Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Farewell...

The blog has been quiet lately...

I had a ton of posts planned...drafted in my mind just waiting to be shared...

But when I prayed, God was saying "farewell"...

What do you mean, God? 
Farewell?! 
That makes it seem like you want me to say goodbye...
That couldn't be what you want...



...could it?

But it is.

And just as clearly as I heard him tell me he wanted me to start, I've heard him gently tell me to stop.

The words were never mine anyway... and, as I've had time to mull it over, I realize it isn't a sacrifice to give up writing here. I humbly accept that these words were gifts on loan from my Heavenly Father. While I'm thankful that he's given me this opportunity, it is time to say goodbye.

So, farewell.

Thank you for your comments, prayers and support of this little blog.


Blessings,



Thursday, May 03, 2012

What I've learned this year...

Today is our last official day of school for the year and I try to wrap up by asking my children what they have learned. Their answers always contain some surprises, and I look forward to reading them later today.

Here is a short list, in no particular order, of what I have learned this year:

~ I am called to homeschool my children. Despite my lack of qualifications and my many shortcomings, homeschooling works for our family. The grace to school my children at home can only come from my Heavenly Father.

~ I enjoy learning so much more as an adult! I wish I had learned history as a tapestry rather than a set of disconnected dates. The literature that I loved as a child has grown more precious as I watch my children experience it for the first time.

~ I am about as flexible as a piece of dry spaghetti at times, but I am learning flexibility...I really am!

~ I love the freedom of homeschooling. When we had a series of illnesses and hospitalizations in February, my children didn't "miss" school - we just started again when we were well enough to continue.

~ Despite my frailty, I am stronger than I thought. This really has nothing to do with me, it is only through God's immeasurable grace that I can say this. During the season of illness, each time I was on the brink of falling apart, God would appoint a friend to call or email or tell me they were praying...Those kisses from heaven kept us all going.

~ I am blessed beyond measure.

~ My children are simply amazing and I am blessed every day to be their mother.

It has been a good year - a year of trials, a year of blessings - and on the last day of school, I wouldn't change a single thing.


Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Leftovers...


Leftover day...

Even reading those words probably caused some of you to shudder.

In our house, leftover day is lovingly known as "clean out the fridge day." We eat up all the leftover meals for lunch so I can restock our refrigerator that evening with wonderful foods from the grocery store.

But let's face it, leftovers never taste as good as they did the day you made them. Warming up the food can cause it to become dried out - less palatable, less pleasing.

Over my break from blogging, I realized that I was serving God the leftovers of my time.

Oh sure, I opened my Bible first thing in the morning as I enjoyed a cup of coffee...But sadly, I sometimes savored the flavor of the coffee more than the bread of life I was holding.

Even time at the beginning of the day can be leftovers.

God wants the first fruits of my time. The time of day is unimportant. He wants my heart and mind fully engaged to listen, to learn, to grow...

I don't want to serve my God leftovers!


Tuesday, May 01, 2012

It's about time...

Too many days of too much to do and too few hours in the day have left me both weary and defeated.
image by digitalart freedigitalphotos.net

I felt like I was doing nothing well, and I was frustrated at my inability...

I sat down at the keyboard many times over the past few days, and sat and watched the cursor blinking, the blank box for a blog post mocking me....

And I heard that little voice again:
you can't do this...

Only this time, it was not a lie.

This time, it was the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit calling me away.

The time for writing and posting would come...It was time to surrender, to listen, to learn...

It was time to bask in the presence of my Savior and spend time with him... Time to apply the life-giving words I've been reading - to let them fully soak into my heart and mind...

Time to rest...to reflect...to renew my vision for my calling as a wife, as a mother, as a teacher of my precious ones...

Time...

My time is all I have to offer those I love. Time to teach my children, to love my husband, to bear witness to the Lord's goodness...

When my time is His time first, the weariness fades, the defeat becomes victory, and the striving ceases.

My circumstances have not changed, just my focus.

My contentment and joy return, and so do the words...
The blinking cursor, no longer mocking, calls me deeper...


Followers