verses

I laugh as I think about how the annual verse God gave me two years ago continues to apply today. The living and active Word which takes on flesh, a child growing, features forming, but it's the eyes, the windows to the soul of truth which stay the same.

Two years ago (2010) in a hard season, I asked God for a word to carry me through the year. This is the one He gave me:
¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
   he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
   and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
   like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
   and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
   Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
 (Isaiah 58:11-12 NIV)

We were in the thick of a rehab of new-to-us but old-in-age rental which meant the "ancient ruins," "age-old foundation" and "Repairer of Broken Walls" references particularly appropriate. Then we had an indoor flood in one of our other rental homes a few months into the new year of 2010 to add to the entire stack and sewer system which needed replacing at the new/old house so we definitely felt well-watered. (At that point, I specifically asked God if these unfailing waters might stay within the pipes for all of our houses.)

Sigh. I still bear the scars from that scorching-hard year and know I still need the Lord's healing from all that we went through. But He did bring us through it.

This past weekend, I realized this verse continues to bear truth for us because Dave started his new job last week with Habitat for Humanity and the rebuiling and repairing and restoring takes new definition. Glorious. God-given.

And my verse for this year? Same as last:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. (Psalm 32:8 NIV)

Thank You Lord, for Your willingness to teach me and your patience as I err and wrestle for control. May You be glorified for Your instruction. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

first week and photos of the week

Two words to sum up this week: guilt and joy.

The deep breaths which I began to take Wednesday inflate my soul still. A weight lifted from my chest - one I didn't realize pressed down on me. The joy in the intentional, the slowing down, the peaceful quiet. The joy in unexpected answers to prayers.

Yet, the guilt creeps in. It started with the "I'm not going back to school," assessment of the day from Reese when I when I picked up him and Brianna. (Brianna, on the other hand, emphatically stated she was going back and that was final ;) ). It's not surprising really given this was his first foray into a school system and his like-me tendencies to be shy and hesitant to approach others. He's also had 6.5 years of large bouts of freedom during the day to do where his boy-heart leads.

The two remaining days of the short school week met with the same comment and yesterday he said he cried when no one was looking because he wanted to go home. And my heart breaks (and aches) for him.

Logically speaking, three days is not enough time for him or I to assess if this is going to work. I know we need to give it time and trust God that this is where they need to be because He made it so clear that continuing with homeschooling would be the breaking of me.

But the guilt remains and I question why I couldn't find joy in the craziness of homeschooling, in the intensity that comes with siblings who are around each other frequently and why it seems to make more sense to have a perfect stranger pouring things into my children's heads instead of me taking on that role.

Which is why these murky images make sense now and why God has promised to walk through this with me. He knows what is on the other side and I have to trust Him and cling to faith and Hebrews 11:1 starts to be lived out in the flesh.

And I am grateful He is having me read this book and learn the discipline of thanks in the discomfort, the questioning, the guilt and the pain of not knowing how it will all turn out.

So I will thank Him for:

• a new routine set apart from me
• learning to trust when I do not know
• answered prayer - promise of near-daily walks to school
• Brianna's joy at being back at the school
• the lessons we will learn in this new season
• slowing down time
• hours spent with Luke and Ben

And the photos of the week:
Monday:

using a garbage can to mold a snowman's body

 Friday:

snow almost gone, joyfully swinging

3 gifts on Thursday

There's something about a new year which must inspire us to want a fresh start...clean, simplified, spacious. Which is probably why January is named "Get Organized Month." If you're in the mood for a little organization, here are a few gifts for you to unwrap.

For previous 3 Gifts installments, click here. If you would like to have a "gift" featured in this series, please see the bottom of this post for details.


1. the gift of great handmade tools

In preparing for this post, I created two treasuries on etsy each featuring 16 items to help you tame the clutter.

The first treasury features upcycled items: The Up(cycled) Side of Organizing.Here are a few samples from that list:


The second is an assortment of items featuring new materials: GO (Get Organized). Although some of the items are sold on this one, if you click on the shop name, you can see other comparable items available from those shops.


2. the gift of small bites
I heard about One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider on Courtney's blog last year as she shared the dent she made in her list of simplifying life. Though I haven't read it yet, it's on my "to read" list when I feel the nod from God that the time is right. If this book might be an answer to prayer Tsh is giving away 10 free copies of her e-book through the Bloom Book Club on (in)courage - no end date/time for the giveaway was listed, but the winners will be announced tomorrow. If you're reading this after the entries are closed, you can get get $1off the book until this Tuesday, January 10 (type in the code HAPPYNEWYEAR) .

