Yesterday was my daughter's "first day/job interview/job shadow/meet-the-moms" all-in-one. I hadn't been nervous until just before she left. Suddenly, I started spouting out all these mom-isms like "act professional", "be friendly", "don't chat with friends"......I'm sure that wasn't what she needed right before she left. I would have said even more, but she was going to be late if I went on and on. As soon as she left, I started praying. I even wondered if she would get in an accident and be late. I prayed against all those thoughts. I prayed against my pride knowing if she didn't do well it might reflect badly on me! So self-centered I was sounding!
Only about 20 minutes or so after she left the phone rang. I wondered immediately if it was her. I didn't want it to be her. If it was her, then that meant she was either lost or something had happened. It was her.
"Mom?" Oh no. She sounded upset.
"Don't worry. I'm ok." Why would she say she was ok?
"I hit a car. Just a small dent. I don't know what to do......" In my head I'm thinking "What!!? On the highway???"
Instead, I quickly gathered my thoughts and just started thanking God she was ok and not dead.
Right away I told her it was going to be ok and this was a test we could pass. I knew Satan wanted her first morning ruined. Mine ruined. My husband's. I quickly got RM and explained the situation. He helped her through it.
Within an hour or two, she was back on the road, at the job, meeting people and fully recovered. We will somehow deal with the other person's car.
I'm so glad I have people to call on when these things happen. I sent out a family email asking for prayer and everyone did that. The calmness that came over all of us was amazing. None of us were freaking out. It didn't matter even if there were a major bill coming. We knew we would be ok. We really were able to see it as something that in God's sovereignty He had allowed to happen and we just needed to accept that. It helped to explain to RM that this was not something new. My Dad had gone through this more than once before with me in particular. I'm sure it is a rite of passage for Dad's with teenage daughters. I quickly explained to him that my Dad had handled it very well and really had been more concerned with the fact I was ok...hint, hint.... Yes, inside he was probably less than happy with me, but he was very careful to communicate concern and not anger in those moments. I was grateful! I want my daughter to have that same memory! And she will....RM handled it great. Whew!
It does seem like just about every day we come across one challenge or another. This one was a big one, but it could have been sooooo much worse. It happened at low speed, in traffic, not at high speed involving multiple vehicles. No one was hurt. It wasn't a Mercedes that she hit, just a Civic. I know she had angels all around her.
We wake up each morning. We don't know how to pray, but we just do, asking Him to give us His grace to handle what is ahead. With this accident it adds a little uncertainty to the financial situation, but God's grace can handle that, too. If He somehow allowed it to happen, He will somehow help us find the money to pay for it. I rest in that and just keep going.
Thursday, 19 November 2015
Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Numbering Our Days
Day 3 - still at it. Everyone is walking around a little bit like zombies during the day, but hitting the sheets hard at night, so the early mornings are making an impact! We're having good conversations about the books the boys are reading. We're seeing more productivity in our school days and our work days.
RM is taking time to meet one on one with each child over the next few days and weeks. He's checking in on what they are doing with their time. Each one has to create their schedule for him and account for their hours. It was very revealing as he met with the oldest this week. He found out she is busy! No wonder she is struggling with college...she doesn't have a lot of time to focus 100% on it! She's got all sorts of things going on. Seeing it on paper, having her write out what each day looks like, really helped him help her organize her time. Once we saw how many spots on her schedule were filled we realized she needed to change a few things in order to accomplish her long list of things to do. Sounds obvious, but having it written out as opposed to "in your head" is very helpful.
This is the basic premise of the other book the Maxwells wrote called Managers of Your Homes. I've written schedules for the other children when they were younger, but I hadn't written one for the oldest this year as I felt she should do it. She hadn't. She had lists of things to do, but not when and how she would get those things done. Once again, no wonder she wasn't getting everything done. Mystery solved.
I'm excited to write that next seminar. I'll be giving it in February. I'll be able to use even this example of my daughter taking the time to write it out to show how important it is to have a schedule and how so much gets missed if you don't. So many people, including myself, get scared by the idea of being ruled by the schedule. That is not the point of the book at all. If anything the Maxwells don't want us to be ruled by a schedule. They are encouraging us to be good stewards of our time and writing it out calls us to account for all of our minutes. "Teach us to number our days!" We do need to number our days, as well as our minutes, our hours, so that we don't waste them. We need to see them as gifts to us and then use them as such.
One more seminar to give this weekend up north - another loooong drive for a small group of women, but I'm excited to go. I love meeting the new women and encouraging them to keep at it!
RM is taking time to meet one on one with each child over the next few days and weeks. He's checking in on what they are doing with their time. Each one has to create their schedule for him and account for their hours. It was very revealing as he met with the oldest this week. He found out she is busy! No wonder she is struggling with college...she doesn't have a lot of time to focus 100% on it! She's got all sorts of things going on. Seeing it on paper, having her write out what each day looks like, really helped him help her organize her time. Once we saw how many spots on her schedule were filled we realized she needed to change a few things in order to accomplish her long list of things to do. Sounds obvious, but having it written out as opposed to "in your head" is very helpful.
This is the basic premise of the other book the Maxwells wrote called Managers of Your Homes. I've written schedules for the other children when they were younger, but I hadn't written one for the oldest this year as I felt she should do it. She hadn't. She had lists of things to do, but not when and how she would get those things done. Once again, no wonder she wasn't getting everything done. Mystery solved.
