And so the holidays begin.
The holidays can bring about a lot of mixed emotions. They can be filled with happiness and sadness. Even at the same exact time.
I sat down to write a blog post on being thankful, of which this absolutely is. But it’s more than just being thankful in the good times, in times of celebration... It is about being thankful in EVERY circumstance. Good and bad.
When I was younger, faith was an idea of wishing and hoping. If I wished and hoped hard enough, kind of like rubbing a lamp, then what I wanted would happen. And if that thing I was wishing and hoping for didn’t happen, well, apparently I did not have enough faith.
I also treated my faith like many of the books I have on my shelves. When I needed it, needed something, or had a problem, I would grab my faith off the shelf, thumb through it, wish upon a star, then put it back where it originally was. On the shelf. Not in use.
“Call to Me and I will answer you…”
The cares of this world are many.
The desires of our hearts are many.
The answers we want about life are many.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
God in all His majesty and glory is waiting for us to call on Him.
As a homeschool and stay-at-home parent some days begin to feel monotonous. Maybe even a little like the movie Groundhog's Day.
It can be easy to lose joy in the journey of monotony and begin to define joy by my circumstances.
But what exactly is joy? Is it happiness? A feeling? An experience?
A couple of years ago I was scrolling the interwebs and saw a super cute sign that had been hand letters onto parchment shipping paper. I immediately thought, “Oooooh! I want to make one!” So I headed to the $1 Store and picked up a few tubes of this parchment shipping paper in the wrapping paper section and give it a whirl.
I love the smells that fall and winter brings.
Yes, yes, technically it is not winter yet. But, that doesn’t mean my house can’t enjoy the lovely aroma of mulled spices.
Trust. Such a small word with a BIG meaning.
Over and over again God reminds us to TRUST in the Creator. Trust in the one who knows all. Trust in His understanding and not our own. I am not sure about you, but this part of “not trusting in my own understanding” that the book of Proverbs speaks on can be hard. We want answers. We want to know the WHY or WHY NOT in what God is doing. In fact, sometimes we, in so many words, demand an answer. And it is in these moments when my own understanding, my own ideas jumble up Truth.
Today was the day.
We woke up early that morning. Partially from our internal clocks and also from excitement and anticipation.
Before heading to breakfast, Jerry and I gave Brooklynn a card we had written for her. Today wasn’t just a huge day for Jerry, myself, and Tristan. It was a monumental moment for Brooklynn.
I love to garden. Every summer we plan out what we want to grow, till the soil and break it up, remove as many weeds as our eyes can see and prepare it for seed. Gardening is super therapeutic for me. Although, I have to admit, I hate the part after planting seeds. I hate the waiting.
A little over a year ago I joined the Women’s Bible Study at my church. But I need to confess, this was my first Women’s Bible Study that I have attended. Ever. If I really look at the heart of it, pride was keeping me from joining. Pride that I didn’t need “that.” And sitting around a table of women just wasn’t my “thing.”
We live in a loud busy world.
The moment our head lifts off the pillow, the grind of the day floods in. To-do lists, family lists, agendas, school sports, work meets, work lists…etc. it is all there waiting for you when you wake up. And if you are a homeschooling family like ours, school curriculum and daily chores are there drumming their fingers waiting to begin.
We ALL know that words have power. They have the power to give life or tear it down. They can bring joy, comfort, encouragement, or they can sting like the pouring of salt water on an open wound. They can build others up, or they can bring death literally and figuratively. We ALL know this. Why? Because we have been affected by the power of words.
Fear is a four letter word.
What if we had said no? Said no to adoption? Said no to his file? Said no to his medical needs? What if we said no out of fear? Because when it really boils down to it, it is fear that would have kept us from him and nothing else. Fear that our comfort would be disrupted. Fear that we couldn't handle, take on, or "deal."
My daughter, particularly at bedtime, loves to ask us to tell stories. Stories from our childhood and from our past. She LOVES them. She even has some favorite neighbors she likes to visit and they too will tell her stories. The more detailed they are, the better. And when one story is over she will say, “Tell me another!” or “Tell me more!”
5th grade. How are we here already?
I mentioned this on an Instagram post, but I never knew how much I truly wanted a daughter until the Dr. told me we were having a girl.
One of my favorite things about spring, summer, and fall is sitting out on my front porch, especially in the mornings. It is quiet. There isn’t a lot of movement other than the humming birds flying to the nearby feeder or rustling of the leaves from the wind. It’s my quiet place. And it’s needed.
Have you ever heard the statement: “I could never” preceded by what an individual felt like they could never do?
I have - on multiple occasions. But most of the time I hear that statement when someone finds out that I homeschool. And 9 times out of 10 what follows sounds a bit like this:
What is faith? A belief system? Hoping? Wishful thinking? Anything you choose it to be?
In this post, we will look at what our culture says about Faith and cross examine it with Truth. Because if we profess to be Christians and believe that the Word of God, the Holy (and only) Bible is Truth - this is what we should absolutely be using as our MAIN reference tool for life. Period. Then when other things start to seep in, other ideas, voices, opinions, we check them by the Word and if they are NOT Biblical - we throw it out. One of the big ideas about Faith is that Faith is wishful thinking. A hope, desire, feel good feeling... However, Faith Is NOT Wishful thinking.
Kristin Schell, the author of The Turquoise Table, was seeking and longing for community in her neighborhood. A way to connect and be more than just fenced neighbors. In a society that is all about building fences, creating seclusion, and withdrawing, Kristin had a deep longing to know those around her. And not just those who live directly on her street, but create a place of belonging, a safe place to gather and have community, and live out one of the greatest commandments: love God and love people.
Tents vs Trailers.
Okay - Here’s the deal. I grew up camping. Every Labor Day weekend my family would join a huge group of other families from our church and we would all go camping. It was a blast and I love the memories.
But now I’m that parent with this one kid who keeps asking me (obviously it’s Brooklynn) to go camping and “how much fun it would be” to go camping.
