Recently, I had a conversation with a sister in Christ in which we literally laughed ourselves to tears. She had a very real need. I appreciated the need, because I've "been there" sort of.
I began to pray. I'm a single mom, Lord, but I believe you'd have me meet this need. I prayed for a couple of days. Then I picked up my checkbook. I did the things I needed to do for my family and there was still money left.
It's Christmas and of course I could use the money. But this need, now left me more in tears than laughter.
I wrote out a check and sent it to my sister, and told her it was to meet this specific need and nothing else.
About a week later, from someone else -- who knew nothing of the situation, I received a Christmas card with cash and the message that I was suppose to use the cash (more than double what I'd given) for a specific need I had, that I had put aside, because it seemed so much less of a need than my sisters.
Why am I so constantly amazed by the Lord's goodness and provision?
How has He blessed you and your family in His abundant provision during this season?
Blessings, MaggieRaye
I mentioned in my last post that the dance center’s performance team marched in two parades this past weekend. For most team parents, this meant getting the child to and from the parade, and (in many cases) standing on the sidelines to cheer the kid on as they performed. For us, it also meant walking—all five of us—in the parade. How do we get ourselves into these situations?!!! Somehow, our knack for offering to “help out where we can” often lands us in some interesting places. This time, little brother wound up carrying the boom-box of Christmas tunes, dad helped carry the parade banner, and little sister and I walked behind as the first line of defense against the float behind us. We were too busy keeping up to take any pictures of this, but the oldest was still the headliner.
For some strange reason, this parade always brings the cold weather. Honestly, it was 60-70 degrees all week before this parade; the night we walked it was in the 50’s and dropping. Some of you reading this will laugh that I thought 50 degrees was cold, but bear in mind that we were out in it at night for almost 3 hours, and of all the places for our group to line up, we were right on the water. The wind chill had to be in the 40’s, so even though we layered up, we still wound up snuggling just to have a chance at staying warm. Thankfully, someone with more knowledge about how to stay warm over an extended amount of time (her family had a deer lease) brought disposable hand warmers for us all. I’d never seen these! They looked too good to be true, but once they heated up, it felt soooooooo good to stick our hands in our pockets and be refreshingly warmed all over again. The girls were able to muster this shot once we all felt better.
Sunday’s parade was much warmer, but a fog so thick you could cut it with a knife rolled in. Amazingly enough, the fog didn’t come until after the parade was finished, which meant an interesting walk back to the car. Yet, the girls were still in a festive mood.
Walking in a parade or two was great exercise; it also gives an introvert a lot of time to think. I thought about how good it felt, particularly with everything going on in the world right now, to smile and say, “Merry Christmas.” Much of what I thought about was a conversation I’d had just the day before with my mother-in-law. The church where I met her, and subsequently met my husband, has moved past the position of Christmas being too commercialized and secularized. For the last several years, that church has been on a “there is no Christ in Christmas” campaign. Much of what the church espouses comes from the perspective that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, along with the pagan origins of the Christmas tree and the red-suited, “ho, ho, ho” version of Santa Claus that we see all over the stores and television. So there is no Christmas music (not even Christian songs that are categorized as Christmas music, like “Silent Night” or “O Come, All Ye Faithful”), no encouragement to give gifts or do any of the other traditional things that we associate with this season. Though much of their perspective is a matter of fact, as my mother-in-law says, it’s never been about a tree for us. My father-in-law adds that celebrating Jesus, even if it’s technically in the wrong season, is never a bad thing. I say this knowing that there are whole Christian sects that do not celebrate Christmas or any other holiday. My mil’s concern, and I think she’s right on target with this, is that Christmas is a wonderful time to minister to the lost, whether you buy into all the traditional trappings or not. Because of the adamant determination of her church (we left years ago) to depart from what we associate with Christmas, they’ve all but lost the chance to show people Jesus at this time through giving, through sharing, and through loving. As one example, there was a vendor who donated to her church bicycles. The bicycles were for children of incarcerated parents. The leaders of the church actually met to decide whether or not to accept the bicycles, and if they accepted and then distributed the bicycles, would it be a violation of the “Christ is not in Christmas” policies. Huh? It sounds a lot like Karen’s comment below that her church stopped having services during Christmas week.
