What a different day yesterday was....a little reinforcement by Dad, up early, more reinforcement by Dad.....ha.....things go amazingly smoother with early rising when I want the kids to and when they follow the schedule I've made not the one they want. I always tell them, "That's why you have a mommy. If you didn't have a mommy, then you would lie in bed, all day or watch t.v. all day or eat ice-cream all day.....get it?" So today, back at it....
Ps. 90 writes how I feel sometimes, that it feels like it is all in vain, staying home, homeschooling....for what? "....we bring our years to an end like a sigh....The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away....." Of course, anyone could look at their life and think that way. The difference is a believer has an eternal perspective. It is not in vain, even if we feel like that sometimes. We cannot act on our feelings. And the very next verse says how we should behave instead, "So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Even if we have a short life or it seems like it is all in vain, it is not. So we must do what we can with the short time that we have...no matter what.
And, just to reinforce this, the Psalmist (which my Bible indicates it was Moses who wrote Ps. 90) says, "Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands, yes, establish the work of our hands!" I always use that verse as an encouragement to other moms when I give the seminars on chores and scheduling that we must cry out to the Lord to bless all the work we do. Only He can do that.
In light of that, last night I feel God did just that...we were able to successfully send off my son's final transcript to the schools he's applied to. What a process that was, but now we leave it in God's hands, to establish the work of our hands. It was actually a really neat process as it required that we go through his entire high school career here at home and when you do that you can't help but reflect on every single thing you've ever done together or what you've watched him do on his own or initiatives he's taken that were completely his with no input from me....I was amazed (and dare I say, proud?) of all that my son has done. I had been worried, but that is always because I'm looking at things through the lens of my highschool experience. His experience is so different from mine. It's like comparing apples to oranges, but because it's all I know I can't help it. Once I stopped the comparing and just looked at him and him alone, suddenly I saw I shouldn't have ever been concerned. He's actually done more than the high school diploma required of him! We had to cut courses out as he had too many! Was he sitting in a desk all the time finishing paperwork? No, but he was starting businesses, working alongside his dad's businesses, volunteering way more than the required 40 hours for high school, getting life experience you just don't get typically get, and all the while completing the necessary book work.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but now I'm actually glad we had to hand-make his transcript, the very thing I dreaded and wished I never had to do, because it has been so reaffirming of the path we chose for him and now that's it done, the next child will be a walk in the park!
What will his path be for the fall? I don't know, but I keep the anxious thoughts at bay with Scripture, still from Ps. 90, "Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children." I know my son's times are in His hands.
Friday, 3 February 2017
Thursday, 2 February 2017
Depression in the Psalms
Sometimes I read the Psalms and they are so uplifting, but there are other Psalms I just want to skip over as they are so depressing. However, the other day when I was in the car I heard a quick message on depression and how it is so debilitating. The Christian counsellor was a guest on someone's show and he was giving advice on how to work through depression as well as how to help those we know who are depressed.
The next day I was reading Psalm 88, which has to be one of the most depressing Psalms. Even when the psalmist says he cries out to the Lord, the psalm still ends on "my companions have become darkness". So not a happy uplifting message. Yet, even in that, there is some comfort to know that God allowed that darker Psalm to be in the Bible. Why? Perhaps so we would know that depression can be a real issue for so many.
Mental health is talked about all the time lately, but mostly because people who have suffered can finally be validated as they've been ignored and swept under the rug for so long. No one wants to admit they suffer in this area as it makes them appear weak perhaps? Yet, God looks down and includes a Psalm like this to show He knows and He cares.
The Psalmist cries out "day and night" before God, for his soul is "full of troubles". He is "counted among those who go down to the pit", who "has no strength", "like one set loose among the dead, like those whom you remember no more...You have put me in the depths of the pit; in the regions dark and deep....you overwhelm me with all your waves...I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eyes grows dim through sorrow...."
These are verses that clearly reflect a person who is suffering. I want to dive into the Word and help the writer myself! I pray that somehow he found help and encouragement through His faith in God! I really don't question too much why God allows these times of darkness anymore. This is partly because when we've gone through dark times, it just makes the light that much better and brighter. Having gone through these periods in my life has made me appreciate the darkness as it has become the time when my faith has grown the most. However, and this was what the counsellor said, as long as I kept crying out to the Lord. That was key. Even the psalmist seems to know this, "But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you." Though it was perhaps his darkest time, he kept crying out and kept crying out. That was what kept me going as well. I woke up early for days and days, months and months, and would meet with God, crying out to Him for His salvation and He met me there. He got me through dark time after dark time. And I made it! I found myself out of the "pit". The "dreadful assaults" that longed to "destroy me" were lifted.
The counsellor's other advice to those in our life was to be the friend that is a pain in the, uh, butt. When we see our friend struggle, don't let them stay there, he said. Be in their face, get them over for dinner, bring them dinner, take them for a walk, whatever it takes, don't let them stay in the pit...we can be part of their healing. We don't have to deny that they are in darkness and pretend it isn't real. Darkness is real. But we can be part of the solution and help bring them into the light.
Right now homeschooling is the hardest thing I've ever done. I have threatened to quit so many times in the last few weeks. Certain children, who shall remain nameless, but are in the younger set with blonde hair (ha!), are on a crash course to being put at the end of the driveway......long term. I'm not happy about it and was sitting there at the table last night with tears in my eyes saying, "What am I going to do?!" to my husband. Now that he's not around anymore, I have no back up, no principal's office to send them to. I know it was probably hard with the older four, but I don't remember it being this hard. I also had more mobility when the older four were just that...only 4 of them. Now, I am much less able to scoot around. Half the time I don't have a car and when I do, I can't even take all the kids! So, there I was, sinking into a pit, ready to throw in the towel. Was I outright depressed, perhaps not, but I was sure frustrated and discouraged.
But then, it came to me...totally out of the blue, this awesome brainwave, right then and there, in the middle of me singing the blues at the dinner table. Instead of seeing my situation as depressing, suddenly I saw it as an opportunity. I had 4 younger children needing a break from me and me needing a break from them. And I had 4 capable older children who could be just that - 4 new teachers. So, we came up with a plan, all in a matter of minutes. Starting next week, I've asked my older 4 to each take an afternoon. I will teach all the "book work" still in the morning (which has been the challenge) and each afternoon one of my older kids will teach one of the "electives" like sewing, history, geography, science. If they don't do their book work in the morning, no fun school with the older siblings and the wrath of Dad to look forward to when he comes home. The older ones seemed up for it and I was thrilled to think I had "supply" teachers living in my house all along! Will it cut into their school? Maybe, but at the same time, it will just reinforce what they are learning. On the Friday, my husband offered to teach them something as well related to the house or a project around here. Yeah! I was slowly crawling out of the pit.....I had hope again that my kids wouldn't hate school and that I wouldn't dislike teaching them. I had cried out and once again, God had met me.
