My little 8 year old has now discovered the teacher's guide. Depravity of man, is all I have to say. He called from his room yesterday, "Hey! There's no answers for the division!" "What do you mean?" I called back. "They only show the numbers, not all the work!" Hmmmmm....I thought to myself. That explained why he was getting really complicated subtraction and word problems all correct the other day. I immediately had him come down and we went through all his work - multiplication 9 times table? All good. He could do them. Roman Numerals? He could do them. Counting money? Yup, fine. Subtraction and regrouping? Nope. Word problems? Nope. Got 'em. I quickly took that teacher's guide and made it mine. Good thing I found out before grade 12, I guess. I have to keep an eye on that boy.
He's an interesting one, though. I've written about him before. His latest challenge he's given himself has to do with his super human strength again. He does 700 chin ups a week, 100 a day. You probably think I'm exaggerating, except I'm not. I've watched him and I've counted. He doesn't do them all at once. He does 20 every time he goes by the chin up bar. I cannot do even 1. He's just doing what he sees his older brothers doing and wants to be fit and strong he says. He's very interested in how this will make his muscles grow and took a picture of his bicep at the beginning of the week and wants to see how it will change by the end of the week after 700 chinups. Rock hard. When he hits adulthood, if he keeps this up, I'm in trouble. We all are. I continue to talk to him about Sampson. Sampson was given super human strength by God, for a purpose. But Sampson ended up getting majorly side-tracked and got into lots of trouble. I continue to warn him - your strength could be a gift by God for some amazing purpose! But, it could also be your downfall. So we've actually prayed together about it, thanking God for how strong our little man is, but asking him to show us how and why he can use it for His glory. It remains to be seen, but I'm very curious what God is going to do with this boy....for now, he keeps me jumping, praying, and begging for wisdom every day.
On a different note, I made a challenge this past week to use up things in the pantry, freezer and fridge that have just been sitting there and never getting used. Everyone has said to me so many times this week, "When are you going to go grocery shopping?!" To them, there is "nothing to eat"! Well, I almost buckled down more on my resolve to show them what my mom did my whole life - make something from nothing. I remember growing up wondering how she did it - there was a meal on the table every night and I have no idea what she made it with - I never saw that food in the fridge! Now, I would say it is one of my greatest skills and one of the best ways to save money - use up everything before going grocery shopping. My other motivation is to show them how easy it is to take food for granted and to almost become "entitled". How many times have I heard, "We don't have peanut butter! I won't eat oatmeal!" That makes me sooooo upset and I'll pull out the "starving children in Africa" line over and over because it's true....they better eat the oatmeal and be grateful for it. So this has been an interesting experiment.
So here's a few things I made from "nothing" this week.
I have lots of beef in the freezer still, so that helped a lot. I made tacos from shells in the cupboard that had literally been there for months. I was going to throw them out, but once I put them in the oven, they crisped up and were perfect. I had no tomatoes or sour cream, just a little cheese left and some salsa and lettuce. I also used some wraps that had also been in the fridge for awhile. Kind of worrisome that they hadn't gone bad, but they were great, too. I added a can of beans that hadn't been used, warmed those up and suddenly had another thing to put in the wraps and tacos.
I also made broccoli soup from a bag of frozen broccoli. I had literally just chicken bones with some meat still on them and boiled them and made a broth. I then used a little cheese for a topping and we had broccoli/chicken/cheese soup.
Another night, I wanted to make this delicious chicken alfredo with pesto, but had no pesto and no parmesan left! So I made a cream sauce with some some remaining milk and again boiled some chicken breasts I had frozen and boiled pasta - it wasn't what I had hoped for that night, but it was still delicious.
Then another night I made tuna/broccoli casserole with a few boxes of kraft dinner. Not the healthiest, so I supplemented with the tuna and broccoli for a bit of health! Super cheap and filled everyone's tummies.
I had a few frozen chicken thighs, so I went on a refrigerator crusade and literally put every leftover vegetable in the soup and made a refrigerator soup with the meat from the chicken and it was delicious!