All of this flowed through my mind, and then came throbbing to the front when pastor described us, the church, as the frog sitting in a pot of water that is gradually heated to boiling. As a child, I remember our school Christmas programs, where the songs mentioned above, as well as others like “Amen” with its lyric ‘see the little baby (Amen)/ lying in a manger (Amen)/ on Christmas morning (Amen, Amen, Amen) were part of the school chorus’ repertoire. Now those songs are replaced with the more politically correct harmonies about “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” Don’t get me wrong; Nat King Cole’s rendition of that particularly classic is one of my favorite songs of the season, but it will never replace “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” Our ability to celebrate this holiday is slowly being taken away from us with each expressed “Happy Holidays,” Merry Xmas,” or even the mention of, as one university where I teach says, a “winter break.” No one denies the right of others to celebrate Hanukkah or even Kwanzaa; this would be the mark of the intolerant. One of my mantras during this politically correct age is that ‘toleration’ really means that the Christian is expected to tolerate everyone; no one tolerates the Christian.
So as I walked with one hand on my six-year-old and the other in the air, my spirit was uplifted as my smile met other smiles and echoes of “Merry Christmas.” I mused about our traditions and how they’ve developed over the years. This almost made me laugh out loud. I reflected upon our earliest Christmases B. C.—before children. I was so determined that we would have our own traditions, though I had no clue of what they would be. So with that agenda in mind, I fought my husband’s contentment to go to his parent’s house for the entire day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and assuredly hurt my mil’s feelings with such an unsettling, though unspoken, announcement of how her family traditions were changing. Mind you, it wasn’t as if we were rushing off because we had other plans; we didn’t actually do anything worth remembering when we left her home. It was simply my way of trying to say that we, the two of us, were our own family now.
Fast forward almost 20 years, much of what we do during this time is geared toward the kids’ happiness—at least that’s the way I saw it. The teacher in me wants them to learn the lyrics to “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and other popular tunes because they are a part of our cultural literacy—at least for now—so I play our favorite seasonal soundtracks. We always buy a tree, even if it’s late in the season. Gifts are always set out on early—oh, so early--on the 25th, as if Santa really did bring them during the night (HA HA). And though I stopped helping decorate the tree—just didn’t feel like it anymore and the kids were happy to take over, I still enjoy the Hallmark ornaments that I’ve bought over the years—half-price after Christmas is over.
I don’t want to be the frog in the pot that doesn’t realize the water’s grown hotter until it’s too late. If only for the generations that will come from me, I will fight to keep our once-laughable traditions alive. More than anything else, I’ll make a special effort to say those magical words that are currently threatened with extinction:
Merry Christmas.
What a week! I’m still recuperating from all the activities, and yet I am in wind-down mode, intentionally avoiding my tendency to overbook the holiday. I’m adamant about not missing the reason in the busy-ness of the season. I will perhaps take a deliberate break from the weekly wrap-up format during these next three weeks while we’re out of school. There won’t be much to write, and in the attempt to relax a bit (yes, I do know how! LOL), I won’t pin myself to having to blog at any certain time. I have plans, but I really am just trying to “be,” if that makes sense during this time. It’s my own little restoration and renewal plan. At any rate, this entry will resemble the weekly wrap-up format because when I began writing it—almost a week ago—I formatted it that way.
Before I list what’s been happening with us, I have to recommend Poiema’s scrumptious chicken and lettuce wraps (see here)! Imagine something this colorful…
also delighting the palate with the sweetness of Craisins (I had no cherries), the tart sensations of rice vinegar and teriyaki sauce, and a spicy chicken (I used Tyson’s fajita chicken meat rather than the ginger-seasoned variety that Poiema mentioned). Keep in mind, this all happens before you put this feast for the eyes and the tongue on a bed of lettuce. Wow, delicious and nutritious. It was the perfect lunch, with nothing left over after we both went back for seconds.
