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S-T-R-E-T-C-H
Sep. 15, 2008
update
Yup, I'm shuttin' 'er down.... I've switched over to blogspot. Please visit me at www.6duleys.blogspot.com. It will be the same type of blog... updates on what's going on with the Duleys as well as thoughts and notes from what the Lord has been teaching me. (The skinny of it is... I have a friend who is a whiz on blogspot and she can answer all of my questions and has helped me set up a cute blog!)
Hope to hear from you there! |
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Sep. 3, 2008
this week
Well, last Spring I said that I would not continue doing Excelsior (the classical co-op we in which we participate); I would not continue cleaning houses; I would not coach anymore. My plan was to be a STAY-AT-HOME mom... you know, one who actually stays at home!
At the end of the school year I saw how much the kids had gotten out of Excelsior and how it had helped me to have the accountability, so we decided not to quit. For various reasons, we decided that I couldn't quit cleaning houses altogether right now, so I am still cleaning each week (once one week/ twice the next week). THEN, in early August, the subject of our homeschool cross country team was re-introduced...
It is difficult for me to say no, especially when kids are clamoring for an opportunity to get in shape and run, so we decided to give Spartan XC another go-round. However, we did decide to add some expectations and a fee in order to make it a little more structured. The team is made of homeschool kids in our area, grades 1-12. We meet twice a week for practice and race once a week during the season, which is just beginning. We do several area 5Ks, and we also participate in some high school cross country meets. Legally we are not allowed to compete, but a nice coach in the area lets us run as "ghost runners."
This year our team is shaping up. We have a wide range of fitness levels right now, but it has been great to see everyone improving from where they started. Tomorrow is our first practice meet, so we will see how we stack up!
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Aug. 31, 2008
back online
We have finally gotten internet at home! We decided to skip dial-up and go with the wireless connection that works off cell phone signal. It is much faster (when you are in town, esp.) than dial-up, but because we live in the boonies with not much signal, it is not as fast as DSL or other things.
Anyway, I am hoping to post more often... Of course, try is the operative word here... Last week was so crazy that Friday night at 10:30 when we walked in the door from the football game (after having left teh house at 6:50 AM... Bulldogs 14, Tigers 27.... bummer) when I started cleaning the kitchen, there were tater tots on the counter from Thursday lunch! Hopefully that was an unusually busy week, though!
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Jun. 28, 2008
Stay at home moms
I have been thinking about staying at home vs. working a full time job. I enjoy staying at home, but there are sometimes pulls toward the workforce (esp. at the end of the month!)
Some people say, "what a shame! She paid for that college education and graduated at the top of her class... how could she not make a contribution to our local public school system? Elementary ed, Latin, French... and think of the children who need to see a good Christian role model."
These statements, appealing to my ego, have at different times swayed me to consider joining the workforce. (The thought of doubling our income has crossed my mind as well!) However, the Lord always brings me to the same conclusion... stay home... WHY?
Because although I do NOT...
- Buy groceries without thought to cost,
- serve meat at every meal or go out to eat frequently
- Buy new clothes at the mall (unless my mom is taking me!)
- Always have a spotless house
- Get an incredible amount of affirmation or expressions of appreciation from the students in my classroom/ kitchen table
I DO....
- Understand that we are to be pilgrims in this world, pointed toward Christ; not too comfortable and blending in with our culture
- Want more than anything else to raise my children in the love and admonition of the Lord
- Get to decide what is right and appropriate for my children... from the individual quality of care I was able to give them as infants to being able to make decisions concerning their education. I do not have to wonder if they are being loved at day care or to what they are being exposed in the classroom.
- Get to better serve my husband than I could if I was working his hours outside the home
- Get to prepare home made nutritious (mostly.. that's the goal, anyway!) meals for my family without relying on pre-packaged meals or fast food.
- Not have to be a frazzled mom who rises early, drops off children, works, picks up kids, rushes to soccer practice or swim lessons, picks up fast food on the way home, and poops out only to start all over the next morning
- Get to make play do, paint turtle shells, build tents, read out loud, go to the library, teach my children to cook and sew, and do fun extra stuff like art and Latin
Wow, as I write this list, I am more convinced than ever. It is funny, though, how much pull those few little bullets from the first list can have, esp. when the grocery envelope is awfully thin and things are tight. What an opportunity for me to look to Christ for provision and be thankful for all of the small ways He takes care of us!
