Late nights or wake ups in the middle of the night are early morning killers for me. However, this morning I powered through my desire to keep sleeping....so much on my mind....
My kitchen is warmer today. "Little by little" is our new phrase and sure enough, little by little, the siding has gone up around the section of the house where cold air blasted against, creeping in through this one section of the wall making our kitchen feel like an ice box. Today, no blast of cold air. Yeah! That might actually mean no more frozen pipes!
We're starting to realize that nothing is going to happen magically all at once. Getting a small section of siding done like that is, oddly enough, going to make one of the biggest differences in our heating bill. I used to think, if you can't do the whole wall, don't bother. But the little changes we make are what add up slowly over time.
My son is even seeing this in his math curriculum. He started off with the goal of finishing two courses before Christmas. That seemed completely impossible, but then, suddenly, in two short months, one was done. There was no way in his mind he could do the other one in 6 weeks, but we encouraged him to push himself and think positively. As well, I reminded him, "little by little"....
Then, yesterday, he came down and told me, "I'm 50% through the course!" He's doing it on-line and it actually tracks where he is. He couldn't believe it. This is the boy who struggles with math! I was so happy for him and he was so happy for himself!
All the things we are doing in an attempt to make extra cash seem so insignificant, yet, that phrase now is at the forefront of our minds.....little by little. The lottery seems like a viable option sometimes, but we know that wouldn't be God's way of clearing our debt. I think He is going to honour the little things we do.
Last night, one of the things that kept us up late was the conversation my husband and I were having about next summer. We have so many ideas that we hope to accomplish by using the land God has given us as well as all the resources on the farm. We are in true salesmen mode - we are really hoping to hit the farmer's markets next summer with all the produce we want to grow as well as with all the new things we hope to build and sell.
Our children are starting to get on board with all their ideas and all sorts of mini-businesses are starting to come together in their minds.
I've been super inspired by the Maxwell's latest book, Buying a House Debt Free. All the oldest Maxwell boys have been able to buy homes debt free as well as a group of other young men that they write about. They were able to do this by acquiring all sorts of skills at a young age and then not simply doing one thing, but many things, that paid anywhere from small amounts of money to large amounts. The key? Saving their money and not spending.
They included a little table that showed that this was possible. If a young man or woman, making only $10/hour, saved his or her money and spent only $50/week by living at home as long as possible, a young person could save $100,000 in just 8.6 years or less if they made more than $10/hour, which is entirely viable. That is so inspiring!
We're trying to communicate this vision to our children and each evening this week, we've been sitting as a family, with little notebooks in hand for each child, and asking them to dream, to plan, to vision - what would they like to sell this summer? what business would they like to start they we could help them with? We asked each child, right down to the six year old girl. Her ideas were pretty sweet....she wants to start her own hairdressing salon, of course, as well as a "nail shop" where she can do your nails. She had quite the long list.
As we went through to the older kids, each idea was taken very seriously and they had a lot of them. We know that in order to get these summer business ideas off the ground it's going to take some prep now in the winter months. But we want to see as many of these ideas take off as possible.
One of the things we see taking more and more of our productive time is the TV. This device is something we really struggle with. We love it and hate it all at the same time. When things are absolutely screwy in the house and toddlers are screaming, it's so easy to say, "Just put on a show!" We don't have broadcast TV or cable, so it's always a dvd, but still, it starts to become a crutch, so quickly. We talked about this with the kids and suggested putting it away for a bit, so we could really focus on the many projects we talked about. If we gave up time in front of the TV and started working on the tasks we needed to work on to sell the things we wanted to sell next summer, we'd be way ahead of the game.
My oldest loves movies. I was shocked to hear her say a day or two ago that she thought giving up the TV for a bit was a really good idea. I think it was her way of admitting that she hasn't been using her time the best. She seemed excited to think about what she would do with that new slot of time. None of us automatically become self-disciplined...sometimes we need a push, a little help. I'd rather sit and veg on some nights than sit in front of a sewing machine. Putting it away instead of just unplugging it may just be what we all need, even if it's just to read instead for a change.
Each one of the young men the Maxwells interviewed for their book sacrificed in some way in order to buy their homes debt-free before they were 30. Giving up typical forms of entertainment was something all of them had in common. They walked a different path, the road less travelled for sure, but now none of them have the financial burden of a mortgage. I think the sacrifices they made were worth it and we are highly encouraging our children to think this way as well. Big picture, that's what we want them to have. We don't want them to be short-sighted and think, "Oh, I'm going to miss watching that new movie!" We want them to think, "I'm giving this up, so I can be financially free 10 years from now." That might be hard to imagine, but we truly think this is possible! We are having to re-train ourselves, too, as I never thought this way myself until recently.
We're excited. Our kids are excited. They are starting to catch the vision that we are trying to place in them. I've always been excited for summer to come, but now, summer coming means so much more. It's less and less about lazing around and more and more about being productive and accomplishing as much as we can in the short season of warm weather we get. Same with winter. Believe it or not, we're all pretty excited about winter! Now we're hoping to get as much done in the winter months as we can, in hopes to see all our summer ideas and mini-businesses take off!
It comes down to mindset. We are just changing the way we think about everything, even winter. Last year, one of my greatest battles was with the dark feeling of dread. I no longer dread the season of winter. I'm starting to see it as a gift of time, indoors, where much can be done, as a family. The new mindset has turned everything around for us. We all walk around our house now with a much greater purpose - we don't just exist. We know we have a purpose, a vision, a plan.
Now, the only problem is we only have 7 days in the week and 24 hours in the day! My husband said, "We're going to need a couple more days in the week to get all the things done we want to get done!" But God thinks we have enough time. One of our other favourite phrases ,which I think we'll be saying a lot more around here this winter, is "We've declared war on spare time." That's it - we've declared war. I think that is a battle I'm willing to fight.
Friday, 28 November 2014
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
And all God's People said.....
Sunday morning I was moved to tears by the missionaries who came to speak about their mission to the northwest part of Ontario where they plan to move and minister to the First Nations people. These two young guys plan on moving their families, both with one child each so far, to basically the Arctic! I thought it was cold here. I don't know cold. At the end of their presentation, they showed a video they had put together of one of their trips there. Images, real images, of where they were going, suddenly showed the true state of these lost people - a place of desperate need.
The statistics of the First Nations are awful. 100% of the girls are abused. No one has hope. No one has a reason for living. Years and years ago the government of Canada thought it would be a good idea to build these residential schools which stole the children from their parents as early as 3. They were then assimilated into the Canadian culture and supposedly educated, sometimes being separated from their parents as long as a decade. While there more abuse went on. When they got back from the schools, they could no longer communicate in the same language as their parents. What was the government thinking????? Who came up with this awful idea??? Part of the video was showing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, apologizing to the First Nations for what the government had done. That in itself was moving.
What really got me was when they showed how they had met up with a new believer when they had first gotten there. He had taken them out fishing and shared what it was like living there, some of his struggles as a new believer, how his marriage was suffering. They were able to pull the boat over, due to a storm coming, and pray for this man. This one experience they had was enough to confirm their call. These people are ignored. Churches exist up there, but no one attends! They have travelling salesmen-type preachers, but no one stays! These couples that are going are planning to stay, to live there, to be among them.
It struck my husband and me how similar their experience is to what it must have been like to meet Jim Elliot and Nate Saint. We felt we met them on Sunday. The irony is, these two men who spoke first found out about this need for missionaries in the north through the very man who pulled Jim Elliot's body, and the other missionaries who died in Ecuador, out of the river. His name is Frank Drown. He went up in his retirement to northern Canada and did some fishing. He found out about these lost people, just like the tribes in Ecuador, where no one was going. In a funny way, they are just like the cannibals of Ecuador, but instead of killing other tribes, they kill themselves - very high suicide rates because of the lack of hope and purpose in their lives. Very high rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, violence....all because they have never heard the name Jesus.
After Frank Drown found out about these people, he decided he could never retire and told someone, "I can't die until I know someone is going to take over and go to these people." Meanwhile, these young couples were praying about where God wanted them to go. It all led to this remote community in the north.
Just to keep things all in perspective, when the missionaries were done speaking, the pastor went up and prayed a beautiful benediction tying everything together. He closed with, "And all God's people said.....?" My two year old jumped in and at the exact same time when everyone was saying, "Amen", he yelled out, "Can I have a cookie?" Isn't that what all God's people want?! He was just answering the pastor's question - what do God's people say? It seemed like a good answer, all God's people say, "Can I have a cookie?" That's what the two year thinks. So good to be brought back down to Earth, isn't it?
But then I thought about it...Maybe that is what people want. They sit there listening to a missionary, but the truth is their stomach is grumbling and they just want lunch. The truth is, what do God's people say after they've seen and heard real needs from other believers? Perhaps we say, "Amen", but inside we're more like the two year old, "Can I have a cookie?" When the pastor asks that question, he's looking for agreement, for some out loud sign that we are listening to God's call on us as a congregation.
I think it would be awful if we didn't do something or at the very least send money and commit to praying for these amazing servants of God. God's people just want a cookie! Most of us just enjoy hearing the neat stories and then we go home to roast beef and, uh, cookies! I asked myself when I was feeling the emotions I was when they talked, "Why the tears?" Was I being manipulated by these missionaries to feel these feelings? I realized that wasn't the case at all - I was being moved because I knew what they were saying was true. Truth was what was moving me. The fact these people have no hope. Someone asked them if they had ever heard the name Jesus. They hadn't. I don't just want a cookie! I want to say, "Amen!" which is a real, tangible way of being a part of these people hearing about Christ. When we say, "Amen" together - it means, "We agree!" We want to partner with you! Then, a crazy idea came into my head. I'm tentative about writing it, but I'm going to anyway.
The missionaries started to talk about raising funds now and how they hope to go this summer and build a place to live as there is nothing for them to go to. Crazy thought enters my head. After they finished speaking, I immediately went up to my husband who had been leading worship with my daughter that morning, wiped my tears - I could barely keep it together - and I said, "I think you need to go build their house." He said, "It's funny you say that....." He'd been thinking the same thing.
Now, nothing is certain, of course, but we're praying and asking the Lord to develop a team which would include our oldest boys. My husband certainly has the skills and would be a fantastic general contractor. He's lived up in the coldest parts of Canada for most of his life and even put in an ice rink, if you can believe it, in Nunavut, so he knows what's involved in building in these kinds of places. Perhaps God will use someone else. He just wants people that are willing to go. It doesn't make sense financially, of course. Mission trips never make sense financially as most missionaries have no money. It means God will have to move and make Himself very clear. We don't want to be ahead of Him in anyway. But it would sure be an amazing way of saying "Amen", not just "I want a cookie!"
On a completely different note, our house is still here, on planet Earth, that is. We were pretty sure we were going to be blown away several times last night. The winds were so high, the highest yet, they say, since we moved here. We never rake our leaves. Don't have to. God's "leaf blower" is much more effective. We tied down our trampoline this time. We learned from one of the last windstorms....it ended up in a tree! Don't know about the animals yet....hopefully none of them were blown away! Living here is quite the challenge, from the wind, to the cold - it's a bizarre place of extremes. Nothing like what the missionaries will be experiencing, of course - that helps me see my complaints are pathetic. I don't have to fly my supplies in once a year. I'm five minutes from a store. I think I'll be able to take my little wind storm.
