Thoughts Along the Way - Homeschool Blogger

Hello! I'm Here!

Fri, 29 May 2009 07:53:00 -0500

Yes, I know, it has been an incredibly long time since my last blog post.

A lot has gone on since my last post.

First and foremost, Ruthie Eloise entered this world on March 9. She is a beautiful baby and a joy to all of us. She has an instant fan club in her brother and sisters. They are so into everything she does and they love to make her smile and giggle.

If you want to see pictures and basically stay more current with what is going on in my life.... I know, it is so exciting.... I am on Facebook and would love for you to be my friend over there. At this time of my life, it is way more easier to keep up with popping on Facebook than it is to write a blog post on a regular basis. So, search for me Christa Herrema Mullins on Facebook and let me know that you are a blog friend.

I hope to "see" you soon!

In Him,
Christa

HALT!

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:03:00 -0600

I received the devotional below from a dear friend today. As I read it, I just knew I needed to post it here to share. As moms, we are often faced with different times in our lives that can potentially lead us to depression. It is so helpful to know that we can be aware and prepared to act to help ourselves from falling in too deep.

First of all, let me state that I am not a professional! I do not know all the ins and outs of clinical depression. I am just a mom who has dealt with some depression in my life. I am not against seeking professional help, and am all for medication if it is needed.

When I realized that I was depressed, the Lord was beginning me on a journey to learn to depend more on Him. I began to really personalize His Word and see how it related so personally to my life and what I was going through. I started praying passages to Him and seeing how He would guide me to specific Scriptures to teach me, heal me and/or comfort me.

In this season of pouring out into my children's lives, it is vital that I am being filled by my Lord and doing the things that help me to be able to serve and love with a joyful heart.

With that said, I share with you the thoughts below... I hope you find them helpful.

From Quiet Moments with God devotional:

Hebrews 12:1 TLB Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up.

Those who counsel the clinically depressed often suggest the HALT! method to their patients. HALT is an acronym based upon these four words:

. Hungry
. Angry
. Lonely
. Tired

Too much of any of these conditions can result in a stress overload and lead to a downward spiral that eventually crashes into a form of depression. When two or more of these conditions are present, the downward plunge happens faster, with greater pain. And, if all four conditions are present as an ongoing pattern in a person's life, the person's depression may not only be deep, but life itself may be endangered.

To compound the problem, hunger anger, loneliness, and exhaustion tend to cluster together. If you are overly tired, it's easier to become angry. If you have missed a meal, you are likely to get tired more quickly, and so forth.

Therefore, any time you are feeling too hungry, too angry, too lonely, or too tired...it's time to call a HALT! and to take immediate remedial action. Have a healthy bite to eat. Release your anger in prayer, exercise, or an act of reconciliation. Call a friend, and pour out your heart. Take a nap, or go to bed early.

"Call it to a halt" and "enough is enough" are well-known phrases we need to apply on a daily basis. Don't neglect your personal nutrition. Get enough sleep. Balance your life with friendships. Live in peace with the people around you.

As you prepare to come to the end of your workday, it's especially important you remember to HALT!. Don't push yourself into overdrive, even if you have to work overtime. Avoid setting yourself up for a crash by staying well fed, calm, in touch with friends, and refreshed.

"Holy Leisure" refers to a sense of balance
in the life, an ability to be at peace through
the activities of the day, an ability to rest
and take time to enjoy beauty.
An ability to pace ourselves.

-- Richard Foster

Learning to Follow What the Lord Has for Me

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:19:00 -0600

As I write this, it is the morning after the PPEA's Annual Tea. I had thought that I would go, after all, I am a board member! Many friends would be there and this would be lovely time of fellowship. It sounded like a good thing to plan to do, right? Well, all along, I never felt settled about going, and it was more than just because I am 5 months pregnant and evening activities wear this momma out. Well, I took this unsettled feeling as a leading from the Lord to stay home last night.

And you know what? I could see His purpose almost right away. In the afternoon, when I would have been getting myself ready and then heading over to help with preparations for the Tea, I was able to help a friend in a time of need. If I had gone to the Tea, I would not have been as readily available to help and probably stressed out besides. Also, my husband came home from work with an armload of work that he needed to work on last night. If I had planned on going to the Tea, he would have been left with all that work to do as well as taking care of the kids. Or it could have ended up that he would have asked me to stay home and I would have been disappointed or even worse, mad at him for making me miss out.

