"I must not think it strange if God takes in youth those whom I would have kept on earth till they were older. God is peopling Eternity, and I must not restrict Him to old men and women." Jim Elliot, 1950
Last Monday we heard the news that a local boy named Alex, who was working at a Christian camp for the summer, drowned. I didn't know him, but he was known and loved by many of our friends and is being mourned. People all over the county and beyond are surrounding his grieving family with love and tears and prayer, just as many friends did for my own family not long ago.
In the middle of July 2007, my nephew Nathan was killed in an accident near his home in Kansas. Had he lived, this month he would have celebrated his 25th birthday. I think about Nathan all the time and miss him more than I can describe. That missing often leads me back down the same road in my finite mind: why did the Lord allow that horrible accident to happen? The simple answer is that there is no answer-this side of eternity, at least. But the pain of his absence has served to give me a new longing for heaven. I'm ashamed to admit that for most of my life I have been quite content with rooting myself to this earthly existence. I used to rarely give heaven, or the idea of heaven, a passing thought. Sure I wanted to want to be with Jesus, but until recently I didn't understand how to long to be in His presence. I know now what if feels like to long to see a beloved face again. And alongside that longing there is the assurance that I will see Nathan again, be reunited with unimaginable joy. And that joy is only a taste of what it will be like to see Jesus face to face. I Thessalonians reminds us that we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Without the hope we have in Jesus Christ, the burden of our grief would simply be overwhelming. It has to be enough for now to know that Jesus is peopling heaven with those whom we wanted to keep here for a little while longer. It makes our sorrow bearable and it keeps us alight with a steadfast joy that not even death can steal.
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Like every other homeschool mom I know, I frequently worry about how my kids will turn out. Will they be normal? Will they get accepted to college? Want to go to college? Be employable? Marriageable? I know these are questions that every mom asks herself, but homeschool parents generally seem to feel a bit more pressure than other parents. Mainly because all the responsibility falls on our shoulders. After all, if our kids mess up who have we to blame but ourselves?
On Tuesday nights I get some encouragement in the form of a handful of awesome teens who come to our house for bible study. Three of them are former homeschoolers and two are getting ready to graduate from a performing arts school and go on to college with plans to go into full-time mission work. And all of them LOVE Jesus! They also happen to be funny, insightful, loving, talented, smart.....and normal. So when I spend time with them they help me see the kind of kids my own children might turn out to me and it gives me a whole lotta hope for their futures!
So, Audrey, Nate, Nick, Audrianna and Cosi-thanks for giving us your Tuesday nights and for showing us just the kind of young adults we hope our own little ones might someday grow up to be. We love you!
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It's been so long since I've update my blog here that most of the people who read it have probably forgotten all about it. But I wanted to update those of you who are left on our most recent adventure.
About 10 days ago we had some very strong winds come through the area and another tree was blown down on power lines on our property. Unlike the last time this happened, we had some damage occur and power outage. At 12:30 a.m. Chad and I were in bed listening to the wind blow and watching the shadow of the tree waving. Then, suddenly we heard a crash and saw a big pop of light and we jumped out of bed to survey the damage. The pop of light was the power line sending a surge of high voltage electricity into the house which in turn irreperably damaged our furnace, refrigerator, tvs, wii and treadmill, and caused damage to the water heater. We lost all electricity and water (because of our well pump) for 24 hours. So we spent all of that Friday doing our school work in front of our wood burning fireplace experiencing a little of what it might have been like on similar wintry day for the people who first occupied our 120 year old house. We were without heat for 5 days during which time the tempurature in the house steadily dropped lower and lower, bottoming out at a chilly 48 degrees. Yes, we could see our breath! And we have since been working with the insurance company to replace or repair our appliances. The new fridge should be arriving this afternoon, which means that I can stop treading up and down the basement stairs to fetch food from the old spare in the basement.
Overall we are thankful that the damage wasn't worse and that the insurance company has, thus far, been no problem to work with. (Although I will rest easier when that check arrives to pay for everything!)
As for school, the year is progressing well. The kids are not too sick of me yet and we've enjoyed the curriculum this year more than any other. We will soon be starting our lapbook unit on the history of our little town here and are looking forward to that.
I am often reminded of God's goodnes in the small and great moments that is making up our family story.
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It's the last evening at the end of a long week. For those of you who haven't heard, Judah, our youngest who is 4, spent a couple of nights in the hospital this week because of a bad asthma attack. He started wheezing Wednesday evening and by midnight it became scary. He couldn't even take a full breath without coughing. So Chad drove him the the ER and I waited and prayed by the phone. At about 3AM he called and told me to go to bed and they would be home soon. So I fell into bed breathing a sigh of relief. Only to be woken at 5AM with Chad calling to say that Judah was being admitted because his oxygen levels were too low for him to be released. So I got the other kids up and we hurried to the hospital to relieve Chad. He went to work and dropped the kids off at a friend's house for that day and the next (thanks Lisa and Kara!) and I sat with Judah, mostly coloring all day. And in the frantic rush that morning I could not find my glasses anywhere! So I spent the whole day in a blur. But he improved a lot thru breathing treatments and oxygen and by the next day was released. So, we've filled his prescriptions, bought the allergen bed coverings and scrubbed his room free of dust. And we're all breathing a little easier tonight.
