[if you care to read Part I, it is below...]

Charming has had a decades-long desire to be in vocational ministry. Music is his main vehicle, but the man can teach, and preach as well. The wisdom that comes out of his mouth Astounds Me.

Through the years, he has ministered in and out of our local church; playing for and leading worship on Sundays, Wednesdays, and for retreats and meetings, also teaching marriage classes, and many other things.

Except, of course, for the last 3 years, which has meant a severe limitation on his availability to minister.

We've prayed, oh, we've prayed, for a different job, one that will leave him available for ministry, and possibly to lead to full-time ministry. However, I had a specific picture in my head of What That Would Look Like; i.e. a new job would be waiting for him when the present one ended...

Two months ago, Charming was told that, due to the economy, the company was probably going to let one of the managers go. Since Charming is the highest-paid guy, you can see where this conversation was leading. Charming will hear their decision any ol' day now.

Now, probably my biggest Need is security. Under that come all those other "love languages" like Loving Touches and Words of Affirmation--they make me feel Secure. What does NOT make me feel secure is the thought of unemployment!

Psalms 56:3:

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

The Lord is gracious, giving us (me) time to prepare our (my) head for this.

Joshua 1:9:

"Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Has not God ALWAYS been faithful? Yes. Can He take care of me better than I can? Of course. Isn't His plan better than mine? I believe it!

Haven't we prayed for three years for an "escape?"

Yes, Lord, but not by Losing His Job. That's not how I Want It. I need Security, remember? We've done the unemployment thing, a dozen times before. I've Done My Time, Lord.

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

I DO trust Him. He has proven Himself worthy of my trust. He DOES know better than I.

Look at the verse one more time:

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

I can trust in Him *while* I'm afraid. He knows I'm afraid, but that's okay. He loves me anyway, like I love my children. When my four- or six- or thirteen-year-old has been afraid, I just hold them and tell them it's okay--they don't need to worry because Daddy and Mommy are there. I can climb up in my Father's lap and tell Him all about it, and He tells me it's going to be okay. He'll be taking care of it.

I think I'm ready to face the day now. How wonderful that I'm *not* in charge! Wouldn't that be a mess!

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[I'm writing this for myself, to get these thoughts down "on paper." It will probably be long, so Caveat Emptor, so they say...]

Psalms 56:3

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."

Thirty-three years ago, Charming took a job at Pizza Hut, training to be an assistant manager. He figured to work in a restaurant only long enough to figure out "what he wanted to do with the rest of his life."

Over the next nine years, we endured a number of bouts of unemployment. Back in the day, "standard practice" in the restaurant industry (Charming had also worked for four other companies) for a newly-hired district manager was to fire all the managers and begin again with people of his own choosing. In between times, Charming tried lots of "own your own business" things: Christian books, Amw*y (twice), carpet cleaning, insurance, business brokering. All commission-only, all miserable failures.

We learned the truth of Psalms 37:23-25:

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in His way. 24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand. 25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

We have never gone without a meal.

Once we had a case of blue-box mac-and-cheese (24 boxes) to cover lunches and dinners until the time the first paycheck came for a new job.

Once we had pb&j sandwiches for a week, three meals a day, except for the last two days when there was no peanut butter, just jelly sandwiches.

We have been bored, but not hungry.

We also have not been unemployed since February 1984. That's when Charming took a job with W*ndy's, for whom he worked for 21 years. The last two years were extremely stressful. The day he was admitted to the hosptital with chest pains and his heart beating 150 times a minute, he got a call from Cr*cker B*rrel. The job looked promising for rapid advancement and good money.

The price has been high. The schedule is brutal, with some weeks having to rise at 3:45 am to open the store, some weeks getting home at 1 am when he had to "close," and some mid-shifts, where he misses seeing the kids for days at a time. Worst of all have been the weekends. At W*ndy's, except for the first eight months, he had weekends off. For 3 1/2 years, he has had only a handful of weekends off a year. Worse still, he only gets to go to church about once a month.

[Part II to follow...]

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Awhile back, I wrote about Teaching Our Children to Think. This is one of the goals for our family that Charming and I discussed before we married.

Last night, while Alvin Fernald was at basketball practice, Charming, Blackeyed Susan, and I found ourselves discussing eternal security: whether or not a person can lose his salvation. (Now, I realize that some of you may differ in your belief system, and I don't say this to start some kind of discussion.) Our church is a large Pentecostal one, and many of them believe that a person can, under some circumstances, lose their salvation; Charming and I, though we did believe that for a number of years, have come to a different belief through Years of study and prayerful consideration.