The Christian life is just not a walk in the park, it's that simple. I jump in and out of the pit all the time. But what keeps me going and from throwing in the towel is the simple effort of crying out....all the time....Sometimes I get a quick answer like I did last night. Other times, it is a long process, which it has been with this debt-termination goal....just not happening fast....yet one day, one day, there will be an answer.
The next day I was reading Psalm 88, which has to be one of the most depressing Psalms. Even when the psalmist says he cries out to the Lord, the psalm still ends on "my companions have become darkness". So not a happy uplifting message. Yet, even in that, there is some comfort to know that God allowed that darker Psalm to be in the Bible. Why? Perhaps so we would know that depression can be a real issue for so many.
Mental health is talked about all the time lately, but mostly because people who have suffered can finally be validated as they've been ignored and swept under the rug for so long. No one wants to admit they suffer in this area as it makes them appear weak perhaps? Yet, God looks down and includes a Psalm like this to show He knows and He cares.
The Psalmist cries out "day and night" before God, for his soul is "full of troubles". He is "counted among those who go down to the pit", who "has no strength", "like one set loose among the dead, like those whom you remember no more...You have put me in the depths of the pit; in the regions dark and deep....you overwhelm me with all your waves...I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eyes grows dim through sorrow...."
These are verses that clearly reflect a person who is suffering. I want to dive into the Word and help the writer myself! I pray that somehow he found help and encouragement through His faith in God! I really don't question too much why God allows these times of darkness anymore. This is partly because when we've gone through dark times, it just makes the light that much better and brighter. Having gone through these periods in my life has made me appreciate the darkness as it has become the time when my faith has grown the most. However, and this was what the counsellor said, as long as I kept crying out to the Lord. That was key. Even the psalmist seems to know this, "But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you." Though it was perhaps his darkest time, he kept crying out and kept crying out. That was what kept me going as well. I woke up early for days and days, months and months, and would meet with God, crying out to Him for His salvation and He met me there. He got me through dark time after dark time. And I made it! I found myself out of the "pit". The "dreadful assaults" that longed to "destroy me" were lifted.
The counsellor's other advice to those in our life was to be the friend that is a pain in the, uh, butt. When we see our friend struggle, don't let them stay there, he said. Be in their face, get them over for dinner, bring them dinner, take them for a walk, whatever it takes, don't let them stay in the pit...we can be part of their healing. We don't have to deny that they are in darkness and pretend it isn't real. Darkness is real. But we can be part of the solution and help bring them into the light.
Right now homeschooling is the hardest thing I've ever done. I have threatened to quit so many times in the last few weeks. Certain children, who shall remain nameless, but are in the younger set with blonde hair (ha!), are on a crash course to being put at the end of the driveway......long term. I'm not happy about it and was sitting there at the table last night with tears in my eyes saying, "What am I going to do?!" to my husband. Now that he's not around anymore, I have no back up, no principal's office to send them to. I know it was probably hard with the older four, but I don't remember it being this hard. I also had more mobility when the older four were just that...only 4 of them. Now, I am much less able to scoot around. Half the time I don't have a car and when I do, I can't even take all the kids! So, there I was, sinking into a pit, ready to throw in the towel. Was I outright depressed, perhaps not, but I was sure frustrated and discouraged.
But then, it came to me...totally out of the blue, this awesome brainwave, right then and there, in the middle of me singing the blues at the dinner table. Instead of seeing my situation as depressing, suddenly I saw it as an opportunity. I had 4 younger children needing a break from me and me needing a break from them. And I had 4 capable older children who could be just that - 4 new teachers. So, we came up with a plan, all in a matter of minutes. Starting next week, I've asked my older 4 to each take an afternoon. I will teach all the "book work" still in the morning (which has been the challenge) and each afternoon one of my older kids will teach one of the "electives" like sewing, history, geography, science. If they don't do their book work in the morning, no fun school with the older siblings and the wrath of Dad to look forward to when he comes home. The older ones seemed up for it and I was thrilled to think I had "supply" teachers living in my house all along! Will it cut into their school? Maybe, but at the same time, it will just reinforce what they are learning. On the Friday, my husband offered to teach them something as well related to the house or a project around here. Yeah! I was slowly crawling out of the pit.....I had hope again that my kids wouldn't hate school and that I wouldn't dislike teaching them. I had cried out and once again, God had met me.
The Christian life is just not a walk in the park, it's that simple. I jump in and out of the pit all the time. But what keeps me going and from throwing in the towel is the simple effort of crying out....all the time....Sometimes I get a quick answer like I did last night. Other times, it is a long process, which it has been with this debt-termination goal....just not happening fast....yet one day, one day, there will be an answer.
Monday, 30 January 2017
Streams in the Valley of Baca
We have 8 kid birthdays in our family, but now there are 7 more as we are hosting our friend's kid birthdays as well! So on Thursday, our friends came down as their daughter was turning 16. That's a big birthday and when you are in the midst of a dark family trial, you make every effort to make it fun and memorable. This time last year, the family was still "together", so it was a very different birthday for her 15th.
She woke up and within the hour, we had fed 16 hungry children and few adults eggs benedict (which the mom had brought as that is their family tradition). Then, we led her all throughout the day on a "16 gift" experience where she was given 16 little things that we thought represented her. We all wanted to do something significant or give her something significant that would keep her eyes pointed heavenward during this upcoming year. Then it came to me - a plant! Why a plant? That was going to be her last gift. To me it symbolized hope, life, during a time in her life when it seems like there is none.