I'm excited to write that next seminar. I'll be giving it in February. I'll be able to use even this example of my daughter taking the time to write it out to show how important it is to have a schedule and how so much gets missed if you don't. So many people, including myself, get scared by the idea of being ruled by the schedule. That is not the point of the book at all. If anything the Maxwells don't want us to be ruled by a schedule. They are encouraging us to be good stewards of our time and writing it out calls us to account for all of our minutes. "Teach us to number our days!" We do need to number our days, as well as our minutes, our hours, so that we don't waste them. We need to see them as gifts to us and then use them as such.
One more seminar to give this weekend up north - another loooong drive for a small group of women, but I'm excited to go. I love meeting the new women and encouraging them to keep at it!
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
I Should Be In Sales
Poor RM, day 2 of early rising...nearly killing him. It's hard for me not to laugh a little. I always say to him, "One of the seven habits of highly effective people!" It's true! Steven Covey says so in his book! It's been great though....who wants to add more hours to their work day, but when you are in business for yourself, there are times when you have to add more hours and it's a good thing, especially as he is hunting down more work right now. It's just the life of an entrepreneur....
This earlier hour is helping us with our laundry costs. I was starting to get lazy and putting in a load in the middle of the day where the electricity is cheaper, but not cheapest. Now, I'm getting more loads done at the cheapest hour which makes a huge difference with the amount of laundry I'm doing.
Another interesting thing we've done to save our family some money has been to add more natural remedies to our life. I'm not in the business of essential oils, nor am I marketing it for anyone, but the way I'm going to talk about them you would think I was in sales. I went to a health food store a few weeks ago and said, "Give me something to boost our immunity!" I can't remember who wasn't doing well at the time, but nothing I gave that person was working. I needed them to get better and it wasn't happening. The lady at the store suggested the oil of oregano and then gave me a book that went along with it. I had heard of this for years, but had never tried it. It wasn't that I didn't believe my friends who were using it, I just kept forgetting to buy it. Finally, I had it in hand and went home to try it.
I read the book that went along with it and was amazed at all the things it could be used for, from allergies, to minor injuries, to colds and flu, sore throats, etc.....at the next sign of sickness, I gave it to one of my kids and seriously, they were better the next day. Then I felt a little sick with a cold. I took it and the next day, no symptoms. I thought this was coincidence at first, but I have done this child after child and to my amazement, they always get better at a speed I've never seen before. I've used it on cold sores, any skin irritation and it clears it up.
This has to be one of the biggest secrets out there! It saves you so much money on all the other drugs you would normally take when you are sick, like Tylenol or cold medicines. We don't lose time the way we used to with sick kids lying around. It doesn't pass through the whole house anymore like it used to. I'm in awe of this oil and its medicinal qualities. I told you I should be in sales.
So, I can't say enough about it. We now use it at the first sign of a sniffle or sore throat. It tastes horrible, but my kids have bought into it. They see the difference themselves. The trick is to make sure you take a full glass of water immediately after placing a few drops on your tongue. If you do that then you can power through the taste no problem.
It may seem like a funny money saving idea, but it does save you money if you think about the way you would normally spend money on expensive medicines. It's not always about money though, but about saving time in lost productivity. I love how we've been healthy for months now. My next major test for this oil will be in the summer during haying season. If I can keep my kids from the alleriges they suffer then I'm going to go into the oil of oregano business. Just watch.
This earlier hour is helping us with our laundry costs. I was starting to get lazy and putting in a load in the middle of the day where the electricity is cheaper, but not cheapest. Now, I'm getting more loads done at the cheapest hour which makes a huge difference with the amount of laundry I'm doing.
Another interesting thing we've done to save our family some money has been to add more natural remedies to our life. I'm not in the business of essential oils, nor am I marketing it for anyone, but the way I'm going to talk about them you would think I was in sales. I went to a health food store a few weeks ago and said, "Give me something to boost our immunity!" I can't remember who wasn't doing well at the time, but nothing I gave that person was working. I needed them to get better and it wasn't happening. The lady at the store suggested the oil of oregano and then gave me a book that went along with it. I had heard of this for years, but had never tried it. It wasn't that I didn't believe my friends who were using it, I just kept forgetting to buy it. Finally, I had it in hand and went home to try it.
I read the book that went along with it and was amazed at all the things it could be used for, from allergies, to minor injuries, to colds and flu, sore throats, etc.....at the next sign of sickness, I gave it to one of my kids and seriously, they were better the next day. Then I felt a little sick with a cold. I took it and the next day, no symptoms. I thought this was coincidence at first, but I have done this child after child and to my amazement, they always get better at a speed I've never seen before. I've used it on cold sores, any skin irritation and it clears it up.
This has to be one of the biggest secrets out there! It saves you so much money on all the other drugs you would normally take when you are sick, like Tylenol or cold medicines. We don't lose time the way we used to with sick kids lying around. It doesn't pass through the whole house anymore like it used to. I'm in awe of this oil and its medicinal qualities. I told you I should be in sales.
So, I can't say enough about it. We now use it at the first sign of a sniffle or sore throat. It tastes horrible, but my kids have bought into it. They see the difference themselves. The trick is to make sure you take a full glass of water immediately after placing a few drops on your tongue. If you do that then you can power through the taste no problem.
It may seem like a funny money saving idea, but it does save you money if you think about the way you would normally spend money on expensive medicines. It's not always about money though, but about saving time in lost productivity. I love how we've been healthy for months now. My next major test for this oil will be in the summer during haying season. If I can keep my kids from the alleriges they suffer then I'm going to go into the oil of oregano business. Just watch.