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Jun. 4, 2008
Home at last
Whew.... I think we are finally settled in to life in the country. Of course we have no grass, and I have lots of curtains to make, but we are settled in close enough! I have lost my youthful zealousness for completely finishing all home projects upon moving. I think I am seeing that my list is never-ending, so I will just check it off one thing at a time... and be laid back about it in the meantime!
Also, Hot dog, we are getting high speed internet in our area! We are too far out for both DSL and cable, but satellite has just become available. No more checking email in the football locker room! We will have it in a few weeks, so hopefully I will be able to post more often.
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Apr. 8, 2008
Daily Light
Some of you may have glanced at the links on the side of different blogs but not paid much attention. I would like to call your attention to the link that says Daily Light.
Daily Light is one of my favorite devotions because it is a set of scripture joined together under a common theme. The references are at the bottom, so the verses are joined together in a paragraph. There is a morning and evening reading each day, and both are fairly short.
This became one of my favorites when my children were really little and it was difficult for me to take larger chunks of time to study the Word each morning. It remains so, and now you can just click on the link rather than hunting all over your house for a devotion book that really isn't there because it is actually in the football locker room! :) :) (Actually a friend of ours recently gave me an extra copy in order to solve that problem!)
Check it out...
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Apr. 7, 2008
sick or well?
I recently started Matthew in my quiet time, and I determined to really focus on getting to know Christ more as I read. Yesterday's sermon was on Mt. 23, the woes to the pharisees, and then today I picked up in Mt. 9.
This verse in particular leaped out at me... "But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (v.13)
As you read the gospels and see the pattern of Christ, it was one of mercy to the SICK... he healed so many people of all types of infirmities willingly, freely, mercifully, compassionately.
In contrast, his pattern of dealing with people who were "not sick" aka thought they were well, indeed good, was what any southern lady would call awfully harsh. He minced no words and called the pharisees out on their dependence upon works. (see Mt. 23)
There are so many applications to us here, and I have so many disconnected thoughts... but I am mainly thinking that this is very relevant. We can't receive mercy from Christ if we don't see we are sick. The years I spent thinking I was pleasing to God because I knew Jesus died for my sins + a litany of things I was trying to do to please God.... I spent those thinking I was well and not truly seeing my need for a Physician.
One thing our pastor mentioned yesterday was that we think of the pharisees as these monsters who murdered Christ, but in their time, they were really the cream of the crop, well-respected leaders of the religious. We think it couldn't be us b/c we would never bellow loud, long prayers on the street corners... but what about when we feel a slight bit self-righteous because we are homeschooling and dressing modestly?
A pharisee can try hard to keep the law, and even adds things above and beyond what God requires, creating this standard of her own and often applying it to others. However, it is impossible for the pharisee to show true mercy to others. OK, sometimes we express or show it on the outside, but it is not truly there on the inside. Mercy, not sacrifice. It is easier to sacrifice than to be merciful... we want something we can do. Spurgeon talked about in one of his sermons how if he called people to walk to London on hot coals in order to be saved, many more would jump at the chance than those who come knowing there is nothing in self that saves us.. only through Christ.
When the Holy Spirit reveals to us that we are blind, diseased, plagued by sin... when we see our need for a physician, THEN we run to Christ, and He heals us, and his burden is not cumbersome like that of the law. He is so gentle with us and gives us rest. There is no true rest and peace when we are slaving away trying to impress God.
The only thing that impresses Him is the blood and spotless garments of His Son, because that is the only thing that is truly without sin and perfect.
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Apr. 6, 2008
productivity
I understand that a mom is being productive throughout the day with all of our work at home... what could be more productive than training our children and pointing them to Christ? However, every now and then it is very gratifying to make something... to be able to look at a finished product with satisfaction, and check it off a list!
This weekend I had an opportunity to do something of that nature, but on a large scale (for me). I got an idea for organizing our homeschool room which partly involved a great way to display kids work (more on that later) and also built in desks for all four children. I wanted desks to combine space and storage. I like the Pottery Barn idea with 2 file cabinets and a top across the top, but I knew that my children would have those drawers junky in a heartbeat!
So, I came up with this idea: create 4 very deep bookshelves about the height of a desk, leave 4 spaces for chairs between the bookshelves, and then mount a long piece of board to the top to create one long desktop. I thought and researched and came up with a plan.
Enabled by my generous mother-in-law, I went to Union Lumber with a carefully detailed list/plan. This place is a super quaint find... you go to the counter, present your list, and they go get it for you! I showed my list to the man, and he talked me through it for a good 20 minutes... went outside, got my lumber loaded and arrived home by 10am.