So, we had tacos for dinner (a family favourite for both families) and then we sat around in the family room to tell stories about her, her birth, all things "her". I wasn't planning on speaking to her, but suddenly it came to me, I had read many many verses recently where I had put her mom's name in my Bible's margins...I quickly just asked, "Can I read some of the verses I've read recently?" It didn't matter what she answered, I was going to read them to her anyway. Here are a few of the psalms I read:
"You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure." (Ps. 80:5) Has she cried tears this past year? I'm sure. The psalmist right before that verse says, "How long...?" I'm sure that this young girl is asking the same question...how long will my tears have to go on? How long will I be in this situation? Yet in that same psalm, the psalmist says, "But let your hand be on the man (or young girl), the son of man (or daughter) whom you have made strong for yourself! Then we shall not turn back from you; Give us life, and we will call upon your name!"
Then, "I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you in the waters of Meribah." (Ps. 81:6,7) Again, a promise of hope that one day the burden will be lifted and they will all be "freed". In their distress He says he hears them and will deliver them even though they have been tested.
No surprise, it was getting harder and harder to read, especially this next verse, but I powered through it, amazed that the Bible knows exactly what they are going through, "Give justice to the weak and the fatherless (so amazing that the word "fatherless" is included); maintain the "right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." (Ps. 82: 3,4) Wow. He knows this girl feels weak, fatherless, afflicted, destitute, yet it is affirmed that justice will be done, her rights will be protected, she will be rescued and delivered.
Finally, I ended with this great encouragement from Ps. 84, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs....They go from strength to strength..." I searched the word "Baca" and images of a dry desert came up, a wasteland, cracked and without any source of water. Yet the Bible says, "they make it a place of springs"! What a fantastic image. Nearly 6 years ago when another friend was going through a hard time, she had the gift of a baby. This baby's name was taken from the word for a "myrtle tree" which was a symbol of hope and God's promises for the nation of Israel when they were in a time of slavery. My daughter went over to take pictures of their newborn and wouldn't you know it, she looked down and saw some parched ground, but there, in the midst of the parched ground was a little bud of green, trying to come up through the dry land (it was early spring). She took a picture of that symbol of hope and we gave it to them for one of their gifts. That is what I'm talking about, the "place of springs". Is this girl and her family in the Valley of Baca? Yes, absolutely. Are they being fed the "bread of tears"? Yes, for sure. Are they weak, fatherless, afflicted, needy and destitute? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. YET (one of my favourite words in the Bible), yet, God is there giving them a "place of springs". They are going from strength to strength. And, even if this young girl doesn't see it yet, one day she will. One day she will look back and remember what God has done and all the miracles God is doing for her and her family. And if she doesn't remember I will be sure to remind her!
At that point, we pulled out the plant. Without meaning to, we had bought her "a money tree"! I thought that was kind of cool as it felt like another neat reminder that God will even provide the money they need. As well, we didn't intend this either when it was picked out, but we bought her a plant that had three strong stems, all braided together! What a neat picture of that Trinity - a cord of three strands is not easily broken. God even helped us pick which plant to give her. Now we are praying that she won't kill the plant! I'm praying that this plant will supernaturally live for years and years and that it will grow to a plant that is higher than we ever expected.
So, that was the end of the "16 Year Old Bible Session/Party". She is not very verbal, but she looked at me with big eyes. I was encouraged by it, even if she wasn't! I can only hope that she will maybe look back and maybe one thing from God's Word will stick in her head.
She woke up and within the hour, we had fed 16 hungry children and few adults eggs benedict (which the mom had brought as that is their family tradition). Then, we led her all throughout the day on a "16 gift" experience where she was given 16 little things that we thought represented her. We all wanted to do something significant or give her something significant that would keep her eyes pointed heavenward during this upcoming year. Then it came to me - a plant! Why a plant? That was going to be her last gift. To me it symbolized hope, life, during a time in her life when it seems like there is none.
So, we had tacos for dinner (a family favourite for both families) and then we sat around in the family room to tell stories about her, her birth, all things "her". I wasn't planning on speaking to her, but suddenly it came to me, I had read many many verses recently where I had put her mom's name in my Bible's margins...I quickly just asked, "Can I read some of the verses I've read recently?" It didn't matter what she answered, I was going to read them to her anyway. Here are a few of the psalms I read:
"You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure." (Ps. 80:5) Has she cried tears this past year? I'm sure. The psalmist right before that verse says, "How long...?" I'm sure that this young girl is asking the same question...how long will my tears have to go on? How long will I be in this situation? Yet in that same psalm, the psalmist says, "But let your hand be on the man (or young girl), the son of man (or daughter) whom you have made strong for yourself! Then we shall not turn back from you; Give us life, and we will call upon your name!"
Then, "I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you in the waters of Meribah." (Ps. 81:6,7) Again, a promise of hope that one day the burden will be lifted and they will all be "freed". In their distress He says he hears them and will deliver them even though they have been tested.
No surprise, it was getting harder and harder to read, especially this next verse, but I powered through it, amazed that the Bible knows exactly what they are going through, "Give justice to the weak and the fatherless (so amazing that the word "fatherless" is included); maintain the "right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." (Ps. 82: 3,4) Wow. He knows this girl feels weak, fatherless, afflicted, destitute, yet it is affirmed that justice will be done, her rights will be protected, she will be rescued and delivered.
Finally, I ended with this great encouragement from Ps. 84, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs....They go from strength to strength..." I searched the word "Baca" and images of a dry desert came up, a wasteland, cracked and without any source of water. Yet the Bible says, "they make it a place of springs"! What a fantastic image. Nearly 6 years ago when another friend was going through a hard time, she had the gift of a baby. This baby's name was taken from the word for a "myrtle tree" which was a symbol of hope and God's promises for the nation of Israel when they were in a time of slavery. My daughter went over to take pictures of their newborn and wouldn't you know it, she looked down and saw some parched ground, but there, in the midst of the parched ground was a little bud of green, trying to come up through the dry land (it was early spring). She took a picture of that symbol of hope and we gave it to them for one of their gifts. That is what I'm talking about, the "place of springs". Is this girl and her family in the Valley of Baca? Yes, absolutely. Are they being fed the "bread of tears"? Yes, for sure. Are they weak, fatherless, afflicted, needy and destitute? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. YET (one of my favourite words in the Bible), yet, God is there giving them a "place of springs". They are going from strength to strength. And, even if this young girl doesn't see it yet, one day she will. One day she will look back and remember what God has done and all the miracles God is doing for her and her family. And if she doesn't remember I will be sure to remind her!