Tonight, the final meal before I shop, I will make meat loaf with the last of the potatoes and a butternut squash - it will be delicious!
Lunches were made from the remaining cheese and lunch meat. I used every half tomato, every bit of lettuce and sandwiches were on the menu.
I used leftover soup and that was great for those freezing days.
I had bagels with cream cheese that hadn't been used and the kids loved those for a couple days.
We even had desserts with just going through the freezer and finding frozen peaches from more than a summer ago! My daughter made peach crisp (using up the oatmeal in the cupboard and all the butter).
Then yesterday we pulled off donuts! I had lard still, yeast, flour and icing sugar. Homemade donuts are unbelievable. My son said, "Oh no! We don't have milk!" "Yes we do!" I had bought powdered milk ages ago just in case we ever needed it for emergency baking and I had tons of it, so we quickly made some and the donuts were saved!
I also made date balls as a treat with all the little nuts, seeds, coconut I had in jars and that was also delicious.
Each time I made a meal, my kids were very curious what it would be as to them there was no food, yet time after time, I found something. I didn't spend a dime and we used up a lot of food we had in the cupboards and freezer and I would say that almost everything I made was fairly healthy, too. I told the kids, "I can just keep doing this!" I still have tons of beef from the cow that was slaughtered. I still have bags of frozen vegetables from our garden. I still have powdered milk and flour. I have run out of the essentials, so that makes them mad - eggs, milk and peanut butter. Tomorrow I will shop, but I might just keep it really simple for a little longer. It's been a great lesson for me and them that we can get by without all the indulgences and even without some of the food they would call "necessities". They aren't necessarily as essential as they once thought.
Thursday, 24 January 2019
Monday, 21 January 2019
From the Beginning of the Year to the End
We aren't loving winter right now! "Inhumane!" my husband said this morning. "You grew up in this weather your whole life!" I said. "I know! It was inhumane!" So I guess that's why he moved to Ontario except, even though it isn't cold all winter long, once in awhile it hits COLD. Fortunately for all of us, he got his skid steer working before the storm came so he was ready for it and has been able to clear the driveway. A not-so-small miracle. I don't take that for granted at all.
I was reminded in one of my devotionals this January 1st that we don't know what the year will hold, but we can guarantee two things: #1) It will be filled with hills and valleys and #2) The Lord will be with us every step of the way.
The author of the devotional based it on Deut. 11:11, 12, which says, "But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which brings water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." That has to be the most amazing verse in Scripture. It covers everything that I could be concerned about.
Sometimes I question if we are supposed to be on the farm because of the amount of work it is, the never-ending costs, the burden it can be to RM, but then I remember how badly we longed for this property and all the things the Lord worked out for us to be on it and and he allowed us to "possess" it just like the land the Lord gave the Israelites. It wasn't just handed to them, they had to work for it. They had to fight many battles. He allowed them to possess it, but it wasn't easy.
Then, lately, we've gone through trial after trial since the middle of December - nearly every appliance and farm-related system has gone on us costing us a lot of money. First it was the stove (oh yes, mice bit through the wires....if you can imagine, I was grateful that it wasn't a rat!). That would have been a new stove for us except that, yay! my husband was able to solder the wires back together and unbelievably got it working on the same day it went down. What a husband. I really do see that as such a miracle and a way of the Lord looking down and blessing me. I didn't know how I would have gotten through Christmas without a stove. I pictured the whole season microwaving?! Didn't know what I would do. Is that a way that His eyes are upon me?
Next it wasn't just the dryer, but the washing machine, too - one after another. I don't need to remind anyone that there are 10 people in our family, always getting dirty and I end up doing multiple loads a day. One day behind ends up being a nightmare. Then, the local laundromat closed down and that meant trips further away! We called in an appliance guy. He came, he fixed, he left, it broke down minutes after he left. How annoying! Hundreds of dollars that could have been put towards a new appliance, gone. He did come back and attempted a fix on both, but it cost more money for the new parts of course. The washing machine got started and is still working, but not the dryer. So, someone makes a daily trip to go dry clothes.....crazy, but the good news is we found a new laundromat in town that is just down the street that must have just opened. So a small blessing! The kids love going together (I've only had to go once or twice). They make it into a whole sibling thing and, hey, why not! In the whole process, I was able to talk with the repair man a lot about our family. He was complimentary and I felt like it was a strange blessing to have him in our home, too. Even at the laundromat, people took notice of our kids, working together, having fun, getting along and marveled that the older 4 were all siblings, with 4 more at home, and that they so obviously liked being together - a rare thing indeed.
