Some Christmas reads

This week we've read aloud "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"--what a fun book!  We laughed and cried with it, and said to each other how well written it was.  Very good message of how the church has portrayed Christianity, not always in the most clear or welcoming light.  I'm glad for the fresh reminder of Christ's unconditional love.

I remembered we have a very old copy of "The Christmas Carol," annotated for school studies way back when, so we're going to read this aloud as a family in the next couple of weeks.  Who doesn't know this story by heart--with all the many spin-offs we've seen or heard?  But there's just nothing like pure Dickens.  I subscribe to The Writer magazine, and in the most recent issue, one article pointed out how excellent Dickens was at characterization.  So we'll piggyback some writing study along with our Christmas enjoyment.

(Ever the homeschoolers, right?   )

Changing churches

This is one of those things I really dislike--finding a new church.  It's like moving; you leave behind old friends and connections, have to go through the whole adjustment to a new body and how they do things, try to find the right classes for everyone, and forge new relationships.  Sometimes the reasons for leaving a church are unpleasant or hurtful, leaving you aching and cautious.  And inevitably you leave behind some good things that can make you wonder if you did the right thing.

Well, we've moved on to a new church without all that!  It's been an amazing experience, peaceful and full of blessing.  For several years we've gone to a very large church, a wonderful one, but this last year it was becoming obvious that things were changing for us, not the least of which was SweetPea.  She found she really disliked the youth culture/youth group and got involved as a Sunday School helper instead.  While that's good experience, we were concerned at the lack of spiritual input from her church experience, as well as a rather jaded attitude we saw in her about church in general.  We weren't really thinking about changing churches, but the Lord had other plans.

Due to some health issues I have had for a few months, our attendance over the summer was sketchy, and when fall rolled around, on a whim we decided to visit a nearby small church a homeschool friend attended.  It was wonderful, an unexpected joy.  Mature leadership, Spirit-filled teaching and worship, and a very loving body who welcomed us with open arms.  And SweetPea loved it!  After her first time in the tiny youth group, she said, "Mom, we actually use our Bibles!" 

Within weeks we were marvelling at God's wisdom and timing.  Most of the families in this church are homeschoolers with their own support group and activities.  I began to realize how isolated I had been feeling in the large church, and with our families living out of state, how I really missed the family aspect of church life.  It's a vigorous body, full of vision and outreach.  And they remember our names!

Anyway, it's been such a refreshing and unexpected change.  Best of all in my book is the eagerness I see in SweetPea--she can't wait until Sunday.  She's digging into the Word, hungry for God, and soaking it all up like a dry sponge.  And it might even be that the Lord will have opportunity for her to use her piano skills, something which couldn't have happened for years yet in the large church.

And all without striving and angst on our part.  What a blessed relief.  And what a profound reminder that Jesus is our Shepherd.  He's charting the path ahead of us, planning loving and good things to surprise us with--all wrapped in Peace.  Wow.  I'm overwhelmed at His goodness, at His thoughtful and tender care.

Form follows function

One of the interesting things I've observed about our daughter growing up is how her changing stages affect the functionality of our home.  Just when I have the rooms of the house organized, and furniture set to meet needs in each room, and shelves, drawers, and closets in good order, I wake up one morning and realize that "we" have moved on and need a whole new 'functionality.'

So today I'm looking in our schoolroom--which only a few months ago was 'set' for the next five years (ha!)--and I realize that SweetPea is hardly ever in here!  With a new desk in her room, that is where she chooses to do school.  Or curled up on the couch.  Or sprawled on the floor somewhere.

I suddenly notice that bins of crayons and markers, stacks of construction paper, math manipulatives, and other elementary-years stuff, won't probably be needed anytime soon.  (Do high schoolers still color?)

Which means that maybe I can put away some of these irrelevant items and move some of my sewing stuff from the dark and unappealing basement to this lovely, bright room!  It's a sad thought and a happy one.  I thought homeschooling would go on forever, that in some distant decade I would have time to focus once again on 'my' stuff.  While I'm loving SweetPea's independence in her studies, with only one offspring in the house, it means we're steadily moving toward being done.  Homeschooling has defined our life for so long that I quaver at the thought of the changes being done will bring.

But as with other major changes in my life, I must remember that each season of life God gives me, His favor and blessing and high purpose will cover it.  I can choose to see this coming changes as part of the adventure of living, under the masterful hand of the One who defined my life before the foundation of the world.

So I'm going to enjoy sewing in this happy room and savor every minute of this wonderful time with my beloved SweetPea.  Thank You, Lord!

A visitor, a play week, and a good book

A fun week on the way...no school!  One of those privileges of homeschooling.  We started school early in August to be able to take some time off during the year, this week being one of them.  My beloved aunt, who is like a big sister to me, is coming to visit from AZ and we're gonna play.