I'm sharing this because the Lord is teaching me to be lead by Him, to rest in what has for me, not for anyone else....for me!

Not too long ago, I felt the need to keep up with what my friends were doing. I thought I had to keep up. But, I'm not supposed to be looking a others for direction in my life...I'm to be looking to the One who made me. Staying really busy and being out and about does not work so well for me. It stresses me out and drains me. I need down time and time of quiet. You may not be like me, the Lord has a plan for your life, too.

When I am seeking Him and spending time in His Word and talking with Him, I am more able to hear His leading in my life. When I quiet my heart and wait for His still, small voice, He shows me the way to go.

I just found this verse yesterday, and it goes so well with what He has been teaching me...

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8 NLT

I just love this verse! He wants us to come to Him, He wants to show us the best pathway for each one of us. The question is, are we going to Him and asking?

Awakening

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 08:04:00 -0600

Please forgive me.

I know that it has been a long time since I have posted an entry. If you have found your way here, thank you for your patience. I just have not had much to say lately.

Life has gone on. Sam has had a birthday. Girls are growing and thriving. The air is cooler now, so the kids have been running around outside, hollering and chasing. It is good.

In October we found out that we are having another girl. :-) Her name is Ruthie Eloise and we are all looking forward to her arrival in March. I just cannot wait to smell her little fuzzy head and cradle her warm little body. But for now I enjoy feeling her soft jabs within my belly. There is nothing like it in all the world... to feel your little one moving around inside you.

This morning I was digging through the two books of Timothy trying to find the verses that instruct us to pray for our kings and those in authority over us. Finally I found them, (1 Timothy 2:1-4) but as I was skimming through the books of Timothy, I was realizing what a treasure trove these books truly are. There is so much in these letters that tell us how to live as Christians. I am feeling drawn to study these books. So, I think I should.

Here are the verses from Timothy that I was looking for:

1 Timothy 2:1-4
"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for He wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth."

I hope to be writing here more frequently, but I honestly can only write when I feel like I have something to say. I'm really still not sure how I feel about blogging and having my thoughts and activities out there for anyone to read and see. I certainly do not think that who I am or what I have to say is all that interesting. My desire is to share what the Lord is doing in my life, in the hopes that it will draw you closer to Him.

Let me close with two verses my sister sent my way this week:

Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.

May His name be praised!

Thinking about Labels

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:12:00 -0500

I've never been one who likes labels for people.

Oh, yeah, I've been guilty of using them for other people, but I have never liked having them applied to me. Labels are so confining and miss the fullness and uniqueness of a person. They can help begin understanding, but they never can fully encapsulate the person it is placed. on.

Some labels that can be and have been applied to me are Stay-at-Home Mom, Homeschooler, Bread baker, Christian, Republican, Blogger... you get the picture. Each one of those labels forms a picture in your head of what I am like. Now, your picture may be different from someone else's depending on what your thoughts and experiences have been with others with the same labels. But, those labels can never fully describe who I am and how those different parts of me actually look walked out in my life. They can cause assumptions. And you know what they say about assumptions.....

When I don't really know someone, the labels can help begin the conversation of getting to know each other. They can be a good starting point. But when the conversation does not go beyond the labels, there is not true knowledge of the person. You are not truly known.

In a book I'm reading the author talked about forming friendships with people is about being known to that person and knowing them in a personal way. It is not about changing them. That is big.

It is so much easier to slap a label on someone and hold them to that label if we do not really know them. And it goes the other way, too. When they do not really know us, they tend to just see our labels and not what is underneath.

A friend and I were talking this morning about how many women are on anti-depressants. It seems that almost everyone you meet is on some form of medication to help them make it through their day. I have to wonder, how much of that is brought on by living with so many labels and trying to hide behind them, or to live up to them?

To know and to be known...

Off the Top of My Head

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:03:00 -0500

It's amazing, really, how little it takes to make me happy.

A little heated milk with some coffee poured in, some Sucanat stirred around.... a cup full of warmth and goodness.

Sunny, blue skies.

A calm tummy.

Quiet kids.