Monday, 16 November 2015
Chores and the 40 Days of Christmas
It ended up being a long day, but a very worthwhile day heading all the way to what they call "The West Coast of Ontario"! It was a long drive! However, a privilege to meet more young moms all looking to run a smoother household.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had prepped my daughter who was staying behind to "be the oldest girl while I was gone". She immediately told me that she would be sure to tell me all the bad things the 5 year old did while I was away. I said, "No, no, no! Try to keep track of all the good things he does!" "Oh! That would be much more encouraging," she said. "Yes!" I was relieved to see she understood. But.... when I came home, she ran up to me. She just couldn't help herself, I guess. She had made a chart. It was a "Jonas Book". In it she had put little filled-in circles for every bad thing he did and empty circles for every good thing he did. Unfortunately, he had a lot of black filled-in circles....! She said he did do one good thing, whatever that was! So she kind of did what I said....? Somehow they managed while I was gone..... it's definitely their part in helping me run the seminars.
RM managed to side another part of the house, so only one section left! After that, he'll move on to the front part of the house (so far it's only been the back part). It does seem warmer in here though!
Exciting news with our oldest daughter and an answer to prayer - she got a job teaching gr. 1-4 children in my younger sister's homeschool co-op. Once a week she'll go in for the morning and teach whatever subject they would like her to cover starting in January. It's a paid position and is going to be great experience for her as there will be about 9 kids in the class with varying skills and ages. Her days and weeks are just filling up with opportunities. I was able to use her as an example of what a chore system can do! It sounds funny, but one of the things I shared with the women on Saturday is the lifetime benefits of chores. If they are learning chores from a young age, then they will develop a work ethic that ultimately an employer will see and they will be the ones who get hired right away. My oldest daughter has been the one to lead the way in our family with her work ethic. When we first started doing the chore system she bought into it right away. She loved it! I'm quite convinced that it helped develop her good work ethic and helped her get this job. I don't think that is a stretch to think that at all and I told the women I believe it is a direct result of doing chores her whole life that she got hired! In fact, I think it has helped her accomplish other things in her short span of life that made my sister quite willing to consider hiring her and gave her confidence in bringing her resume to the other moms as the new potential teacher.
It was an encouragement even to me as I talk about these lifetime benefits of chores, but now, having done this system for 9 years, I'm truly seeing the results. I praise God for chores! For the Maxwells for creating the system! I know we don't need any system to learn how to do work - work has been from the beginning of time even in the Garden of Eden. Adam was put in there to dress the garden, but I do love systems. I love having things put in a nice little package for me. And that's what the Maxwells have done. I'm grateful as I'm now seeing the wonderful results and this allows me to really speak to the women with confidence as well - teaching our children to work will bring blessing! Guaranteed! I'm living proof!
You'll never believe this, but 40 days from now it will be Christmas Day.... can you believe that?! I feel like summer just ended! I counted back 40 days from the 25th very intentionally and decided I would try to prepare myself spiritually for the 40 days. Then, of course, I presented the idea to the family and they're all in. Each of us are doing something for the next 40 days. It isn't Lent, but just a time where we are going to commit to doing something hard, making a sacrifice, something different for each one of us. My husband and I are committed to an earlier wake up which is very hard for my husband (easier for me). We are planning to pray about many things, including our debt reduction plan, our children, his work. Some of the kids might not get up as early, but they've agreed to an earlier wake up as well. I've asked them to consider reading throughout the 40 days a more theologically heavy book as a challenge instead of the light reading they love (a comic book?!). So each one is picking either a C.S. Lewis book or a biography like the one we have on David Brainerd. I think they are ready to start reading books like that on a regular basis. It's all about appetites, so I'm trying to feed that type of reading as a better appetite than just the light stuff all the time.
We're taking this 40 days seriously as we are continuing to feel the bondage and the impact it is having on us. We are coming before the Lord yet again asking for a plan, for freedom, for wisdom. We talked about Christmas as a family and once again, to my amazement, the children know there will be no gifts. It makes no sense to buy things we cannot afford. To go into debt to put things on our shelf that will be broken or lost in a few days after Christmas also makes no sense. The kids didn't even flinch to my relief. However, once again, I will decorate, I will bake, I will go to as many Christmas-y events (the free ones!) because I do love the season so much - we all do. In fact, I'm considering decorating really soon and stretching the season even longer. I am going to celebrate Christ's birth - I just don't have to do it the way the world does. I can therefore go into this season with true joy and anticipation whereas in other years, I dreaded it as I knew I somehow had to find a way to pay for it all. I knew I had to find the time to shop -how? I knew I had to buy soooo many gifts for all the kids as I could never stop at just one...... The burden off of me is so great, I can't begin to explain.
Too funny, my big boys just walked in...."I can't even see," my oldest one said....I guess he's not used to the early hour.... may God bless them for their commitment. "It's going to change your life... it's going to change your life," I tried to encourage the other one. "Uh huh....." he mumbled back. I pray God gives them insight and endurance and all the other spiritual blessings that come when you pursue God on a deeper level. I'm trying to get them to learn to love coffee.... maybe this will be what it takes.....