Susan mentioned how, when some of her friends are talking about the issue, the arguments they use seem weak. Charming pointed out that, when we discuss this with friends, the Scriptures they use to support their argument are the same ones we use to support ours!

Then Susan said, "don't you think, that if salvation is of number 1 importance, then Losing that Salvation would be of number 2 importance, and would be mentioned more directly in the Scripture? Look at Paul--he talks about "now that we have this freedom in Christ, do we use it as an excuse to sin? God forbid!" Don't you think he would have, like, made an entire epistle dedicated to 'You can lose your salvation! Be sure not to do it!'"

Thinking! My almost-sixteen-year-old is thinking. Figuring out the reasons for what we have taught her all her life. Putting the pieces together with the things she has learned at church from cradle-hood.

My proudest moment? When she commented that we need, once we have secured this "so-great salvation," to not take it for granted, and to live our lives carefully. Not because we can lose it in a moment's time, but because of the unbelievably high price God had to pay to secure us for Himself.

I am One Proud Mama this morning!

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Go check out my blog entry today at Monday Mommies.

And check out Monday Mommies (linked on my sidebar) every Monday for a devotional to get you through your "Mommy-week!"

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We voted yesterday, on a day that was sunny and 75 degrees. Now, *that* doesn't happen every time. We live just a block from our polling place, so we always walk. Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald accompanied me, as they have every election since they were born. Since it was Charming's day off, he was able to vote with me at the same time. An added bonus was that Lily and the children drove up just as we arrived!

Lily went the extra mile. Tuesday morning, a nine-months' pregant friend with two toddlers told her that her babysitting hadn't worked out, and that she was not going to be able to vote. Lily went to her home with her own four, During Naptime, to allow her friend to vote. Now *that* is going the extra mile!

We treated ourselves to KFC for supper, as we gathered around the tv to watch election returns. As the night went on, of course, it began to be apparent that our candidate was going to lose. Susan and Alvin began to get a little worried about their immediate futures: well, we had had more than a few discussions about What Would Our Country Come To if the "other candidate" were elected...

So, here is the discussion from that point:

God is still on the throne. The Bible clearly states that He is the one who gives power--"He lifts one up and takes another down." When Jesus stood before Pilate, and Pilate said to Him, "don't you know I have the power to crucify you?" Jesus replied, "you have now power except what My Father has given you."

Life is gonna look Pretty Much The Same for them. This morning we are Still Doing Schoolwork. Tonight is Still Youth Group. They may still hear complaints as the new administration gets to work, but we have survived tax-and-spend administrations before.

Not sure if this is Judgment on America, or just a cyclical political thing. We have always had One Party for awhile, then Another Party takes over. It has happened for over two hundred years. Just like the Present Financial Crisis. It is not the end of the world. If I remember correctly, one or two people survived the Great Depression. If we believe that God is our provider, then we need to pay attention to Him, and not look at the political arena to decide whether or not to panic.

Am I disappointed? Yes, definitely. Things don't bode well for things such as Supreme Court nominations for the next four years. But God calls me to follow HIM, and for me, today, that means doing the Next Thing.

God is good. All the time. Yep, He really is.

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Well, you all are aware of the whirlwind that is happening in our financial markets. For the last couple of years, we have seen prices go up, up, up. I have a neighbor who works at our local GM plant--they make big trucks and SUV's there--not the 35 mpg kind! So she has been laid off most of the summer, working just three sporadic weeks. My brother works at a plant making car "parts"--he experienced a one-week layoff last week.

Charming, working in the food industry, is okay for now. People still eat out, but the profit margins are smaller--food prices are higher for the restaurant, as well. We are grateful for his job. His salary is exactly the same as it was a year ago, but my natural gas budget has gone up $25/month, our house payment, up $25 due to increased escrow, water bill up, and scheduled to go up again. Factor in food and gasoline, and the little "wiggle room" we used to have is gone.

I'm actually not opposed to squeaking and tweaking--we all want to live that "Simple Life," don't we? And we bemoan the fact that we don't know where to start. I'm again cooking more from scratch (being gone four days a week at suppertime, taking Blackeyed Susan to ballet, got me into a convenience/fast food habit...) just like I did "when we had no money." I have announced to my family the First (annual?) All-Thrifted or Handmade Christmas--I'm not even going to bother shopping in the stores. Charming gets a quarterly bonus on December 1st. Two years ago it was $800--last year it was "almost" $400. $400 gets us gas to go to the out-of-town grandparents, a tree, and festive food. But not loads of electronic presents, you know?