Well, as usual, gotta run....time to wake the troops!
The statistics of the First Nations are awful. 100% of the girls are abused. No one has hope. No one has a reason for living. Years and years ago the government of Canada thought it would be a good idea to build these residential schools which stole the children from their parents as early as 3. They were then assimilated into the Canadian culture and supposedly educated, sometimes being separated from their parents as long as a decade. While there more abuse went on. When they got back from the schools, they could no longer communicate in the same language as their parents. What was the government thinking????? Who came up with this awful idea??? Part of the video was showing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, apologizing to the First Nations for what the government had done. That in itself was moving.
What really got me was when they showed how they had met up with a new believer when they had first gotten there. He had taken them out fishing and shared what it was like living there, some of his struggles as a new believer, how his marriage was suffering. They were able to pull the boat over, due to a storm coming, and pray for this man. This one experience they had was enough to confirm their call. These people are ignored. Churches exist up there, but no one attends! They have travelling salesmen-type preachers, but no one stays! These couples that are going are planning to stay, to live there, to be among them.
It struck my husband and me how similar their experience is to what it must have been like to meet Jim Elliot and Nate Saint. We felt we met them on Sunday. The irony is, these two men who spoke first found out about this need for missionaries in the north through the very man who pulled Jim Elliot's body, and the other missionaries who died in Ecuador, out of the river. His name is Frank Drown. He went up in his retirement to northern Canada and did some fishing. He found out about these lost people, just like the tribes in Ecuador, where no one was going. In a funny way, they are just like the cannibals of Ecuador, but instead of killing other tribes, they kill themselves - very high suicide rates because of the lack of hope and purpose in their lives. Very high rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, violence....all because they have never heard the name Jesus.
After Frank Drown found out about these people, he decided he could never retire and told someone, "I can't die until I know someone is going to take over and go to these people." Meanwhile, these young couples were praying about where God wanted them to go. It all led to this remote community in the north.
Just to keep things all in perspective, when the missionaries were done speaking, the pastor went up and prayed a beautiful benediction tying everything together. He closed with, "And all God's people said.....?" My two year old jumped in and at the exact same time when everyone was saying, "Amen", he yelled out, "Can I have a cookie?" Isn't that what all God's people want?! He was just answering the pastor's question - what do God's people say? It seemed like a good answer, all God's people say, "Can I have a cookie?" That's what the two year thinks. So good to be brought back down to Earth, isn't it?
But then I thought about it...Maybe that is what people want. They sit there listening to a missionary, but the truth is their stomach is grumbling and they just want lunch. The truth is, what do God's people say after they've seen and heard real needs from other believers? Perhaps we say, "Amen", but inside we're more like the two year old, "Can I have a cookie?" When the pastor asks that question, he's looking for agreement, for some out loud sign that we are listening to God's call on us as a congregation.
I think it would be awful if we didn't do something or at the very least send money and commit to praying for these amazing servants of God. God's people just want a cookie! Most of us just enjoy hearing the neat stories and then we go home to roast beef and, uh, cookies! I asked myself when I was feeling the emotions I was when they talked, "Why the tears?" Was I being manipulated by these missionaries to feel these feelings? I realized that wasn't the case at all - I was being moved because I knew what they were saying was true. Truth was what was moving me. The fact these people have no hope. Someone asked them if they had ever heard the name Jesus. They hadn't. I don't just want a cookie! I want to say, "Amen!" which is a real, tangible way of being a part of these people hearing about Christ. When we say, "Amen" together - it means, "We agree!" We want to partner with you! Then, a crazy idea came into my head. I'm tentative about writing it, but I'm going to anyway.
The missionaries started to talk about raising funds now and how they hope to go this summer and build a place to live as there is nothing for them to go to. Crazy thought enters my head. After they finished speaking, I immediately went up to my husband who had been leading worship with my daughter that morning, wiped my tears - I could barely keep it together - and I said, "I think you need to go build their house." He said, "It's funny you say that....." He'd been thinking the same thing.
Now, nothing is certain, of course, but we're praying and asking the Lord to develop a team which would include our oldest boys. My husband certainly has the skills and would be a fantastic general contractor. He's lived up in the coldest parts of Canada for most of his life and even put in an ice rink, if you can believe it, in Nunavut, so he knows what's involved in building in these kinds of places. Perhaps God will use someone else. He just wants people that are willing to go. It doesn't make sense financially, of course. Mission trips never make sense financially as most missionaries have no money. It means God will have to move and make Himself very clear. We don't want to be ahead of Him in anyway. But it would sure be an amazing way of saying "Amen", not just "I want a cookie!"
Paul Washer once said, "You are either in the well or holding the rope" when he spoke of missions and missionaries. He was saying, "You are either on the field or supplying their financial needs so they can go. " I've never forgotten that statement. Either way, we better all be in missions in some way. It's a command.
Well, as usual, gotta run....time to wake the troops!
Monday, 24 November 2014
The Nuts are in the Country, Too
We thought moving to the country would get us away from some of the kooks in the city - we were wrong. They live EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From dog owners that think their dog is responsible, as opposed to them, for hurting our animals, to now cat thieves....they are everywhere, I'm telling you, we can't seem to get away from strange animal owners.....
So, last week a truck pulls into our driveway and a lady gets out who I don't don't recognize. I immediately opened our door and said hi. She seemed friendly and asked if I had seen an orange and white cat. I said, "You mean, that orange and white cat....that's our's?" Out of the blue, Dixie, our cat, came walking towards us...."Potsy!" she yelled out and ran towards it! I thought to myself, "This isn't happening....." But it was.
Since May, we've been keeping our cats outside because they were starting to pee and spray all over the house. It was awful. It was about that time that Dixie started wandering the neighbourhood and would only show up every few days. At first we thought he was killed by a fox or something, but he always came back. Then this past week, it seemed he wanted to move home, like the prodigal cat. I never let him in, but started feeding him outside again. That was when this neighbour showed up. Turns out Dixie had moved in with them! Being a relatively new-to-the-country person, she applied city rules to a country cat. This is where my mouth dropped to the floor.....she assumed he was some poor stray, instead of a farm cat that roams around like a farm cats. She adopted the poor stray, got him NEUTERED and VACCINATED for $600!!!!!!!! I was dumbfounded.
When she found out he was my daughter's little pet, she was now in quite the position. I rubbed it in a bit and told her the cat, "Potsy" should I say, "Dixie" was given to her after she had had her appenDIX taken out, thus the name....DIXie, get it? Clever. This, however, didn't make her all soft-hearted. She said, "Well, I guess if you contributed a bit financially...." Then later she said, "If you met me halfway......" I still shake my head. She wanted me to pay for HER decision to neuter MY CAT. What was I to do?
I had a split second discussion with myself. This woman had no children, was married, had just built a fully-green, straw-baled, recycled roof house.....in other words, a worshiper of earth and animals. I knew if I forced the situation in our favour, I was going to have the wrath of the humane society on me, not to mention neighbourly stress which was already building with our dog owner friend. So, unbelievably, I said, "Take the cat." What else could I have done? "Oh, are you sure? I feel so bad." No you don't. I needed her to go, so that my child could go in and cry, which is just what she did.
Afterwards, I explained to my daughter, it seemed like I had put my neighbour's feelings ahead of her's, but in the big picture, I said, I was protecting our family. I wanted her to see that. Fortunately for us, our other cat had just had kittens and we had decided providentially, to keep one. I quickly told her, "That is your cat now!" The tears dried up and we agreed to visit Dixie/Potsy.
As for the dog/bull fiasco, we've decided to let it go. We are owed for sure and if the dog somehow makes it on our property again, we may have to call the police and let them deal with it as we are no longer putting ourselves in danger trying to retrieve this nutty dog - three strikes he's out. But in the name of country living, we might just need to have them on our side some day if we ever need approvals from neighbours, etc., so we are going to rise above it...for now. That might change if Monty makes another visit, like I said. So we'll see.
But what a nutty week - so many animal/neighbour issues! Not to mention we were wrestling pigs and horses as well, literally, trying to get the pigs in to be slaughtered and get the horses hooves trimmed....my husband has such sore muscles from his man-handling of these creatures!
At the end of the day, however, we had prayed for wisdom in all these situations and we feel that God answered us. We want to be an example to these people, not that they can walk over us, but that we weren't unreasonable.
If nothing else, it gives us an arsenal of things to write about! So many lessons we are teaching our children, too. Dealing with non-believing neighbours is tricky - they don't have the same worldview at all which makes it super tricky to navigate. My husband also half-enjoyed "taking dominion" over his animals this weekend and "subduing the land", sore muscles and all. I guess it's a man thing.
Once again, who knows what the week will hold, but it will be hard to top this past week. I shake my head......
So, last week a truck pulls into our driveway and a lady gets out who I don't don't recognize. I immediately opened our door and said hi. She seemed friendly and asked if I had seen an orange and white cat. I said, "You mean, that orange and white cat....that's our's?" Out of the blue, Dixie, our cat, came walking towards us...."Potsy!" she yelled out and ran towards it! I thought to myself, "This isn't happening....." But it was.
Since May, we've been keeping our cats outside because they were starting to pee and spray all over the house. It was awful. It was about that time that Dixie started wandering the neighbourhood and would only show up every few days. At first we thought he was killed by a fox or something, but he always came back. Then this past week, it seemed he wanted to move home, like the prodigal cat. I never let him in, but started feeding him outside again. That was when this neighbour showed up. Turns out Dixie had moved in with them! Being a relatively new-to-the-country person, she applied city rules to a country cat. This is where my mouth dropped to the floor.....she assumed he was some poor stray, instead of a farm cat that roams around like a farm cats. She adopted the poor stray, got him NEUTERED and VACCINATED for $600!!!!!!!! I was dumbfounded.
When she found out he was my daughter's little pet, she was now in quite the position. I rubbed it in a bit and told her the cat, "Potsy" should I say, "Dixie" was given to her after she had had her appenDIX taken out, thus the name....DIXie, get it? Clever. This, however, didn't make her all soft-hearted. She said, "Well, I guess if you contributed a bit financially...." Then later she said, "If you met me halfway......" I still shake my head. She wanted me to pay for HER decision to neuter MY CAT. What was I to do?
I had a split second discussion with myself. This woman had no children, was married, had just built a fully-green, straw-baled, recycled roof house.....in other words, a worshiper of earth and animals. I knew if I forced the situation in our favour, I was going to have the wrath of the humane society on me, not to mention neighbourly stress which was already building with our dog owner friend. So, unbelievably, I said, "Take the cat." What else could I have done? "Oh, are you sure? I feel so bad." No you don't. I needed her to go, so that my child could go in and cry, which is just what she did.
Afterwards, I explained to my daughter, it seemed like I had put my neighbour's feelings ahead of her's, but in the big picture, I said, I was protecting our family. I wanted her to see that. Fortunately for us, our other cat had just had kittens and we had decided providentially, to keep one. I quickly told her, "That is your cat now!" The tears dried up and we agreed to visit Dixie/Potsy.