When I got home, our neighbor came out and convinced me that the miter saw would work, but a skil saw would be better for the job. Hesitatingly (I like all of my fingers!), I agreed and had a crash course on skil saw use.
My neighbor laughed at me when I compared it to quilting, but it really is like using a rotary cutter and ruler. (of course there is significantly more noise and danger involved... although I have had a few run ins with sharp rotary cutting blades, too!)
In a matter of an hour I had all my pieces cut, and Sarah worked diligently at sanding them for me. I assembled the end panels myself, and then it was time for final assembly. My neighbor came back down and gave me a crash course in nail guns... but then he stayed and we worked together to assemble the rest. (His drill was really heavy, and although I like power tools, I am still a girl!)
By 3:30 I was inside cleaning the kitchen, and there were 4 complete bookshelves ready to be painted on my front porch!
When Scott got home, he was happy, but when the kids told him that I had made them, he was incredulous... when he heard that I had made them with a skil saw and nail gun, you should have seen his face! I assured him of my utmost caution, and he was satisfied and relieved that I had not asked him to undertake the project. In fact, he even encouraged me to make a bookcase for our bedroom!
What a fun weekend! Thanks, Kay!
Oh, yeah, my other idea... Sherwin Williams makes a magnetic primer now. You paint a surface with this stuff and it makes it magnetic. You can then paint over it in any color. I bought some open back raw wood frames from Hobby Lobby (1/2 off, of course) and some mat board. I am going to cut matboard to fit the frames, use the magnetic primer, cover it with white paint, and then paint the frames (I made 2 for each child). When I hang them, the kids will have an easy way to change out their best work and keep rotating it.
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Apr. 1, 2008
Goals
I recently found a list of my top ten goals in life that I had written my senior year of high school. I had to chuckle... I didn't realize how shallow I was (and sometimes still am!) I have become a wife and stay at home mother, which I would not trade and am happy to have seen that on my list! I have not yet run a marathon... every time training has commenced, I have gotten pregnant! :) Perhaps the funniest goal on the list I did not achieve: I did not marry a cowboy, move to Texas, and live on a farm with a big front porch! (Yes, I actually wrote that down, and I remember being serious!)
However, I feel as though I have fared much better. I went to college and met a big, strong football player who was not a cowboy, but he had a good working knowledge of power tools, four wheelers, and trucks! We married and began a crazy journey from the Lord that led to both our conversions, and ultimately us being able to build a home and settle (not in Texas) but on a 120 acre soon to be horse farm with some other small livestock. We weren't able to do a huge front porch, but you should see the stars from it!
Our house is almost complete... probably two more weeks. (So why am I typing instead of packing, I don't know!) I sealed the stained concrete yesterday, and we will hopefully paint the laundry room cabinets this week. That will complete our share of the work, and the rest is finish stuff like setting sinks and closet shelving. If I ever planned on moving again, I wouldn't mind building another house; this has not been terrible or a strain on our marriage or anything like that.
We are building in Keownville, MS, which is 9 miles outside of New Albany, MS. (It is pronounced cownvull) Scott's dad bought 120 acres with the mind to bring his horses there and retire in a year or so. When he found out we were planning to stay, he offered us an acre with a good house site and plenty of room for a garden. I got to design our plan and take it to our builder's cousin who draws blueprints. It was great to be able to draw in all the little things I have thought would be nice over the years. We designed a very simple plan which maximized cost and space- big open area in the middle, split bedrooms, homeschool room upstairs, LARGE laundry room. We went with a brick wood burning fireplace (not one we have to depend on for heat, but one which we can enjoy and use to supplement heat in the winter!!!) and put brick on an interior wall in the kitchen. We almost left the bonus room unfinished, but when we saw how large the space was and found out how little it would take to finish it, we went ahead... I am so glad, because I think having school somewhere other than the kitchen table will be wonderful! (Of course I know it will trickle down and end up there some as well!)
Update on Scott.... He is doing well, but really really busy right now. The head coach left after the season, so Scott was asked to move up to defensive coordinator for the high school. This is a pretty significant promotion for him, so he is spending a lot of time learning the 3-5-3 and getting his boys stronger and faster. He has had some great chances to get to know the kids and really develop relationships with them and speak about the Lord. I've got a few of them calling me mom b/c we are all up there so much!