I'm looking forward to endless cups of tea and some rollicking laughter.  I don't know if it's our chemistry or what, but my aunt and I can laugh till we're crying.  I'm due for some of that!  She is one of the neatest people I know and one of my all-time heroes.  (She was The Agent that introduced my beloved Hubby to me!)  She had a long career in missions, serving in South and Central America, retired now, but still full of the joy and zeal of the Lord.  I'm glad SweetPea is going to have the chance to just soak her up this week and glean some treasures.

And wouldn't you know it...we're welcoming her with SNOW!  We're due for some tomorrow and more later in the week.  Seems too early somehow.  Ah, well, once our yard is really cleaned up from fall leaves (they're still falling), then we can go into "cozy" mode indoors.

We just finished reading Escape Across the Wide Sea as a read-aloud.  It follows a French Huguenot family in the mid-1600s who have to escape religious persecution and end up on a very long journey to freedom.  While the book was neither really long or deep, it was a very compelling story, based on a true story.  We learned about the slave trade, sugar plantations in the West Indies, and how the French Christians finally found a place to put down roots in America.  A good story--I'd recommend it!

 

And fall danced...

Funny the small drama that played out around me on my walk yesterday. The wind, though not cold, blew and blustered around me in fits and gusts, no rhyme or reason to its direction. It blew and drove clouds of gold, red, and brown leaves about my feet, rattling and dancing and scuttling and swirling across the road in front of me. Trees bent to its invisible force, releasing their burden of colored leaves in showers about me, looking for all the world like flocks of birds scattering in wild array across the crystal blue Colorado sky.

The scene sparkled with action and color and aliveness. Neighbors raked and tried to keep up with the piles-in-the-making, and in the distance I could hear the drums of a high school marching band practicing for a game...homecoming, maybe? How good to be able to walk and smell and hear and see all the richness about me.  How good to see the Lord's hand everywhere.  He loves fall, too.

A wonderful time of year!

Fall fell...

...literally!  We've had a few days of very cold weather, freezing temps at night, and a lot of our leaves have simply fallen off en masse, without the beautiful golds or oranges.  Just a dead, blah, greenish-brown.  For those trees that didn't succumb to the cold, I'm hoping for a few weeks of Indian summer now so we can have some color to enjoy.

Had a fun visit from my sis and her husband this weekend, and though we had to bundle up against the chilly temps, it was cozy with a fire in the fireplace, an old movie, and some fun hanging out.  We don't have any of our families living nearby so it's always quite a treat when any of them visit.

My brother-in-law put me onto a free Bible software program, E-Sword.  In case you've never heard of it--wow.  It's amazing!  You can download it here.  Most of the resources are free:  Bibles, dictionaries, commentaries, graphics, etc., though some require purchase.  It has some great functionality, though; definitely worth checking out.

Thankful today for the grace of God that has given us all things to enjoy richly.

Need some strength?

In case you're tired and feeling like you can't pull it together for another week, here's good news!  In the Great Exchange, the Lord gives us His strength for our weakness.  I'm drinking at this well today!

"The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace."  Ps. 29:11

"Your God has commanded your strength; strengthen, O God, what You have done for us."  Ps. 68:28

"Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'"  Joel 3:10

"...the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold."  Neh. 8:10 (Amplified)

"As for God, His way is perfect...It is God Who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect."   Ps. 18:30, 32

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart.  Wait, I say, on the Lord."  Ps. 27:14

"He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength--causing it to multiply and making it abound...those who wait for the Lord...shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired."  Is. 40:29, 31 (Amp)

"As your day, so shall your strength, your rest and security be."  Deut. 33:25 (Amp)

"...through the greatness of His might, and because He is strong in power, not one is missing or lacks anything."  Is. 40:26b

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."  Phil. 4:13

"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved; in quietness and in (trusting) confidence shall be your strength."  Is. 30:15 (Amp)

"God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect."  II Sam. 22:33

Be blessed this week in His strength!

Jesus is winning!

We had a neat church service today.  Our pastor is just back from an evangelism conference in Hong Kong with 3,000 Christian world leaders in attendance.  It was thrilling to hear some of his report:

-  There were representatives from 100 countries there.  Of the 3,000 attendees, 1100 were from China!  What does that tell you?

-  God's work in India is accelerating in spite of the terrible persecution there.  In 2001, 2% of the population were baptized believers; in 2005, 7%; and now it's from 10%-12%.  Yay, Lord!

-  In China, the number of believers has multiplied 100 times in the last 60 years.  10% of the population is now Christian, meaning 160 million.  And this is largely through the underground church movement.

- The really ASTONISHING statement was the consensus of these leaders is that with the exponential growth of the spread of the gospel throughout the world, it is possible for every person on the planet to have heard the gospel within the next 10 years!!  According to the Word, then Jesus can come!  Let's really commit to prayer over this; even if we can't "go" and do the preaching, we can do the enormous groundwork through prayer and generous giving.  I'd like to recommend the book, "Operation World" by Patrick Johnstone to use as a daily pray-for-a-country resource--it's fantastic.  Tells the specific prayer needs, gives a myriad of statistics, has maps and other info.  Their website has each day's country up for prayer with all sorts of links.  You can view it here.