As for the dog/bull fiasco, we've decided to let it go. We are owed for sure and if the dog somehow makes it on our property again, we may have to call the police and let them deal with it as we are no longer putting ourselves in danger trying to retrieve this nutty dog - three strikes he's out. But in the name of country living, we might just need to have them on our side some day if we ever need approvals from neighbours, etc., so we are going to rise above it...for now. That might change if Monty makes another visit, like I said. So we'll see.
But what a nutty week - so many animal/neighbour issues! Not to mention we were wrestling pigs and horses as well, literally, trying to get the pigs in to be slaughtered and get the horses hooves trimmed....my husband has such sore muscles from his man-handling of these creatures!
At the end of the day, however, we had prayed for wisdom in all these situations and we feel that God answered us. We want to be an example to these people, not that they can walk over us, but that we weren't unreasonable.
If nothing else, it gives us an arsenal of things to write about! So many lessons we are teaching our children, too. Dealing with non-believing neighbours is tricky - they don't have the same worldview at all which makes it super tricky to navigate. My husband also half-enjoyed "taking dominion" over his animals this weekend and "subduing the land", sore muscles and all. I guess it's a man thing.
Once again, who knows what the week will hold, but it will be hard to top this past week. I shake my head......
Friday, 21 November 2014
The Eagle has Landed.....and The Return of Monty!
Yesterday was the day that we'd been waiting for for a looooong time. Not one payment, but three, were received! Praise the Lord, is all we could say all afternoon. My mom showed up with more groceries, yet again, bless her, and I was able to share the good news. She asked where RM was and what he was working on, and I was able to say, with assurance, "Paying suppliers!" It's always a good thing when you can pay the people you owe for the projects you've worked on. I've said it before, but this is just the downside of being an entrepreneur, yet I will still encourage my children in this venture - it is still so rewarding.
On top of all that RM got asked for a quote by the government - I can't even write which department in case I'm being spied on! Let's just say, if you can get an "in" with this department, it's good! It means more potential work which is always a positive thing in our life!
It goes back to what I was writing about before, if we had work coming out of our ears, I just don't think I would be nearly as grateful. Joyce Swann talked about this, too, in her book. She wrote, "I do not regret any of the difficulties that I personally endured because through each of them I was able to experience God in a way that I might never have under better cirucumstances." Then, she goes on to write about a few of the names of God, such as "El Shaddai" - the all sufficient one. She said, "When everything was gone, I had to recognize that He and He alone is sufficient to meet all our needs...whether those needs are physical, spiritual, or emotional, He is always the all-sufficient one." We've been brought there multiple times as we've had to wait on money coming so many times. I've had to come to that place of absolute surrender and, it's like she said, it's not just our physical needs. I've had to wait on Him to keep me calm emotionally as well and to help me battle my spiritual enemy, too. He really is all-sufficient.
Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord who provides. He came through, not just with the cheque, but with my parents' help. I struggle so much with receiving from them sometimes as it is humbling, but my mom won't listen to it and tells me when I say things like, "You don't have to do this, " that she knows it isn't her money either or her food. She knows that in being generous, it will always come back to her in some way - it is the Lord's money, the Lord's food. I stopped fussing at that point as I knew she was right - I wasn't receiving from my parents so much as directly from the Lord. It was suddenly easier to accept. He was providing for us through them - amazing!
Jehovah-Shammah - the Lord who is there. Immanuel - the God who is with us. Both names sum up how I saw God in all the little things during this dry financial time. He is easy to see if I open my eyes.
Even Jehovah-Rophe, the Lord who heals - I was up literally all night two nights ago with my daughter who was over the toilet throwing up every hour on the hour. I don't know how I got through yesterday, but guess what? She's fine now! Yes, it's just a virus, but who heals that virus? Who makes it just a 12 hour thing? Only God can heal (and get me through the next day with an hour of sleep).
What a great reminder to see how God has been our provider, all sufficient, with us, here, healing, in our circumstances.
Even, with the return of Monty, aka Monster, the dog who lives down the street, who only a little while ago made a visit and terrorized our animals for nearly an hour. Yes, that Monty, came back a couple days ago and once, again, with a taste for beef in his mouth.
This time, my husband was on his own. The older boys were gone with me to Bible Quizzing. The little ones were inside being watched by the older remaining kids. Suddenly, our dog started to bark his "I'm a threat to you" bark. Immediately my husband wondered what was up and then he heard another dog's bark and he knew there was trouble on the property.
Sure enough, Monty had escaped from his place and knew where he wanted to go - our farm! He just loves animals! Eating them, that is, terrorizing them, nipping their legs, making them go biserk! This time my husband grabbed a broom and went out swinging! It was the day of the huge snowfall and the cows were slipping and falling all over the place, the poor things. The littler ones even ran into RM in their attempt to get away from the dumb dog. At one point, RM took a big swing at the dog and he fell down in the process which makes me even redder as he could have gotten really hurt - RM, that is, not the dog!
He went closer and took another swing and missed. By this point, a guy showed up at our house and called lamely, "Monty! Monty!" RM yelled at him to jump over the fence and get in and grab the dog! I'm sure he had no interest as our cows are pretty intimidating with their huge horns. RM didn't care, get the dog. RM was about to take another swing at the dog with the broom when suddenly the dog fell down in submission at his feet - it was the weirdest thing. Perhaps he saw he was about to be whacked by the broom, who knows, but he wouldn't move. RM saw his chance and grabbed the dog's collar and gave him to the shaking man in the corner, who doesn't even own the dog, he just works for the winery. As soon as the dog was in his hands, he went nuts again as the spell was broken - apparently the dog knew to respect my husband and had no respect for this guy. Somehow he got him in the truck and lamely tried to explain what happened. My husband wouldn't hear it and told him to get the owner to call him. He didn't. RM had to pursue it on his own.
Now, the true test of neighbourly relations. We had the vet come in a few weeks ago. It's written right on the paper - the bull is hurt and will likely become arthritic. He's pretty much missed the whole breeding season as he, uh, couldn't, uh, perform, shall we say. A replacement bull runs in the range of $2000-$3000. Not to mention the damage done to our fences, not to mention the danger he has put our family in.....we could go on and on. But, we're not dealing with another believer. He's taking no responsibility and, this is funny, he blames the dog! Yes, we'll sue the dog. Please.
So, now we're praying how best to handle things. We have since found out, we are within our rights to shoot the dog if he comes on our property again. My sons half-hope they get a chance to pull out their rifles!
So the saga continues. Never a dull moment around here....
On top of all that RM got asked for a quote by the government - I can't even write which department in case I'm being spied on! Let's just say, if you can get an "in" with this department, it's good! It means more potential work which is always a positive thing in our life!
It goes back to what I was writing about before, if we had work coming out of our ears, I just don't think I would be nearly as grateful. Joyce Swann talked about this, too, in her book. She wrote, "I do not regret any of the difficulties that I personally endured because through each of them I was able to experience God in a way that I might never have under better cirucumstances." Then, she goes on to write about a few of the names of God, such as "El Shaddai" - the all sufficient one. She said, "When everything was gone, I had to recognize that He and He alone is sufficient to meet all our needs...whether those needs are physical, spiritual, or emotional, He is always the all-sufficient one." We've been brought there multiple times as we've had to wait on money coming so many times. I've had to come to that place of absolute surrender and, it's like she said, it's not just our physical needs. I've had to wait on Him to keep me calm emotionally as well and to help me battle my spiritual enemy, too. He really is all-sufficient.
Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord who provides. He came through, not just with the cheque, but with my parents' help. I struggle so much with receiving from them sometimes as it is humbling, but my mom won't listen to it and tells me when I say things like, "You don't have to do this, " that she knows it isn't her money either or her food. She knows that in being generous, it will always come back to her in some way - it is the Lord's money, the Lord's food. I stopped fussing at that point as I knew she was right - I wasn't receiving from my parents so much as directly from the Lord. It was suddenly easier to accept. He was providing for us through them - amazing!
Jehovah-Shammah - the Lord who is there. Immanuel - the God who is with us. Both names sum up how I saw God in all the little things during this dry financial time. He is easy to see if I open my eyes.
Even Jehovah-Rophe, the Lord who heals - I was up literally all night two nights ago with my daughter who was over the toilet throwing up every hour on the hour. I don't know how I got through yesterday, but guess what? She's fine now! Yes, it's just a virus, but who heals that virus? Who makes it just a 12 hour thing? Only God can heal (and get me through the next day with an hour of sleep).
What a great reminder to see how God has been our provider, all sufficient, with us, here, healing, in our circumstances.
Even, with the return of Monty, aka Monster, the dog who lives down the street, who only a little while ago made a visit and terrorized our animals for nearly an hour. Yes, that Monty, came back a couple days ago and once, again, with a taste for beef in his mouth.
This time, my husband was on his own. The older boys were gone with me to Bible Quizzing. The little ones were inside being watched by the older remaining kids. Suddenly, our dog started to bark his "I'm a threat to you" bark. Immediately my husband wondered what was up and then he heard another dog's bark and he knew there was trouble on the property.
Sure enough, Monty had escaped from his place and knew where he wanted to go - our farm! He just loves animals! Eating them, that is, terrorizing them, nipping their legs, making them go biserk! This time my husband grabbed a broom and went out swinging! It was the day of the huge snowfall and the cows were slipping and falling all over the place, the poor things. The littler ones even ran into RM in their attempt to get away from the dumb dog. At one point, RM took a big swing at the dog and he fell down in the process which makes me even redder as he could have gotten really hurt - RM, that is, not the dog!
He went closer and took another swing and missed. By this point, a guy showed up at our house and called lamely, "Monty! Monty!" RM yelled at him to jump over the fence and get in and grab the dog! I'm sure he had no interest as our cows are pretty intimidating with their huge horns. RM didn't care, get the dog. RM was about to take another swing at the dog with the broom when suddenly the dog fell down in submission at his feet - it was the weirdest thing. Perhaps he saw he was about to be whacked by the broom, who knows, but he wouldn't move. RM saw his chance and grabbed the dog's collar and gave him to the shaking man in the corner, who doesn't even own the dog, he just works for the winery. As soon as the dog was in his hands, he went nuts again as the spell was broken - apparently the dog knew to respect my husband and had no respect for this guy. Somehow he got him in the truck and lamely tried to explain what happened. My husband wouldn't hear it and told him to get the owner to call him. He didn't. RM had to pursue it on his own.
Now, the true test of neighbourly relations. We had the vet come in a few weeks ago. It's written right on the paper - the bull is hurt and will likely become arthritic. He's pretty much missed the whole breeding season as he, uh, couldn't, uh, perform, shall we say. A replacement bull runs in the range of $2000-$3000. Not to mention the damage done to our fences, not to mention the danger he has put our family in.....we could go on and on. But, we're not dealing with another believer. He's taking no responsibility and, this is funny, he blames the dog! Yes, we'll sue the dog. Please.
So, now we're praying how best to handle things. We have since found out, we are within our rights to shoot the dog if he comes on our property again. My sons half-hope they get a chance to pull out their rifles!
So the saga continues. Never a dull moment around here....
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
A Fight to the Death
"God always provided for us, but we rarely saw miracles. For the most part, we had to do the things necessary to make certain that our children were fed and clothed."
