Love

Our adult Sunday School class today included some talk about our love walk with God and each others.  As an exercise, we read out loud together those few famous verses (4-7) from I Corinthians 13 in the Amplified version, personalized with "I" in place of "love".  Wow, powerful:

I endure long and am patient and kind; I never am envious nor boil over with jealousy; I am not boastful or vainglorious, I do not display myself haughtily.

I am not conceited--arrogant and inflated with pride; I am not rude (unmannerly), and I do not act unbecomingly.  I do not insist on my own rights or my own way, for I am not self-seeking; I am not touchy or fretful or resentful; I take no account of evil done to me--I pay no attention to a suffered wrong.

I do not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but I rejoice when right and truth prevail.

I bear up under anything and everything that comes, am ever ready to believe the best of every person, my hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and I endure everything without weakening.

 O, Lord, how I fail You in this, how many times a day do I let my flesh take over.  I'm so sorry.  I want to love without reservation and definition, without "self" tainting any relationship. Thank You for loving me this way!

Plugging along

Yay, it's Friday!  We like Fridays around here, not only because we can wrap up our school week, but because it also means something fun for SweetPea.  Today it's art class where they'll be doing a monochromatic watercolor of a sailboat on the water (blacks and grays).  Monica teaches out of her home and I'm quite impressed with the results of her instruction to this group of teens--and my dad's an artist by profession so I tend to have higher-than-normal expectations!  Her students are having a chance to show their work this month at a local library, so I'll try to get some pics.

And it's Family Night, so that means fun food--maybe tacos--and a movie or games.  Tomorrow is more fun; we're headed to an international snow sculpture festival at a ski town, something I've wanted to do for years. These things are huge and amazing!  I'll post some pictures of that, too.

A couple of mini-breakthroughs this week brought some nice help to our school.  One was figuring out some specific help for SweetPea with her Algebra program, Teaching Textbooks.  Thankfully, the program provides a complete work-through of every single problem, so with some careful review and some help from dad, I think she's on higher ground. 

Another improvement for me was to decide that I should create my own weekly instructor guide.  We use Sonlight, which provides a wonderful schedule and which has always worked for us.  But I've ended up using so much White-Out to customize it this year, I finally broke down and made my own look-alike template and put everything and only what we needed on it.  I can color-code tests or out-and-about events, etc.  It's wonderful!  And of all the silly things...not having those boxes I didn't plan to check off (optional stuff Sonlight puts in), my guilt level has plummeted.  :-)  All you box-checkers out there will know what I mean.  Why didn't I do this before???  I actually think there's been this suggestion posed to the Sonlight people, the option of an online/customizable template, but I don't know where they're at with it.  In any case, what a time-saver.

Time for breakfast and off to art!

A winter day's bouquet for you

Gray is not my favorite color.  Nor is brown or tan.

Green is!  But since this is usually not a very green time of year around here, I thought I'd cheer us both up with remembrances of a few months ago, some lovely flowers in my yard.

The first brave posies that pop their heads up, usually in March, are Grape Hyacinths.  In case you've never had a whiff--yes, they smell just like grapes!

Then in early May my favorites bloom in happy profusion all along our fence, lilacs.  Wish I could bottle that smell!  I love to open my kitchen windows and fill the room with it.

In my terrace garden, I have some lovely, old-fashioned Canterbury Bells.  They reseed themselves every year (they're actually biannuals) and I discovered I can get a second blooming from them if I cut the stalk down by two-thirds when they're beginning to fade.  I caught these one morning just as the sun was rising:

And I love the old stand-bys of every gardener, geraniums.  My only regret is that I don't a have a south-exposure window for them to winter in, so I have to replace them every year.

And as summer comes on, my clematis vine goes crazy.  What's nice about this one is that it thrives in a complete-shade environment, which this north side of our patio is.

There you have it.  A walk in the garden in the middle of winter!  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!  :-)

(A) cold and snow

Well, I can't remember the last time I spent the day in bed feeling icky...a l-o-n-g time.  I've been fighting a cold for the better part of the week, and if I had to take off time to rest and get well, this was a good day.  Ten inches of snow last night and bitter cold is not a recipe for out-and-about in my book!  It's done me good, as they say, and I expect to rise and shine tomorrow with a bit more pep than I've had.  Rather important, too, since I have a trip coming up later in the week.

For all those Jan Karon lovers out there, here's a quickie book review.  I've been on the library wait list for her latest book, In the Company of Others, for months, so I had to read it quickly since I can't renew it.  I loved her Mitford series, but found Home to Holly Springs, the first in the second series, a bit heavy, not quite as satisfying.  This new one takes place entirely in Ireland where Father Tim and Cynthia are vacationing, the plot largely about their ministry to the extended family members of the inn and their complex troubles.

While I enjoyed the 'slice of Ireland,' and her typically interesting and rich characters, I didn't care for this book as much.  Seemed to take a long time getting into the conflict of the story and I missed the character struggles and changes that we have usually seen in Fr. Tim.  Not that he always has to be struggling, but it makes for a more satisfying and reader-connecting story.

If you're a Karon lover, you'll probably enjoy it.  I don't think I'll buy it for my collection, though.

New beginnings

I love, love, love a new year.  I start getting excited about mid-December when Christmas and it's clutter is weighing heavily on me and clean-up sounds inspiring.

I met a big goal this year, reading the Bible through.  Usually I'm at it for a lot longer, studying and chewing on what I learn, but it was wonderful to get the 'big picture' again.  I'm aiming to do again this year, though not to the exclusion of deeper study.