Next, was the septic system. The first time it didn't flush, I wasn't worried, but then when I tried plunging it, I got a little concerned. When my husband couldn't make it flush, we knew we were in trouble. He did a lot of trouble shooting and figured the septic tank needed to be pumped out. Hundreds of dollars later, it was pumped out and that seemed to help at first, but then it stopped again. This was all while we had 5 extra young adults staying in our home for 2-5 nights! Not the best time to have a septic disaster. He got it working while they were here, but not without a few trips to Tim Horton's for emergencies.
Then, I got a lesson in how to fix a blockage. I found out how to rent a "snake", how to use the snake, how to check if it is working, where to look for the opening to the house and the septic tank itself....I swear I could be a plumber now for any farm. But, again, I count it an odd blessing as I never knew any of that before! And, even though we had to spend a small fortune, it did end up working and we didn't have to spend $25,000 on a new septic bed, which was what I had in my head the whole time! We also didn't have to ever call in a plumber or spend more money on the actual blockage. My husband was able to do it all himself, so I marvel AGAIN at his skill set.
The water softener seemed to be next. Fortunately, no money was spent on this. I think it just needed to be reset, so no big deal there, but at first it was just the thought that ANOTHER appliance seemed to be going. Good news, it was ok.
Then, we had an engine light, then we had a flat tire - more money.
Then we had to finalize my 3rd son's education plans as all the due dates for university and college were this week which meant we had to sign up for the accredited courses the schools require. This was so much money to apply and so much money for the courses, I nearly choked. This was where we were so grateful that my son has been working solid for 2 years and was able to cover these costs. He would not have been able to apply otherwise, setting him back at least a year.
We had hoped to finish the HVAC in the house. I wasn't sure if we would get to it this winter, but I had hoped. See, the thing is, we have no heat upstairs! Never have. The kids use electric heaters. I can't be bothered as I like being cozy under my covers and sleep way better in the cold, but last night was a different matter. Let's say that I now know what it's like to sleep in sub-arctic temperatures. My nose was bright red when I woke up from my very sleepless sleep. There will be no fixing of the HVAC until our bank account recovers, so I'm really hoping it gets warmer soon!!!
Clearly, a crazy financial start to our year. So many expenses and the month is barely half over. Normally, I'm overcome with fear and worry and trust me, I had my moments, as did my husband, but I was reminded from this verse in Deuteronomy that we are living in "a land that the Lord your God cares for". This farm is His, these appliances are His, these kids are His, so He will care for all of it. That is His end of the deal. We just have to possess it, move in, live and watch how He will provided. The "land of hills and valley, which drinks water by the rain from heaven" means that even in these hills and valley, they are going to be supplied by rain from heaven, not by anything the Israelites do.
So, if this last month has been any indication of what our year will be like, I think it's going to be an interesting year! You never know what it will be next! But the author of the devotional asked, "Isn't it better that way? To have hills and valleys? It would be so boring if it was just flat." Sometimes flat isn't so bad! But, I have to agree, it sure makes life more interesting.
Finally, my favourite line in the passage is that His eyes are upon us "from the beginning of the year to the end of the year". If He was watching over the Israelites all year, He will watch over us. The key for me was seeing the blessings in the trials. Meeting the repair man, the people in the laundromat, learning about the plumbing and how our septic system works, how to rent equipment...I'm becoming a capable woman in all of this, watching all my kids step up to help, to even contribute financially to our family economy....they will never take for granted a load of laundry, a flush of the toilet, the warm stove element, a working mouse trap.