That's another quote from Joyce's book. We've actually seen quite a few miracles, I'd have to say, but we've still had to do the necessary things to make certain our children are clothed and fed. Joyce wrote that her towels and sheets became threadbare and that their house badly needed repairs, but they had a roof over their heads, food was on the table and their homeschool was always in session. That's our situation in a sentence. My furniture never had holes until the four year old was born. Now I have two, what used to be nice, sitting chairs with matching ottomans, that look like I picked them up from a homeless shelter and brought them home. I'm not one of those moms that lets their children jump on furniture, but this little guy reinvented mischief - every time I turned my head, he was leading a whole troop of kids in a circle around the family room, going from couch to chair to stool, at leaps that defied gravity. He got in trouble every time, but he weighed the cost and figured it was worth it. Bring a two year old into the mix and now the little hole that started is now a huge tear with stuffing coming out of it. It seems to get worse with every day! I find myself apologizing everytime someone comes over about my awful furniture. But we have a place to sit! They are still very comfortable and the truth is, we kind of did get them from a type of homeless shelter! They came from a store that sells furniture that no longer has a home! This store sells furniture from hotels that is always updating their look - don't laugh, a lot of our furniture came from this place - it was actually in a casino, I think, at one point! Ah well.....it has received a lot of use. We won't mind replacing it with "new" hotel furniture at some point.
My children love music, but even that isn't working right now. Once again, a lot of wear and tear on the outdated stereo has taken its toll. We never even got any of the new gadgets that are out there. We've been using the same stereo for what seems like our whole marriage. It worked until all the kids figured out how to use it - perhaps it was poor stewardship, I don't know, but now the stereo won't let us take out cds or put in new ones. I think it's ironic that the last cd that is in there is a Scripture memory cd for the little kids - perfect. It's the one we need most anyway! We used to play music on the computer, but you guessed it, for some reason, that isn't working anymore either, so now my desperate children stand around my phone, which doesn't play music very loudly, but better than nothing, and listen to my itty bitty little phone! My husband is secretly happy about this, but my kids always joke about moving in with another family from the church where they can eat sugar and listen to music! They better be careful what they wish for!
To top it all off, yesterday we had our first bout of frozen pipes. We had hoped to finish all the siding, insulation and landscaping to stop the wind this summer, and we made progress, but nowhere near what we needed to do, so yesterday morning, I came down, was ready to jump in the shower, and the water just dripped to a halt - I was dumbfounded. I stood in the bathroom and yelled out a "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!!!!!!!" I thought the whole house would have heard me, but they all kept sleeping in their cozy beds. I wanted to cry. It's only mid-November! We may have 5 more months of this! I felt sick. Sick for my husband, knowing what a brutal winter we had last year, sorry for myself, knowing I could barely keep my house warm and most of all, dread.....all the feelings from last year came back in that split second of watching the water drip to a halt - awful.
But then, a turning point - the defining moment with Christ, remember? I knew in that split second it was a test of whether I would trust Him. It's like He was asking me in that awful moment if I was serious about the very thing I had just written about as this frozen pipe experience was literally seconds after I'd just written about trusting Him, having no fear anymore, no matter what came my way. I decided to trust. I went up and told my husband what was going on. He couldn't believe it himself, but like a trooper, he got up, went out into the blasting wind and cold, and within a few minutes had the pipes thawed. No small miracle. I appreciated my warm shower that morning and even the coffee in my cup.
Don't you see? This choice I made kept my spirit calm and took away the dread. The dread I felt last year was worse than the cold. This year, I just want to enjoy winter and look to the One who will get me through it. I've heard it's going to be worse than last year. I think Satan is the new weather forecaster as it's all hearsay, but even if it's true - who cares? I'm going to live somehow through it!
All day long we waited for the cheque. When we've been in this situation before, RM used to say things like, "It's not good, P. Things aren't good." Those words, unknowingly to him, also used to send me into a tailspin of fear and panic. Yesterday I knew he was feeling it. I heard him say a few things along those same lines that typically made me fall apart inside, but I remained strong. The cheque didn't come. I knew it wasn't going to come...not yet, anyway. I knew God wanted me to stay calm and all day long, I practiced. I practiced like my daughter practices piano - over and over again, I wouldn't let myself go where Satan wanted me to go. I decided I would see what Ann Voskamp had to say - I hadn't looked at her calendar sitting on my counter for awhile - sometimes I flip it over, other days I forget. I decided to flip it and see what amazing thing I would read. I wasn't disappointed. She had taken Habakkuk 3:18, one of my favourite verses in the Bible, and rewrote it, as if she were in my kitchen, at that very moment in my life,
"Though my marriage tree may not bud and though my crop of children my fail and my work produce little yield, though there is no money in the bank and no dream left in the heart, though others may choose different ways to live their one life, till my last heaving breath, I WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR THIS: I WILL TAKE JOY."
I had a great day yesterday. It really didn't matter if my furniture was ripped or if there was no music in the stereo. Even the fact that my water pipes got frozen and could have been today, too, but gloriously they weren't, didn't take away from my good day. Even if the cheque still doesn't come, nothing can take joy from me as long as I choose to not let it be taken. This is fantastic news for my family! If their mom and wife stays content in all situations, so will they! Swann agreed and wrote, "We learned to be content with our lives and grateful that God always supplied our needs. " That's what we are learning, too, amongst so many things - contentment, waiting on God to supply our needs and then seeing all that we have in the process. I've never seen water from a tap with such gratitude! That's why these things are so good for us to go through - we need to stop taking things like water from a tap for granted! It's so great that we have water from a tap!!!!!
Life is still full of laughter, too - for the second time in a week, my husband has had to take the toilet right off the floor to find out what toy is stuck in the pipe - first, it was about 3 Hot Wheels and most recently a hair clip - just enough to make it stop working. A great lesson in plumbing for the older boys! I've got my hands full with the four year old, now training his accomplice, the two year old. So funny. Thankfully, there is no jail for toddlers as both of mine would be in for life already.
What does the day hold? Who knows, but I can handle it, by God's grace, I will "fight to the death for this: I will take joy."
That's another quote from Joyce's book. We've actually seen quite a few miracles, I'd have to say, but we've still had to do the necessary things to make certain our children are clothed and fed. Joyce wrote that her towels and sheets became threadbare and that their house badly needed repairs, but they had a roof over their heads, food was on the table and their homeschool was always in session. That's our situation in a sentence. My furniture never had holes until the four year old was born. Now I have two, what used to be nice, sitting chairs with matching ottomans, that look like I picked them up from a homeless shelter and brought them home. I'm not one of those moms that lets their children jump on furniture, but this little guy reinvented mischief - every time I turned my head, he was leading a whole troop of kids in a circle around the family room, going from couch to chair to stool, at leaps that defied gravity. He got in trouble every time, but he weighed the cost and figured it was worth it. Bring a two year old into the mix and now the little hole that started is now a huge tear with stuffing coming out of it. It seems to get worse with every day! I find myself apologizing everytime someone comes over about my awful furniture. But we have a place to sit! They are still very comfortable and the truth is, we kind of did get them from a type of homeless shelter! They came from a store that sells furniture that no longer has a home! This store sells furniture from hotels that is always updating their look - don't laugh, a lot of our furniture came from this place - it was actually in a casino, I think, at one point! Ah well.....it has received a lot of use. We won't mind replacing it with "new" hotel furniture at some point.
My children love music, but even that isn't working right now. Once again, a lot of wear and tear on the outdated stereo has taken its toll. We never even got any of the new gadgets that are out there. We've been using the same stereo for what seems like our whole marriage. It worked until all the kids figured out how to use it - perhaps it was poor stewardship, I don't know, but now the stereo won't let us take out cds or put in new ones. I think it's ironic that the last cd that is in there is a Scripture memory cd for the little kids - perfect. It's the one we need most anyway! We used to play music on the computer, but you guessed it, for some reason, that isn't working anymore either, so now my desperate children stand around my phone, which doesn't play music very loudly, but better than nothing, and listen to my itty bitty little phone! My husband is secretly happy about this, but my kids always joke about moving in with another family from the church where they can eat sugar and listen to music! They better be careful what they wish for!
To top it all off, yesterday we had our first bout of frozen pipes. We had hoped to finish all the siding, insulation and landscaping to stop the wind this summer, and we made progress, but nowhere near what we needed to do, so yesterday morning, I came down, was ready to jump in the shower, and the water just dripped to a halt - I was dumbfounded. I stood in the bathroom and yelled out a "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!!!!!!!" I thought the whole house would have heard me, but they all kept sleeping in their cozy beds. I wanted to cry. It's only mid-November! We may have 5 more months of this! I felt sick. Sick for my husband, knowing what a brutal winter we had last year, sorry for myself, knowing I could barely keep my house warm and most of all, dread.....all the feelings from last year came back in that split second of watching the water drip to a halt - awful.
But then, a turning point - the defining moment with Christ, remember? I knew in that split second it was a test of whether I would trust Him. It's like He was asking me in that awful moment if I was serious about the very thing I had just written about as this frozen pipe experience was literally seconds after I'd just written about trusting Him, having no fear anymore, no matter what came my way. I decided to trust. I went up and told my husband what was going on. He couldn't believe it himself, but like a trooper, he got up, went out into the blasting wind and cold, and within a few minutes had the pipes thawed. No small miracle. I appreciated my warm shower that morning and even the coffee in my cup.
Don't you see? This choice I made kept my spirit calm and took away the dread. The dread I felt last year was worse than the cold. This year, I just want to enjoy winter and look to the One who will get me through it. I've heard it's going to be worse than last year. I think Satan is the new weather forecaster as it's all hearsay, but even if it's true - who cares? I'm going to live somehow through it!
All day long we waited for the cheque. When we've been in this situation before, RM used to say things like, "It's not good, P. Things aren't good." Those words, unknowingly to him, also used to send me into a tailspin of fear and panic. Yesterday I knew he was feeling it. I heard him say a few things along those same lines that typically made me fall apart inside, but I remained strong. The cheque didn't come. I knew it wasn't going to come...not yet, anyway. I knew God wanted me to stay calm and all day long, I practiced. I practiced like my daughter practices piano - over and over again, I wouldn't let myself go where Satan wanted me to go. I decided I would see what Ann Voskamp had to say - I hadn't looked at her calendar sitting on my counter for awhile - sometimes I flip it over, other days I forget. I decided to flip it and see what amazing thing I would read. I wasn't disappointed. She had taken Habakkuk 3:18, one of my favourite verses in the Bible, and rewrote it, as if she were in my kitchen, at that very moment in my life,
"Though my marriage tree may not bud and though my crop of children my fail and my work produce little yield, though there is no money in the bank and no dream left in the heart, though others may choose different ways to live their one life, till my last heaving breath, I WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR THIS: I WILL TAKE JOY."
I had a great day yesterday. It really didn't matter if my furniture was ripped or if there was no music in the stereo. Even the fact that my water pipes got frozen and could have been today, too, but gloriously they weren't, didn't take away from my good day. Even if the cheque still doesn't come, nothing can take joy from me as long as I choose to not let it be taken. This is fantastic news for my family! If their mom and wife stays content in all situations, so will they! Swann agreed and wrote, "We learned to be content with our lives and grateful that God always supplied our needs. " That's what we are learning, too, amongst so many things - contentment, waiting on God to supply our needs and then seeing all that we have in the process. I've never seen water from a tap with such gratitude! That's why these things are so good for us to go through - we need to stop taking things like water from a tap for granted! It's so great that we have water from a tap!!!!!