3. the gift of simple, cheap organizing
A few years ago, after losing track of food staples stored in bags in my cupboards, having them fall out of the cupboard as I dug for the bottom bag and spilling their contents in the cupboards and on my counter from small tears, I knew I needed a better system. The solution? Mason jars.

Easy to keep organized. Perfect for tracking when I get low on an item. Budget friendly. And they provide an excellent cover for items and appliances tucked behind them. ;) The only thing they can't do is prevent random items from appearing where they should not be - like on the bottom shelf. Ahem

If you have a "gift" you'd like me to consider wrapping into a 3 Gifts on Thursday package, please email me the details. It can be anything you are hosting or have heard about: from a giveaways to service projects, household/parenting tips, resources, promotions/coupon codes, items such as books, music, movies, etc (ones available for purchase online). If I choose to incorporate your gift suggestion into a 3 Gifts post, I will email you to let you know when it will be featured.

breathing again

As I type this half my children are upstairs resting and the other half are at school. It marks a new season for us...the reentry into the public school system after 2.5 years of homeschooling.

Since making the decision at the end of last month, I've run the gamut of emotions from doubt and fear to anticipation and excitement. I sincerely thought I'd be homeschooling for much longer and I know I will have many moments of questioning if this was indeed the Lord's will, especially on days when our children face refining challenges.

But for the first time in a long while I feel like I'm breathing again. Deeply. Filling my lungs with the freedom the Lord brings. Freedom from the expectations I put on myself. Freedom to explore the creative bent our Creator knit into my marrow. Freedom to be just "mom" and not "teacher-mom." This tug-of-war stretching my fibers thin is over and I await the Lord's molding of me. It is only in hindsight that I am seeing what God already knew.

So to my grateful/gifts list, I add:

• breathing deeply
• God knowing me better than I know myself
• praying for our children in a new way
• focused time with Luke and Ben
• schools
• other-than-parent teachers
• chocolate/white chip & dried cranberry cookies, warm from oven, melting on tongue
• trans-fat free white chocolate chips

And on those last two notes...what would be a first day of school without the proverbial chocolate chip cookies awaiting our young scholars when they return home? Here's the batch Luke and I whipped up while defending the cookie batter and chips from Ben's quicker-than-lightening fingers:

Chocolate/White Chocolate Chip & Dried Cranberry Cookies*
1 c. soy butter (or regular butter), softened
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 -  1 1/2 c. dried cranberries
semi-sweet chocolate chips
white chocolate chips (recommend Trader Joe's brand)


Combine the butter, sugars and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs. Add in flour, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined. Stir in dried cranberries. If desired separate batter in half, stirring in semi-sweet chocolate chips to taste in one half and the white chocolate chips to taste in the other half. Or just put all the chips together in the batter. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets, place in a 375 degree over and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly on pan before moving to a cooling rack.

*This recipe was adapted from the one on the back of a Trader Joe's brand semi-sweet chocolate chips (which lactose-intolerant me likes since they are milk free). And I about shouted "Hallelujah! Amen" to God when I discovered Trader Joe's now carries trans-fat free white chocolate chips. I think Dave felt the same way when I told him I baked with them today. ;)

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photo journal: 2011 in pictures

The older I get, the faster time flies and the more I forget much of what happened in the previous 365 days. Which makes it all the more fun to go back and pick one picture from each month to capture "what we were doing when..." I did this last year on my other, now-private-rarely-updated family blog and found it gave me pause for reflection and a second chance to celebrate what God gifted us in one year.

January

epic sled hill

February

happened 2 minutes after getting to my parents house on Super Bowl Sunday

March

courtesy of Reese...I often find these types of pictures on my camera ;)

April

someone turned 6 and celebrated by trying out his new stomp rocket

May

I became a citizen AND registered voter :)

 June

Ben turned two and got some new wheels with a handy push handle for D & I

July

getting ready to march in the 4th of July parade - a first for us

 August

Isaac & Luke at Goderich - so hard to pick a favorite from this vacation!

September

our traditional trip to a county fair

 October

my favorite picture of Brie with my sister and nephew at a new park we discovered

November

our hike where Luke lost his shoe in the mud

December

the family tree and a Christmas Eve-day walk

Farewell 2011!

3 gifts on thursday

The gifts for today's post are themed around making New Year's resolutions, though, typically, I don't make them myself. At least, not all at the beginning of the year for the entire year. My resolutions take the shape of dreams and goals - some long held, some just born - and grow through the annual dance of days. A few of these goals I will seek hard after, while others I'm more patient to achieve.