Now we have to get rid of the cats. Scout, who is 3 will be taken to the humane society to be adopted out. Emma, who is 14 will be euthanised. I never thought I would cry over a cat, but I cried on the phone with the nice lady at the shelter who explained the process to me. ( Chalk it up to general tiredness) She tried to comfort me by saying "I know how you feel. It's just like losing a child." What a stupid thing to say. I didn't have the energy to correct her, but I wanted to tell her that that was one of the most ridiculous things a person has ever said to me. So we will be taking the cats to the shelter on Tuesday. Please pray that the kids take it well and understand that it's not Judah's fault the cats have to go.
Thank you to all who were praying for Judah and for us. You are appreciated!
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I want to tell you about some cool jewelry. There is a company that makes beautiful jewelry that is designed and personalized to let you share your faith. There are bracelets for moms, grandmothers, and now Homeschool Moms! Most items can be personalized with birthstones for your children or grandchildren. If you love to talk about your faith or homeschooling as much as I do, then you will want to take a look at this website. These pieces are great conversation starters and would make lovely gifts.
I am an affiliate for this company which means that if you go the website and click on the "affiliates" category you will see my name (Alison Agnew). Click on that and then do your shopping and I will recieve credit for any purchase you make.
Here's the website: sharehisstory.com
Have fun!
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I'm not a gushy person. My least favorite part of church is when we stand up and greet one another. Sometimes people I don't know hug me. It's not that I'm against hugging folks I know and like, but if I don't know you, never met you and don't know your name, then 18 inches is about how close I want to get. Sorry. I've just never been that great at displays of affection. And I'm more comfortable writing the mushy stuff down than saying it out loud. Plus, I cry easily.
So instead of trying to get this out in person, I am going to write it down. Trust me, it's better this way.
My friend Becky is someone who I have literally known for most of my life. She and I grew up in neighboring churches, we went to camp together every summer (..when I'm at Lambec....) and we roomed together our freshman year at Geneva. So you could say she knows me well. And she still likes me. Go figure.
Becky is the friend who I can go to for advice and she will tell me the truth about what I need to do in a loving way. She's my shopping buddy (think Black Friday). She teaches school and is always available for helpful ideas for teaching my kids in creative ways. She's a great daughter, granddaughter, wife and mom of 2 kids. Believe me when I say that she is someone you'd want in your corner.
The day we moved into our house she showed up with a case of Diet Coke and helped me clean a very dirty house. Now that's a great friend.
Most of all she loves the Lord. Always has, always will. She's not flashy about it, but she quietly and consistently serves Him every day.
We talk several times a week on the phone, and get together often. Becky has the gift of hospitality. She's often inviting us over to eat or play or watch football (our husbands watching, us talking).
She is the friend I am most vulnerable with, My safe place. I know I always have her on my side encouraging me, praying for me, helping me and laughing with me. And always always blessing me. A faithful friend. She personifies Proverbs 17:17: "A friend loves at all times."
So this is for Becky as a way of saying thank you for being my best friend. I wish I could say it out loud, but I hope this will do for now.
I love you Becks.
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...and counting. When we moved into our house last summer we knew that we would be cutting down some trees and shrubs. What we didn't know is that cutting stuff down is fairly easy-getting rid of big old ugly stumps, not so much.
For the last few weeks Chad has been working very hard on some particularly large stumps left over from some evergreen shrubs out front. Now, shrub stumps might not seem like a big deal, but these particular shrubs were so overgrown that when we began removing them we found a full size lamp post in working condition. My husband probably loses 5 pounds in sweat and frustration everytime he goes to work on these horrible shrub roots. He's gotten 2 out and has 1 left to go. In that corner.
Watching him chop and saw and dig got me thinking about other kinds of stumps. Like those left over stumps of sin that are rooted down deep and won't come up without a fight. As Christians we know that to be forgiven of sin is real simple. We confess that sin to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness. Done. Jesus loves to forgive us. The problem is, not all sins go without a fight. Sometimes we've sinned in an area of our lives for so long that the roots of that sin go down deep into our soul creating habits that aren't easily broken, Ever watch a tv show that you know you shouldn't but you do anyway? After awhile you decide that you're going to stop, repent and move on. Then, 9pm rolls around and you automatically grab that remote without conscious thought. Repetitive sin does that-sends down little rootlets of habit and desire every time we commit that sin.
