Last week I shared about the blog awards, and about a dear homeschooling Mom who has a brain tumor, (you can send a love offering through this link, for her trip to the Mayo Clinic) and about some of the struggles we personally are having here at home.

Life is a series of ups and downs, isn't it? We were truly never promised a rose garden, although we seem to have one, thorns and all!

In the 23rd Psalm, David talks about us walking in the valley of the shadow of death. We aren't walking in the valley of death, just in a place where there is a shadow. This week we saw the shadows all around us from the school shooting in VA. Some of you reading this might have had the shadow actually touch their lives. To me, it was merely a shadow in this sometimes valley that I walk in.

But in order for there to be valleys, there must be mountain tops too. Some days we are up on the top, some days we are down in the valley. Some days we go from one to the other in rapid succession, repeatedly.

But no matter where we are, God is with us. He is the one who allowed us to walk this valley. He is also the one who allows us to climb the mountain top! And what are we supposed to do up there? Shout! Give Him the praise.

And what about when we are walking where the shadows fall? Do we hush? Do we cower? No, we shout. We let everyone know that we will not be shaken, we will not be moved. God has given us the path to walk. We must listen, obey and then give Him the praise for the outcome.  No matter what it is.

All things work for the good of those who are called according to His purposes!

We have had a little experiment going on here at the home front. We have been confronting the "provoking" going on between parents and children, siblings and by golly, even the pets! Sunday's sermon/lecture, as the kids called it, was on 1 Corinthians 13, otherwise known as the "Love" chapter. I was mentioning that there wasn't a whole lot of lovin' going on around here.....at least not that you could recognize.

Anyway, my 10 year old daughter got us some red yarn and said we could tie some on our fingers as a reminder to "not be easily provoked." I thought it was a worthwhile experiment. Of course, there are a lot of other behaviors to deal with, rudeness, impatience, etc., but we feel that the provoking, or anger issue, is a main root we need to dig out and destroy.

We realize that God's Holy Spirit indwelling us will take care of these issues, but also we must do our part. We have to develop habits, and un-develop others habits. With His help of course.

You know that old saying, (Benjamin Franklin's) "The Lord Helps Those Who Help Themselves?" Well, It's not found in the Bible, but it does have some merit. We have to get up off our mat and walk, so to speak. God does help those who act in faith.

So Here I was with this wonderful little red yard bow on my finger on Monday. It was so bothersome, that it did indeed help me to speak more softly, more kindly, kind of the way I would like to be treated. You know, the "Golden Rule."

But by the end of the day, it had fallen off.

At least two of my children tied theirs around there ankle.....like that was really going to be a good reminder. Ha! Then on Tuesday I completely forgot about it and was back to my old "yeller" self. Sigh.

Wednesday, well, I wish I could have tied the silly thing around my tongue to keep from saying things I shouldn't have. Argh!

So should I just give up? Nope. I think I will keep trying. Whether I have my "bow" reminder or not, I know that I have my Lord always, and since He won't give up on me, I don't think I will give up on myself. Even though I might feel like it at times,

I walk by faith, and not by sight, and even if I am in the valley, it is because the Lord said "here is the way, walk."

Happy Homeschooling!

Nancy

Nancy Baetz is a homeschooling mom of four children with red bows on their fingers, or an ankle.  You can find her blogging once or twice a week over at her personal blog:  Homeschooling Is Life!   She hopes you will stop by and leave her a word or two.  She promises to try to not be provoked!