I’ve totally forgotten most of last week, but last Friday came like a rushing mighty wind. The oldest participated in two local parades—an event worth a separate post. My husband and I have laughed as all those missed Wii Fit workouts came back to haunt us. Walking both parade routes must have been somewhere between 6-8 miles round trip; the second one wasn’t so bad, but after the first, my lower back, my hips, and my behind revolted against me. I could barely get out of bed on Saturday morning! But I had to because our niece had a birthday party, and the youngest was invited to what must have been the place where moonwalks go when they’ve been very good.
I still can’t figure out how this place fits so many moonwalks in one space, but the youngest jumped and slid and bounced so much until I was shocked that she held down her food. It was a fun time, but my own enjoyment was put on pause because our son had to get to the dance center for a fundraising event. The competition team babysat smaller tykes at the center for $25. I’m sure one day he’ll look back and laugh about his evening with a bunch of 3- and 4-year-old girls, but it certainly wasn’t his cup of tea that evening. As for me, I was thankful that the instructor allowed parents to go home (originally we were to help with the babysitting). I would have done my part, but I’m slowly starting to realize that I’m not a teenager any more, and all of this happened in addition to the regular weekend business—errands, grades, church. I was simply happy to get home and sit down for a minute.
Sunday was the Christmas party for our 13- and 14-year-olds. The superhero and I split up so that he could go to an earlier service and then secure breakfast tacos for the kids. We had a great time. When we were with them last, our lesson was about trust and the class worked in teams to create posters. When I thought about it later, that was one of the first times they worked as teams—successfully—and actually enjoyed it. So our oldest relayed a request that the kids wanted to complete their posters during the party. The Sunday School will take a 2-week break and begin anew in 2010, so we’ll have some time to just sit and be fed during this season—always welcomed.
Plan A was to get the Christmas tree on Sunday after church and decorate, but I was so fatigued until we settled for football, games, and relaxation. The kids put out the Nativity set and I have to say, the house began to feel like Christmas. Our tradition is to buy a fresh tree each year, but we always wait until just a few days before Christmas day so that the tree can stay greener longer. So by Tuesday when we did purchase the tree and the smell of fir began to fill up the area, I started to really get into the spirit of things. Now I just need to find my CDs. Of course, none of these things, and they are just that—“things”—make Christmas was it is, but they are neat treats for me during this special time.
We definitely slacked off significantly this week because of additional activities. I began teaching a class on this past Thursday night, which will also be on break for two weeks. On that same night, the youngest had her first practice as an Upward cheerleader on the same Thursday night. Friday was our son’s first practice for his competitive solo, with the first regional in late February.
So, with all that said, today was the first day I’ve had to complete the more leisurely tasks. That meant that I went grocery shopping, and the superhero was kind enough to drive me to a few other places about town (shhhh! Can’t say more in case the kids read my post!)
Tomorrow is 3rd Sunday, and we would have been on break anyway, but I’m especially excited to hear the Lord through our pastor. I’m excited about sleeping a bit later. I’m excited about wrapping a few gifts each day before the kids awaken. I’m excited about meeting a few homeschool moms for coffee (and pancakes?) at IHOP later this week. I’m excited about Christmas Eve service. I’m excited that the kids are excited. And most of all, I’m excited about Christ, our Messiah who is the source of my excitement about everything else.
It's the week before Christmas and it has been bittersweet. I started last week, with receiving, via email, the news that a very, very dear friend of our family had gone home to be with the Lord. I am still not sure I've processed it.
In the process, the Lord showed me how He has had His protective hand on my for the last four or five years. I don't necessarily like it, but I know it has been for my best, for the best of my children.
The Lord has be right now, practicing, "be still and know that I am God". This is where I meditate daily - sometimes hourly.
At the same time, the Lord has brought a new friend into our lives. He's also allowed for the renewal of an old and dear friendship.
Bitter and Sweet.
And on top of it, me - she who does not like change - is having a very different sort of Christmas this year. Absolutely no church stuff - no programs, no services, nothing outside of our home. My family dynamics have changed this year and for the first time in many years, it will be just my father with us. My mother will be spending Christmas with my brother and his girlfriend at their house. The funny thing is, I'm really okay with it. It's just different.