Life is still full of laughter, too - for the second time in a week, my husband has had to take the toilet right off the floor to find out what toy is stuck in the pipe - first, it was about 3 Hot Wheels and most recently a hair clip - just enough to make it stop working. A great lesson in plumbing for the older boys! I've got my hands full with the four year old, now training his accomplice, the two year old. So funny. Thankfully, there is no jail for toddlers as both of mine would be in for life already.
What does the day hold? Who knows, but I can handle it, by God's grace, I will "fight to the death for this: I will take joy."
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Defining Moments
First I read the book by the homeschooling daughter. Now I have finished the book by the homeschooling mother. This woman, Joyce Swann, homeschooled all of 10 of her children, and accomplished exceptional results with each one of them, graduating years ahead and completing master's degrees by the time they were 16. Mind boggling. I was very curious to read how she had done this and all she had to say now that they were all moved out with children and marriages of their own. It was such an interesting read.
Her husband had had a 6 figure job for 17 years of their life. Then, one day, he was fired for no apparent reason. The daughter had written about it in her book, so I was curious what the mom's take would be on it in her book. She elaborated on the experience a little differently. It turns out, in her words, they were "destitute" for the next 13 years. She said she had to make every penny stretch like she never had before. She discovered a place where she could get 10 lb bags of chicken thighs for 39 cents a pound. They ate chicken every day for years, she said, in every combination possible. Sounds familiar! I was so encouraged, yet afraid, to learn how long her ordeal was. Yet, this woman had such a godly perspective, you almost envied her faith and I even found myself grateful again for my own experience.
I could write a book about her book. I'm wondering how I can get her up here now. I want to meet her and spend time with this woman. I have so many questions. Questions I get asked all the time. She also really challenged me to do my job to the best of my abilities, from regular school hours, to the importance of routine...all things I try to do, but can let slip if something comes up. She says the laid back approach will make your homeschool suffer...true enough.
She was challenged to be more involved in a "ministry" when she was first homeschooling. She wouldn't know how to respond when asked to do more. One day it occurred to her, homeschooling was her "ministry". It was not an experiment (as we've also been told by some, who are waiting to see how our children "turn out"), it was not a job, or even her career, she said. It was her calling. "It was real missionary work, " she wrote. That's what RM and I feel, too, whenever we feel guilty or challenged for not doing more "ministry", we always remember we are raising 8 disciples first and foremost in our home. That is a 24/7 position. Trust me, I was up in the middle of the night twice last night, so I mean it, literally.
When she was a young Christian she didn't read her Bible much. She didn't even think she needed to, but a funny challenge to read all the gospels four times in thirty days was given to her. She got in the habit of reading for thirty days and she was hooked. From that time forward she read everyday to her children from the Bible. It was such a good reminder of how important that is. We had been doing this in the evening after dinner with the children, and then I would do it with them in the morning when RM was off to work, but yesterday I asked him to do it at breakfast as well together, to start our day. It was just like the Nancy Campbell reminder - the morning and evening principle, to keep the fire burning.
When her husband lost his job, it was a scary time for her at first, and she would cry herself to sleep at night, thinking that God hated her. Then one night she told herself that she "couldn't go on this way". She decided that she loved him and would serve him, no matter what. It was a defining moment in her walk with God. She says every Christian will have to do that at one point in their life. It often takes a very difficult trial to get to that point. For me, it was when we were building the house. We owned both the farm and the house we were building, at the same time, and the financial crunch was so great that I was very fearful, afraid we were going to lose everything. It was at that point I decided, too, that I couldn't go on like that anymore. The fear was crushing me and I was feeling like an emotional mess. I decided, no more, I was going to trust God with my life, with our circumstance and that was it, no more fear. The peace that came over me was amazing. I have had many opportunities to go back to that place of fear, but even if the thoughts try to enter into my head, I now know they are doubts from the enemy and he can't win anymore. I've learned a whole new pattern of thinking, to be grateful and watch for the miracles God provides.
There's more to write, but I'm running out of time.....trying to keep "regular school hours"!
Her husband had had a 6 figure job for 17 years of their life. Then, one day, he was fired for no apparent reason. The daughter had written about it in her book, so I was curious what the mom's take would be on it in her book. She elaborated on the experience a little differently. It turns out, in her words, they were "destitute" for the next 13 years. She said she had to make every penny stretch like she never had before. She discovered a place where she could get 10 lb bags of chicken thighs for 39 cents a pound. They ate chicken every day for years, she said, in every combination possible. Sounds familiar! I was so encouraged, yet afraid, to learn how long her ordeal was. Yet, this woman had such a godly perspective, you almost envied her faith and I even found myself grateful again for my own experience.
I could write a book about her book. I'm wondering how I can get her up here now. I want to meet her and spend time with this woman. I have so many questions. Questions I get asked all the time. She also really challenged me to do my job to the best of my abilities, from regular school hours, to the importance of routine...all things I try to do, but can let slip if something comes up. She says the laid back approach will make your homeschool suffer...true enough.
She was challenged to be more involved in a "ministry" when she was first homeschooling. She wouldn't know how to respond when asked to do more. One day it occurred to her, homeschooling was her "ministry". It was not an experiment (as we've also been told by some, who are waiting to see how our children "turn out"), it was not a job, or even her career, she said. It was her calling. "It was real missionary work, " she wrote. That's what RM and I feel, too, whenever we feel guilty or challenged for not doing more "ministry", we always remember we are raising 8 disciples first and foremost in our home. That is a 24/7 position. Trust me, I was up in the middle of the night twice last night, so I mean it, literally.
When she was a young Christian she didn't read her Bible much. She didn't even think she needed to, but a funny challenge to read all the gospels four times in thirty days was given to her. She got in the habit of reading for thirty days and she was hooked. From that time forward she read everyday to her children from the Bible. It was such a good reminder of how important that is. We had been doing this in the evening after dinner with the children, and then I would do it with them in the morning when RM was off to work, but yesterday I asked him to do it at breakfast as well together, to start our day. It was just like the Nancy Campbell reminder - the morning and evening principle, to keep the fire burning.
When her husband lost his job, it was a scary time for her at first, and she would cry herself to sleep at night, thinking that God hated her. Then one night she told herself that she "couldn't go on this way". She decided that she loved him and would serve him, no matter what. It was a defining moment in her walk with God. She says every Christian will have to do that at one point in their life. It often takes a very difficult trial to get to that point. For me, it was when we were building the house. We owned both the farm and the house we were building, at the same time, and the financial crunch was so great that I was very fearful, afraid we were going to lose everything. It was at that point I decided, too, that I couldn't go on like that anymore. The fear was crushing me and I was feeling like an emotional mess. I decided, no more, I was going to trust God with my life, with our circumstance and that was it, no more fear. The peace that came over me was amazing. I have had many opportunities to go back to that place of fear, but even if the thoughts try to enter into my head, I now know they are doubts from the enemy and he can't win anymore. I've learned a whole new pattern of thinking, to be grateful and watch for the miracles God provides.
There's more to write, but I'm running out of time.....trying to keep "regular school hours"!
Monday, 17 November 2014
A Jar of Clay
I think the first time the idea first came to me of doing a seminar on "Chores" was back in August. If I recall correctly, that was right when I was praying for an ark, praying for ways to be creative, asking the Lord, begging the Lord, for ways to pay down the debt....faster. I just assumed it would be something Renaissance Man would be responsible for. I think I even wrote it wouldn't be anything I did. I knew I had nothing to offer except to go back and teach in a classroom. I even suggested it to him. He looked at me with "the look" of "whatever" and that ended that conversation.
At the August meeting for our homeschool group, I announced that a "Chore" Seminar was coming, but I didn't know when. I just told them to watch for it. September came and went. October came and went. I just couldn't bring myself to set a date. I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I knew we couldn't afford to buy cases of books. I had so many excuses.
Then, at the end of October, I couldn't stand it anymore. I said to RM, "Can I just pick a date? I'll ask for a quick rsvp and then, by faith, I'll order the books." "Sure," he said. I gave myself just two weeks to put the seminar together and any attendees had to rsvp within a few days of the email. I decided I would charge a fee as it was a service I was offering and I knew many hours of prep lay ahead (I actually never counted on how much prep!). That seemed reasonable to RM. Then, I just sat back and waited to see if anyone would respond.
Email after email came in saying, "Yes, I'll come." Most of the names were names of people I'd never even heard of! A lot of the women were saying in their emails, "I've been needing something just like this! Thank you for offering it!" The pressure was on, but I was getting so excited!
The books were ordered last minute and were shipped the week of as the Maxwells were including a just released Christmas book, so we decided to risk it and wait for it, trusting the books would come in on time. They did, praise God. But remember, this was a tight month, there was money, but not much. We paid for it, leaving very little to live on. An anonymous set of grandparents knew what was going on and I was sent out to a grocery store more than once with a little help from them - what a blessing!
Then, the week before the seminar, all sorts of doubt kicked in...the voice, no doubt, of Satan himself. "No one is going to come. No one wants to hear what you have to say. Who do you think you are? As if you have anything to offer." I started to feel people were going out of their way not to come. It was quite something. But, the day before. I went ahead anyway and photocopied a set of 20 notes assuming those who had said they were coming were really coming/ Then I just rested and said to RM, "I'm still glad I did all the prep even if only 3 people come."
But no, the morning of, everyone who said they were coming, came, even an extra one or two. We set up our book table at the back, including all the new books and made a good number of sales there, too.
The seminar seemed to go so quickly (at least to me!). I had no idea if it would take the length of time that I had said it would, but it did - 2 1/2 hours of me talking about chores! Who knew there was so much to say! Am I allowed to say I loved doing it? It was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done! Some people like skiing down black diamond hills - I love giving seminars!
At the end of it all, we came home and did a tally. It had never really occurred to me that this could be a financial blessing to our family. That was not why I did this - I did this because I am passionate about training children to learn to work. I am passionate about training moms to train children to learn to work! I knew how this chore system had changed me and brought peace to our home. I knew it could do the same for other moms. I never thought it could be a source of income for our family and that God could use my skills, not just RM's skills! He has so many skills. Me? Not so much.
But, as we sat there that afternoon, we were in awe that God has blessed us and had used this seminar to get our family by, to make it until the awaited cheque came. I was amazed. I didn't expect it to be through me that God would give us a creative idea! I just assumed it would be through RM!? Isn't that just like God to turn it all around and answer our prayers in a way we didn't expect?
Within minutes of finishing the seminar, I got a text from a friend asking how it had gone. By the time all the texting was finished I was booked to do another seminar in January. Amazing! Then, another friend from a city further away emailed that day and asked the same thing. Nothing would make me happier than to give this seminar all around Ontario.
Are we building an ark like we hoped? Not exactly, but perhaps this is the ark - just in a different form! The bonus? Other homes are getting cleaner and more kids are learning to work this week that weren't a few days ago! I thank God for how He continually amazes me, continually provides, continually hears my prayers, continually answers. I really never thought I had anything to offer. I'm just a regular mom with a very outgoing personality who really wants her house clean - that was all God needed! I can do that! I got to be exactly who I am and voila! God used the very thing I thought wasn't worth much. It's a perfect example of 2 Cor. 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."