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had prepped my daughter who was staying behind to "be the oldest girl while I was gone". She immediately told me that she would be sure to tell me all the bad things the 5 year old did while I was away. I said, "No, no, no! Try to keep track of all the good things he does!" "Oh! That would be much more encouraging," she said. "Yes!" I was relieved to see she understood. But.... when I came home, she ran up to me. She just couldn't help herself, I guess. She had made a chart. It was a "Jonas Book". In it she had put little filled-in circles for every bad thing he did and empty circles for every good thing he did. Unfortunately, he had a lot of black filled-in circles....! She said he did do one good thing, whatever that was! So she kind of did what I said....? Somehow they managed while I was gone..... it's definitely their part in helping me run the seminars.
RM managed to side another part of the house, so only one section left! After that, he'll move on to the front part of the house (so far it's only been the back part). It does seem warmer in here though!
Exciting news with our oldest daughter and an answer to prayer - she got a job teaching gr. 1-4 children in my younger sister's homeschool co-op. Once a week she'll go in for the morning and teach whatever subject they would like her to cover starting in January. It's a paid position and is going to be great experience for her as there will be about 9 kids in the class with varying skills and ages. Her days and weeks are just filling up with opportunities. I was able to use her as an example of what a chore system can do! It sounds funny, but one of the things I shared with the women on Saturday is the lifetime benefits of chores. If they are learning chores from a young age, then they will develop a work ethic that ultimately an employer will see and they will be the ones who get hired right away. My oldest daughter has been the one to lead the way in our family with her work ethic. When we first started doing the chore system she bought into it right away. She loved it! I'm quite convinced that it helped develop her good work ethic and helped her get this job. I don't think that is a stretch to think that at all and I told the women I believe it is a direct result of doing chores her whole life that she got hired! In fact, I think it has helped her accomplish other things in her short span of life that made my sister quite willing to consider hiring her and gave her confidence in bringing her resume to the other moms as the new potential teacher.
It was an encouragement even to me as I talk about these lifetime benefits of chores, but now, having done this system for 9 years, I'm truly seeing the results. I praise God for chores! For the Maxwells for creating the system! I know we don't need any system to learn how to do work - work has been from the beginning of time even in the Garden of Eden. Adam was put in there to dress the garden, but I do love systems. I love having things put in a nice little package for me. And that's what the Maxwells have done. I'm grateful as I'm now seeing the wonderful results and this allows me to really speak to the women with confidence as well - teaching our children to work will bring blessing! Guaranteed! I'm living proof!
You'll never believe this, but 40 days from now it will be Christmas Day.... can you believe that?! I feel like summer just ended! I counted back 40 days from the 25th very intentionally and decided I would try to prepare myself spiritually for the 40 days. Then, of course, I presented the idea to the family and they're all in. Each of us are doing something for the next 40 days. It isn't Lent, but just a time where we are going to commit to doing something hard, making a sacrifice, something different for each one of us. My husband and I are committed to an earlier wake up which is very hard for my husband (easier for me). We are planning to pray about many things, including our debt reduction plan, our children, his work. Some of the kids might not get up as early, but they've agreed to an earlier wake up as well. I've asked them to consider reading throughout the 40 days a more theologically heavy book as a challenge instead of the light reading they love (a comic book?!). So each one is picking either a C.S. Lewis book or a biography like the one we have on David Brainerd. I think they are ready to start reading books like that on a regular basis. It's all about appetites, so I'm trying to feed that type of reading as a better appetite than just the light stuff all the time.
We're taking this 40 days seriously as we are continuing to feel the bondage and the impact it is having on us. We are coming before the Lord yet again asking for a plan, for freedom, for wisdom. We talked about Christmas as a family and once again, to my amazement, the children know there will be no gifts. It makes no sense to buy things we cannot afford. To go into debt to put things on our shelf that will be broken or lost in a few days after Christmas also makes no sense. The kids didn't even flinch to my relief. However, once again, I will decorate, I will bake, I will go to as many Christmas-y events (the free ones!) because I do love the season so much - we all do. In fact, I'm considering decorating really soon and stretching the season even longer. I am going to celebrate Christ's birth - I just don't have to do it the way the world does. I can therefore go into this season with true joy and anticipation whereas in other years, I dreaded it as I knew I somehow had to find a way to pay for it all. I knew I had to find the time to shop -how? I knew I had to buy soooo many gifts for all the kids as I could never stop at just one...... The burden off of me is so great, I can't begin to explain.
Too funny, my big boys just walked in...."I can't even see," my oldest one said....I guess he's not used to the early hour.... may God bless them for their commitment. "It's going to change your life... it's going to change your life," I tried to encourage the other one. "Uh huh....." he mumbled back. I pray God gives them insight and endurance and all the other spiritual blessings that come when you pursue God on a deeper level. I'm trying to get them to learn to love coffee.... maybe this will be what it takes.....
Friday, 13 November 2015
A Thousand Promises, A Mowed Lawn and a Hedge of Thorns
Even kids get disappointed, too - that's what I heard in one of my kids yesterday.
We've been really honest with the kids all along about where we are in a financial sense. We don't always give them exact numbers, but definitely a good general sense. We are never trying to put fear or stress into them, instead trying to be honest so they can learn from us, but yesterday one of them said, "But, it gets so disappointing when you've been at it so long and it doesn't seem like God is doing anything."