We've been doing Advent focused devotions every evening and on Sunday's we've been doing a special Advent devotional with our advent wreath. It's the first year we've use that since -- well, since before MattMann joined our family.
What is going on in your family this holiday season?
Merry Christmas Wishes to you and yours,
MaggieRaye
We're counting down the days to Christmas around our house -- how about you?
It'll be different this year. I don't usually like change, but I'm looking forward to it.
I'm posting today, because several days ago I started a 40 days of prayer about making a BIG career change. No I'm not giving up being a full time mom, nor am I giving up homeschooling.
The reality is that MattMann is 9 and each year he needs a little less of my direct involvement. He's the baby. Someone challenged me, "What are you going to do when he turns 18 and graduates?" Did I already share this? Well, anyway, it is worthy of repeating.
The challenge was really, are you going to continue to be a Titus 2 woman and mentor us younger homeschooling mom's or are you going to forsake us, like most of the other older Christian women have and go back to the world and a career?
I'm not going to share details, but over the course of the last several weeks, the Lord has given me a peek into the direction I believe He would have me to go. If I start now, by the time MattMann is headed out on his own, I will be set in a new ministry that will keep me busy, and keep me a Titus 2 woman.
If you're praying with me, leave a comment. If you know me personally, and I've shared with you, where I think the Lord is leading -- don't tell, not yet. I'm very excited to see where the Lord is leading and how He is going to do this.
Blessings, MaggieRaye
I got a couple of notes offline about this month's header. These shots were taken by another parent of the dance center, and I don't know how I laid the CD away for 6 months without looking at it. I wish I had skills in photography like this. But at least I get to share the other fabulous shots he got of the family.
“I don’t feel so well.” This was where I started my day. We’ve been blessed in that the kids are not sick very often, so a bad cough or stomach upset can throw our day off completely. As it turns out, the youngest only had a sniffle, and was feeling well enough by the day’s end to help with cleaning her room.
The oldest had nothing on her planner for today—absolutely nothing. She completed her last science test for this semester on yesterday, making her second “A,” which leaves her with a solid “B” for the course (I’m believing God that she’ll be able to drop the first test score). So the normal Wednesday class time is no more until late January. When I saw that her planner was blank, everything in me wanted to tell her what she should do given the extra time she now had. But I’m learning, ever so slowly, a few lessons in raising a teenager and allowing her to make choices—even if they are different choices than I would make. So I waited. When she saw her empty slate, she began to list possibilities, and then followed with, “And I still didn’t get to watch the end of that science video( her class is recorded for those who are absent or who need more review). I think that’s why I got that last test question wrong.” Mind you, this is the science class that she asked to drop not too long ago, and the class that she’s now finished until January, and she wants to complete the review of a portion she missed? Wow! I was so impressed—with her for her commitment to excellence, and with me for keeping my mouth shut.
Months ago, I posted an entry authored by someone else that talked about the trouble with teens (see here). I’m convinced that the author is on to something when he addresses the issue of parents learning to trust. Interestingly enough, there is a meme circulating entitled “Talking about Teens.” In visiting the blogs of a few friends, I read through one of the latest weekly assignments. I found it intriguing, for lack of a better word, that the creator went out of his/her way to point out that the comments should be positive. I couldn’t help but think about our school year on last year, but I won’t reflect on it long, as things are too good now to spend time with the past.
On last year, not only did we have a tough year academically, we had a tough time in any area you name. If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog for more than, say, 6-8 months, you would know of our 4-month unemployment testimony (see here), which began in December of last year. Personally, that’s about as close to the time period as I can get, so I was taken back when my husband brought it up on the exact date, almost sharing it as if it were an anniversary. It shouldn’t have surprised me; men place so much importance on their jobs. It defines them, it gives them a place and a sense of prestige. Put simply, if you ask most women who they are, they will tell you about their families—married, x number of kids, etc. If you ask most men who they are, they’ll tell you where they work and what they do for a living. As an aside, my husband even talks about how he accompanied his dad to a banquet at the father’s church, full of senior men. These gentleman, well past the age of getting up to go to work each morning, still identified themselves in their introductions by where they retired from, how many years they were there, etc.