I just read over that last paragragh. Did you see the reference to the time when "we had no money?" This was early in our marriage--we had six children in eight years, old "beater" cars, hand-me-down clothes and furniture. But--we had no debt, either!

We, like many others, are working on a plan to get out of debt, except for the house. Now, if we achieve our goal, we can work on that, as well. But with our budget squeaky-tight, it doesn't look like hundreds of dollars a month will be making its way to Debt Reduction. We are "casting our bread on the waters," and doing everything *we* can think of, including the possibility of me working outside the home. Just asking God through what avenues He will work it all out.

Yesterday at church, our pastor spoke of what he called "Last Days Economy." He believes God's desire is for His people to not only be out of debt, but through God's supernatural provision, that we be generous, giving people. Look at a few verses from Psalm 112:

"Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in His commandments. 2His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever. 4Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 6Surely he will not be moved forever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 8His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies."  Ps. 112:1-8

May I encourage you to "keep on keepin' on?" If you need a job, I pray that you will find one. I also pray that God will stretch your provision, and in doing so, have enough abundance to share. We're all on this journey now, aren't we? My mother, who grew up in the Depression, said, "we were poor, but we didn't know it. *Everybody* was poor."

What's cool, though, is that, in Christ, we're all RICH.

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Maybe you heard about the flak surrounding the Jonas Brothers' "purity rings." On one hand, I think it's kind of funny--why are so many reporters sounding off on this issue? Why are so many feeling "threatened?"

We take each of our children out on their sixteenth birthday to the fanciest place we can find, and give them a ring. They know it is coming, and the conversation always includes this statement: "We know that you have made this decision, and we want you to know that we are here to help you keep your resolve. This ring is a reminder of the promise you have made to yourself, to keep yourself for the one God has planned for you. But, we want you to know, that if you "fall," you don't have to be afraid to tell us. Everybody makes mistakes. Some people make big mistakes. As your parents, we pray that you won't make this one, because there are great consequences. But, it's not the end of the world."

They already know this. Charming and I (who grew up good Catholic children) had made the same resolve. Our parents assumed we would keep ourselves until marriage, and, at the time, the "ongoing conversation" that we, today, MUST have with our children, wasn't deemed necessary. Charming and I spent too much time alone, and, well, It Happened To Us.

I had a conversation with Violet the other day. She mentioned that S*rah P*lin (don't want any googling to end up here) was for Abstinence Only Ed, and how, [Violet] as a dorm rector at a women's dorm, thought that that was not enough. I said to her, "I absolutely agree. I have never been for Abstinence Only. Teens need to know about the risk of pregnancy and disease. They need to know that no method of birth control will prevent disease (if they think c*ndoms will, they are taking a Big Gamble); that no one talks about Safe S*x anymore, just SafeR S*x (i.e. there *is* no such animal as "safe"; that someone needs to tell teens about a) how no contraceptive is 100% and b) the possibly permanent health risks of chemical b/c. That teens also need to know the psychological and emotional "baggage" they will carry if they choose s*x, and the possible problems with bonding to their future spouses." (I probably tossed a few more things in there, too...) And I finished up with, "I am for education that says, Abstinence is the only safe decision, and should be held as the Preferred Choice. Anything else is substandard."

Violet said, "Wow, Mom, I would have never thought you weren't Abstinence Only." I said to her, "that's because I *was* Abstinence Only with My Own Children!!" She laughed. "Well," she said, "we did know all of that other stuff, too." I said, "you bet your life you did. If nothing else, you kids were Fully Informed of the risks of sex."

Back to the Jonas Brothers. Frankly, the articles I've read online, and the interview I saw on the morning show, all seemed Stupid to me. The "con" side people all said that Purity Rings give a false confidence, and then, when the kids "fall," the first time they have s*x, it's unprotected.

Puh-leeze. You are not going to convince me that Any Teen "plans" the first time, complete with Protection. Or that the majority of teens are Using Protection every time, without fail. The ones who have purity rings are just like any other teens that are having s*x.