I'm living in a land that God cares for. I just need to keep my eyes open to see it.
I was reminded in one of my devotionals this January 1st that we don't know what the year will hold, but we can guarantee two things: #1) It will be filled with hills and valleys and #2) The Lord will be with us every step of the way.
The author of the devotional based it on Deut. 11:11, 12, which says, "But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which brings water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." That has to be the most amazing verse in Scripture. It covers everything that I could be concerned about.
Sometimes I question if we are supposed to be on the farm because of the amount of work it is, the never-ending costs, the burden it can be to RM, but then I remember how badly we longed for this property and all the things the Lord worked out for us to be on it and and he allowed us to "possess" it just like the land the Lord gave the Israelites. It wasn't just handed to them, they had to work for it. They had to fight many battles. He allowed them to possess it, but it wasn't easy.
Then, lately, we've gone through trial after trial since the middle of December - nearly every appliance and farm-related system has gone on us costing us a lot of money. First it was the stove (oh yes, mice bit through the wires....if you can imagine, I was grateful that it wasn't a rat!). That would have been a new stove for us except that, yay! my husband was able to solder the wires back together and unbelievably got it working on the same day it went down. What a husband. I really do see that as such a miracle and a way of the Lord looking down and blessing me. I didn't know how I would have gotten through Christmas without a stove. I pictured the whole season microwaving?! Didn't know what I would do. Is that a way that His eyes are upon me?
Next it wasn't just the dryer, but the washing machine, too - one after another. I don't need to remind anyone that there are 10 people in our family, always getting dirty and I end up doing multiple loads a day. One day behind ends up being a nightmare. Then, the local laundromat closed down and that meant trips further away! We called in an appliance guy. He came, he fixed, he left, it broke down minutes after he left. How annoying! Hundreds of dollars that could have been put towards a new appliance, gone. He did come back and attempted a fix on both, but it cost more money for the new parts of course. The washing machine got started and is still working, but not the dryer. So, someone makes a daily trip to go dry clothes.....crazy, but the good news is we found a new laundromat in town that is just down the street that must have just opened. So a small blessing! The kids love going together (I've only had to go once or twice). They make it into a whole sibling thing and, hey, why not! In the whole process, I was able to talk with the repair man a lot about our family. He was complimentary and I felt like it was a strange blessing to have him in our home, too. Even at the laundromat, people took notice of our kids, working together, having fun, getting along and marveled that the older 4 were all siblings, with 4 more at home, and that they so obviously liked being together - a rare thing indeed.
Next, was the septic system. The first time it didn't flush, I wasn't worried, but then when I tried plunging it, I got a little concerned. When my husband couldn't make it flush, we knew we were in trouble. He did a lot of trouble shooting and figured the septic tank needed to be pumped out. Hundreds of dollars later, it was pumped out and that seemed to help at first, but then it stopped again. This was all while we had 5 extra young adults staying in our home for 2-5 nights! Not the best time to have a septic disaster. He got it working while they were here, but not without a few trips to Tim Horton's for emergencies.
Then, I got a lesson in how to fix a blockage. I found out how to rent a "snake", how to use the snake, how to check if it is working, where to look for the opening to the house and the septic tank itself....I swear I could be a plumber now for any farm. But, again, I count it an odd blessing as I never knew any of that before! And, even though we had to spend a small fortune, it did end up working and we didn't have to spend $25,000 on a new septic bed, which was what I had in my head the whole time! We also didn't have to ever call in a plumber or spend more money on the actual blockage. My husband was able to do it all himself, so I marvel AGAIN at his skill set.
The water softener seemed to be next. Fortunately, no money was spent on this. I think it just needed to be reset, so no big deal there, but at first it was just the thought that ANOTHER appliance seemed to be going. Good news, it was ok.
Then, we had an engine light, then we had a flat tire - more money.
Then we had to finalize my 3rd son's education plans as all the due dates for university and college were this week which meant we had to sign up for the accredited courses the schools require. This was so much money to apply and so much money for the courses, I nearly choked. This was where we were so grateful that my son has been working solid for 2 years and was able to cover these costs. He would not have been able to apply otherwise, setting him back at least a year.