He said this because we'd just finished reading a series of verses that kept pointing to hope. I'd read from Romans 4:18 that Abraham "believed in hope against hope." My translation? He believed when it made no sense. It was such an encouraging discussion as we realized Abraham had only one promise, we have thousands. Abraham had the Lord as his strength for sure, but he had very few, if any, faithful examples of other believers, whereas we have countless examples of heroes in the faith that we look to for strength. Therefore, the devotional read, "it is simply to your advantage to rely with confidence upon the Word of God. And although He may delay in sending His help, and the evil you are experiencing may seem to become worse and worse, do not be weak." That was where my son said how disappointed he was that God hadn't answered as soon as he had hoped.
That took us into another verse about how God loves a mowed lawn.... what?! Well, in Psalm 72:6 it speaks of how God is like rain falling on a mown field. The interesting thing to note in this verse is that in order to send the rain and see God as refreshing it requires cutting. We get "cut" in order to become like a velvet lawn. In this case, it is not a lawnmower, but with God's tools. He uses what the writer described as the "scythe of pain" or the "shears of disappointment" or even the "sickle of death". That was so good to read. It was good to share with my son. All throughout the Bible, it went on, the Word of God compares people to grass. God's rain comes when "desolation seems to reign". I was able to tell my son, "God has been mowing us! He wants to make us a velvet field of grass!" I reflected with them all that God could have easily answered our prayers for financial freedom on day one of praying, but in His sovereignty He hasn't and I'm so glad! We would have never stayed on our knees the way we have been. We would have missed out on so many wonderful lessons that will stick with our kids forever. We would have missed out on the many miracles He's done in our lives in the way He has provided in the 11th hour. I think not only my son understood this, but we all did.
We read one more passage after that and this was one of the most powerful. 1 Chronicles 4:23, "These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work." This had to be one of the most obscure verses I'd ever come across, yet it was easy to understand what the intent was right away. The potters who were working with the king "dwelt among plants and hedges." It just doesn't make sense. If you are working for a king, the king should be in a palace and the potter should at least be living near, if not in, the palace as well. But no, there they were among plants and hedges, with the king. I told the kids to picture living in our hedge. Not a pleasant place, literally full of thorns. None of wanted to live there, yet I said, that is where we are! We are living in the country, not in a place of importance, and yet God has us here with a few thorns in our lives... the mortgage debt, not a perfect set of vehicles or a perfect home, inconsistent work, etc. etc., yet the king dwells with us "for his work". I would think a king could take out a hedge of thorns if he wanted to, but in our case, He hasn't, so we have to trust this king, don't we? And, not unlike the potters, we are just an ordinary family, and yet He chooses to work with us. All of these passages had us so encouraged yet again that we are right where He wants us.
I head to another small little obscure town tomorrow to give another seminar to a very small group of women. It just doesn't make sense to go. I am now losing money not making money. Yet it is good experience for my girls and gives me another opportunity to share what I've learned through this book. The truth is, I would still want to go even if it was for just a couple of women. I'm praying God will use the time tomorrow for His glory.
We've been really honest with the kids all along about where we are in a financial sense. We don't always give them exact numbers, but definitely a good general sense. We are never trying to put fear or stress into them, instead trying to be honest so they can learn from us, but yesterday one of them said, "But, it gets so disappointing when you've been at it so long and it doesn't seem like God is doing anything."
He said this because we'd just finished reading a series of verses that kept pointing to hope. I'd read from Romans 4:18 that Abraham "believed in hope against hope." My translation? He believed when it made no sense. It was such an encouraging discussion as we realized Abraham had only one promise, we have thousands. Abraham had the Lord as his strength for sure, but he had very few, if any, faithful examples of other believers, whereas we have countless examples of heroes in the faith that we look to for strength. Therefore, the devotional read, "it is simply to your advantage to rely with confidence upon the Word of God. And although He may delay in sending His help, and the evil you are experiencing may seem to become worse and worse, do not be weak." That was where my son said how disappointed he was that God hadn't answered as soon as he had hoped.
That took us into another verse about how God loves a mowed lawn.... what?! Well, in Psalm 72:6 it speaks of how God is like rain falling on a mown field. The interesting thing to note in this verse is that in order to send the rain and see God as refreshing it requires cutting. We get "cut" in order to become like a velvet lawn. In this case, it is not a lawnmower, but with God's tools. He uses what the writer described as the "scythe of pain" or the "shears of disappointment" or even the "sickle of death". That was so good to read. It was good to share with my son. All throughout the Bible, it went on, the Word of God compares people to grass. God's rain comes when "desolation seems to reign". I was able to tell my son, "God has been mowing us! He wants to make us a velvet field of grass!" I reflected with them all that God could have easily answered our prayers for financial freedom on day one of praying, but in His sovereignty He hasn't and I'm so glad! We would have never stayed on our knees the way we have been. We would have missed out on so many wonderful lessons that will stick with our kids forever. We would have missed out on the many miracles He's done in our lives in the way He has provided in the 11th hour. I think not only my son understood this, but we all did.
We read one more passage after that and this was one of the most powerful. 1 Chronicles 4:23, "These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work." This had to be one of the most obscure verses I'd ever come across, yet it was easy to understand what the intent was right away. The potters who were working with the king "dwelt among plants and hedges." It just doesn't make sense. If you are working for a king, the king should be in a palace and the potter should at least be living near, if not in, the palace as well. But no, there they were among plants and hedges, with the king. I told the kids to picture living in our hedge. Not a pleasant place, literally full of thorns. None of wanted to live there, yet I said, that is where we are! We are living in the country, not in a place of importance, and yet God has us here with a few thorns in our lives... the mortgage debt, not a perfect set of vehicles or a perfect home, inconsistent work, etc. etc., yet the king dwells with us "for his work". I would think a king could take out a hedge of thorns if he wanted to, but in our case, He hasn't, so we have to trust this king, don't we? And, not unlike the potters, we are just an ordinary family, and yet He chooses to work with us. All of these passages had us so encouraged yet again that we are right where He wants us.