I am honoured to be a jar of clay.
At the August meeting for our homeschool group, I announced that a "Chore" Seminar was coming, but I didn't know when. I just told them to watch for it. September came and went. October came and went. I just couldn't bring myself to set a date. I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I knew we couldn't afford to buy cases of books. I had so many excuses.
Then, at the end of October, I couldn't stand it anymore. I said to RM, "Can I just pick a date? I'll ask for a quick rsvp and then, by faith, I'll order the books." "Sure," he said. I gave myself just two weeks to put the seminar together and any attendees had to rsvp within a few days of the email. I decided I would charge a fee as it was a service I was offering and I knew many hours of prep lay ahead (I actually never counted on how much prep!). That seemed reasonable to RM. Then, I just sat back and waited to see if anyone would respond.
Email after email came in saying, "Yes, I'll come." Most of the names were names of people I'd never even heard of! A lot of the women were saying in their emails, "I've been needing something just like this! Thank you for offering it!" The pressure was on, but I was getting so excited!
The books were ordered last minute and were shipped the week of as the Maxwells were including a just released Christmas book, so we decided to risk it and wait for it, trusting the books would come in on time. They did, praise God. But remember, this was a tight month, there was money, but not much. We paid for it, leaving very little to live on. An anonymous set of grandparents knew what was going on and I was sent out to a grocery store more than once with a little help from them - what a blessing!
Then, the week before the seminar, all sorts of doubt kicked in...the voice, no doubt, of Satan himself. "No one is going to come. No one wants to hear what you have to say. Who do you think you are? As if you have anything to offer." I started to feel people were going out of their way not to come. It was quite something. But, the day before. I went ahead anyway and photocopied a set of 20 notes assuming those who had said they were coming were really coming/ Then I just rested and said to RM, "I'm still glad I did all the prep even if only 3 people come."
But no, the morning of, everyone who said they were coming, came, even an extra one or two. We set up our book table at the back, including all the new books and made a good number of sales there, too.
The seminar seemed to go so quickly (at least to me!). I had no idea if it would take the length of time that I had said it would, but it did - 2 1/2 hours of me talking about chores! Who knew there was so much to say! Am I allowed to say I loved doing it? It was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done! Some people like skiing down black diamond hills - I love giving seminars!
At the end of it all, we came home and did a tally. It had never really occurred to me that this could be a financial blessing to our family. That was not why I did this - I did this because I am passionate about training children to learn to work. I am passionate about training moms to train children to learn to work! I knew how this chore system had changed me and brought peace to our home. I knew it could do the same for other moms. I never thought it could be a source of income for our family and that God could use my skills, not just RM's skills! He has so many skills. Me? Not so much.
But, as we sat there that afternoon, we were in awe that God has blessed us and had used this seminar to get our family by, to make it until the awaited cheque came. I was amazed. I didn't expect it to be through me that God would give us a creative idea! I just assumed it would be through RM!? Isn't that just like God to turn it all around and answer our prayers in a way we didn't expect?
Within minutes of finishing the seminar, I got a text from a friend asking how it had gone. By the time all the texting was finished I was booked to do another seminar in January. Amazing! Then, another friend from a city further away emailed that day and asked the same thing. Nothing would make me happier than to give this seminar all around Ontario.
Are we building an ark like we hoped? Not exactly, but perhaps this is the ark - just in a different form! The bonus? Other homes are getting cleaner and more kids are learning to work this week that weren't a few days ago! I thank God for how He continually amazes me, continually provides, continually hears my prayers, continually answers. I really never thought I had anything to offer. I'm just a regular mom with a very outgoing personality who really wants her house clean - that was all God needed! I can do that! I got to be exactly who I am and voila! God used the very thing I thought wasn't worth much. It's a perfect example of 2 Cor. 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."
I am honoured to be a jar of clay.
Thursday, 13 November 2014
New Eyes
Remembrance Day came and went this week. I'm always so moved by thinking about my grandfather who served in the war and how he was separated from his wife for, I think, 4 years. He came back alive, but I'm sure he was a changed man. I think he saw things he wished he'd never seen. We could rarely get him to talk about it when he was still alive. I always try to read the poem "In Flander's Fields" with the kids. I have a beautiful book with painted pictures of the poem. I always try to have a time of being solemn and reflecting, but this year was different.
Leave it to the 4 year old to add a new twist. He woke up on the 11th and came and sat at the island in the kitchen, waiting for breakfast. I asked him, "J, do you know today is Remembrance Day?" "Yup." "Do you know what Remembrance Day is?" "Oh yes! It is the day we remember 'To Tame a Dragon' comes out on dvd!" Oh my goodness. I guess I missed that one. If it weren't so AWFUL, it would be funny. So, a little more history lessons with him this week, needless to say.....
This weekend I give the seminar on Managers of Your Chores. I had to put the blog aside for awhile and was up early, but writing the seminar. It has certainly been a test at our house to see if the system works as I've had to really step back and allow the kids to step up so that I could lock myself in my room, sometimes for hours at a time. Who knew prepping for this thing would take so long! Not having done it before, I was shocked at how much time it took to put together. I'm not done yet, some last minute photocopying to still be done and set up, but other than that - the body of the seminar is done.
It is a testimony to the kids though and to how great the Maxwell's chore system works. The house really didn't fall apart during these last two weeks. I was determined to use every minute wisely, too, so made sure I stayed on top of things as much as I could when I wasn't working on the seminar. I knew there was a little bit of pressure though....what if someone suddenly showed up at my house on the week of the seminar and found my house a disaster?! So, I knew I seriously had to practice what I preach even more than usual.
In the seminar, I will be challenging the women to evaluate all activities and see if they can try to be home more as so many of us run around with our heads cut off - it's no wonder our homes can't get clean, we're never home! Of all weeks, this was the case for me, too, as I had to take our oldest into her piano lessons for a whole morning one day and then the next day was a whole morning of dentist appointments. A bit of an unusual week, as normally my husband drives her and normally we don't have dentist appointments, but alas, it revealed how important it is to either be home or be prepared when you are going to be gone. Again, the kids who stayed back really stepped up, but you could tell I'd been away. As I'll say in the seminar, kids don't have the same eye for detail as an adult. If I were away more, our house would be a disaster. I've learned how important it is for me to be home as much as possible with this number of kids at the ages they are.
This has been a super tight month for us, money-wise. We are waiting on payment from a contract that should come any day, but the big question is when? We kept thinking it'll come in time for this or that, but it didn't. As a result, I had to make some tough calls this week. First, I had to call the dentist to tell them I was sorry, but I wouldn't be able to pay them this time, did they want me to cancel? I was put on hold for a second and then when the receptionist came back she said, "Come on in anyway. No worries." It was a little miracle as the appointments are all related to the orthodontics, so kind of critical to miss. I was so grateful and made sure she knew it.
We were also supposed to book all my daughter's exams this week for piano. Unbelievably expensive. We couldn't do it. I had to go to the teacher and tell her as well. She was very understanding and suggested that we put them off a few months. We would keep progressing in the levels as if she took the exams, but this way the financial pressure wouldn't be as great. We're still hoping the cash will come so she can take them in January, but if not, it won't be the end of the world.
Both of these tough financial conversations happened within minutes of each other. I was near tears as I was feeling so humbled and embarrassed, really, that we couldn't pay. In both cases, I could have easily made up some excuse that would have even been true, but I felt I really needed to be honest with each person and tell it like it is. I called my husband to tell him how I had handled things and how I wished it didn't have to be this way. He could hear the emotion in my voice, but he encouraged me and said, "This is good, P. God is keeping us humble. He doesn't want us to ever be proud." Then he went on to describe how he'd been reading in Isaiah and how the proud are an absolute abomination to God. What he'd been reading really impacted him and made him so grateful for our situation! I was oddly encouraged that God loves us enough to keep us from being an abomination to him. Yes, it is humbling and he admitted that he didn't like the fact I had to make those calls, but, really, we are still ok. Food is in the fridge. Gas is in the cars. The heat is on. My kids have clothes coming out of their ears thanks to some generous friends and sisters. It was good to talk to him and to hear his encouragement instead of panic. I was so grateful for that perspective. The truth is, money is coming...we will be paid shortly. It's always a matter of time when you are an entrepreneur. people don't always pay when you want them to. Often there is a 30 day delay on top of that, so it's a big waiting game around here, running to the mailbox to see if the cheque came each day! My husband and I both long for freedom and we still believe it is coming, but in God's timing, not ours. He may be quite ok with it taking a little longer. He must still see we need more humility in our lives.
I share the stories not so that people will feel sorry for us. That's what I wanted, I think from my husband when I called him. I think I wanted him to feel sorry for me, for us. But he stopped that right away and nipped it in the bud. I've shared what he said with the kids, too. I've explained to them, that yes, this is a hard time, but it is so good! I've encouraged them to look for God and His provision in all the small things, and big. It's everywhere - we get little mini-miracles all the time. When something gets taken away in our 5 senses, all the other senses get heightened. It is the same with our money. Being so tight on cash has made me so grateful for things I used to take for granted. Feeling the heat coming from the vent below me right now gives me a whole new appreciation for heated houses. I used to expect heat, not be thankful for it. No frozen taps makes me so grateful for a glass of water! The area around the sink is now sided on that part of the house, so hopefully this year will not see so many frozen pipes. I'm grateful that we have clean teeth! I used to expect that, too! Not now. I know it is a privilege. What about piano lessons? Never appreciated that as much as I do now - a huge privilege few can afford. I could go on and on. I really think I will look back on these days as the richest time in our life, not the poorest. I'm learning gratitude, to see God in everything, not just in the obvious. I don't feel sorry for myself in the slightest anymore. I have new eyes.
Leave it to the 4 year old to add a new twist. He woke up on the 11th and came and sat at the island in the kitchen, waiting for breakfast. I asked him, "J, do you know today is Remembrance Day?" "Yup." "Do you know what Remembrance Day is?" "Oh yes! It is the day we remember 'To Tame a Dragon' comes out on dvd!" Oh my goodness. I guess I missed that one. If it weren't so AWFUL, it would be funny. So, a little more history lessons with him this week, needless to say.....
This weekend I give the seminar on Managers of Your Chores. I had to put the blog aside for awhile and was up early, but writing the seminar. It has certainly been a test at our house to see if the system works as I've had to really step back and allow the kids to step up so that I could lock myself in my room, sometimes for hours at a time. Who knew prepping for this thing would take so long! Not having done it before, I was shocked at how much time it took to put together. I'm not done yet, some last minute photocopying to still be done and set up, but other than that - the body of the seminar is done.
It is a testimony to the kids though and to how great the Maxwell's chore system works. The house really didn't fall apart during these last two weeks. I was determined to use every minute wisely, too, so made sure I stayed on top of things as much as I could when I wasn't working on the seminar. I knew there was a little bit of pressure though....what if someone suddenly showed up at my house on the week of the seminar and found my house a disaster?! So, I knew I seriously had to practice what I preach even more than usual.