We had hoped to finish the HVAC in the house. I wasn't sure if we would get to it this winter, but I had hoped. See, the thing is, we have no heat upstairs! Never have. The kids use electric heaters. I can't be bothered as I like being cozy under my covers and sleep way better in the cold, but last night was a different matter. Let's say that I now know what it's like to sleep in sub-arctic temperatures. My nose was bright red when I woke up from my very sleepless sleep. There will be no fixing of the HVAC until our bank account recovers, so I'm really hoping it gets warmer soon!!!
Clearly, a crazy financial start to our year. So many expenses and the month is barely half over. Normally, I'm overcome with fear and worry and trust me, I had my moments, as did my husband, but I was reminded from this verse in Deuteronomy that we are living in "a land that the Lord your God cares for". This farm is His, these appliances are His, these kids are His, so He will care for all of it. That is His end of the deal. We just have to possess it, move in, live and watch how He will provided. The "land of hills and valley, which drinks water by the rain from heaven" means that even in these hills and valley, they are going to be supplied by rain from heaven, not by anything the Israelites do.
So, if this last month has been any indication of what our year will be like, I think it's going to be an interesting year! You never know what it will be next! But the author of the devotional asked, "Isn't it better that way? To have hills and valleys? It would be so boring if it was just flat." Sometimes flat isn't so bad! But, I have to agree, it sure makes life more interesting.
Finally, my favourite line in the passage is that His eyes are upon us "from the beginning of the year to the end of the year". If He was watching over the Israelites all year, He will watch over us. The key for me was seeing the blessings in the trials. Meeting the repair man, the people in the laundromat, learning about the plumbing and how our septic system works, how to rent equipment...I'm becoming a capable woman in all of this, watching all my kids step up to help, to even contribute financially to our family economy....they will never take for granted a load of laundry, a flush of the toilet, the warm stove element, a working mouse trap.
I'm living in a land that God cares for. I just need to keep my eyes open to see it.
Tuesday, 8 January 2019
A Christmas Highlight
One of the highlights of the break had to be when all the girl cousins were able to connect at my sister's house. Each one of the teens and even my girl who is 21 this week has gone through major ups and downs this year. They all feel like they walk a lonely path. Yes, they have friendships, but even those waffle from year to year. But family is different. My niece in the States knows this, so when things get rough, my sister will hear, "I'VE GOT TO GO TO CANADA!" And then, no matter what, my sister tries to make it happen. This Christmas was no exception. She made it happen and up she came with my two nieces.
The night before we were all supposed to connect, I was kept up all night by so many thoughts about the girls. I felt like God had given me some really important messages to communicate. Sometimes I get these crazy thoughts, but then I wake up and none of them make sense, but the next morning I still felt so compelled to talk to the girls if I could coordinate it.
Shortly after we arrived, we were in the kitchen and suddenly every single female cousin and all the aunts were in the same place at the same time. I quickly wrangled them all and said, "Come here! I've got something I have to tell you!"
Then, I told them about a blog post I'd read recently on being a Christian teenage girl and how it IS a lonely path. But in the post, the blogger had explained how this can be ok! It can feel like persecution and hardly an answer to prayer. It can feel awful, but in a strange way it shows what it is truly like to be a Christian, being on the narrow path. At this stage of life, friendships are so important to young girls, but God wants to be most important. Then I read some words from the Psalms about how He is with the lonely and the outcast. Finally I gave them a few challenges. I told them to be each others' best friends and to encourage one another to not stay in the pity party, but to help one another rise above each circumstance. I encouraged them to read through the Bible in a year and keep one another accountable. I told them to send each other prayer requests. I even told them about fasting and how that can be such a powerful spiritual tool.