Well, anyway, as my husband talked about a year ago “to the day,” he thanked me for being so supportive of him and so resourceful during this year, which blessed me tremendously. I was glad that my husband thought of me as a help during this time, because I didn’t always feel so helpful. As we finally reach a point where ‘our souls look back and wonder how we got over,’ as the more seasoned saints say, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the kids, and how this whole experience has impacted them. A while ago I wrote an article for Heart of the Matter magazine talking about a child’s response to a household crisis. In a nutshell, children learn to respond by watching how you as parents respond. And so, as the kids and I read through the 44th Psalm today, I remembered our response. I even remembered sharing with the kids why we would spend time with this particular book. David wrote many of the psalms while in dire circumstances. He never failed, regardless of his state of being, to give God praise. Though I wouldn’t ask to walk through it again, I was even more thankful that God allowed the children to see us respond to what He allowed. I pray that the Holy Spirit will bring these times to their remembrance as they need them. Here are the words that resonated with me this afternoon, and I pray that they bless you as well:
We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago…
You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.
Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes.
I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;
but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.
In God we make our boast all day long, we will praise your name forever. Selah (Psalm 44: 1, 4-8)
It is far too late to write this, but I was determined to not wake up in the a.m. with it still left on my weekend platter of “to dos”. As I’m somewhere between awake and dozing, I’ll make it brief. If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.
From where I sat this past week,
As an individual, I…
continue to enjoy our pastor’s series on laying aside weights. He wrapped up this sermon on Haman with this thought: we must carry our crosses. We do not have to carry the weight. Haman could not help the fact that the Agagites were slaughtered hundreds of years ago. This act, now in his past, was his cross. His trouble was that he carried around the weight—the hatred, the self-absorption, the thirst for revenge—and it cost him his life. In listening to our pastor, and in being ministered to, it occurred to me that I’ve been blessed to sit under some great teaching through the years. I’ve joined two churches since moving here after college, one as a single lady, and then our current church, where we’ve worshipped for a little over 10 years. When I think back, in both cases these were not the most prayed-upon decisions; a friend or acquaintance would suggest that we go, and we went and liked what we saw. I even had initial reservations about joining our current church. I am so glad that God sees so much farther than we see, and in spite of my lack of prayer in joining, He knew where we needed to be. Our church plans to relocate within the next two years—a drive that will be even farther for us. We’re still trying to decide what is our place once the building is completed, and of course, that needs prayer. It may be time to move, but I would sure miss the richness of the Word delivered by our current pastor. Oh, my friends, that we would let go of some of life’s clutter (hurts, disappointments, negativity) and embrace the freedom of a Messiah who wants to move us forward…
As a wife and homemaker, I…
am getting more and more excited about this season. I called myself getting ahead of the kids and buying some surprises, only to realize as they form their lists that I didn’t buy much of what they wanted. Oh, well, what are gift cards for, right? At any rate, we’ll miss the church’s annual family concert, which has become a tradition for us. The oldest has two parades in which she’ll participate, and with our snow day on last week, they are now both rescheduled for this weekend. I think that by Sunday we will need to rest and relax as a family. I’m envisioning pizza(smile). My husband and I will also fast after Christmas and into the new year, which has always been a tremendous source of restoration and renewal for us. To say that this year has had its challenges would be an understatement. Yet, for every trial I could list, I could immediately list God’s faithfulness to us. As much as I enjoy eating when I want, I look forward to time with the Father.
As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…
have been a student myself this week. As a part of my ongoing training for college instructing, I had three days of learning about why college students get off to a poor start academically, which in many cases has nothing to do with academics. The university will introduce new introductory classes that will focus more on the intangibles—time management, study skills, etc. Obviously, it makes me think about what we are doing here beyond completion of assignments. As kids get older, I am amazed at how much how they are learning becomes as critical as what they are learning. Once they’re away, they no longer have the benefit of you to guide and direct their studies, so these components of learning have to somehow be incorporated into what they do, even with Mom in the same house. It’s like pretending you’re not there, even though you are.