In the seminar, I will be challenging the women to evaluate all activities and see if they can try to be home more as so many of us run around with our heads cut off - it's no wonder our homes can't get clean, we're never home! Of all weeks, this was the case for me, too, as I had to take our oldest into her piano lessons for a whole morning one day and then the next day was a whole morning of dentist appointments. A bit of an unusual week, as normally my husband drives her and normally we don't have dentist appointments, but alas, it revealed how important it is to either be home or be prepared when you are going to be gone. Again, the kids who stayed back really stepped up, but you could tell I'd been away. As I'll say in the seminar, kids don't have the same eye for detail as an adult. If I were away more, our house would be a disaster. I've learned how important it is for me to be home as much as possible with this number of kids at the ages they are.
This has been a super tight month for us, money-wise. We are waiting on payment from a contract that should come any day, but the big question is when? We kept thinking it'll come in time for this or that, but it didn't. As a result, I had to make some tough calls this week. First, I had to call the dentist to tell them I was sorry, but I wouldn't be able to pay them this time, did they want me to cancel? I was put on hold for a second and then when the receptionist came back she said, "Come on in anyway. No worries." It was a little miracle as the appointments are all related to the orthodontics, so kind of critical to miss. I was so grateful and made sure she knew it.
We were also supposed to book all my daughter's exams this week for piano. Unbelievably expensive. We couldn't do it. I had to go to the teacher and tell her as well. She was very understanding and suggested that we put them off a few months. We would keep progressing in the levels as if she took the exams, but this way the financial pressure wouldn't be as great. We're still hoping the cash will come so she can take them in January, but if not, it won't be the end of the world.
Both of these tough financial conversations happened within minutes of each other. I was near tears as I was feeling so humbled and embarrassed, really, that we couldn't pay. In both cases, I could have easily made up some excuse that would have even been true, but I felt I really needed to be honest with each person and tell it like it is. I called my husband to tell him how I had handled things and how I wished it didn't have to be this way. He could hear the emotion in my voice, but he encouraged me and said, "This is good, P. God is keeping us humble. He doesn't want us to ever be proud." Then he went on to describe how he'd been reading in Isaiah and how the proud are an absolute abomination to God. What he'd been reading really impacted him and made him so grateful for our situation! I was oddly encouraged that God loves us enough to keep us from being an abomination to him. Yes, it is humbling and he admitted that he didn't like the fact I had to make those calls, but, really, we are still ok. Food is in the fridge. Gas is in the cars. The heat is on. My kids have clothes coming out of their ears thanks to some generous friends and sisters. It was good to talk to him and to hear his encouragement instead of panic. I was so grateful for that perspective. The truth is, money is coming...we will be paid shortly. It's always a matter of time when you are an entrepreneur. people don't always pay when you want them to. Often there is a 30 day delay on top of that, so it's a big waiting game around here, running to the mailbox to see if the cheque came each day! My husband and I both long for freedom and we still believe it is coming, but in God's timing, not ours. He may be quite ok with it taking a little longer. He must still see we need more humility in our lives.
I share the stories not so that people will feel sorry for us. That's what I wanted, I think from my husband when I called him. I think I wanted him to feel sorry for me, for us. But he stopped that right away and nipped it in the bud. I've shared what he said with the kids, too. I've explained to them, that yes, this is a hard time, but it is so good! I've encouraged them to look for God and His provision in all the small things, and big. It's everywhere - we get little mini-miracles all the time. When something gets taken away in our 5 senses, all the other senses get heightened. It is the same with our money. Being so tight on cash has made me so grateful for things I used to take for granted. Feeling the heat coming from the vent below me right now gives me a whole new appreciation for heated houses. I used to expect heat, not be thankful for it. No frozen taps makes me so grateful for a glass of water! The area around the sink is now sided on that part of the house, so hopefully this year will not see so many frozen pipes. I'm grateful that we have clean teeth! I used to expect that, too! Not now. I know it is a privilege. What about piano lessons? Never appreciated that as much as I do now - a huge privilege few can afford. I could go on and on. I really think I will look back on these days as the richest time in our life, not the poorest. I'm learning gratitude, to see God in everything, not just in the obvious. I don't feel sorry for myself in the slightest anymore. I have new eyes.
Thursday, 6 November 2014
The Gift Of Going Without
The computer got hidden on me for a couple of days. I found out later, Daddy was not happy it was left on the floor so much, and put it waaaay up on high on a shelf so that it wouldn't get stepped on. No one could find it! He had no idea that it was being looked for until I mentioned last night that the computer was gone! Oh, ha ha, it's up there. What!?! Anyway, I used the last two mornings to keep prepping for the seminar, so no time was wasted.
I won't finish my book review just yet, but I thought I would share how we've had a couple of really neat blessings come our way. Last year we said no field trips that cost money for the kids. We had already booked a historical school/museum trip that has kind of become a tradition the last few years. The kids go this school in a local town and dress up as pioneer type children and all afternoon have to do activities as if they were real children in a real classroom back in the 1900s. I don't know why they love it so much, but they do. This year, I decided, if we were to book one trip that cost, that would be the one we would do, so we flexed a little and did this one trip. It wasn't a disappointment at all and I feel because we so rarely do things like that, that they were even more grateful than usual for being allowed to do it. Knowing we could have taken it away from them, but didn't seemed to put a spirit of gratitude that I haven't seen so keenly as when you can go wherever you want whenever you want.
Twice in the past week we took the kids to a beautiful path that follows a creek to one of the most amazing events that happens in nature - the salmon migration. I've always wanted to see this happen in real life. We've seen movies on it, read books on it, but never were able to get out to actually see it. Another homeschool mom just casually mentioned it to me at a meeting and I jumped at the opportunity. At the first warmish day, I told the kids in the middle of the afternoon, with no warning, "Get in the van, we're going for a hike!" That might not sound like a big deal, but again, our kids love going out for hikes. As we got closer, I told them what I was hoping to find and that I hoped it wasn't too late. Sure enough, as we got closer and closer to the creek, you got start to smell a fishy smell. Suddenly, the creek was there, just a little off the path. The kids ran over and to all our amazement, there they were, salmon everywhere! Right out of a movie! They were splashing their way up little waterfalls and swimming past us like a bunch of little sharks. We were in awe. We could only stand there with our mouths open at these amazing creatures that showed determination like I've never seen. We stayed there for a long time and saw a number of fish try to get up. So many were near death. Some were stuck in rocks and had died there. Others were still coming. We even got splashed by some of them in their fierce determination to keep going and make it back to the place of their birth. Over and over again, on the way home, my oldest boy, who has always been so verbal, couldn't thank me enough for what he had seen that day, "Thank you so much, Mom, for taking us. I'll never forget what I saw today." But wait, I hadn't spent any money! We hadn't gone on an expensive field trip! Don't you see what incredible thing is happening here!? This experience of going without for the past year has made even a hike one of the highlights of their life! They loved it, so much that when we got home, they immediately ran to their dad and told him all about it. He immediately suggested that we all go back as two of the girls had been unable to come that day. Sure enough, a few days later, off they all went. I stayed back with the two year old, and the rest of them got to go back for another hike to see the salmon. There were a lot less this time, but still enough to show the girls and their dad.
Yesterday, we were given another treat. My sister bid on a painting class at a silent auction. She could have chosen anyone to go with her kids, but chose the cousins - what a treat. Ten cousins and an extra friend got to do a splatter party where you basically throw paint at a wall and then on to a huge piece of canvas on the floor making as much mess as you possibly can. What kid doesn't love that?! It was a gift to us as she assumed the cost and our kids always love to get together, so that was fun in and of itself. Once again, a fun afternoon, another field trip, a gift, and my kids raved about it all the way home. I'm just not sure they would have been so thankful if we did that kind of thing all the time.
I'm reading a book that was written 30 years ago by a homeschool girl describing her life as an early homeschooler (when it wasn't so common as it is now). It's a fascinating read. Her family never struggled financially when they first started out. They went out to eat regularly, drove nice cars, lived in a nice house, got lots of gifts all the time, holidays, etc.....Then one day, out of the blue, her dad lost his job. Isn't that what I wrote about a couple of days ago, that everything is God's and that He can take it all away at a moment's notice? That's exactly what happened to this family. Suddenly, no nice cars anymore, no eating out, no extra gifts, no air-conditioning, nothing......they were on a budget that allowed for only the bare minimum. This girl, the oldest of ten, had unknowingly looked down upon people who had little or who drove dumpy vehicles. Now it was happening to her and she didn't like it. What came out of the experience was a compassion for others and a gratitude for all they had that they had all taken for granted for those years of "having". She called it the gift of going without.
We are experiencing that gift, too - going without is producing more character in my children than any expensive "Character Curriculum" ever could. I see how they appreciate the little things in life now evidenced in their attitudes to these special field trips. I'm seeing it, too, in their reactions in other areas, as well. Because we don't eat out anymore we've had to get creative in order to have a little fun now and then. We used to eat out at IKEA all the time as it was a cheap meal out for a large family. Now we don't even do that. But, IKEA has meatballs, sauce and dip, for a really good deal and thanks to a friend who had us over one night for "IKEA", we now do the same and have IKEA, at home! It is less than half the cost of eating out, but the kids feel it's like eating at a restaurant. They love it and are always so grateful for the meal!
This is how God works. He sees what we need to develop in our lives, in our kids lives and knows just what He needs to do to accomplish His will. How we fight it! But, as I've been on this journey for a while now, I'm starting to see the fruit. It's wonderful. So, we are experiencing the gift of going without. Of course, we still selfishly pray to be out of bondage, but I'm guessing until we've learned all that we're supposed to learn, it might not happen for awhile!
I won't finish my book review just yet, but I thought I would share how we've had a couple of really neat blessings come our way. Last year we said no field trips that cost money for the kids. We had already booked a historical school/museum trip that has kind of become a tradition the last few years. The kids go this school in a local town and dress up as pioneer type children and all afternoon have to do activities as if they were real children in a real classroom back in the 1900s. I don't know why they love it so much, but they do. This year, I decided, if we were to book one trip that cost, that would be the one we would do, so we flexed a little and did this one trip. It wasn't a disappointment at all and I feel because we so rarely do things like that, that they were even more grateful than usual for being allowed to do it. Knowing we could have taken it away from them, but didn't seemed to put a spirit of gratitude that I haven't seen so keenly as when you can go wherever you want whenever you want.
Twice in the past week we took the kids to a beautiful path that follows a creek to one of the most amazing events that happens in nature - the salmon migration. I've always wanted to see this happen in real life. We've seen movies on it, read books on it, but never were able to get out to actually see it. Another homeschool mom just casually mentioned it to me at a meeting and I jumped at the opportunity. At the first warmish day, I told the kids in the middle of the afternoon, with no warning, "Get in the van, we're going for a hike!" That might not sound like a big deal, but again, our kids love going out for hikes. As we got closer, I told them what I was hoping to find and that I hoped it wasn't too late. Sure enough, as we got closer and closer to the creek, you got start to smell a fishy smell. Suddenly, the creek was there, just a little off the path. The kids ran over and to all our amazement, there they were, salmon everywhere! Right out of a movie! They were splashing their way up little waterfalls and swimming past us like a bunch of little sharks. We were in awe. We could only stand there with our mouths open at these amazing creatures that showed determination like I've never seen. We stayed there for a long time and saw a number of fish try to get up. So many were near death. Some were stuck in rocks and had died there. Others were still coming. We even got splashed by some of them in their fierce determination to keep going and make it back to the place of their birth. Over and over again, on the way home, my oldest boy, who has always been so verbal, couldn't thank me enough for what he had seen that day, "Thank you so much, Mom, for taking us. I'll never forget what I saw today." But wait, I hadn't spent any money! We hadn't gone on an expensive field trip! Don't you see what incredible thing is happening here!? This experience of going without for the past year has made even a hike one of the highlights of their life! They loved it, so much that when we got home, they immediately ran to their dad and told him all about it. He immediately suggested that we all go back as two of the girls had been unable to come that day. Sure enough, a few days later, off they all went. I stayed back with the two year old, and the rest of them got to go back for another hike to see the salmon. There were a lot less this time, but still enough to show the girls and their dad.
