Posted in Home life
|
"'Twas the day before turkey and all through the house..." It's fun to imagine the flurry of cooking going on across the country today. I'm making special dinner rolls to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow with friends, along with homemade peach-orange marmalade. With no family in town, we're thankful we can share the day with others. I got a turkey for us, too, which I'll do on Friday along with some of the trimmings. After all, those leftovers are nearly as good as the original all weekend! And, of course, being thankful is the focus here, right? I am! Thankful for a warm home and running water, hot showers and plenty of food. For my beloved husband and daughter, for our dear extended families, for our country and its freedoms, for our church family, for homeschooling, for God's incredible Word and Life within, for His lavish goodness! I am so blessed. May your holiday be marked with peace and joy, and a setting aside of all that troubles or makes you anxious. And may a new sense of God's great love for you permeate your heart and thoughts! |
Posted in Musings and soapboxes
|
This is one of those things I really dislike--finding a new church. It's like moving; you leave behind old friends and connections, have to go through the whole adjustment to a new body and how they do things, try to find the right classes for everyone, and forge new relationships. Sometimes the reasons for leaving a church are unpleasant or hurtful, leaving you aching and cautious. And inevitably you leave behind some good things that can make you wonder if you did the right thing. Well, we've moved on to a new church without all that! It's been an amazing experience, peaceful and full of blessing. For several years we've gone to a very large church, a wonderful one, but this last year it was becoming obvious that things were changing for us, not the least of which was SweetPea. She found she really disliked the youth culture/youth group and got involved as a Sunday School helper instead. While that's good experience, we were concerned at the lack of spiritual input from her church experience, as well as a rather jaded attitude we saw in her about church in general. We weren't really thinking about changing churches, but the Lord had other plans. Due to some health issues I have had for a few months, our attendance over the summer was sketchy, and when fall rolled around, on a whim we decided to visit a nearby small church a homeschool friend attended. It was wonderful, an unexpected joy. Mature leadership, Spirit-filled teaching and worship, and a very loving body who welcomed us with open arms. And SweetPea loved it! After her first time in the tiny youth group, she said, "Mom, we actually use our Bibles!" Within weeks we were marvelling at God's wisdom and timing. Most of the families in this church are homeschoolers with their own support group and activities. I began to realize how isolated I had been feeling in the large church, and with our families living out of state, how I really missed the family aspect of church life. It's a vigorous body, full of vision and outreach. And they remember our names! Anyway, it's been such a refreshing and unexpected change. Best of all in my book is the eagerness I see in SweetPea--she can't wait until Sunday. She's digging into the Word, hungry for God, and soaking it all up like a dry sponge. And it might even be that the Lord will have opportunity for her to use her piano skills, something which couldn't have happened for years yet in the large church. And all without striving and angst on our part. What a blessed relief. And what a profound reminder that Jesus is our Shepherd. He's charting the path ahead of us, planning loving and good things to surprise us with--all wrapped in Peace. Wow. I'm overwhelmed at His goodness, at His thoughtful and tender care. |
Posted in Musings and soapboxes
|
One of the interesting things I've observed about our daughter growing up is how her changing stages affect the functionality of our home. Just when I have the rooms of the house organized, and furniture set to meet needs in each room, and shelves, drawers, and closets in good order, I wake up one morning and realize that "we" have moved on and need a whole new 'functionality.' So today I'm looking in our schoolroom--which only a few months ago was 'set' for the next five years (ha!)--and I realize that SweetPea is hardly ever in here! With a new desk in her room, that is where she chooses to do school. Or curled up on the couch. Or sprawled on the floor somewhere. I suddenly notice that bins of crayons and markers, stacks of construction paper, math manipulatives, and other elementary-years stuff, won't probably be needed anytime soon. (Do high schoolers still color?) Which means that maybe I can put away some of these irrelevant items and move some of my sewing stuff from the dark and unappealing basement to this lovely, bright room! It's a sad thought and a happy one. I thought homeschooling would go on forever, that in some distant decade I would have time to focus once again on 'my' stuff. While I'm loving SweetPea's independence in her studies, with only one offspring in the house, it means we're steadily moving toward being done. Homeschooling has defined our life for so long that I quaver at the thought of the changes being done will bring. But as with other major changes in my life, I must remember that each season of life God gives me, His favor and blessing and high purpose will cover it. I can choose to see this coming changes as part of the adventure of living, under the masterful hand of the One who defined my life before the foundation of the world. So I'm going to enjoy sewing in this happy room and savor every minute of this wonderful time with my beloved SweetPea. Thank You, Lord! |
Posted in Homeschooling
|
A fun week on the way...no school! One of those privileges of homeschooling. We started school early in August to be able to take some time off during the year, this week being one of them. My beloved aunt, who is like a big sister to me, is coming to visit from AZ and we're gonna play. I'm looking forward to endless cups of tea and some rollicking laughter. I don't know if it's our chemistry or what, but my aunt and I can laugh till we're crying. I'm due for some of that! She is one of the neatest people I know and one of my all-time heroes. (She was The Agent that introduced my beloved Hubby to me!) She had a long career in missions, serving in South and Central America, retired now, but still full of the joy and zeal of the Lord. I'm glad SweetPea is going to have the chance to just soak her up this week and glean some treasures. And wouldn't you know it...we're welcoming her with SNOW! We're due for some tomorrow and more later in the week. Seems too early somehow. Ah, well, once our yard is really cleaned up from fall leaves (they're still falling), then we can go into "cozy" mode indoors. We just finished reading Escape Across the Wide Sea as a read-aloud. It follows a French Huguenot family in the mid-1600s who have to escape religious persecution and end up on a very long journey to freedom. While the book was neither really long or deep, it was a very compelling story, based on a true story. We learned about the slave trade, sugar plantations in the West Indies, and how the French Christians finally found a place to put down roots in America. A good story--I'd recommend it!