We’ve had lots of laughs poking fun at Homer this week while reading. It intrigues me that while Homer is considered a classic historian, he would probably fail any modern-day composition class. Why? Because of his overuse of extended metaphors, leading to run-on sentencing. Check this out:
As gale-winds swirl and shatter under the shrilling gusts on days when drifts of dust lie piled thick on the roads and winds whip up the dirt in a dense whirling cloud—so the battle broke, storming chaos, troops inflamed, slashing each other with bronze, carnage mounting, manslaughtering combat bristling with rangy spears, the honed lances brandished in hand and ripping flesh and the eyes dazzled now, blind with the glare of bronze, glittering helmets flashing, breastplates freshly burnished, shields fiery in sunlight, fighters plowing on in a mass… (Fagles’ translation of Homer’s Iliad, (lost the page number!))
We’ve come up with some analogies of our own, like the ‘night, dark as burnt toast, hot from the toaster, which Mom lifts, to the tenderness of her caramel-colored fingertips, now singed and longing for the sensation of cool water running from the faucet, like…’ I thought it was funny, anyway. The oldest asked, “Did people actually listen to this?” I went on to talk about all the pastime activities that probably didn’t exist thousands of years before Christ, and how you had to envision people sitting by fires listening to someone tell the story. My daughter’s response was, “I envision a bunch of people falling asleep.” As much as I try to convey the gravity of these stories and why we read them, I had to admit this was hilarious. We’re deep into the 400+ pages, and should wrap this up in the next few weeks at around 600 pages. Whew!
Our son is wrapping up his last elementary Apologia series—my, how quickly they grow. He will begin the same series with the older, twice-as-thick general science text in January. I mentioned buying Live and Learn’s Apologia lapbook guide to help him, but I am spending the bulk of my planning time just growing into a comfort level with who each child is, how they learn, successes and shortcomings, and what all this means for me as mom and teacher. Cathy over at Basketflat had the neatest post about finding your own voice—both in blogging and in homeschooling. I am amazed at a mom who’s so young in her homeschooling journey having such wisdom about her studies, her children, and the God who is Lord over it all. After seven years, I’m finally reaching that level of comfort, amidst all the theories, that says somewhere deep within, “This is who we are.” Others may have a different testimony, but for me, that comfort level hasn’t always come easy.
The youngest has relocated to the bigger table—totally inconvenient for me, but I wouldn’t dare crush her confidence about being ready for more. We are currently following Tanglewood’s 1st grade reading selections, and sharing Five Children and It. Though there is a powerful lesson here about being careful what you wish for, I have to say that this has not been one of my favorite books. The author’s voice changes fairly regularly between telling the story in 3rd person to talking to the reader in 2nd person, which, I think, confuses the storyline for a 1st grader. There’s also the non-standard accent in which she shares exactly how townspeople react to the five lead characters. It’s a dialect that I don’t replicate well, making the book even more difficult to share with a six-year-old. The result is that we leave a number of parts out. I’m looking forward to moving on to Bambi, if I can find it. There seem to be very few copies in print of the original story.
As a business owner, I…
am still waiting on the book order. In the meantime, I wrote a couple of articles. I’m also praying about making the right changes for the right reasons, and I continue to edit. My superhero is also penning some of the science/ Sunday School lessons that we’ve shared with our class over the years, and I’m editing his work, too. Much prayer needed on where the Lord wants to take these efforts.
Well, after all of that, I did wind up finishing on Monday morning. I just didn’t have the strength to stay up and complete the job on last night (or earlier this morning, I should say). May the Lord bless your week as well.
The following information is from a website that was hacked this week. It makes me crazy, because I know of another homeschooling family that had all their website/blogs etc hacked this past week. What is up with this??
MaggieRaye
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Thank you!