I head to another small little obscure town tomorrow to give another seminar to a very small group of women. It just doesn't make sense to go. I am now losing money not making money. Yet it is good experience for my girls and gives me another opportunity to share what I've learned through this book. The truth is, I would still want to go even if it was for just a couple of women. I'm praying God will use the time tomorrow for His glory.
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Neighbourhood Life Lessons
Today it is raining and it appears like it has been raining all night. In the past that would have made us very worried as our basement wasn't coping so well until this past summer. Now, it is clean and dry and a wet day like today makes us so grateful for the work RM was able to do this year.
Our next project has been taking us several years to do, but one step at a time..... it is slowly, but surely getting done. We've been residing the house on our own for the last couple of years. Our house was never insulated very well and we have been paying heating bills that were astronomical. The bills are slowly coming down, but there is still more work to do.
This past weekend he fully finished one side of the house with our boys' help. It is no small task as he is always in pain to some degree when he is done for the day, but to hire it out would cost thousands. This way our boys are getting an education and we are saving tons of money.
At this new community church we're checking out, it turns out we are now rubbing shoulders with pillars of the community who have lived in this town for years. It kind of feels like going to church at Little House on the Prairie where everyone knows everyone. On Sunday night, just through chance conversation with one of the senior men who attend, RM found out that one of our neighbours had passed away! We had no idea! I felt so badly that we hadn't known that I was determined to make a quick visit to give our condolences.
The next morning, one of the kids made some muffins. They were fresh and warm and I thought, "That's perfect, I'll bring some of those." It's funny how nervous I got suddenly. We never speak to these neighbours though our properties touch. They keep to themselves very much and don't ever come our way. That explains why I didn't know, I guess. But suddenly I found myself wondering if this neighbour would think I was nuts or if it would even seem appropriate. Strange how I was second guessing myself, but I went with the younger 4 and the muffins and off we went.
It ended up working out perfectly. The neighbour, in his 70s, was out with another neighbour who was over visiting with him, enjoying the sunshine. I was glad I knew for sure he was home. I waved from the street and he and the other man waved back. Then, I walked up the long driveway to say hi and told him we had only just heard about his wife passing away much to our embarrassment. He was very gracious and explained it had been just over 10 months ago. She had had a series of strokes and in just 3 days, she was gone. He said they had buried her on New Year's Eve. It all happened so fast. She was much younger than him, only 52. I could see it in his face that he was still very easily moved to emotion if the wrong questions were asked.
I was so glad we went to visit. Everything in me didn't want to even though I knew it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to have to talk about death. I didn't want to meet the man who had lost his wife. I didn't want to be in an uncomfortable situation, but I came back so grateful for the chance to show him some compassion, to let him know that even though we didn't see one another very often that we were thinking of him. It was good for our little ones to see him, to hear his story, for me to see his emotion.
I told RM we now have a responsibility to him as a widower. We really need to make regular visits with food or extra baking or whatever. God has put him in our life. It is not easy for any of us to deal with death and I am not very good at it, but I want my children to learn compassion and so this is a great way. Once again, it was also a great reminder that every day is a gift. We can't take for granted a single day.
Today is Remembrance Day. I'm thinking of my grandfather who was in the war, but was one of the fortunate few who came back alive after being separated from his wife for 4 years. Many pieces of his puzzle have been put into place thanks to my uncle doing some major work in compiling all their letters over those long years apart. It was so interesting to read this year. So today the kids will write letters to my uncles for doing all that work and for keeping his memory alive. I'm so grateful. This way they truly will never forget.
Our next project has been taking us several years to do, but one step at a time..... it is slowly, but surely getting done. We've been residing the house on our own for the last couple of years. Our house was never insulated very well and we have been paying heating bills that were astronomical. The bills are slowly coming down, but there is still more work to do.
This past weekend he fully finished one side of the house with our boys' help. It is no small task as he is always in pain to some degree when he is done for the day, but to hire it out would cost thousands. This way our boys are getting an education and we are saving tons of money.
At this new community church we're checking out, it turns out we are now rubbing shoulders with pillars of the community who have lived in this town for years. It kind of feels like going to church at Little House on the Prairie where everyone knows everyone. On Sunday night, just through chance conversation with one of the senior men who attend, RM found out that one of our neighbours had passed away! We had no idea! I felt so badly that we hadn't known that I was determined to make a quick visit to give our condolences.
The next morning, one of the kids made some muffins. They were fresh and warm and I thought, "That's perfect, I'll bring some of those." It's funny how nervous I got suddenly. We never speak to these neighbours though our properties touch. They keep to themselves very much and don't ever come our way. That explains why I didn't know, I guess. But suddenly I found myself wondering if this neighbour would think I was nuts or if it would even seem appropriate. Strange how I was second guessing myself, but I went with the younger 4 and the muffins and off we went.
It ended up working out perfectly. The neighbour, in his 70s, was out with another neighbour who was over visiting with him, enjoying the sunshine. I was glad I knew for sure he was home. I waved from the street and he and the other man waved back. Then, I walked up the long driveway to say hi and told him we had only just heard about his wife passing away much to our embarrassment. He was very gracious and explained it had been just over 10 months ago. She had had a series of strokes and in just 3 days, she was gone. He said they had buried her on New Year's Eve. It all happened so fast. She was much younger than him, only 52. I could see it in his face that he was still very easily moved to emotion if the wrong questions were asked.