At that point, we pulled out the plant. Without meaning to, we had bought her "a money tree"! I thought that was kind of cool as it felt like another neat reminder that God will even provide the money they need. As well, we didn't intend this either when it was picked out, but we bought her a plant that had three strong stems, all braided together! What a neat picture of that Trinity - a cord of three strands is not easily broken. God even helped us pick which plant to give her. Now we are praying that she won't kill the plant! I'm praying that this plant will supernaturally live for years and years and that it will grow to a plant that is higher than we ever expected.
So, that was the end of the "16 Year Old Bible Session/Party". She is not very verbal, but she looked at me with big eyes. I was encouraged by it, even if she wasn't! I can only hope that she will maybe look back and maybe one thing from God's Word will stick in her head.
Thursday, 26 January 2017
Abram and Lot Live Here (at least their shepherds do....)
I noticed the other day that my two younger sons don't have the same Biblical knowledge of the classic Bible stories that my older children have. That's for obvious reasons....they are younger, but by that time in my older children's lives, they did know the classics. We had been reading a child's version of the Bible back then that takes all the chapters and puts them in story form, a great way to read through the Bible at a slightly more readable way. I figured, I better start that up again!
So, we started right back at the beginning and are making our way through it. We got to the story of Abram and Lot last week and we noticed some striking similarities to our own family. Abram's shepherds and Lot's shepherds were fighting all the time - over everything. They didn't like the fact that Abram's animals had more water, or more grass, or more shelter, than Lot's animals. It was so bad that Abram and Lot had to intervene and even split up, "for there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock."
As I read the story, suddenly this major revelation came to me....Abram and Lot's servants live in my house! The fighting and bickering that go on over the most ridiculous things happens, what seems like, all day long. "He has all the pillows for the fort!" "She has all the Lincoln Logs for her building!" "He took all the Lego wheels! Now I don't have any for my car!!!" As I always cry out, "Oh, for the wisdom of Solomon!!!!!"
But that day, the wisdom came to me.....I read the story and watched what Abram did. He took Lot and showed him the vast countryside and LET HIM PICK where he wanted to go with his animals. That was crazy! Why would he do that? Because he had a right view of God. He was also a man who disliked conflict and would do what it took to have peace, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, FOR WE ARE KINSMEN. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." (Gen. 13:8)
Sure enough, Lot looked and saw the Jordan in the distance and knew. He figured he would pick the best land for his animals and their pastures. He did not have a right view of God. He was so selfish and inwardly focused that he picked what was best for him, never thinking God could have taken care of him even if he had picked the less valuable land.
Abram knew, no doubt, why Lot had picked that land, but didn't seem bothered in the least. Such wisdom was shown in the whole situation. I had to stop and explain what was coming to my mind immediately.
First - there was conflict. We have a lot of conflict with my younger four. I'm sure I had it with the older four, but I have very little recall of it and sometimes, in my foggy memory, they seem like they were perfect when I compare them to these younger folks! However, knowing that can't be, I have to come up with creative problem solving solutions all the time.
Secondly, Abram didn't pretend there wasn't conflict, he dealt with it. He was the older, wiser uncle. So I challenged my kids, especially the older ones in the bunch, to rise up and be like Abram. He was the more mature of the two and had a view of God that knew even if he sacrificed, God would take care of him.
Third. He did sacrifice. He offered Lot a choice. Could my children not do the same? Could they not do the crazy thing and say, "Hey, you choose which toy or which pillow or which set of Lego wheels? And I will choose the ones you don't choose?????!" Nuts!! My kids nearly lost it on me when I said that!
Fourth. Abram was blessed.....after.....for allowing Lot to choose. "The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, 'Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever." That's a lot of blessing! Pretty much everything that you can see whichever way you look!? Wow! And why did he get that kind of blessing? Because, as fearful as we was sometimes, he believed God. Even when Lot took the apparent "best" land, Abram trusted God to provide for his animals and family. Whenever there is a sacrifice, or an apparent overlooking of oneself, blessing often follows. That is not why we should be selfless, but the pattern in Scripture is often that way. When we obey, or when we are kind to others, or when we are selfless and let others go first, God sees that and we end up being blessed in the process. Could my kids trust God for that? I told them, "Who knows how God will bless you, but he often does in "kid form"." That week my parents had let us know they'd be taking us out for lunch to the kids favourite restaurant. I knew that, they didn't. I hadn't told them. I wanted them to find out what the blessing might be as they practised what I was talking about.
Fifth. There are consequences for being selfish. Lot got captured. "They also took Lot,...." I warned my kids, do it God's way or there are consequences. But, it was too hard. Within minutes of my little talk, I heard a scuffle in the family room. They hadn't done it God's way and boom! Instant reminder! I chuckled to myself. I reminded them again, but alas, again, they didn't heed my warning and, again, another instance minutes after that! What's it going to take! I started to call my family room "Sodom" as every time they entered it someone got captured! I'm trusting the constant reminders are going to sink in.....you can only get captured so many times! One time I watched one of the older ones completely disregard what I had said, so I quietly again reminded, "Be like Abram." "Fine!" he yelled. "He can have all the blocks!" "Uh, I don't think that's what Abram would have done....That's good that you gave him the blocks, but not like that....That was definitely an Epic fail." Sigh....I wish sometimes I had soldiers I could call on to arrest my own kids at times like that! I've joked about putting in a dungeon in the basement. Our basement is already a little dungeon-y looking. It could work. I should add that to our renovation list.....dungeon in basement. check.
So, lots of work to do around here still, but I'm just so grateful for the examples in Scripture and how applicable they are especially with this second set of kids. There's hope, there always is hope. It's a new day!
So, we started right back at the beginning and are making our way through it. We got to the story of Abram and Lot last week and we noticed some striking similarities to our own family. Abram's shepherds and Lot's shepherds were fighting all the time - over everything. They didn't like the fact that Abram's animals had more water, or more grass, or more shelter, than Lot's animals. It was so bad that Abram and Lot had to intervene and even split up, "for there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock."
As I read the story, suddenly this major revelation came to me....Abram and Lot's servants live in my house! The fighting and bickering that go on over the most ridiculous things happens, what seems like, all day long. "He has all the pillows for the fort!" "She has all the Lincoln Logs for her building!" "He took all the Lego wheels! Now I don't have any for my car!!!" As I always cry out, "Oh, for the wisdom of Solomon!!!!!"