What we need to do is Keep the Conversation Going. Our children are in the fight of their young lives every day. That's why the book is called Every Young Man's Battle (and Girl's Battle, as well.) I have one child who is not wearing his/her ring anymore. Blackeyed Susan thought he/she maybe wasn't a Christian anymore, or that he/she maybe never was Saved. I pointed out that he/she was just as "on fire" a teen Christian as she is. We all sin. Satan is fighting to pull each of us down. He succeeds with all of us, in one way or another. (well, that kinda backfired, and got Susan so scared she thought that if she ever kissed a boy, she might fall into bed with him. Had to talk her down from that ledge...the Ongoing Conversation again.)

If you have teens, PLEASE hear this. Purity rings are a great way to celebrate a good decision by your teen. It is a symbol to both him or her and to you, as parents, to work together to win the battle until marriage. But don't ever think it is a guarantee. You haven't won the battle. You have simply raised the standard, like the huge banners that the Israelites used in battle, that they looked to to keep their focus, and remember that God was fighting for them.

The fight is worth it. My two married children "made it" to their wedding day. They will never worry about disease, or the consequences of a "too soon" pregnancy. Three other of my adult children are fighting that fight well. Susan and Alvin Fernald have made their decisions, but are just at the beginning of their battle. And, so far, our purity rings have an 87.5% success rate. But not because of the Ring. Because of the Ongoing Conversation, and the Grace of God.

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Errgghh.

Blackeyed Susan's cellphone isn't working right. When she opens it (it's a flip-phone) the screen is blue and has colored wavy lines on it. You cannot read anything (phone numbers, text messages) on it. After awhile, the screen will clear and be usable. But she has to keep the phone open all day, or she has to begin the process again.

So...I took it in to the store. She told the associate what was happening--he took one look and said, "it's the phone. We're having a lot of trouble with that phone." I said, "she's only had it three months. Can we get another phone?"

Seemed a reasonable question to me. If I bought a camera (tv, dvd player, *anything*) at Wal-Mart, and it was defective, I would take it in, they would give me another one, and (I assume) they would send the faulty item to the manufacturer. But in Cell-Phone World, it doesn't work that way.

First question: "Do you have insurance on this phone?" (no, I only have insurance on my phone. If the kids drop theirs in the toilet or leave it somewhere, they can deal with it.) I said: "This has nothing to do with insurance. YOUR PHONE IS BAD!! His reply: "Well, you can ship it back to the company, and they will get you a new one." I said: "What if I *had* had insurance?" He said: "Well, I would charge you $29.00 (the deductible) and give you a new phone." (mouth agape) Are you kidding me?

Is he kidding me?

He gave me the address of the manufacturer so I know where I can ship it. I asked, foolishly, if it would be free shipping. Oh, heck no. Six bucks. Oh, and call them before you ship, so they can tell me if I have a valid reason under the warranty.

Even tho' he admitted that *many* of the phones are faulty.

As my Daddy used to say, They Get You Comin' And Goin'.

Fortunately, we have an old phone (oh, the shame--she'll have to carry the Dinosaur for a few weeks!) which I am charging at-this-very-minute. I'm sure this is not the biggest problem I'll have this week. But it kinda helped letting me vent.

Thanks.

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Wow.

An article in the Wall Street Journal says that it might be a better use of your money to stock your pantry, than any other short-term investment.

We all know how much our grocery bill has gone up in the last year or so. Stocking our pantries (especially with the "sale" items every week) seems a natural for us with families--it's What We Do.

But equating it with getting a Much Better Return on your money than the interest you'd earn with a CD?

As the German guy used to say on Laugh-in:

Interesting. Ver-r-ry interesting.

hat tip to Meredith at Like Merchant Ships.

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I woke up to my bed shaking. That isn't really un-usual; it happens from time to time when Charming gets a cramp in his hamstring, and attempts to "shake it out." But, as I came to consciousness, I realized that he was not the one doing the shaking. It was an honest-to-goodness earthquake.

Now, some of you may find "earthquake" something you have experienced before. Some of you may run for the nearest doorway on a somewhat regular basis. My Auntie Marylin was nearby during the San Francisco earthquake of 1987. But here in northern Indiana, it's much, much more rare.

Charming told me that he has never felt an earthquake before. I have: once, when I was a teenager, I was taking a nap on the couch on a summer afternoon.  Suddenly, I found myself on the floor.

After this (early morning's) quake, I heard a few dogs barking, and a car alarm going off. A few minutes later, the birds resumed their morning songs.

Alvin Fernald came down to watch the early morning news on tv. Here is the info: The epicenter was 7 miles north of New Salem, IL, 61 miles northwest of Evansville, IN. It registered 5.4 on the Richter scale.