Finally, I gave them an unusual encouragement to work on their relationship with their dads. I explained how fathers can be practice for being married in the sense of learning to submit to their future husbands. This is very difficult to understand and do, but it is also practice for learning to submit to their heavenly father. Each girl has had their dads say some hard things to them this year and has challenged each one of them to walk the path of life in integrity which has meant making hard decisions. I know in our family that never goes over well at first. RM will see something that concerns him. He'll talk with the girls. They'll be upset at first, maybe even angry, but then they see it. Sometime with my help, sometimes on their own. They know their dad knows more than they do. They just don't like that he's asking them to change! Hmmm....does sound a bit like the Christian walk. Eventually they do come around and so I was telling the girls about this and just begged them to keep their relationship with thier dads awesome, all the time. Siblings are also practice for future spouses as we have to learn to love and be kind, share and be generous. They looked at me with, "I don't know about you Auntie P." I stopped there!
Then, around that time, my parents arrived. That was when we were able to have the most amazing prayer time together. Some of the cousins prayed, the aunts prayed, the grandparents prayed with my dad closing. It was AMAZING!!!! I knew at that moment that the Lord HAD been speaking to me that night. I knew I wasn't crazy. When someone drives up 12 hours to see family in Canada, it couldn't be wasted. And it wasn't. The Lord coordinated the whole thing and I was so grateful. We all knew it was very special as many do not have that spiritual legacy and we were basking in the prayers of many generations before us.
So that was definitely one of the highlights of the Christmas season. Christ truly was in our Christmas. It was such a beautiful picture of the future generations that Mary talked about in her Magnificat. Christ came to exalt the humble and there we were with our girls who were feeling so downcast, but who hopefully left feeling exalted.
The night before we were all supposed to connect, I was kept up all night by so many thoughts about the girls. I felt like God had given me some really important messages to communicate. Sometimes I get these crazy thoughts, but then I wake up and none of them make sense, but the next morning I still felt so compelled to talk to the girls if I could coordinate it.
Shortly after we arrived, we were in the kitchen and suddenly every single female cousin and all the aunts were in the same place at the same time. I quickly wrangled them all and said, "Come here! I've got something I have to tell you!"
Then, I told them about a blog post I'd read recently on being a Christian teenage girl and how it IS a lonely path. But in the post, the blogger had explained how this can be ok! It can feel like persecution and hardly an answer to prayer. It can feel awful, but in a strange way it shows what it is truly like to be a Christian, being on the narrow path. At this stage of life, friendships are so important to young girls, but God wants to be most important. Then I read some words from the Psalms about how He is with the lonely and the outcast. Finally I gave them a few challenges. I told them to be each others' best friends and to encourage one another to not stay in the pity party, but to help one another rise above each circumstance. I encouraged them to read through the Bible in a year and keep one another accountable. I told them to send each other prayer requests. I even told them about fasting and how that can be such a powerful spiritual tool.
Finally, I gave them an unusual encouragement to work on their relationship with their dads. I explained how fathers can be practice for being married in the sense of learning to submit to their future husbands. This is very difficult to understand and do, but it is also practice for learning to submit to their heavenly father. Each girl has had their dads say some hard things to them this year and has challenged each one of them to walk the path of life in integrity which has meant making hard decisions. I know in our family that never goes over well at first. RM will see something that concerns him. He'll talk with the girls. They'll be upset at first, maybe even angry, but then they see it. Sometime with my help, sometimes on their own. They know their dad knows more than they do. They just don't like that he's asking them to change! Hmmm....does sound a bit like the Christian walk. Eventually they do come around and so I was telling the girls about this and just begged them to keep their relationship with thier dads awesome, all the time. Siblings are also practice for future spouses as we have to learn to love and be kind, share and be generous. They looked at me with, "I don't know about you Auntie P." I stopped there!
Then, around that time, my parents arrived. That was when we were able to have the most amazing prayer time together. Some of the cousins prayed, the aunts prayed, the grandparents prayed with my dad closing. It was AMAZING!!!! I knew at that moment that the Lord HAD been speaking to me that night. I knew I wasn't crazy. When someone drives up 12 hours to see family in Canada, it couldn't be wasted. And it wasn't. The Lord coordinated the whole thing and I was so grateful. We all knew it was very special as many do not have that spiritual legacy and we were basking in the prayers of many generations before us.