And then, it's equally amazing how quickly that happiness goes flying out the window.... how little it takes to make me cranky and irritable.

Loud kids.

Messy kitchens.

Interrupted schedules.

A wave of nausea.

Why can't I remain in that place of peace and contentment even when my circumstances change? I know that I am supposed to keep my eyes fixed on the Lord....that when my hope is in Him and not my circumstances I will find everything I need.

But, is that even possible for me?

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matt. 19:26

Is this a Romans 12:2 question? (Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.)

Somewhere, deep down, the way I think must be off. It needs to change. Deep down I must think that I can do SOME things on my own. Deep down I must think that I can't trust that God's way is best.

Oh Lord, thank You for never turning me away when I come to You. Thank You for helping me to see that what is impossible for me is not impossible for You. Please keep working in me. Please keep changing the way I think, rooting out what is wrong thinking and replacing it with what is true.

Joy Comes in the Morning

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:47:00 -0500

My heart has heard You say, "Come and talk with Me," and my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming!" Psalm 27:8 NLT

Praise the Lord! He called to my heart, and finally, my heart responded and went and talked with Him! He drew me to Him and it is so awesome.

As I have announced on here earlier, I am pregnant. I have just hit the 12 week mark and I have been sick. Really sick....oh yeah, and tired. I have, also, unfortunately, taken my focus off of the Lord and set it squarely on my circumstances and how I have been feeling. Yes, it is very easy to focus on how I am feeling when I am really nauseous and trying to keep my lunch down, or when I really tired and I feel like doing absolutely nothing. But, easy does not equal right or best.

I was a big lump of blah. I had no desire to do much of anything, and even when I did pick up my Bible, or try to pray, that fell flat, too. Everything was starting to be colored grey in my life.

But, for whatever reason, this morning was different. I picked up my Bible and my journal and again, I was just doing it because I knew I "should". I had no special feeling or excitement. I was just going through the motions. But, the Lord was calling to my heart to come and talk with Him. My head and my ears just weren't clued in yet.

I started to write in my journal. And just started to write how I was feeling to Him. I felt guilty, really, like I shouldn't be saying all this to Him... I was complaining, really. But as I wrote, it was like a gentle rain was falling on the dry soil of my heart. He was there with me. I knew He could hear me. And I could feel my heart softening. I told Him it was like I had been in this dark, grey room with big walls all around me for so long and He just broke through that wall this morning.

But the Lord waits for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for Him to help them. Isaiah 30:18 NLT

Somehow, He got me to Himself this morning. And He was there, ready to show me His love and compassion. And I am so blessed!

Friday Evening at Our House

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:59:00 -0500

Well, life has been not so exciting around here lately..... morning sickness does that to a person. I'm not complaining.... I'm just sayin'.

Seeing that I have not posted much lately, I thought I would post some very recent (as in I just took them and uploaded them) pictures of everyone (except me) to let you see how the kids are growing and how handsome my darling husband is.

Here they are!

Here's Sam the man. He's getting so tall. (He's almost as tall as me...not quite, though...) The chain around his neck has "The Ring" on it....as in from the Lord of the Rings.... you know "One ring to rule them all, one ring to bind them...." Sonnie and I have been watching 1/2 hour installments of the LOTR triology with Sam and Sophie in the evenings after the "little girls" go to bed, so Sam and Sophie have been very into everything to do with LOTR.

Here's my Sophie-girl. She didn't really want her picture taken....that's my Soph. She is also getting tall and her feet are now bigger than mine! UGH! She my dragon-loving, book reading, artsy girl.

Josie. This girl is something else. She is a bundle of energy and determination. She loves to make books, to draw, to create almost anything you can think of. She is getting her top front two teeth in .... which in a way is really weird because she hasn't had her front top right tooth since she was three. (She had to have it pulled due to an abscess.)

Gracie, or Fancy Nancy as she is otherwise known as, just had to have two pictures. Gracie loves to dress up (Did you notice all the rings in the top picture? Gramma brought those over and Gracie is loving them!) She sings and dances and is moving almost all the time...except during our special time together each day after her nap, when we sit together and watch "cooking shows" on TV.

And last, but never least, is my husband. What a guy! (He has great hair, too!) He has always been a wonderful husband and father, but, he is really shining during this time when I am feeling yucky almost all of the time. He has gone grocery shopping for me, done dishes, made meals, been working on several projects around the house and most importantly went and got me Thai food for dinner tonight. Thank you, Honey!

