thick voice asked me why there were hearts all over the floor.

 

I had laid down a trail of hearts from her bedroom to the dining room. At the end of the trail…a pile of chocolate hearts.

 

I had a little help. At 6:00am this cat is ready to play.  He is nuts and my nice pile of hearts got batted all around the house.

In her room I hung up some dangling heart art in her doorway. That was a big hit.  From the looks of these pictures I’m pretty sure she needs to clean her room! She is such a master of mess.

                  

 

On the dining table was a bit of candy fun.  And what’s better than some fun straws.  Those definitely make your juice taste better in the morning!

 

And to top off the morning….

 

Heart shaped pancakes!

And just so you know I didn’t let them eat all of the candy at once. However, I did discover that my oldest son had his all gone before he even finished his morning session of school.  Sugar Shock! Bad, bad boy.  He should of at least offered me a piece:)

SHHHH! Don’t tell! I might get arrested by the nutritional police.  :) 

At the Last Minute

I had decided since I had been sick half of the week I wasn’t going to do the Scavenger Hunt this week. But, then Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny!  I just couldn’t resist. 

This weeks items:  Facial Feature, Shadow, Spicy, Gold, Fabric

 

Facial Feature

Last Sunday she lost her first tooth! Oh goodness, she’s growing up so quickly.

 

Shadow

Early morning….Brrrr!  I braved 20 degree temps for this shot. Honestly I was going to look for some super cool shadows, but it was just too cold.  I took three shots of this scene then scooted my booty back into the warm house!

 

Spicy

Turmeric, Chili powder, Garam Masala

 

Gold

 

Fabric

I love making these little fabric birds from leftover scraps of fabric that my sisters send my way.

 

Linked up with Ashley:

What’s a Girl to Do?

I thought I had done a pretty good job avoiding the family cold. 

It had hit one victim after another, but I was pretty proud of myself for dodging it until….

Monday morning I was preparing some food for a funeral dinner and making up a big pot of Ham and Bean soup for our dinner later, my mind was whirling on ahead of itself like it so often does.  I grabbed the coffee cup sitting on the counter and took a humongous swig.  Too late.  I realized it was Joel’s coffee not mine.  He was one of the cold victim’s so I immediately turned to the sink and did the most lady like thing I could think of. 

I spit all of the coffee in my mouth down the drain.

The boys laughed.

No laughter came from me. I knew my goose was cooked.

The past 3 days I have been so achey and sinusey (yes, I know spell checker these aren’t words, but they work for me).

BLAH, about sums it up.

I can say though, I am grateful that it isn’t worse.  It could be. That I know. And that I have experienced. Too many times to count.

Today I decided it would be a good day to catch up on laundry. And pick up the house a bit.  Little sister seems to have majored in mess making the past two days. OY!  The older boys have been very helpful with other household chores that needed done. For that I am very thankful

Now, this afternoon I’m going to indulge myself. 

I’ve got a big mug of hot tea waiting and a stack of seed catalogues to drool over.

 

Kleenex are on the ready.

I’ve got my p.j.’s on.

And my warm fuzzy socks are attempting to keep my feet toasty.

 

I’ve got a princess to cuddle.

And my pen is ready.

It’s list making time.

Stutterings of Normalcy

There really isn’t much to say.

I’m dulled.  Lacking in anything clever or inspirational for the moment.

Instead you now will be filled with stutterings of my normalcy.

School is getting done.

Bodies are being fed and watered.

Toilets are scrubbed weekly.

Housecleaning accomplished.

Laundry’s done daily.

Growing and changing done each second.

Life lived in our home, church, community.

Repeat.

While there isn’t much to write about here in the country, (unless you want to read about how the washing machine backed up last week all over the laundry floor, which resulted in my husband going on a major drain investigation) at least not anything gripping, I’m okay with it.  Most often in my mind normal every day is good, real good!

Life is being lived here and we are aiming toward living to the fullest in Christ.

I just recently finished reading “Beautiful Outlaw” by John Eldridge.  WOW! What a book! While I don’t agree with everything he says, I have appreciated getting to know Jesus and who He was and is better. So much so, that I am now reading it to my children. I want them to truly know Jesus in a deep and meaningful way. I know this book will open their eyes and heart like it did mine. To search Jesus out. To see Him with all his personality traits, His humanness and His Godliness. Not the limited Jesus that is often presented in churches.

Although I don’t feel I’m being called to anything amazing right now, just the every day,  I know that in all reality this in itself is an amazing thing.

How easily I forget that.

Writing it brings it to remembrance.

And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. Romans 1:6

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

So no matter how normal my days are and how little I feel there is to share with others, God always can bring something to mind that glows with a hint (or an abundance) of the amazing.

Today it saw it in pears! 

Sounds funny, but looky see…

Pears, anyone?

 

 

Our God, the Creator of pears, is amazing! 

Photo linked up with Ashley:

Dreamy Ballerina

It’s Scavenger Hunt time again….

This weeks items: Strike a Pose, Footwear, Hobby, Shiny, Color Me Green

 

Strike a Pose

My dreamy ballerina! I love this girl!!!!

 

Linked up with:

Footwear

 

Hobby

….Nature Photography, of course, or any photography for that matter!

 

 

Shiny

Marbles

 

Color Me Green

There’s not much around here that is green right now, but I did find this patch of bright green moss the other day surrounded by patches on snow.  I just loved how vibrant it was.

 

 

Linked up with Ashley:

Watercolor Photography

I my I love this new technique I just learned over at Ashley’s!  I can just see some of the photo cards I sell made up with some of these watercolor photos!  OR having some of these printed up to put on my own walls!  Swoon….I’m in love, so glad I learned how to do this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think?  Which one is your favorite?

 

Linked up with Ashley for Tutorial Tuesday.