So that was definitely one of the highlights of the Christmas season. Christ truly was in our Christmas. It was such a beautiful picture of the future generations that Mary talked about in her Magnificat. Christ came to exalt the humble and there we were with our girls who were feeling so downcast, but who hopefully left feeling exalted.
Monday, 7 January 2019
The Year of Jubilee - Steadfast in Hope
I'm back. I took at three vacation from virtually everything while my husband was home this holiday season. It was so great. He's back at work this morning and I think he's ready and even looking forward to going back for a rest! He hardly rested here, that's for sure. We had some goals for the house and we accomplished nearly all of them. Even though it isn't 100% complete, we finished the big things and he can do the rest on weekends this winter. It was a LOT of work.
The main goals were to get the drywall sealed, once and for all, painted and then trim on the windows and doors. All sounds simple enough, but it required leveling floors, sealing all the spaces above the drywall, which meant lots of electrical rewiring, tons of mudding and taping, hours of sanding......but this weekend most of it came together....the base coat of primer is on, the windows have trim and the furniture is back in place. It looks great. Still missing flooring, the final coat of paint and baseboards (comes after flooring), but to us it looks like a new space. We were even able to use some material from the house we built years ago. We figured we saved ourselves many thousands of dollars by doing it ourselves.
What was really nice was the time off with him wasn't all work. We were able to take in some really nice Christmas events together and then many nights we just hung around together in the very messy space, everyone enjoying being together. I don't feel like the time went too fast or too slow. It was just amazing.
As we sat around last night for our last night of the holiday, we reflected on how much 2019 could be different for our family. We might have another son leave home depending on what happens with flight schools. We might have a son leave for Africa. Our daughter is now working further away and wants to live closer to where she works. It's going to be interesting to see how the family dynamics shift and change this year. We knew it was pretty special to have all of us in one room, almost all packed on one couch, knowing it won't be like that forever. Makes me kind of sad.
Yesterday the pastor talked about the church from Thessalonica and how they were known for their "steadfastness of hope". That is my struggle sometimes. I'm not sure if I will be remembered for that as I can so easily go into hopelessness. This leads to me being sleepless sometimes as I think about my children, their futures, are they ready, did I do enough, watching their influences, then being worried about their influences.....it makes me literally get out of bed just so I can pray. But hearing that reminder yesterday always helps to put it back in focus. I need that steadfastness of hope. He said it was like a military term where it is a hope unmovable, fixed, ready for battle.
I have many dreams for our 2019 year. I'm calling it the Year of Jubilee (that's even my password for my Nike app to help me regain my fitness for this year!). Unbelievably, don't tell anyone, I'm turning 50 this year. It seems impossible. So I have health goals (I'm in a major competition with my husband right now - who can lose the first 10? The kids have bets on me. Fabulous at 50?!) I have goals for my kids (always trying to get them married!). School goals - just need them to get finished! Home goals - finish the renovations once and for all! Hospitality goals - trying to have lots of people over. Spiritual goals - daily reading and true application. Discipleship goals - keep on mentoring whenever possible. Speaking goals - have some neat opportunities this year. Ahhhh....so many goals, but it all depends on how steadfast my hope is. That really needs to be my number one goal, to trust the Lord for all these things as the year is out of my hands.
Paul says of the Thessalonians, "for your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report...." I want my faith to be like that, so well known, that "reports" have gone out. So well known that no one has to ask or try to find out if I had faith in God. News of my faith will have traveled like wild fire everywhere. There are days when my faith is like that, but then other days when I think it is quite the opposite and I'm afraid news of my lack of faith would be what I would be known for. So my prayer is that this year would be the year of hope, steadfast hope and that I would be fixed, unmovable, unshakable in my faith.
Our little health kick, that we do virtually every year, is always a good start as it is always a form of a fast in that food is at the core of it. By depriving ourselves of the indulgences we typically take part in, we are forced to pray instead of eat! Losing weight is always the bonus, but spiritual gain is actually what we want!