But that day, the wisdom came to me.....I read the story and watched what Abram did. He took Lot and showed him the vast countryside and LET HIM PICK where he wanted to go with his animals. That was crazy! Why would he do that? Because he had a right view of God. He was also a man who disliked conflict and would do what it took to have peace, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, FOR WE ARE KINSMEN. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left." (Gen. 13:8)
Sure enough, Lot looked and saw the Jordan in the distance and knew. He figured he would pick the best land for his animals and their pastures. He did not have a right view of God. He was so selfish and inwardly focused that he picked what was best for him, never thinking God could have taken care of him even if he had picked the less valuable land.
Abram knew, no doubt, why Lot had picked that land, but didn't seem bothered in the least. Such wisdom was shown in the whole situation. I had to stop and explain what was coming to my mind immediately.
First - there was conflict. We have a lot of conflict with my younger four. I'm sure I had it with the older four, but I have very little recall of it and sometimes, in my foggy memory, they seem like they were perfect when I compare them to these younger folks! However, knowing that can't be, I have to come up with creative problem solving solutions all the time.
Secondly, Abram didn't pretend there wasn't conflict, he dealt with it. He was the older, wiser uncle. So I challenged my kids, especially the older ones in the bunch, to rise up and be like Abram. He was the more mature of the two and had a view of God that knew even if he sacrificed, God would take care of him.
Third. He did sacrifice. He offered Lot a choice. Could my children not do the same? Could they not do the crazy thing and say, "Hey, you choose which toy or which pillow or which set of Lego wheels? And I will choose the ones you don't choose?????!" Nuts!! My kids nearly lost it on me when I said that!
Fourth. Abram was blessed.....after.....for allowing Lot to choose. "The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, 'Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever." That's a lot of blessing! Pretty much everything that you can see whichever way you look!? Wow! And why did he get that kind of blessing? Because, as fearful as we was sometimes, he believed God. Even when Lot took the apparent "best" land, Abram trusted God to provide for his animals and family. Whenever there is a sacrifice, or an apparent overlooking of oneself, blessing often follows. That is not why we should be selfless, but the pattern in Scripture is often that way. When we obey, or when we are kind to others, or when we are selfless and let others go first, God sees that and we end up being blessed in the process. Could my kids trust God for that? I told them, "Who knows how God will bless you, but he often does in "kid form"." That week my parents had let us know they'd be taking us out for lunch to the kids favourite restaurant. I knew that, they didn't. I hadn't told them. I wanted them to find out what the blessing might be as they practised what I was talking about.
Fifth. There are consequences for being selfish. Lot got captured. "They also took Lot,...." I warned my kids, do it God's way or there are consequences. But, it was too hard. Within minutes of my little talk, I heard a scuffle in the family room. They hadn't done it God's way and boom! Instant reminder! I chuckled to myself. I reminded them again, but alas, again, they didn't heed my warning and, again, another instance minutes after that! What's it going to take! I started to call my family room "Sodom" as every time they entered it someone got captured! I'm trusting the constant reminders are going to sink in.....you can only get captured so many times! One time I watched one of the older ones completely disregard what I had said, so I quietly again reminded, "Be like Abram." "Fine!" he yelled. "He can have all the blocks!" "Uh, I don't think that's what Abram would have done....That's good that you gave him the blocks, but not like that....That was definitely an Epic fail." Sigh....I wish sometimes I had soldiers I could call on to arrest my own kids at times like that! I've joked about putting in a dungeon in the basement. Our basement is already a little dungeon-y looking. It could work. I should add that to our renovation list.....dungeon in basement. check.
So, lots of work to do around here still, but I'm just so grateful for the examples in Scripture and how applicable they are especially with this second set of kids. There's hope, there always is hope. It's a new day!
Monday, 23 January 2017
A Perfect Day
It was a perfect "me" day yesterday. After church, we were able to meet up with my parents for lunch at my children's favourite buffet. Food I don't have to prepare always tastes sooooo good. For most people, that would have been enough socializing for one day. They'd have gone home, had a nap and called it a day. Not me. I was just getting started.
While we were at the restaurant, we got a text from our friends who were in town. I knew they were coming, so I just responded, "House is open...walk in...we'll meet you there after lunch." My older kids, as soon as they knew they were there, took one of the vehicles and took off to go meet their friends at the house. We arrived shortly after and had a nice visit for an hour and a half. Meanwhile, another friend and her kids were also in town! They also emailed and said, "Hey, do you have a few minutes for us to drop in?" "Sure!" I said. I told her there were other people there and as long as she didn't mind a little activity, she was welcome....She pulled in just as my other friend was about to go. They were able to stay for dinner and took off shortly after that. I had somehow managed to visit with 3 different sets of friends and family in just a matter of a few hours. For some, that would have killed them. For me....it just filled me up to overflowing. I absolutely loved every minute of it!
I think that is what Christian fellowship is supposed to do. Each conversation, each family member and friend, really had Christ at the center of it all. We were all encouraging one another towards "love and good deeds", at Hebrews says. I think that's why I felt so full at the end of it all. I had spent time with people who were all trying to be faithful to God's call in their lives and were all living it out differently and yet faithfully.
The last friend who came that afternoon had known my kids when they were just little. We had known her when she was single, but now she was there with a small gaggle of kids under 7. As grown children, my kids sat there talking with her as peers. It was so neat to see them listening to her experience as she reflected on how it was when she was their age. I was so glad she came as we are still working out the final details of my oldest son's school applications. I am so overwhelmed by the whole process. Even though my husband is doing most of it, I absolutely hate the paperwork, gathering the material he needs, coordinating transcripts, marks, past courses, etc. If I'm not careful, this is a great opportunity for the devil to instill panic in me, or give me fear that he won't get in, or fear that he might be delayed a term or even, heaven forbid, a year! She saw this in me and heard those same fears in my son and just calmly told us her story, her school experience and how God used everything for His good, even what seemed like "delays". After she left, we were all so encouraged. To me, she was an angel, sent at just the perfect time. How many times does God do that for me? I often need God to speak to me, in person, with skin on, and He does just that?
Psalm 77 speaks of this, "Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footsprints were unseen." (vs. 19). So often it seems like God's footprints are "unseen", no real evidence that He is working. However, somehow He takes us through the sea and the great waters. Is He really unseen? The Israelites never saw God come down and open the seas and the waters with an actual hand, but the waters were still moved. I feel like I am in the middle of the sea and in the middle of great waters in this post-secondary school process, but I know, even though I don't see His footprints, per se, He is still moving back the waters for me. He brings encouragement to me through people like this friend of mine who basically said, "Calm down. It will be ok." And then there's my husband, of course, who won't let me get myself all in a knot. His confidence encourages me, too.