|
Posted in Home life
|
Funny the small drama that played out around me on my walk yesterday. The wind, though not cold, blew and blustered around me in fits and gusts, no rhyme or reason to its direction. It blew and drove clouds of gold, red, and brown leaves about my feet, rattling and dancing and scuttling and swirling across the road in front of me. Trees bent to its invisible force, releasing their burden of colored leaves in showers about me, looking for all the world like flocks of birds scattering in wild array across the crystal blue Colorado sky.
The scene sparkled with action and color and aliveness. Neighbors raked and tried to keep up with the piles-in-the-making, and in the distance I could hear the drums of a high school marching band practicing for a game...homecoming, maybe? How good to be able to walk and smell and hear and see all the richness about me. How good to see the Lord's hand everywhere. He loves fall, too. A wonderful time of year! |
Posted in Home life
|
...literally! We've had a few days of very cold weather, freezing temps at night, and a lot of our leaves have simply fallen off en masse, without the beautiful golds or oranges. Just a dead, blah, greenish-brown. For those trees that didn't succumb to the cold, I'm hoping for a few weeks of Indian summer now so we can have some color to enjoy. Had a fun visit from my sis and her husband this weekend, and though we had to bundle up against the chilly temps, it was cozy with a fire in the fireplace, an old movie, and some fun hanging out. We don't have any of our families living nearby so it's always quite a treat when any of them visit. My brother-in-law put me onto a free Bible software program, E-Sword. In case you've never heard of it--wow. It's amazing! You can download it here. Most of the resources are free: Bibles, dictionaries, commentaries, graphics, etc., though some require purchase. It has some great functionality, though; definitely worth checking out. Thankful today for the grace of God that has given us all things to enjoy richly. |
Posted in Home life
|
This was one of those 'satisfying' weekends. We took a drive through the mountains to see the fall colors, marvelling again at the stupendous scope of God's handiwork. Smells, vistas, reds, yellows, oranges...wow. Amazing and utterly refreshing. Come fall two things always happen to me...I want to cook and I want to sew. So I had a happy afternoon doing both. Made Swedish meatballs and creamed potatoes for last night's dinner, (recipe for the meatballs is on my Healthy Living blog), and sewed up a couple of little fleece dog jackets for Sadie the dog. She's a short-hair and gets cold so easily. Fleece was easy--doesn't need hemming and I just sewed velcro on for closures. Fun. We're well into another of Genevieve Foster's great history books in our school studies, George Washington's World. We just love these books! Sonlight's Core 6 had two of them, Augustus Ceasar's World, and Colombus and Sons, and we have yet to read Abraham Lincoln's World in the second half of Core 7. Captivating reading, story-style, well-written. I love how she weaves the random threads of history as we've learned it with stories of real people and their lives. SweetPea is enjoying a creative writing program we got right here at the Old Schoolhouse Store, "Reach for the Stars," written by Susan Marlowe. It's a great intro into the basic components of fiction writing--characterization, show-don't-tell, plot development, vivid description, etc. It's a nice balance to the heavier school assignments for my young authoress! Glad for a nice weekend, glad to be back to our routine tomorrow. |
Posted in Devotional
|
In case you're tired and feeling like you can't pull it together for another week, here's good news! In the Great Exchange, the Lord gives us His strength for our weakness. I'm drinking at this well today! "The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace." Ps. 29:11 "Your God has commanded your strength; strengthen, O God, what You have done for us." Ps. 68:28 "Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'" Joel 3:10 "...the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold." Neh. 8:10 (Amplified) "As for God, His way is perfect...It is God Who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." Ps. 18:30, 32 "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." Ps. 27:14 "He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength--causing it to multiply and making it abound...those who wait for the Lord...shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired." Is. 40:29, 31 (Amp) "As your day, so shall your strength, your rest and security be." Deut. 33:25 (Amp) "...through the greatness of His might, and because He is strong in power, not one is missing or lacks anything." Is. 40:26b "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13 "For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved; in quietness and in (trusting) confidence shall be your strength." Is. 30:15 (Amp) "God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect." II Sam. 22:33 Be blessed this week in His strength! |