So, that's a quick update on us. We're just hanging out on a rainy Friday evening enjoying being together.

It's been such a long time....

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:08:00 -0500

Where have I been? Ha! That's a good question! Where have I been?

For whatever reason, I just have not been inspired to write on my blog for a long time. For those of you who keep faithfully checking in to see if I have added anything new, I am so sorry for my long absence. I honestly just did not have anything to say.

Life has been moving along. Summer has arrived. Sonnie is on break from his teaching job and is doing his summer job of testing homeschooled students. We bought a membership to the Aquarium and have loved going over to watch the fishes. It is a wonderful place! Also, because we are members, we also have free admittance to other area museums, etc., so we have been trying to take advantage of all our perks.

Here are some pictures of our first visit to the Aquarium:

Also this summer I have had some new and exciting things going on. Earlier this month, I turned 40. So far it has not been a big deal, I've already been dealing with the evidence of getting older, such as, grey hair, high blood pressure and this 40 year-old body. (Oh joy!) I was able to celebrate not only with my husband and family, but my dear friend Stephanie took me out for a walk on the beach and a smoothie (which was great and VERY green!) and the following week my dear friend Mary arranged a special dinner at Red Lobster and surprised me with extra friends. It was a wonderful time and I felt very loved. AND, I had crab legs for the first time ever! For pictures of this fun event, click here. But WAIT, don't go there until you read the next paragraph!

As a special 40th birthday present from my Creator and King, I received the blessing of a new baby growing within! Yes, I discovered that I am "with-child" shortly after my birthday. We are all excited and looking forward to the arrival of a new Mullin's baby in March 2009.

And with that little nugget, I will close for now. Hopefully, I will be writing again sooner than later. Please just be patient with me!

Over and Over Again

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 06:32:00 -0500

I am so thankful that the Lord is so patient. He is the Ultimate teacher, realizing my need for constant repetition. Thankfully, His Word, our Guidebook for life repeats over and over His theme...."Come to Me."

He brought that theme back to me once again, because I needed to be reminded. I had gotten off track, once again. My focus was off. My intentions were good, but my Source had been blocked, because I was not going, I was not listening, I was seeking in wrong places.

Lovingly, quietly, He began placing before my eyes and ears His Words. Repeating the refrain that I forgot to sing. It started with the hymn we are learning this week.... "O God, Our Help in Ages Past.... our hope for years to come. Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home."

Then the deep discussions came. Talks about why we do what we do, the paths God leads us in and that our path may not look like someone else's path, but really they are the same, if we are following Jesus; if we are following His voice.

A verse at the end of a friend's email yesterday was brought before my eyes again this morning:

The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, "Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength." Isaiah 30:15

Oh how quickly I get distracted from the Lord! Even when I knew He had just showed me some big things about how we raise and school our children, I somehow just took the ball and ran. I thought that I needed to figure out the "how" now that He had given me the "what". I got overwhelmed, once again, bogged down by this "new assignment" from the Lord. I forgot to stay close to Him, to keep my eyes fixed on Him, to put my whole trust in Him.

But the Lord waits for you to come to him so He can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for Him to help them. ... and you will hear a voice say, "This is the way; turn around and walk here." Then you will destroy all your silver idols and gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags. "Ugh!" you will say to them. "Begone!" Isaiah 30:18, 21-22

If I try to figure out what God wants me to do, my ideas, my plans can become idols in my life. He will show me His way, if I ask Him to and if I wait for Him. And there is even more. He will give me the desire and the strength I need to do what He tells me to do!

Yesterday, as I was reading to the kids from a devotional, He spoke again to my heart. This verse was the theme of the devotion:

For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him. Philippians 2:13

God is so good!

Over and over in His Word He tells us to stick close to Him, to abide in Him, to listen only to His voice, to trust in Him with all our hearts. The Bible is full of many different ways of saying, "Come to Me."

Lord, thank You for repeating Yourself! Thank You for not getting frustrated with me. Thank You for not giving up on me. Thank You for patiently telling me again and again, "Come to Me."

My heart has heard You say, "Come and talk with Me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming!" Psalm 27:8