The next psalm says it best, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?.......Can He also give bread or provide meat for His people?" (19, 20)
It may as well say, "Can He get your son into university?" "Can He provide the wisdom, the ability, the energy, the resources that you don't think you have?"
I have to believe that He can. The Israelites, on the other hand kindled the wrath of God, "his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His saving power." (21) It seems pretty key that I trust in His saving power. I need to believe that God can do these very things that seem so impossible to me.
Am I in way over my head? Yup. But all I have to do is go back and remember all the times God has been so faithful. Just like with the Israelites, I can recount the countless times He has"divided the seas and let them pass through it." He has "split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep." He has "made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down the rivers." (13-16) He has done that for me so many times. He can do it again. The Iraelites, however, "did not remember His power or the day He redeemed them from the foe." I think that has to be the difference. They forgot. I can't.
While we were at the restaurant, we got a text from our friends who were in town. I knew they were coming, so I just responded, "House is open...walk in...we'll meet you there after lunch." My older kids, as soon as they knew they were there, took one of the vehicles and took off to go meet their friends at the house. We arrived shortly after and had a nice visit for an hour and a half. Meanwhile, another friend and her kids were also in town! They also emailed and said, "Hey, do you have a few minutes for us to drop in?" "Sure!" I said. I told her there were other people there and as long as she didn't mind a little activity, she was welcome....She pulled in just as my other friend was about to go. They were able to stay for dinner and took off shortly after that. I had somehow managed to visit with 3 different sets of friends and family in just a matter of a few hours. For some, that would have killed them. For me....it just filled me up to overflowing. I absolutely loved every minute of it!
I think that is what Christian fellowship is supposed to do. Each conversation, each family member and friend, really had Christ at the center of it all. We were all encouraging one another towards "love and good deeds", at Hebrews says. I think that's why I felt so full at the end of it all. I had spent time with people who were all trying to be faithful to God's call in their lives and were all living it out differently and yet faithfully.
The last friend who came that afternoon had known my kids when they were just little. We had known her when she was single, but now she was there with a small gaggle of kids under 7. As grown children, my kids sat there talking with her as peers. It was so neat to see them listening to her experience as she reflected on how it was when she was their age. I was so glad she came as we are still working out the final details of my oldest son's school applications. I am so overwhelmed by the whole process. Even though my husband is doing most of it, I absolutely hate the paperwork, gathering the material he needs, coordinating transcripts, marks, past courses, etc. If I'm not careful, this is a great opportunity for the devil to instill panic in me, or give me fear that he won't get in, or fear that he might be delayed a term or even, heaven forbid, a year! She saw this in me and heard those same fears in my son and just calmly told us her story, her school experience and how God used everything for His good, even what seemed like "delays". After she left, we were all so encouraged. To me, she was an angel, sent at just the perfect time. How many times does God do that for me? I often need God to speak to me, in person, with skin on, and He does just that?
Psalm 77 speaks of this, "Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters, yet your footsprints were unseen." (vs. 19). So often it seems like God's footprints are "unseen", no real evidence that He is working. However, somehow He takes us through the sea and the great waters. Is He really unseen? The Israelites never saw God come down and open the seas and the waters with an actual hand, but the waters were still moved. I feel like I am in the middle of the sea and in the middle of great waters in this post-secondary school process, but I know, even though I don't see His footprints, per se, He is still moving back the waters for me. He brings encouragement to me through people like this friend of mine who basically said, "Calm down. It will be ok." And then there's my husband, of course, who won't let me get myself all in a knot. His confidence encourages me, too.
The next psalm says it best, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?.......Can He also give bread or provide meat for His people?" (19, 20)
It may as well say, "Can He get your son into university?" "Can He provide the wisdom, the ability, the energy, the resources that you don't think you have?"
I have to believe that He can. The Israelites, on the other hand kindled the wrath of God, "his anger rose against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His saving power." (21) It seems pretty key that I trust in His saving power. I need to believe that God can do these very things that seem so impossible to me.
Am I in way over my head? Yup. But all I have to do is go back and remember all the times God has been so faithful. Just like with the Israelites, I can recount the countless times He has"divided the seas and let them pass through it." He has "split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep." He has "made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down the rivers." (13-16) He has done that for me so many times. He can do it again. The Iraelites, however, "did not remember His power or the day He redeemed them from the foe." I think that has to be the difference. They forgot. I can't.
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
More Mom Quotes
I always have some winner quotes, that come from ME, not my kids!
Yesterday, I had a couple of doozers. Please remember, these are always said in jest! If someone were to read these out of context, it would sound really bad!
Upon asking my older girls to pllleeeassse clean up the hall/bathroom upstairs multiple times, this was what they heard me say,
"If you want me to turn into a werewolf, I can turn into a werewolf." Nice, eh?
At that point, one of my kids will usually shout out, "Write that one down!"
Or how about this one...my girls and I went out with my sister and her girls for a cousin date last night. My sister was offering to shop with my daughter as she had just had a birthday. As we were leaving the store and running to the car in the drizzling rain and cold, my oldest shouted out,
"I call shotgun!"
"No!" my next daughter shouted back. "You had it on the way here!"
"It's my birthday!" shouted my daughter in retaliation.
Now, to be fair, I turn birthdays into full week events....for myself.....and usually just for the week before! Once the birthday day is over, it's over.....However, this girl, whose birthday was a WEEK ago, keeps pulling out the birthday card! She'll say, "I ate fries today, but it's my birthday" or "I spent this money, but it's my birthday". I had just about had enough of this birthday stuff, so in the middle of the dark parking lot, I shouted out (something to this effect anyway....)
"YOUR BIRTHDAY IS OVER!!!!!" Again, nice, eh? We are pretty sure the whole parking lot heard me! We were all laughing our heads off though. What a great mom.
I write down the cute things my kids say, my kids write down the ridiculous things I say. My daughter actually has a place on her phone where she records my funny lines. It's hilarious. Those will definitely come back to haunt me some day. Probably at my funeral. Oh dear.
Nothing too deep here today....just reflecting on my funny life....we'll see if I want to turn into a werewolf or not today or if I cancel anymore birthdays!
Yesterday, I had a couple of doozers. Please remember, these are always said in jest! If someone were to read these out of context, it would sound really bad!