Well, I hear my 19 year old fake sobbing in the laundry room. He has to start back to school today and he is NOT used to that after his long break of sleeping in. He can't find socks. Our washing machine supposedly got fixed yesterday after being broken this Christmas holiday! But right after the tech guy left, it stopped working again. So back to the laundromat today.....I better go help my kid find socks!
More tomorrow.....
The main goals were to get the drywall sealed, once and for all, painted and then trim on the windows and doors. All sounds simple enough, but it required leveling floors, sealing all the spaces above the drywall, which meant lots of electrical rewiring, tons of mudding and taping, hours of sanding......but this weekend most of it came together....the base coat of primer is on, the windows have trim and the furniture is back in place. It looks great. Still missing flooring, the final coat of paint and baseboards (comes after flooring), but to us it looks like a new space. We were even able to use some material from the house we built years ago. We figured we saved ourselves many thousands of dollars by doing it ourselves.
What was really nice was the time off with him wasn't all work. We were able to take in some really nice Christmas events together and then many nights we just hung around together in the very messy space, everyone enjoying being together. I don't feel like the time went too fast or too slow. It was just amazing.
As we sat around last night for our last night of the holiday, we reflected on how much 2019 could be different for our family. We might have another son leave home depending on what happens with flight schools. We might have a son leave for Africa. Our daughter is now working further away and wants to live closer to where she works. It's going to be interesting to see how the family dynamics shift and change this year. We knew it was pretty special to have all of us in one room, almost all packed on one couch, knowing it won't be like that forever. Makes me kind of sad.
Yesterday the pastor talked about the church from Thessalonica and how they were known for their "steadfastness of hope". That is my struggle sometimes. I'm not sure if I will be remembered for that as I can so easily go into hopelessness. This leads to me being sleepless sometimes as I think about my children, their futures, are they ready, did I do enough, watching their influences, then being worried about their influences.....it makes me literally get out of bed just so I can pray. But hearing that reminder yesterday always helps to put it back in focus. I need that steadfastness of hope. He said it was like a military term where it is a hope unmovable, fixed, ready for battle.
I have many dreams for our 2019 year. I'm calling it the Year of Jubilee (that's even my password for my Nike app to help me regain my fitness for this year!). Unbelievably, don't tell anyone, I'm turning 50 this year. It seems impossible. So I have health goals (I'm in a major competition with my husband right now - who can lose the first 10? The kids have bets on me. Fabulous at 50?!) I have goals for my kids (always trying to get them married!). School goals - just need them to get finished! Home goals - finish the renovations once and for all! Hospitality goals - trying to have lots of people over. Spiritual goals - daily reading and true application. Discipleship goals - keep on mentoring whenever possible. Speaking goals - have some neat opportunities this year. Ahhhh....so many goals, but it all depends on how steadfast my hope is. That really needs to be my number one goal, to trust the Lord for all these things as the year is out of my hands.
Paul says of the Thessalonians, "for your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report...." I want my faith to be like that, so well known, that "reports" have gone out. So well known that no one has to ask or try to find out if I had faith in God. News of my faith will have traveled like wild fire everywhere. There are days when my faith is like that, but then other days when I think it is quite the opposite and I'm afraid news of my lack of faith would be what I would be known for. So my prayer is that this year would be the year of hope, steadfast hope and that I would be fixed, unmovable, unshakable in my faith.
Our little health kick, that we do virtually every year, is always a good start as it is always a form of a fast in that food is at the core of it. By depriving ourselves of the indulgences we typically take part in, we are forced to pray instead of eat! Losing weight is always the bonus, but spiritual gain is actually what we want!
Well, I hear my 19 year old fake sobbing in the laundry room. He has to start back to school today and he is NOT used to that after his long break of sleeping in. He can't find socks. Our washing machine supposedly got fixed yesterday after being broken this Christmas holiday! But right after the tech guy left, it stopped working again. So back to the laundromat today.....I better go help my kid find socks!
More tomorrow.....
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