I probably won't even find a knicknack off the shelf. But I think it is so cool that God can make Himself evident in just a few seconds, and call us to attention. He has shown us again that HE is all-powerful: it is nothing for him to shake the earth itself. It really *is* a big thing, though, to think about something that can shake your house back and forth!

Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe tonight. There is nowhere else I would rather be, than safe in Your hand.

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Well, it looks like I haven't posted in ten days! The big news, of course, is that Lily *did* finally have her baby, a beautiful son. You can read about him here.

I have been seeing either the new little one, Cambridge, or his one-month-old cousin Oxford every day, as well as my other grandbabies. Lots and lots of baby love going on around here!

My father, who lives in a nursing home, was in the hospital for a week, and they found he had M*R*S*A, that staph infection that lives in such places. (tho' he really got it in the nursing home, I think.) He needed to be in isolation for a few days, and his nursing home did not have a private room. Their "sister" facility in a little town south of us ("Population: 1,106 nice people and 4 Grouches!") had room, so he has been there.

Well! Does he LOVE it there! The biggest news is that Sister Nursing Home buys their eggs from farmers (Original Nursing Home uses powdered eggs--gross). He loves the food (or the cook!), loves the staff, loves the birds singing outside of his window.

I spoke with the social worker, and they do have space available for him, after he is no longer contagious. So, we will be picking up his things from Original Nursing Home, to move him "one more time." He is confined to bed, and it is so wonderful to see him taking interest in this thing. I'm so glad he is able to take control of Something in his life--there isn't much else he can control. To make this decision makes him feel once again Independent. It was just "by chance" that his home did not have a room for him to use. But then, we know that there is nothing that is really just "by chance." Our heavenly Father uses these "chance" happenings to move us along the path He has set for us.

Daddy had been in the room he and Mother shared at the Original Home, and still there two years after her passing. I guess he's ready to Move On with his life. Of course, at nearly 86 years old, he is also ready to Move On to the next life! But a few adventures still await.

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...well, to be absolutely truthful, at Forget-me-not's house!

Go here to see photos of new baby Oxford! (the blog-name comes from a family joke...)

This Grandma is ready to burst with pride! Oxford was born Sunday night, and is ready to go home this evening. Big brother Blueberry is fascinated, of course. Violet is coming to stay with Forget-me-not for a few days--a special treat. But you know that I'll be parking over there part of every day. What a blessing that Forget-me-not lives only two miles away.

Better close this before I become silly or something...

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Charming borrowed a book from someone at work, entitled The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. It is a memoir of growing up in the 1950's, told from a male perspective.

One of the chapters was pretty fascinating even to me, being a girl and all. Here is a quote:

"By 1951, almost 90% of American families had refrigerators, and nearly three-quarters had washing machines, telephones, vacuum cleaners, and gas or electric stoves--things that most of the rest of the world could still only fantasize about...

Remarkably, almost all of this wealth was American-made...we became the richest country in the world without needing the rest of the world." (page 6)

He then goes on to tell about a family who was featured in Life magazine (Dad, Mom, and two boys) pictured with all the food they consumed in a year--two and a half tons worth. That's 5000 pounds, folks:

"Among the items they were shown with were 450 pounds of flour, 72 pounds of shortening, 56 pounds of butter, 31 chickens, 300 pounds of beef, 25 pounds of carp, 144 pounds of ham, 39 pounds of coffee, 690 pounds of potatoes, 698 quarts of milk, 131 dozen eggs, 180 loaves of bread, and 8 1/2 gallons of ice cream, purchased on a budget of $25 a week."  (page 7 )

By the way, you can see the picture here, along with the complete list of foodstuffs purchased. I was fascinated by the fact that the family said their food budget was $25 a week, or $1300 per year, and the retail price of the food pictured was $1306.

I remember asking my mother what she paid for food when she was first married (1941). She thought they probably spent $5 a week. Now, of course, I can hardly buy a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread for that. Reminds me of the verse in Revelation, where "a day's wages won't buy a loaf of bread." A number of years ago, I heard a sermon that said the reason was that bread just wasn't available. I don't know about that; I think it may be just a literal thing, and I'm finding it not so hard to believe!

I'm sure, if you looked at the photo, you noticed the lack of potato chips, pop, and candy. Oh, I'm sure she probably bought cocoa or vanilla for cakes and cookies. And, Good Grief, woman, where are your Blue-box mac'n'cheese, and peanut butter, those things moms can't get by without????