I was so glad we went to visit. Everything in me didn't want to even though I knew it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to have to talk about death. I didn't want to meet the man who had lost his wife. I didn't want to be in an uncomfortable situation, but I came back so grateful for the chance to show him some compassion, to let him know that even though we didn't see one another very often that we were thinking of him. It was good for our little ones to see him, to hear his story, for me to see his emotion.
I told RM we now have a responsibility to him as a widower. We really need to make regular visits with food or extra baking or whatever. God has put him in our life. It is not easy for any of us to deal with death and I am not very good at it, but I want my children to learn compassion and so this is a great way. Once again, it was also a great reminder that every day is a gift. We can't take for granted a single day.
Today is Remembrance Day. I'm thinking of my grandfather who was in the war, but was one of the fortunate few who came back alive after being separated from his wife for 4 years. Many pieces of his puzzle have been put into place thanks to my uncle doing some major work in compiling all their letters over those long years apart. It was so interesting to read this year. So today the kids will write letters to my uncles for doing all that work and for keeping his memory alive. I'm so grateful. This way they truly will never forget.
Monday, 9 November 2015
To Play or Not to Play?
I hardly think I have the wisdom of Solomon, but I do ask for it just about daily, especially when it comes to my kids. This past week there was a huge conflict, as there often is, over our cute little kitten..... which kid was going to win as they were both convinced it was their turn with the kitten and were just about pulling it in half. Solomon's wisdom kicked in....
"Ok, I know how to solve this..... get me a knife and I'll cut the kitten in half!"
To my shock, one of them said, "Sure!"
Then I asked, "Which half do you want, the head or the tail?"
The three year old said, "The head," very matter-of-factly.
The five year old shouted out, "Noooo!"
That was when I knew who the true kitten holder should be..... so I passed it on the 5 year old and said to the 3 year old that he must wait his turn for 5 minutes. Perhaps that wasn't true Solomonic wisdom, but it helped solve the conflict at least for that moment!
This past weekend wasn't near as warm, but it saw us all trying to be as productive as possible. I did manage to give the seminar to a smaller group than last year, but I praise God for the 4 women who came and I pray that they will be able to go home and implement the Maxwell's system. Giving the seminar is as much for me as it is for them and is such a good reminder to me as I recall all the reasons I loved their system in the first place.
Teaching children to do chores ends up being only a little about keeping a house clean. It really is more a Bible study on work. Another side benefit is that is makes your children more eligible for marriage! I told the women that I think the subtitle underneath the words, "Managers of Your Chores" should be, "How to make sure you raise a son who knows to how work so their will be someone to marry my daughter"! One of the women quickly added, "Or, how about, raising a daughter so there is someone to marry my son!" Because so many children are not taught how to work, but instead how to play, there is a whole group of women (and men, I suppose) who are single, longing to be married, but (and the reason I pick on the boys is because they tend to play more it seems) the boys they want to marry are too busy playing! I've heard actual radio shows on this about these adult children who just play play play, but in adult form.
I'm very grateful for my upbringing (we did chores everyday after school) and for my husband's upbringing (where he was taught many skills) as I did find someone to marry! All of my siblings did, praise God! But I know this isn't the case in a lot of homes nowadays and I can think of many who have had to either wait and get married later or simply stay single. I'm sure it might seem like my reasoning is a little whacked and that there are other circumstances that keep people single. Obviously I realize that, but I don't think I'm that off-base. We all know the age for getting married is definitely later. My logic isn't always mentioned for sure, but I'm a little suspicious that I might be on to something!
It really makes a lot of sense when you think about it. If Satan can keep Christian marriages from happening then He keeps Christians from being born and so on and so on, but he can't do it by keeping men and women away from each other. He's got to distract them with something that delays marriage or even makes it seem like a ball and chain. So he presents "Play" as the better alternative. This can take many forms. When we're little it's clearly "toys". I want my children to play and I do let them play most of the day, but we do not want that to become their main activity. I purposely limit their play much to their frustration and we have a time of work several times a day, not just in the morning, but after each meal, after school, before bed or whenever I realize I'm doing too much on my own.
As any child gets older, if work wasn't introduced when they were younger, than it'll be very hard to take that appetite away. The Maxwells are big on watching what appetites we feed. The world has figured out there are great adult toys or fun things to do which in and of themselves aren't bad, but if that appetite has never been capped, that is all an adult will want to do - play with their adult toys!
All this to say, giving the seminar was a great reminder for me, too! I told the women that one of the main reasons we don't limit their play is because we don't want to make them unhappy. I always get this big, "Awwww.....!" from the little ones as they really could play all day and if I interrupt their plan, they aren't happy with me. Or, I see them playing so nicely and I wonder to myself, "Do I have to interrupt them? They are playing so nicely!" I didn't used to stop them, I would do it all myself and then later I would wonder why my house was still a mess, dinner wasn't made and the piles of laundry were still there! It's because I cannot do it on my own, so I must stop them, I must interrupt them. It's for their sake and for my mine.