And finally, consider this wonderfully encouraging set of statistics.  This tells how many believers there were in the world from 100 years after Jesus's death and resurrection to the present at key times:

-  100 A.D.       1 out of every 360 people

-  1000 A.D.     1/220

-  1500 A.D.     1/69

-  1900 A.D.     1/27

-  1950 A.D.     1/21

-  1980 A.D.     1/11

Now.......1/5 or 1/6!!

This figures to 2 1/2 billion people from 639 people groups 100,000 people or more (6500 different language groups in the world) that still haven't heard about Jesus.

We've got work to do!!

I love the Sabbath

A wonderful rainy, thundery day here with tons of rain.  Wow, how we need it and how good of God to lavish this gift on us.  Second storm in 24 hours so surely our trees and growing things will explode with happy growth this week.  Good to have a legitimate excuse to nap, read, sip hot tea and soak in the refreshing, inside and out.

It's been a whirlwind few weeks here finishing up the end-of-year activities...a very fun Field Day with our support group, a mini-writer's conference for SweetPea and a couple of her friends, piano recital and Piano Guild for her, a few days' at-home vacation time with Hubby, and all the daily stuff.  Yet to come in the next couple of weeks are the push to finish Sonlight Core 6, SweetPea's biennial testing, switching out winter for summer clothes (you should see my mountain of ironing!), a wedding, and the fun prospect of a visit from a folks for a couple of weeks.  And of course, the yard work looms; I've hardly begun raking, much less pruning and planting.  Ah, well...what's really important will get done and I'll just content myself with that.

I've now gained the significant distinction of being the mother of a teen-ager!  SweetPea turned 13 this week, excited but feeling some qualms about all the horrors she's heard about the teen years.  I've seen some lovely growth of character in her the last couple of months, and I hastened to assure her that as long as her heart kept the Lord in first place, He would be faithful to make these years blessed and good.  My parents were always my best friends and I pray that I will give my daughter the trust and closeness they always gave me.

Gotta go smell the air outside!  It must surely be medicinal.

All things bright and beautiful

I've been basking in the incredible joys of spring these past few days.  It's finally been both warm and sunny so we've been able to really enjoy our back yard.  And as with every year, I forget how astonishingly colorful the whole scene is, like Dorothy stepping out of the house that just landed in OZ.

The blessings of the week...

- lilacs bursting into bloom, dispensing their heady fragrance

- roly-polys, spiders, and flies doing their bug thing

- the sound of lawn mowers buzzing around the neighborhood

- smells of flowers, warm soil, fresh-cut grass

- gaudy splashes of pure flower color everywhere

- dirt under your fingernails you can't get clean

- a puppy crazy with spring excitement

- flip-flops and bare feet (too sensitive from a winter entombed)

- first sunburns

- first BBQ's, picnic lunches

- dinner on the patio to soak it all in

- green, green, green, green

- happy, happy, happy birds

- the end of school and schedule pressure, the prospect of lazy, free days stretching ahead like a golden beach

Sigh.  What a gracious reprieve and gift after the long, gray months indoors.  Thank You, Lord of All.  We'll see if this year I can get all the projects done this season inspires!

Why I like old movies

There are a lot of reasons, of course--nostalgia for a simpler, more virtuous time, quality stories, moral uprightness, wonderful actors.

But watching the original "Father of the Bride" with Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor last night for Friday Night Family Night, I was struck again with one of the very significant changes that has taken place in children and their relationship to their parents in our culture.

Throughout the movie, "Kay" was respectful and loving to her parents, trying to submit to their wisdom and keep the peace, quick to forgive and not hold a grudge, very connected relationally to them, especially her father.  No sassy talk or backtalk, no rebellious overtones in everything, no implications that her parents were the get-a-life dummies to be tolerated.  Even the young fiance showed the same basic respect and honor for his elders.

I've seen this in so many other old movies.  Two wonderful kid movies that come to mind are "Flicka" with Roddy McDowell (and it's sequel, "Thunderhead, Son of Flicka") and "Misty" with David Ladd.  Let me tell you, it's almost a shock to see their "Yes, sirs" and submissive hearts to their parents and grandparents.  Not to mention, deeply refreshing!

I could almost cry for the loss of this fundamental--and Godly--virtue in our society's family structure today.  It shows up in cocky independence that hides only thinly behind a veneer of niceness if it's demanded at home, school, on the job, or wherever.  The fruit is that we carry a basic suspicion about people.  We don't trust them, believing they really have a hidden agenda or attitude of scorn or mocking.  If you compare the old movies with the fare produced today, you see what has amply fed this downward spiral.

This whole idea makes a case for selective viewing, doesn't it?  I pray that these 'voices from the past' will continue to speak a better way to this generation.

That's my Saturday Soapbox!