Upon asking my older girls to pllleeeassse clean up the hall/bathroom upstairs multiple times, this was what they heard me say,
"If you want me to turn into a werewolf, I can turn into a werewolf." Nice, eh?
At that point, one of my kids will usually shout out, "Write that one down!"
Or how about this one...my girls and I went out with my sister and her girls for a cousin date last night. My sister was offering to shop with my daughter as she had just had a birthday. As we were leaving the store and running to the car in the drizzling rain and cold, my oldest shouted out,
"I call shotgun!"
"No!" my next daughter shouted back. "You had it on the way here!"
"It's my birthday!" shouted my daughter in retaliation.
Now, to be fair, I turn birthdays into full week events....for myself.....and usually just for the week before! Once the birthday day is over, it's over.....However, this girl, whose birthday was a WEEK ago, keeps pulling out the birthday card! She'll say, "I ate fries today, but it's my birthday" or "I spent this money, but it's my birthday". I had just about had enough of this birthday stuff, so in the middle of the dark parking lot, I shouted out (something to this effect anyway....)
"YOUR BIRTHDAY IS OVER!!!!!" Again, nice, eh? We are pretty sure the whole parking lot heard me! We were all laughing our heads off though. What a great mom.
I write down the cute things my kids say, my kids write down the ridiculous things I say. My daughter actually has a place on her phone where she records my funny lines. It's hilarious. Those will definitely come back to haunt me some day. Probably at my funeral. Oh dear.
Nothing too deep here today....just reflecting on my funny life....we'll see if I want to turn into a werewolf or not today or if I cancel anymore birthdays!
Tuesday, 17 January 2017
Eagles Landing, Ridiculous Challenges, and Super Heroes
Friday was a typical day, doing school, cleaning up, working...yet it wasn't typical at all as we all wondered, "Would the cheque come today?" We weren't pretending when we said, "It doesn't matter if it comes or not." We were really trying to exhibit true faith.
I tried to walk through what our weekend would look like without it. Or what we would say to the suppliers who were waiting to be paid. I really thought, "God will just have to provide in another way that we haven't thought of" and dismissed the thoughts of concern that once in a while tried to enter into my head.
The whole week of waiting for the cheque, I'd been reading a rather shocking account in a book about the Amish Schoolhouse shooting that happened in 2006 in Pennsylvania. The "shooter's wife" as she became known, was the author. She's a solid Christian woman who only had God to lean on during her whole ordeal. She decided to write a book about the event and how she'd gotten through it five years after the fact. What an incredible testimony. Though it seems hard to imagine, her faith was so strong that even though she'd gone through the horrible shock of what her husband had done, without knowing he was capable of such evil, and then how he even took his own life, she was still able to walk around in a spirit of expectancy, always wondering, "what is God doing?" or "what is He up to?" "How will He use this in my life?" But not in a questioning/angry sense, more in a state of hope and anticipation. Many of the verses she quoted in the book, were the exact verses I had just underlined in my Bible, such as, Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears."
As I read her testimony, I actually found that I could completely relate to her. Here we were on the edge once again, knowing it was bleak if it that money didn't come, yet at the same time wondering, "Hmmmm...I wonder how God is going to come through?" It seemed crazy for her to believe that strongly, but that was how strongly I was believing, too.
About mid-afternoon, my husband walked into the kitchen, cheque in hand, "The eagle has landed....I'm off to the bank...." Relief swept over all of us, yet, in a way, there was a sense in the room that said, "Of course it came!" I've written many times how, at least in our lives, God is the God of the 11th hour. He often comes through at the last moment when there is no other thing to rely on, but Him. I had read to the kids that morning, "...if riches increase, set not your heart on them." I told them God is asking us to trust Him, not the cheque. We are supposed to put our trust in Him, whether the cheque came or not. Even if it did come, we were not supposed to praise and worship the cheque, but the God who sent it. It was a beautiful thing that it did come, however, and certainly was a wonderful answer to prayer. Our kids prayers that night as we sat around together were so beautiful and filled with true awe and gratefulness for His provision. Is that why God allows these on-the-edge experiences? So that our kids will see His faithfulness? What will their futures be like? God must know that they will need a strong faith, too, for their future ordeals and trials.
The rest of the weekend was spent at a Bible quizzing tournament where our older four participated and two more went as their cheering squad. They did great, my oldest son earning top quizzer with his points. I remained at home with the younger two which is always fun as they are just so busy and fun to watch. They built forts, watched nature shows, ate popcorn, played outside. Meanwhile, I got this bizarre urge to go from cupboard to cupboard, drawer to drawer in my kitchen and do a major clean. Even though I had the younger two, I barely got interrupted. I made a challenge to myself to try and somehow get the whole kitchen done before the other kids came home at 5. I started around 10 am. I have to say, I loved it. It felt so good to get done as so many drawers and cupboards were driving me crazy with all the spills on them and in them. By 4:30, I had a couple of "junk" drawers left, which I will finish this Saturday hopefully, but I made the challenge for the most part! Every glass shelf was washed, all the insides and outsides of each surface was cleaned. All the horrible fly poop from the summer was taken away (which only stands out more from the white of the paint). It felt so good and to my kids, I was mom of the year. Am I allowed to say, "I love cleaning!"? I really do. Weird.
My last thing to comment on is about another strange challenge I made to myself nearly two years ago. In the spirit of trying to save money, I told myself I wouldn't buy anything new for myself, as far as clothes were concerned, for at least a year. I'm well into the second year now and I can't actually recall anything new except for a few necessary items due to rips or whatever. I never mentioned this to anyone in my life except my kids, but somehow, I have new items coming in all the time through people who are actually giving clothes to my kids! They will go through a bag given to us by my sister or sister-in-law or someone else and they'll say, "We don't want the rest..." So I literally get the hand-me-downs of the hand-me-downs, but most of the time, I love the stuff! I've acquired so many "new" things lately, it's awesome! They all fit, they're all things I would have bought anyway. They're all relatively stylish and, here's the big thing....they're free and I didn't have to go shopping for them. I really hate shopping these days as everything is so expensive. It takes so much time. I can't haul kids to malls. I can't even get them to a thrift store as they go nuts in those stores, running around saying, "This is only a quarter? Can I get this? This is so cheap! Can I get this?!" It's worse than a mall because the stuff is so plentiful and inexpensive, it's almost harder to say no. Then I come home with a bag of junk! I half-wonder if God looked down and me and said, "Nothing new, huh? Well, I know you like new things. I know it would be nice to shake up your wardrobe once in a while. I'm just going to have to send things to you through other people. Hope that's ok!" Yeah, it's ok....keep it coming! The only time I hated making that challenge to myself was when a special event was coming up like my daughter's grad last year, Christmas events, or any kind of big occasion, but amazingly, I got through them all. I always found something.