Here are three gifts which reflect my not-resolutions ;) for this year and the ones to come. And, if you'd like to share, I'd love to hear a few of your resolutions, dreams or goals for 2012.

For previous 3 Gifts installments, click here. If you would like to have a "gift" featured in this series, please see the bottom of this post for details.

1. the gift of guidance

A couple of years ago, I felt God nudging me to ask Him for an "annual verse" - a specific Word from the Bible to encourage and guide me through the upcoming year. If you've heard about asking Him for a life verse, this is the same idea only for a much shorter span of time. Last year I again prayed He would give me a word to sustain me through 2011 and I'm asking Him again this year for this gift. Since beginning this practice, it's helped hold me fast to His promises and keep trusting Him for the future. I know He will be faithful for you too if you ask Him for this gift.


2. the gift of keeping up with the kids (a.k.a. staying in shape)
With four exuberant children, my energy level for chasing after them hovers often around the "boy, that couch looks inviting" level. However, when Dave and I were training for a triathlon earlier this year, I learned the difference between working out and working out. The latter being an amped up version of what I used to do which lead to an increase in my energy levels.

This year, Dave wants to add something new to the usual workout routine...something which increases agility, foot speed and reduces proneness to injury - three important attributes when outnumbered by children 2:1. Something called "plyometrics." You Tube has many videos on plyometric routines and you can google it for more information. Here's one video we watched and one we tried - so much harder than it looks.

3. the gift of not misplacing ideas
Here's something I'm going to try this year ...using my online calendar and other technology to capture ideas and remind me of them at the right time. Perhaps you'll find this useful too, if, like me you constantly get ideas for things you'd like to try out, especially ideas centered around holidays or special occasions, but forget about them or start on them too late. My idea is to capture the idea somewhere, whether in MS Word, through bookmarks or even low tech pen and paper, then create a reminder in my online calendar referencing the idea and where I stashed it. (I don't "pin" so I'm not sure if Pinterest has a built in reminder for working on pinned ideas - but if it does, please let me know and I may be convinced to finally sign up for it.)

If you have a "gift" you'd like me to consider wrapping into a 3 Gifts on Thursday package, please email me the details. It can be anything you are hosting or have heard about: from a giveaways to service projects, household/parenting tips, resources, promotions/coupon codes, items such as books, music, movies, etc (ones available for purchase online). If I choose to incorporate your gift suggestion into a 3 Gifts post, I will email you to let you know when it will be featured.

Christmas in song

One of the things I love best about the Christmas season is the music. Maybe it's because they are songs saved for this particular month or maybe it's all tied up with my memories and experiences of the other parts of Christmas.

And while I love many of the Christmas/seasonal songs I hear on the radio, I wanted a mix which reflects the changes within me - knowing we celebrate the God-birth, made all the more poignant by His death and resurrection we remember and celebrate a few short months from now.

I created the following play list this week and am sharing it with you in case, like me, you're always on the hunt for a good song to capture a moment.

The progression of this mix reflects the days we expect the advent of Jesus' birth through the telling to the shepherds of the miracle, contemplating that holy night, then rejoicing and telling the whole world what God has done for us. And I threw "The Holly and the Ivy" in there because I love this arrangement by George Winston.

Before I share the list, here's a youtube video of "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus." If you have a moment, press the play button, close your eyes and let your heart soar with the song to God's throne. I love the clear enunciation of each word, the way Christ Nockels takes the time with each note, not rushing, but praising.

1. Gabriel's Message - Jars of Clay
2. On Jordan's Banks the Baptist Cry - Choir of St. Edmundsbury Cathedral
3. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - Chris Tomlin with Christy Nockels
4. Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding - John Fenstermaker and Grace Cathedral Choir
5. Angels from the Realms of Glory - Massed Choir
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Amy Grant
7. This Must be the Place - The Marshalls
8. The Shepard's Gift - Mychael Danna
9. What Child is This? - Faith Hill
10. O Come Let Us Adore Him - Matt Redman
11. O Holy Night! Faith Hill
12. Song for the King - Michael W. Smith
13. All Through the Night - Lifescapes
14. Silent Night - Martina McBride
15. All is Well - Michael W. Smith
16. Messiah, Part the First For Unto Us a Child is Born - Robert Shaw Orchestra
17. Joy to the World - Casting Crowns
18. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Andy Williams
19. It's True - Sara Groves
20. Go Tell it on the Mountain - David Crowder Band
21. The Holly and the Ivy - George Winston