I remember some of those post-war prosperity times, even though I wasn't born until ten years after the war. In 1960, my father bought a refrigerator, washer and dryer, stove, stereo, and television, all for cash. All with six children and one income. He built a new home for $19,900 (Mommy wanted the tri-level for $24,900, but they just couldn't quite afford it). It was a Gold-Star All-Electric Home, because electricity was the cheapest fuel EVER. It was going to cost just next-to-nothing to heat that thing. Well, *that* didn't last...Their mortgage payment was just over $100.

Sigh. I can't decide if it feels warm-and-fuzzy or just plain sickening to think about, as I pass up the $2.00/dozen eggs or the $3.00 (each!) red peppers, which Blackeyed Susan loves.

Oh, well. Gas is down 25 cents this week.

At least, living in 2008 is an ADVENTURE!

And, hey, as long as Jesus is with me on this journey, I have nothing to fret about. As Martha says, that's a Good Thing.

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As I think about this week that is ending, I can tell you that the first thing that comes to mind is that it has been a Fairly Normal Week. AND, that I've been Home A Lot. My favorite thing to do! We've begun reading A Christmas Carol at the beginning of our school time; a real chance for me to utilize Drama, a la Edith Schaeffer in her book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking. As I read aloud, I can put the emotions into the story. This particular story seems built for that; there is nothing "dry" about Scrooge's story!

I have to brag about Johnny Tremain (my son, not the book!) He is a fourth-grade teacher in the public school just a block from my house (and five blocks from his).

His school is one of those with children, many of whose parents don't get involved with their little ones' education. They are the "lower tier" of students. The school has been on Probation from the state, etc. Last year, Johnny said that they would have been off probation if only one more student had achieved "basic skills" level on the statewide exam. The exam is administered in October; for years, many of us have asked the legislature to schedule it in the spring, and Finally, that will happen beginning next year. Johnny has been hampered with spending the first six weeks "teaching to the test," before he can even begin the year's work.

His principal came back from a meeting downtown with the news: In the fourth grade, 53% (up from 43% last year) passed the English portion; a whopping 73% (up from fifty-something) passed Math. I congratulated Johnny heartily, and asked him to pass on my congratulations to the English and Math Resource teachers. He told me that they cut out all the resource teachers this year; instead, they cut the class sizes.

Hmmm. Smaller class size? One teacher all day?

Of course, the real advantage is for the children. Johnny sees the worst: kids come to school unready, and sometimes unbreakfasted. Homes in turmoil when the children return. Reading levels stunted. No time in the day for Johnny to even read a book to his charges. These results are a tangible record of a teacher passionate about education, and doing his best to make a difference in the public system.

Congratulations to him, and glory be to God for the results!

Now, to my favorite day this week! Wednesday, Charming and I marked the anniversary of the day we met. Thirty-four years ago, we were college freshmen, eighteen and naive. We fell in love very quickly, and married at twenty. But that "first day" was a magical one, and I love to think about the Moment I saw his face. I fell asleep dreaming about him.

Gak. Sorry.

Lots of history since then. Who knew that being married and raising a family gets sweeter every year, every decade? Oh, yeah, my Mommy told me that. More than that, she Showed me that.

Hope I am doing the same for my children.

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Here we are, the Day After Thanksgiving. I am not joining in the Shopping Madness, though for many years I considered it an Adventure. (maybe I'm getting older?)

As I told you, we had our Thanksgiving last week, so Lily decided she would like to try her hand at her first turkey dinner. This woman is fabulous; she did it all herself, and got it on the table all at the same time! (isn't that the challenge of such a big dinner, especially if you only have one oven?) We enjoyed turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, her "famous" mashed potatoes, and rolls. She made deviled eggs for the appetizer, and pumpkin squares from her great-grandmother's recipe. (she called me the day before to ask what "salad oil" was!)

Charming arrived home from Cr*cker B*rrel (work) at 10 pm. He had to be back to work at 5 am this morning, so his night was short. He gets off work at 3pm, so it will be nice to have him home tonight.

I am so grateful to the Lord for my family: our health, the fact that my children walk in the Light, so many things. I am equally grateful for the wonderful upbringing both Charming and I had in our birth families. This has been such a great heritage to live under. Even though the world is "de-volving"; more crude, more selfish, more sinful, we can redeem it just a little everyday by living in Christ.