We appreciate your business. |
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Dear Friends of Amelia's Aprons;
Recently Amelia's Aprons web site was targeted by hackers. This malicious act of invasion re-routed our customers and left our site with a blank empty page. Let me first say that we do not keep personal information stored on our site, so there is no need for alarm if you have created an account or purchased from us in the past.
I am writing to you today to ask for your help. This attack has left us with a non-existent standing in the search engines and all that we have worked so hard to build over the past 5 years has been lost. Would you consider forwarding this e-mail to everyone that you know, who may be interested in our products? If you have a blog would you consider posting a link to our store? Or perhaps consider hosting an apron give-a-way for us. If you have a web site would you consider a link exchange with us? These are just some ways that you can help us spread the word that we are back. If you have any questions about the changes to our store or would like more information about hosting a contest please feel free to e-mail me directly at lorrie@ameliasaprons.com If you would like to link to us you may point your browser to http://www.ameliasaprons.com if you would like to exchange links with us please feel free to e-mail your information to the above e-mail address.
Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to consider how you might can help us.
Wishing you and yours all the best this holiday season
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Amelias Aprons
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1(NIV, emphasis mine)
The Lord has been really speaking to me in “niblets” lately, and I have about three posts floating around in my head. I’m sure they’ll make it to paper at the right time.
Our pastor preached from this sermon, in part, on this past Sunday. He actually used the character Haman from the book to speak about the “weight” (the word used in the King James version rather than ‘things that hinder’) that caused his doom—a hatred of the Jews from the killing of the Agagites years before. The sermon was powerful, but I was stuck in this verse and an appropriate reflection on the things that hinder me.
I shared previously about my traditional burnout during this point in our school year. Earlier in my homeschool journey, I saw this as a sign of being a poor homeschool mom, and I would hesitate to voice it to anyone. Now, without the need to constantly wear a cape on my back, and with an ear and eye toward the hearts of candidly sincere moms who’ve gone before me, I have no problem admitting some things. One of those admissions is that burnout is real. Anyone who stays with homeschooling long enough will live to testify that you will grow weary before you grow graduates.
Having said that, this is the first year, even including the first year, that I’ve not experienced the burnout that normally defines my homeschool days between November and December. As I say each week in my wrap-up, we are enjoying a year of tremendous fruit. Not only are we prospering in our homeschool, but I am prospering in a number of areas. Yet, I find myself expecting to burned out, and that places a damper on all the things I should be excited about. My expectation that I shouldn’t be doing well at this point is the weight that is hindering me. And then, as I sat in church allowing the Lord to reveal all of this to me, I thought about how often I hear people speak from their weights. Whether it’s clinical depression, a work situation that isn’t going well, a ministry that isn’t blossoming, or children that aren’t aligned with the vision, we resign ourselves to certain situations and face the day as if they’ve taken permanent root in our lives. Those thoughts consume us and keep us from rejoicing in the beauty of who we are in Christ and the wondrous works He created. My husband and I talk all the time about people in our lives who always talk about the same things over and over, and they can maneuver any conversation around to how broke they are, or how sick and/or tired they’ve been, or just about themselves period. Being preoccupied with self, even if it’s with good things, is spiritually dangerous, and it limits Christ’s joy from manifesting through us. It stumps our witness, and it takes our eyes of who Christ is in us, much like Peter when he stopped looking at Jesus and instead focused on the water he walked on.
If I weren’t focused on the fact that I should be burned out, and why I am not burned out, and whether this is a permanent thing or just temporary, I might spent more time enjoying the unusual snow day earlier today. I might have enjoyed more the fact that the superhero was snowed in with us today. I might be more excited about the parades that the oldest will perform in this coming weekend. I could whip out the movie “The Nativity Story” and remind myself, amidst my neighbors who fight to see who can put up the most Christmas lights but won’t get up and go to church (a sermon for another time), what Christmas is all about. I could speak encouragement into my college students. I might rejoice that we are able to buy the kids Christmas gifts that they want and need, debt-free. I could hug more. I could give more kisses. I could stomp on the devil with sustained fervency.
What weight do you need to let go? May the Lord reveal to you what’s hindering you from allowing Him to be more inside of you, and God bless.