Right now, my son is out with RM in the shop. Up since 5:30 am, he and my other son are alternating days working outside with their Dad, before he goes to his other job, in an attempt to get his contract finished that is due end of March. Not having seen dawn for a long time, my son came in so excited yesterday, "I saw dawn!" Yes, I shook my head.....how funny that he hadn't seen that for awhile! His other comment to me that morning as he was barely able to stay awake as the morning went on was, "Dad's a super hero. The people he works with have no idea how much he gets done in a day." It's true. Their Dad is a super hero. I'm glad we know it.
I tried to walk through what our weekend would look like without it. Or what we would say to the suppliers who were waiting to be paid. I really thought, "God will just have to provide in another way that we haven't thought of" and dismissed the thoughts of concern that once in a while tried to enter into my head.
The whole week of waiting for the cheque, I'd been reading a rather shocking account in a book about the Amish Schoolhouse shooting that happened in 2006 in Pennsylvania. The "shooter's wife" as she became known, was the author. She's a solid Christian woman who only had God to lean on during her whole ordeal. She decided to write a book about the event and how she'd gotten through it five years after the fact. What an incredible testimony. Though it seems hard to imagine, her faith was so strong that even though she'd gone through the horrible shock of what her husband had done, without knowing he was capable of such evil, and then how he even took his own life, she was still able to walk around in a spirit of expectancy, always wondering, "what is God doing?" or "what is He up to?" "How will He use this in my life?" But not in a questioning/angry sense, more in a state of hope and anticipation. Many of the verses she quoted in the book, were the exact verses I had just underlined in my Bible, such as, Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears."
As I read her testimony, I actually found that I could completely relate to her. Here we were on the edge once again, knowing it was bleak if it that money didn't come, yet at the same time wondering, "Hmmmm...I wonder how God is going to come through?" It seemed crazy for her to believe that strongly, but that was how strongly I was believing, too.
About mid-afternoon, my husband walked into the kitchen, cheque in hand, "The eagle has landed....I'm off to the bank...." Relief swept over all of us, yet, in a way, there was a sense in the room that said, "Of course it came!" I've written many times how, at least in our lives, God is the God of the 11th hour. He often comes through at the last moment when there is no other thing to rely on, but Him. I had read to the kids that morning, "...if riches increase, set not your heart on them." I told them God is asking us to trust Him, not the cheque. We are supposed to put our trust in Him, whether the cheque came or not. Even if it did come, we were not supposed to praise and worship the cheque, but the God who sent it. It was a beautiful thing that it did come, however, and certainly was a wonderful answer to prayer. Our kids prayers that night as we sat around together were so beautiful and filled with true awe and gratefulness for His provision. Is that why God allows these on-the-edge experiences? So that our kids will see His faithfulness? What will their futures be like? God must know that they will need a strong faith, too, for their future ordeals and trials.
The rest of the weekend was spent at a Bible quizzing tournament where our older four participated and two more went as their cheering squad. They did great, my oldest son earning top quizzer with his points. I remained at home with the younger two which is always fun as they are just so busy and fun to watch. They built forts, watched nature shows, ate popcorn, played outside. Meanwhile, I got this bizarre urge to go from cupboard to cupboard, drawer to drawer in my kitchen and do a major clean. Even though I had the younger two, I barely got interrupted. I made a challenge to myself to try and somehow get the whole kitchen done before the other kids came home at 5. I started around 10 am. I have to say, I loved it. It felt so good to get done as so many drawers and cupboards were driving me crazy with all the spills on them and in them. By 4:30, I had a couple of "junk" drawers left, which I will finish this Saturday hopefully, but I made the challenge for the most part! Every glass shelf was washed, all the insides and outsides of each surface was cleaned. All the horrible fly poop from the summer was taken away (which only stands out more from the white of the paint). It felt so good and to my kids, I was mom of the year. Am I allowed to say, "I love cleaning!"? I really do. Weird.
My last thing to comment on is about another strange challenge I made to myself nearly two years ago. In the spirit of trying to save money, I told myself I wouldn't buy anything new for myself, as far as clothes were concerned, for at least a year. I'm well into the second year now and I can't actually recall anything new except for a few necessary items due to rips or whatever. I never mentioned this to anyone in my life except my kids, but somehow, I have new items coming in all the time through people who are actually giving clothes to my kids! They will go through a bag given to us by my sister or sister-in-law or someone else and they'll say, "We don't want the rest..." So I literally get the hand-me-downs of the hand-me-downs, but most of the time, I love the stuff! I've acquired so many "new" things lately, it's awesome! They all fit, they're all things I would have bought anyway. They're all relatively stylish and, here's the big thing....they're free and I didn't have to go shopping for them. I really hate shopping these days as everything is so expensive. It takes so much time. I can't haul kids to malls. I can't even get them to a thrift store as they go nuts in those stores, running around saying, "This is only a quarter? Can I get this? This is so cheap! Can I get this?!" It's worse than a mall because the stuff is so plentiful and inexpensive, it's almost harder to say no. Then I come home with a bag of junk! I half-wonder if God looked down and me and said, "Nothing new, huh? Well, I know you like new things. I know it would be nice to shake up your wardrobe once in a while. I'm just going to have to send things to you through other people. Hope that's ok!" Yeah, it's ok....keep it coming! The only time I hated making that challenge to myself was when a special event was coming up like my daughter's grad last year, Christmas events, or any kind of big occasion, but amazingly, I got through them all. I always found something.
Right now, my son is out with RM in the shop. Up since 5:30 am, he and my other son are alternating days working outside with their Dad, before he goes to his other job, in an attempt to get his contract finished that is due end of March. Not having seen dawn for a long time, my son came in so excited yesterday, "I saw dawn!" Yes, I shook my head.....how funny that he hadn't seen that for awhile! His other comment to me that morning as he was barely able to stay awake as the morning went on was, "Dad's a super hero. The people he works with have no idea how much he gets done in a day." It's true. Their Dad is a super hero. I'm glad we know it.
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