May *I* remember this as we enter the Advent and Christmas season. Lord, help me not to get dragged along by the schedule of Church Plays, family get-togethers, and shopping. May our family show You to the world.

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Wow--a busy week.  Because Charming is a manager at Cr*cker B*rrel, he will be working Thanksgiving Day. He was off Thursday (two days ago), so we decided to do the Big Day then!

Seven of our eight children were there (only MacGuyver, who lives in NYC, and Rocky Balboa, Forget-me-not's hubby, were  absent), and Queen Darl, Charming's mother, was able to come.  Lily and Forget-me-not made broccoli and sweet-potato casseroles, so I just did turkey/stuffing and mashed potatoes. Twenty-one pounds of turkey, and only a ziploc full of leftovers. No leftovers of anything else!

After dinner, my five oldest (who, with MacGuyver, all had the same choir teacher in high school) sang a few songs for us in gorgeous, gorgeous harmony. I love four-part harmony anyway, but when you get people who are genetically related in voice, it is special! I managed to get a soprano, an alto, two tenors, and two baritones out of the bunch--God is good. Blackeyed Susan is a soprano, and, well, we're not sure about Alvin Fernald  yet...so,there will be more fun in the future!

As the evening went on, little conversation groups were happening all over the house. I heard some of my grown children laughing over school memories. Others talking about marriage and children. It was all very, very satisfying for this mama. When Charming and I were talking about the family we would like to have, we had several goals. One of those was that our children would be close, always. It is a huge blessing to see that lived out in our lives.

So, my *abundance* this week was THANKSGIVING!

And what will I do next Thursday? I plan to make a chicken dinner for my two teens and me. And I think I'll start on one of my Christmas projects that will make a big mess....

After all, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a big mess, would it?

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I'm not one of those who buys those "attitude" t-shirts for my kids. "And why would you think I care?" runs contrary to your basic "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" mindset. There are, of course, Meaner Ones than that, too. And I think it's very sad that they make them even for babies.

Then there are the Candy ones. Looked at the right way, all of them have a s*xual undertone. "Sugar Babies" and "Blow Pops" scrawled across your chest...uh, no good. So when Blackeyed Susan had her eye on an Attitude shirt, I was wary. I didn't even let her buy it the first time she saw it. But yesterday she came home with:

Tell me again why I need a Boyfriend?

The first thing it tells me is that she has been Listening during all of those eye-rolling S*x talks. It helps that there have been a couple of sermons recently in Youth Group on Respecting Yourself and Love/L*st and stuff.

The second thing it tells me is that this girl has some pretty decent self-esteem. Not that we don't think boys aren't cute; of course they are. I had dreams when I was her age; usually of the Someday I'll Be Kissed variety. And, I'll admit, having a Boyfriend (hee, hee, I just typed BoyFIEND) sounded So-o-o-o romantic. My mother did a great job of telling me that God had the One waiting for me. I hope I am doing the same for Susan.

Another reason to be so, so grateful to be homeschooling. I can't imagine the pressure Susan would feel in a peer-dependent situation. The World is lurking everywhere. Our church has families with a wide-range of what's "appropriate" for their children. Everybody has a slightly different standard, ways of interpreting "be in the world but not of it." Still, it's much easier raising my family with this "village"--the Storms to be weathered are much smaller.

Teens. It's a Wild Ride. But God is holding on to me, so I'm not going to crash. Even if I mess up, I know that He loves my children so much more. And He is fully capable of fixing my mistakes.

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And I started out in such a happy mood, too.

I decided to give Alvin Fernald and Blackeyed Susan another half-hour before I woke them up. I had already fed the cat and started my coffee, and went down to begin the day's laundry.

Laundry is not my bugaboo, as it is for others. For one thing, I only have two children at home. But, anyway, the laundry had been caught up Tuesday, and I expected just small loads of lights, darks, and towels to greet me.

Oh.   But No.

After congratulating Alvin yesterday on so industriously cleaning his room, I FOUND his room in the laundry chute. Whatever he had neglected to put away in the last few weeks (clean and folded), as well as a number of dirty items were there in the chute. I estimate about Three Big Loads.

I was getting Pretty Darn Mad at this point. I emptied the chute, and set aside his Mountain of things for him to do himself later. (mumble, mumble) Some of this stuff doesn't fit! Some of this stuff he hasn't worn in a year! (his dress-dress-dressy shirt that goes with his suit...)How many times have I told him/her that THIS IS NOT HOW WE CLEAN OUR ROOMS!!!!