Some sins make different kinds of roots-the kind called consequences. How easy it is to sin with our finances. I get greedy and envious. So I buy things I can't afford and pay for them for years. I spend way more money on the things of this world than on the things of heaven. I am more rooted in the culture of this world than I am rooted in scripture. I lust after the right kind of shoes more often than I long for heaven. I pant after new stuff for the house rather than panting after the Saviour of my soul.
So, I have some stumps to remove. I have a feeling they won't go easily. But I'm not going to have to cut them out all my myself. If I'm serious about removing them then I'll get down on my knees and ask the Master Carpenter to help me.
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Y'all know that we moved (again) last July into our (hopefully) last house ever! At least, our last home this side of heaven. So for those of you yet to visit us in the great metropolis of Darlington, PA I thought I would post some pictures for you to see. Bear in mind that we have many projects to do so we will be busy painting, plastering etc for quite some time.
View from driveway
View of the original front
View of side/porch-the driveway is to the left of photo
Back yard view of house
Garage with sliding barn door. Second floor is unfinished and used only by bats. I'm told that is where visiting parsons would sleep.
Dining room. We changed the chandelier but haven't painted yet.
Upstairs landing. Have removed wallpaper and carpet but not painted.
This is the upstairs bath in the process of being reno'd.
Upstairs bath finished -thanks in large part to Chad's brother Dan who knew what to do.
This is across the street from us-a little church that dates back to civil war times and played a part in the underground railroad. There are civil war vets graves there.
This is the living room-used to have purple walls and purple carpet.
Another view of living room. There are five fireplaces in the house, but most are bricked up. This mantle is marble, the rest are hand carved wood.
This is the staircase.
Below are some photos for family to see of the little cemetery where grandpa and grandma Tweed are buried. It's about 5 minutes from our house in New Galilee.
So hopefully those of you who haven't been here can come see us sometime. There's plenty of room (and we promise not to put you in with the bats) If you're interested in seeing some more info about our little town, go to darlingtondays.com and read up about the annual event that's coming up this weekend.
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Okay, this is me trying to upload photos to my blog entry...so here goes nuthin.
Last week our older 2 kids, Noah and Fiona were part of the musical our homeschool co-op performed. It was called "I Am a Promise" and was about God's plan for their futures. The kids each picked a "career" to dress up as and Fiona picked "doctor" and Noah picked "scientist." Here are a couple photos:
Sorry I didn't get the pictures flipped upright, but you get the general idea. Although why Noah looks like he needs to pee is beyond me.
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I am pooped. It's Sunday evening and our family just returned from Camp Sequanota in Ligonier where we were at a Family Retreat with our dear friends from Level Green Presbyterian Church. They had asked Chad to be the retreat speaker centering on the theme "kicking it up a notch." This is the church where Chad served as Youth Pastor for 5 years until 2005 and is near Monroeville, PA. What a fun weekend! We sang togethether, worshipped together, ate together, played together, and prayed together. My kids certainly enjoyed staying up late (11pm!!) and filling their tummies with yummy treats.
On the trip home I reflected on how rich our family is--not in material things but in our relationships. God has hemmed us in with good friends. People who love us and laugh with us (and at us), godly men and women who pray with and for us and who hold us accountable. So, this message is for our LG brothers and sisters: Tom, Sandy, Rosie, Tim, Tina, Tiffany, Dennis, Karen, Ray, Kelly, Cheryl, John, and Terri. We love you. Thank you for asking us to come share a really fun weekend.
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Achievement tests, science fairs, portfolios-OH MY! Yes, it's that time of year again and I have to confess, I'm very stressed out. Now, my friends will tell you that I'm normally a fairly laid back kinda girl. But not this year. Right now I have 3 children finishing school work (hopefully), 2 children playing baseball (every night this week) 1 husband preparing to lead a family retreat this weekend (which we are all going to), 2 children needing a lot of help preparing for their co-op science fair next Monday (which we will not have the weekend to prepare for), 1 child recovering from strep throat and 2 portfolios to compile in a somewhat orderly fashion. I actually lie in bed each night unable to stop the wheels spinning and go to sleep.
Until I remember....to lay it all before my heavenly Father who loves me and wishes to remind me of what is really important. Schoolwork will come and go and baseball is temporary. But the stuff of heaven remains eternal. Matthew 6: 34 says it better than I ever could: "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." And don't forget Luke. Chapter 12, verse 22-34 which reminds us that we should not worry about what we will eat or wear for God himself clothes the lilies and feeds the sparrows, but loves his children infinitely more. Stop worrying! "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom"(32)I know that schoolwork is important and tests and portfolios, but that is all just the stuff of this life. What is eternally important is the biblical foundation we are giving our kids and the daily reminders of the love Jesus has for them. Truth be told, my work will get done regardless of how much I worry about it and these hectic days will pass before I know it.
So I will take a deep breath, go outside and enjoy the lilacs and tulips coming into bloom (at least the ones my little darlings haven't accidentally trampled) and I will devoutly ignore the dandelions that I don't have time to weed. And I will praise my Heavenly Father for my clothing and my food....and my work.