Yesterday, we were given another treat. My sister bid on a painting class at a silent auction. She could have chosen anyone to go with her kids, but chose the cousins - what a treat. Ten cousins and an extra friend got to do a splatter party where you basically throw paint at a wall and then on to a huge piece of canvas on the floor making as much mess as you possibly can. What kid doesn't love that?! It was a gift to us as she assumed the cost and our kids always love to get together, so that was fun in and of itself. Once again, a fun afternoon, another field trip, a gift, and my kids raved about it all the way home. I'm just not sure they would have been so thankful if we did that kind of thing all the time.
I'm reading a book that was written 30 years ago by a homeschool girl describing her life as an early homeschooler (when it wasn't so common as it is now). It's a fascinating read. Her family never struggled financially when they first started out. They went out to eat regularly, drove nice cars, lived in a nice house, got lots of gifts all the time, holidays, etc.....Then one day, out of the blue, her dad lost his job. Isn't that what I wrote about a couple of days ago, that everything is God's and that He can take it all away at a moment's notice? That's exactly what happened to this family. Suddenly, no nice cars anymore, no eating out, no extra gifts, no air-conditioning, nothing......they were on a budget that allowed for only the bare minimum. This girl, the oldest of ten, had unknowingly looked down upon people who had little or who drove dumpy vehicles. Now it was happening to her and she didn't like it. What came out of the experience was a compassion for others and a gratitude for all they had that they had all taken for granted for those years of "having". She called it the gift of going without.
We are experiencing that gift, too - going without is producing more character in my children than any expensive "Character Curriculum" ever could. I see how they appreciate the little things in life now evidenced in their attitudes to these special field trips. I'm seeing it, too, in their reactions in other areas, as well. Because we don't eat out anymore we've had to get creative in order to have a little fun now and then. We used to eat out at IKEA all the time as it was a cheap meal out for a large family. Now we don't even do that. But, IKEA has meatballs, sauce and dip, for a really good deal and thanks to a friend who had us over one night for "IKEA", we now do the same and have IKEA, at home! It is less than half the cost of eating out, but the kids feel it's like eating at a restaurant. They love it and are always so grateful for the meal!
This is how God works. He sees what we need to develop in our lives, in our kids lives and knows just what He needs to do to accomplish His will. How we fight it! But, as I've been on this journey for a while now, I'm starting to see the fruit. It's wonderful. So, we are experiencing the gift of going without. Of course, we still selfishly pray to be out of bondage, but I'm guessing until we've learned all that we're supposed to learn, it might not happen for awhile!
Monday, 3 November 2014
Book Review - Lies and Truths
What better way to reinforce what you are reading than to write about it. I think it'll help cement in my own mind what resolutions we keep coming back to by continuing to put them on down on "paper". So, at least for a short time, I'm going to do a little chapter review of Barry Cameron's book as we read it together as a family. If there is someone out there who wants to read it, but can't get their hands on it, this will be the "Cole's Notes" of the book, The ABC's of Financial Success.
Chapter 1 - Attitude
I'm very glad that Cameron uses a lot of Scripture throughout his book. He begins with 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 where David is praising God, "Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things....Everything comes from you and we have given you only what comes from your hand." That is step one - acknowledging nothing is our own. It is all God's.
He then goes into describing some lies we believe that sound a lot like truth. Satan is behind them all. The first one is "All the church talks about is money." This is not true. In fact, he says, the church doesn't talk enough about money making Christians some of the worst money managers out there. Because Satan has twisted the truth and makes us think the church is always talking about money, we instantly get offended when the topic comes up. Once we are offended, we tune out. Perfect. Now we can't listen to the truths we need to hear about money! Satan wins. We lose. What can we do? We have to change our attitude towards money in the very face of the devil and beg to hear what Scripture says about money and how to get out of debt. Our churches need to have people out of debt, not sitting there offended about sermons on money.
Lie #2 - Money and Things Can Satisfy Me
Most of us agree that this is a lie. We know things can't satisfy, but then, we turn around and go out and buy something that will make us happy. This means we really truly believe the lie. If we didn't believe it, we would change all our spending habits, but we don't. Awful.
Lie #3 - It's My Money and I Do Whatever I Want With It.
The truth? It's all God's money. "The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Ps.24:1 We are simply managers of God's things. We must be faithful managers.
Now, onto some truths that sound like lies....
Truth #1 - God is the one who determines how much money I have.
Deut. 8:17-18, "Moses says, 'You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.'" We like to take the credit for any money we make, but it is entirely up to God to bless the work of our hands, so we really can't take any credit for it. We must put God first and acknowledge Him and His sovereignty in our lives.
Truth #2 - God has the power to shut down my company, my business,and dry up my source of income without a moment's notice.
We all know this to be true. At any moment, life can change and we can be out of work. He gave the example of Nebuchadnezzar who was walking around taking all the credit for how great he was, looking at all he had accomplished...things were going just great. Next thing your know he's out in the fields eating grass with the wild animals and was out of his mind for 7 years. Not a pretty picture.
We can share a personal story very similar to that. When Renaissance Man was building our house, he found himself down in the basement one afternoon where he'd been going up and down ladders doing wiring, like a young man, feeling quite cocky at all that he had built. He says he remembers feeling and thinking very "Nebuchadnezzar-like" that it was quite something when he looked around at the house "he" had built. He was feeling very proud of himself as it was quite the house. The next thing you know, he took a step forward and suddenly his back went out - completely out of the blue. He couldn't walk another step and had to crawl to the upstairs where I found him on the couch later. Within a day or two, he got the worst case of strep throat he's ever had, high fevers and intense pain. He thought he was going to die! I couldn't lift him - he couldn't go anywhere for two weeks. As he lay on the couch, it occurred to him God was disciplining him. He had not acknowledged God. It was nothing RM had done to build the house. The only reason he was able to do anything at all was entirely because of God's gifting him with the abilities he has been given. Everytime since whenever we think how great we are for whatever thing we are thinking about, we instantly go back to that time and get on our faces, thanking God for His goodness to us, for humbling us, for giving us everything we have, including any talents or possessions. We never want to go back to that time of disciplining. It was a hard lesson for RM to learn and he learned it! It is proof that God really can shut you down whenever He feels like it and He doesn't have to give any warning.
Last truth #3 - Giving is the only way out of my financial problems.
Sounds strange, but it's true. We cannot outgive God. Giving when we've been in debt has seemed the oddest thing, but we continue to do it. It makes no sense, but work keeps coming in, out of the blue, when we least expect it. So many verses on this one - "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Cor. 9:6 It always comes down to really trusting God - do we believe our money is His or ours? We would behave differently if we thought it was all His. If we hold on to our money tightly, God cannot and will not bless that.
There's a bit more to the chapter, but the crew is up - gotta run!
Chapter 1 - Attitude
I'm very glad that Cameron uses a lot of Scripture throughout his book. He begins with 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 where David is praising God, "Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things....Everything comes from you and we have given you only what comes from your hand." That is step one - acknowledging nothing is our own. It is all God's.
He then goes into describing some lies we believe that sound a lot like truth. Satan is behind them all. The first one is "All the church talks about is money." This is not true. In fact, he says, the church doesn't talk enough about money making Christians some of the worst money managers out there. Because Satan has twisted the truth and makes us think the church is always talking about money, we instantly get offended when the topic comes up. Once we are offended, we tune out. Perfect. Now we can't listen to the truths we need to hear about money! Satan wins. We lose. What can we do? We have to change our attitude towards money in the very face of the devil and beg to hear what Scripture says about money and how to get out of debt. Our churches need to have people out of debt, not sitting there offended about sermons on money.
Lie #2 - Money and Things Can Satisfy Me
Most of us agree that this is a lie. We know things can't satisfy, but then, we turn around and go out and buy something that will make us happy. This means we really truly believe the lie. If we didn't believe it, we would change all our spending habits, but we don't. Awful.
Lie #3 - It's My Money and I Do Whatever I Want With It.
The truth? It's all God's money. "The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Ps.24:1 We are simply managers of God's things. We must be faithful managers.
Now, onto some truths that sound like lies....
Truth #1 - God is the one who determines how much money I have.
Deut. 8:17-18, "Moses says, 'You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.'" We like to take the credit for any money we make, but it is entirely up to God to bless the work of our hands, so we really can't take any credit for it. We must put God first and acknowledge Him and His sovereignty in our lives.
Truth #2 - God has the power to shut down my company, my business,and dry up my source of income without a moment's notice.
We all know this to be true. At any moment, life can change and we can be out of work. He gave the example of Nebuchadnezzar who was walking around taking all the credit for how great he was, looking at all he had accomplished...things were going just great. Next thing your know he's out in the fields eating grass with the wild animals and was out of his mind for 7 years. Not a pretty picture.
We can share a personal story very similar to that. When Renaissance Man was building our house, he found himself down in the basement one afternoon where he'd been going up and down ladders doing wiring, like a young man, feeling quite cocky at all that he had built. He says he remembers feeling and thinking very "Nebuchadnezzar-like" that it was quite something when he looked around at the house "he" had built. He was feeling very proud of himself as it was quite the house. The next thing you know, he took a step forward and suddenly his back went out - completely out of the blue. He couldn't walk another step and had to crawl to the upstairs where I found him on the couch later. Within a day or two, he got the worst case of strep throat he's ever had, high fevers and intense pain. He thought he was going to die! I couldn't lift him - he couldn't go anywhere for two weeks. As he lay on the couch, it occurred to him God was disciplining him. He had not acknowledged God. It was nothing RM had done to build the house. The only reason he was able to do anything at all was entirely because of God's gifting him with the abilities he has been given. Everytime since whenever we think how great we are for whatever thing we are thinking about, we instantly go back to that time and get on our faces, thanking God for His goodness to us, for humbling us, for giving us everything we have, including any talents or possessions. We never want to go back to that time of disciplining. It was a hard lesson for RM to learn and he learned it! It is proof that God really can shut you down whenever He feels like it and He doesn't have to give any warning.
Last truth #3 - Giving is the only way out of my financial problems.
Sounds strange, but it's true. We cannot outgive God. Giving when we've been in debt has seemed the oddest thing, but we continue to do it. It makes no sense, but work keeps coming in, out of the blue, when we least expect it. So many verses on this one - "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Cor. 9:6 It always comes down to really trusting God - do we believe our money is His or ours? We would behave differently if we thought it was all His. If we hold on to our money tightly, God cannot and will not bless that.
There's a bit more to the chapter, but the crew is up - gotta run!
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