Sigh.

Relax, Barbie. Number One: The closets in this old house are tiny--good as nonexistent, almost. Number Two: The dresser is big, but not all of the clothes will fit in it. Number Three: now Alvin is trying to mix summer stuff with winter stuff (see Number Two ).

Is the problem really Alvin (or Susan)? Is the problem maybe, just maybe, that Alvin is growing like a weed, and we have size 16's, 28's, and 30's trying to live together, when only size 30's now fit? That when we got the BoxFull of Jesus t-shirts from our cousin, Mommy didn't make him choose? a few?

Phew. Glad I didn't take a bite out of Alvin. I will still make him do the laundry, but when it all gets clean and folded (again), we will do a thorough going-through, with piles for Keep, Give Away, and Throw Away.

Because an Abundance of clothes that won't fit in the drawers makes for an Abundance of mess.

Thanks, Lord, for being gentle with me. Help me to be gentle with my children. If I could only get that straight, disciplining teenagers would be a lot simpler.

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Whew! Finally, all the preparations were finished, and we had a beautiful Dedication Day in our new church facility. An absolutely majestic procession honoring our King of Kings, with choir, full orchestra, dancers (including my Blackeyed Susan) and banners (I was privileged to be on the banner committee). Pomp and circumstance is very good, sometimes, to remind us that Jesus is more than just a Friend (back in the 70's, they used to say "Jesus is your Buddy...");He is also the Lord of LORDS.

We were honored to have many regional pastors in attendance, as well as our U.S. Congressman, who is a devout Christian. Alvin Fernald gave up his service to minister in the nursery ("besides, Mom, they're PAYING tonight, eight dollars an hour!") But I'm proud that he was willing to serve.

We actually skipped the beautiful reception (and the food) because there were only seats for four hundred, and there were three times that many in attendance. We did stand in line and visit for awhile, but decided that since there was probably 40-60 minutes to wait, we headed across the street, with Johnny and Lily's family, to McDonald's, where we saw several other families with (hungry) small children. Before I left the church, though, I prayed a blessing on the faithful people who prepared and served all that gorgeous (at least it Smelled Gorgeous) food.

Violet is in town for a few days, and shared the day with us. Bedtimes were late (11 pm) for a Sunday night, and so everyone except me is sleeping! I guess I'm just used to getting up, so I did, and maybe will catch a "powernap" later.

Pretty much my entire week was spent banner-ing, driving to dance practice, and, did I mention, making pants for four dancers? Dishes and laundry are calling my name today (well, I will delegate chores, naturally), and it is Charming's day off as well, so a home-cooked meal is on the agenda.

I thank the Lord for a wonderful church family, and a beautiful facility in which to worship Him corporately. Also for children with a desire to serve Him. And, His gift of rest....gotta take advantage of that one!

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I am late posting this (I usually post on Fridays), and another Big Week is over.

We had the first Sunday morning service in our new facility, and it was a joyous time of worship. Blackeyed Susan had rehearsal in the afternoon for the Dedication Sunday ceremonies October 21st(rehearsals are not usually held Sunday afternoon, but the orchestra was practicing as well). I picked Susan and Alvin Fernald up in the evening after youth activities, and by the time we got home, I think everyone was ready for bed. Today will be a sleep-in day, and I'm thinking of making most Mondays begin later. Isn't that the dream of the entire working world?

Our "real world" Sunday doesn't look like the Biblical Sabbath. Charming, who works in food service, works most Sundays at 2 p.m. We try to take one of his days off during the week as a rest day. Americans just won't be convinced that there is no way around such things as eight hours of sleep. For decades, "studies" have been done, and the answer is always the same. Lack of rest leads to all those negative outcomes that plague our society. Honoring God's place as head of our lives, and then following His instructions, always works out better, doesn't it?

Well, the Holiday (sewing, knitting, crafting) Crunch is upon us. I got this book from the library, and I am hoping to get a handle on the holidays *before* they "get a handle* on ME! Because of the church dedication ceremonies, Susan is not doing Nutcracker this year, always a messer-up of home life. That's a Good Start for me!

Well, I'm not sure how this rambling post has to do with Abundance. Maybe how Paring Down, in our weekday lives as well as our holiday lives, will yield more Abundance than filling our lives up with things. Jesus said, "I came to give you Life, and that more abundantly," but He *also* said, "Your life does not consist in the abundance of things which you possess" (or, DO...)

Now, there you go. Food for thought for my week.

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