Right now, they are all sleeping. Poor things. I will be waking them up soon. I found that very hard to do at first as they are enjoying their rest and they look so sweet in their beds! I might let the little ones sleep in (though they wake up early on their own anyway), but those big lugs? I wake 'em up now, no problem. I have a bigger picture in mind, to make productive adults. I know my dad is up right now. He gets up at 5 am just about every day. He puts in almost a full day's work before work! Who gets to sleep in as an adult!? What job lets you wake up and come in when you want??? So I figure that I'm just preparing them to be moms and dads who have to get up even if they're tired.
We watched a movie about a bunch of kids who had to wake up every morning at 4 to go pick vegetables from the fields before school. The mom dragged them out of the beds, sometimes to the floor, and off they went in the truck, only to go back to the fields later after school until dark picking again. I warned the kids, "I might just drag you out of bed the way that mom did!" as I've been pretty gentle so far, but sometimes they just don't get out of bed! Perhaps I need to pull them out like this mom.....
Well, on that note, I'm supposed to be waking some of them up now. I'll finish my coffee first.......
"Ok, I know how to solve this..... get me a knife and I'll cut the kitten in half!"
To my shock, one of them said, "Sure!"
Then I asked, "Which half do you want, the head or the tail?"
The three year old said, "The head," very matter-of-factly.
The five year old shouted out, "Noooo!"
That was when I knew who the true kitten holder should be..... so I passed it on the 5 year old and said to the 3 year old that he must wait his turn for 5 minutes. Perhaps that wasn't true Solomonic wisdom, but it helped solve the conflict at least for that moment!
This past weekend wasn't near as warm, but it saw us all trying to be as productive as possible. I did manage to give the seminar to a smaller group than last year, but I praise God for the 4 women who came and I pray that they will be able to go home and implement the Maxwell's system. Giving the seminar is as much for me as it is for them and is such a good reminder to me as I recall all the reasons I loved their system in the first place.
Teaching children to do chores ends up being only a little about keeping a house clean. It really is more a Bible study on work. Another side benefit is that is makes your children more eligible for marriage! I told the women that I think the subtitle underneath the words, "Managers of Your Chores" should be, "How to make sure you raise a son who knows to how work so their will be someone to marry my daughter"! One of the women quickly added, "Or, how about, raising a daughter so there is someone to marry my son!" Because so many children are not taught how to work, but instead how to play, there is a whole group of women (and men, I suppose) who are single, longing to be married, but (and the reason I pick on the boys is because they tend to play more it seems) the boys they want to marry are too busy playing! I've heard actual radio shows on this about these adult children who just play play play, but in adult form.
I'm very grateful for my upbringing (we did chores everyday after school) and for my husband's upbringing (where he was taught many skills) as I did find someone to marry! All of my siblings did, praise God! But I know this isn't the case in a lot of homes nowadays and I can think of many who have had to either wait and get married later or simply stay single. I'm sure it might seem like my reasoning is a little whacked and that there are other circumstances that keep people single. Obviously I realize that, but I don't think I'm that off-base. We all know the age for getting married is definitely later. My logic isn't always mentioned for sure, but I'm a little suspicious that I might be on to something!
It really makes a lot of sense when you think about it. If Satan can keep Christian marriages from happening then He keeps Christians from being born and so on and so on, but he can't do it by keeping men and women away from each other. He's got to distract them with something that delays marriage or even makes it seem like a ball and chain. So he presents "Play" as the better alternative. This can take many forms. When we're little it's clearly "toys". I want my children to play and I do let them play most of the day, but we do not want that to become their main activity. I purposely limit their play much to their frustration and we have a time of work several times a day, not just in the morning, but after each meal, after school, before bed or whenever I realize I'm doing too much on my own.
As any child gets older, if work wasn't introduced when they were younger, than it'll be very hard to take that appetite away. The Maxwells are big on watching what appetites we feed. The world has figured out there are great adult toys or fun things to do which in and of themselves aren't bad, but if that appetite has never been capped, that is all an adult will want to do - play with their adult toys!
All this to say, giving the seminar was a great reminder for me, too! I told the women that one of the main reasons we don't limit their play is because we don't want to make them unhappy. I always get this big, "Awwww.....!" from the little ones as they really could play all day and if I interrupt their plan, they aren't happy with me. Or, I see them playing so nicely and I wonder to myself, "Do I have to interrupt them? They are playing so nicely!" I didn't used to stop them, I would do it all myself and then later I would wonder why my house was still a mess, dinner wasn't made and the piles of laundry were still there! It's because I cannot do it on my own, so I must stop them, I must interrupt them. It's for their sake and for my mine.
Right now, they are all sleeping. Poor things. I will be waking them up soon. I found that very hard to do at first as they are enjoying their rest and they look so sweet in their beds! I might let the little ones sleep in (though they wake up early on their own anyway), but those big lugs? I wake 'em up now, no problem. I have a bigger picture in mind, to make productive adults. I know my dad is up right now. He gets up at 5 am just about every day. He puts in almost a full day's work before work! Who gets to sleep in as an adult!? What job lets you wake up and come in when you want??? So I figure that I'm just preparing them to be moms and dads who have to get up even if they're tired.
We watched a movie about a bunch of kids who had to wake up every morning at 4 to go pick vegetables from the fields before school. The mom dragged them out of the beds, sometimes to the floor, and off they went in the truck, only to go back to the fields later after school until dark picking again. I warned the kids, "I might just drag you out of bed the way that mom did!" as I've been pretty gentle so far, but sometimes they just don't get out of bed! Perhaps I need to pull them out like this mom.....
Well, on that note, I'm supposed to be waking some of them up now. I'll finish my coffee first.......
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