I agreed to coach the distance runners on the track team as long as our area homeschool runners could participate as well. It has worked out fine, but I have been a little too busy. Next year we are drastically changing some things in our family to cut down on the busy-ness. My heart wants to be at home (and Scott would like that, too), but for a stay-at-home-mom, I don't seem to be there enough!
I miss all of my wonderful friends in KY; we have been so busy the last few months that I have not done a good job keeping in touch. I would love to hear from you! |
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Mar. 18, 2008
John Owen
Many of our reasons for not seeking the Lord include feeling too busy, fatigue, distractedness, interruptions... the list could go on. When you boil all these things down to the root, you find pride and unbelief, two of the great root sins.
We must remember that Christ is sufficient, even amongst our distractions and interruptions! John Owen says in Communion With God,
If now, there be grace enough for sinners in an all-sufficient God, it is in Christ; and, indeed, in any other there cannot be enough..... But how shall this be? So much sin and not ashamed! So much guilt and not confounded! "Thy maker," saith he, "is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called." This is the bottom of all peace, confidence, and consolation. ---the grace and mercy of our Maker, of the God of the whole earth. |
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Mar. 17, 2008
blindness
I have been thinking about blindness this morning, especially blindness that occurs from birth. Seeing only darkness and fuzzy shadows, but never knowing any different...
I have been in Colossians in my quiet times lately, and this morning I went to write out some of the verses that have meant a lot to me this time around. The last time I read Colossians was several years ago, and in the meantime, Christ has taken the scales from my eyes and given me sight. Not literal sight, but an eternally valuable type of the spiritual nature.
I had been a very moral, self-righteous person, bent on being pleasing to God. Actually, I have much sympathy for the rich young ruler (who is often portrayed so obviously hoping in himself that we think it could never be us); I gravitated to verses that told me what to do and who to be... that was do-able (in my mind), and I spent the bulk of my time reading verses that contained "lists" of things to do.
Through various circumstances (mainly having four children in less than 5 years), the Lord showed me that I kept struggling with assurance because I didn't understand what it meant to look to Christ. I saw that I was not who I thought myself to be. I was not good, but full of sin, and I saw that there was sin in everything I did, no matter what it looked like to everyone else. He showed me that Christ's righteousness is our only hope and what wonderful peace and rest comes through looking to Him and not self. I went from thinking I was a Christian based on external things (teaching Sunday school, homeschooling, trying to be a good mom, having a quiet time in the morning, etc) to now being able to say that I am a Christian because Christ showed me my sin and allowed me to run to him and be shown mercy; now I do those things because I have seen how much I have been forgiven and want to express my love and thankfulness to Him. The difference is motivation, and it can be so subtle! A shift from self to Christ, not even really not even much changed on the outside, but the difference between life and death!
You know, the funny thing about someone who is deceived is that the person doesn't know it. A person doesn't intend to buy a false bill of goods, but sometimes it happens. I was a blind person seeing only shadows and darkness, but I didn't know any different. Peace was more like a flicker from a taper than the steady stream of sunlight found in Christ. The line from a hymn, "I woke, the dungeon flamed with light/ my chains fell off, my heart was free/ I rose, went forth, and followed Thee" is very real to me.
ANYWAY, back to Colossians... this time around, I thought it was interesting to see that the lists are still there, but they have a completely different meaning now. Before you get to the passage in Colossians I used to use as a Spiritual checklist (which, btw, after seeing myself in true light, I understand that I never really was in fact able to check anything off!), you get to wade through the river of verses about Christ!
Col. 1:9-18 (v.14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
Christ in you, the hope of glory
As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so waslin Him, rooted and built up in Him and est. in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksguving.
You are complete in Him
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of the requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is... For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
THEN you get to this passage:
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Ok, so when you read this in context with open, scale-less, spiritual eyes, what a beautiful passage that stirs up love to Christ and a desire to have a heart overflowing with love and grace to Him! It's not even really a checklist at all!
Have a blessed day and remember that homeschooling is great for us, great for our kids, but it can't ensure the salvation of anyone... only looking to Christ can! :)
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Mar. 14, 2008
Stretch?
| My life seems to be a series of various stretches... Stretching forward in the pursuit of Christ ("pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"); stretching to accomplish all that the Lord would have me do in a 24 hr. period; stretching to make our budget work with a fairly large family and rising costs; stretching before and after physical conditioning.... Sometimes at day's end it seems that I have not performed a juggling act, but rather an acrobatic routine! |
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