I had mixed results with my home goals.  On the one hand, I did a lot of clean-out and organizing of drawers and closets, boxes of stuff donated to the thrift store, better time-saving methods in the kitchen, etc.  But my nemesis, The Basement, still defies me at every turn.  I suspect I need more shelving and less stuff...the two best weapons to conquer the beast.  So that's high on list for 2011.

Our transition into high school has been a bit bumpy this year, not so much about content or results as organization and vision.  I know where I'd like us to get (I think).  I like the path we're on (I think).  But it has been unsettling to consider that the once-endless-seeming homeschool journey will end in 3 1/2 years.  What do we still need to do?  What is really important?  What does she want to do with her life?  And when am I going to get a handle on all this high-school record-keeping for hours and credits and requirements and testing?!??  Hopefully in 2011.

I met a few of my writing goals this year...attended a conference, stayed consistent with a small networking group, got published, learned a ton.  I'm praying a lot about truly, deep down, viewing my writing as a call from God rather than "I'll-get-to-it-when-I-can"--and acting accordingly.  I've been working on a children's devotional for years but I think it's time to get it written and out there where it can do some good.  So I'm planning on a regular writing night (thank you, Sandy, for the kick in the pants!) this year, along with any other time I can squeeze in.

And I'd like to see progress this year in...time management and priorities, praise and thanksgiving, being a good wife and mother, hospitality, friendship, financial management, health and fitness, and peace.  Today the Lord reminded me in Psalm 1 what His formula for progress and success really is--seeking Him first and always.

So I commit 2011 to Him and pray I'll cooperate with all He wants to do in my life!

May your year be abundantly blessed above and beyond all you can ask or think.  :-)

Ready for it to be done

Well, I don't know about you, but SweetPea and I are ready to get back to a schedule.  We decided this morning that neither of us does very well with too much free time and no limitations on things like eating, computer, etc.  (I can't believe I'm saying this.)  Seems like we default to the laziest and easiest thing--which is really wonderful, don't get me wrong.  We needed it after such a busy semester.  But now we're both, shall I say eager ?, for school to begin again.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our snowy-mountain getaway with family.  Got to get my fill of the darling baby, enjoy our traditional Scandinavian food, and drink in the incredible scenes everywhere.  I'm sorry my whole family couldn't be there, but as we usually have no one with us for Christmas, this was very special.

If I were an unschooler, I would say that SweetPea did school nearly our whole Christmas break.  She's been on a photography frenzy...setting up a new photography blog, learning the ins and outs of Adobe PhotoShop and doing a beautifully creative job, poring over her new digital photography books, reading and absorbing everything she can get on others' blogs, online tutorials, etc.  She's researched cameras both online and in the stores to see what she needs to be saving her money for, read reviews, and committed to a savings plan to get it soon.  And yes, I'm going to actually use this toward an elective credit.  It seems to be the quintessential homeschool mom's dream-come-true:  student teaching herself because of her own passion for the subject.  How do we make that happen with math???

So a couple more days of hang-loose, then 2011--here we come.

Lessons from 2010

Maybe it's a week early, but this morning I thought over the lessons God has been teaching me this year.  They've come through illness, parenting, homeschool challenges, family issues, decision-making and more.  But it was a good exercise to see the strong threads of training the Lord has been at with me.

• First and foremost would certainly be the utter Truth of God's Word.   He said it...it cannot fail...I can have complete confidence in it as I take it as mine, mix it with my faith, and wait in certainty and patience that He is bringing it to fulfillment in His time.


• I cannot and should not live one day without having spent time with Him and in His Word.  It is my very life, health, counsel, wisdom, peace, and blessing.  Daily, early, I need to be praying in the Spirit, fellowshiping with Him, inviting His Lordship into everything, waiting on Him.


• His Word on my lips, declaring His will over every situation, is the Sword of the Spirit.  It will accomplish what He sent it out to do.


• His kingdom is to be my first priority--not school or cooking or blogging or friends or errands or housework or fun stuff.


• I need to cast ALL of my cares on the Lord, "get out of the way," as my beloved husband admonishes me, and so enter into REST.  It is finished.  It is not up to me to bring about the fulfillment of God's promises.  My part is to believe, His part is to do.  (Incredible thought.)


• I need to operate in all things from the position of being "in Christ"--seated and ruling with Him.  All that He did for me, all that He is and has is mine because I am "in Him," and as I appropriate it by faith, led of the Spirit, I will see His LIFE on every level.


• I need to be filled with praise and thanksgiving all day, every day.  It enthrones God then in every situation of my life, activates my faith, and causes me to see things from His point of view--VICTORY.


• I can't, He can.

'Twas the week before Christmas...

...And I'm ending the day with a scattered brain...still lots to do for Christmas but I'm not sure what...too many things going on...the to-do list too-long...yawn.

BUT!  God is so good and that's what I want to have as my final thoughts of the day--His never-ending goodness and blessings.

Thank You, Father...

• for bringing my brother-in-law home safe today from several months in Afghanistan!  What a wonderful Christmas gift to the family.


• for keeping us in good health.


• for giving SweetPea a fun Christmas party today with support group friends.


• for helping me get my packages shipped on time!

Tomorrow is a baking day--lefse, a Norwegian soft bread like a tortilla only made with potatoes, cinnamon rolls, and some more cookies.  Our family is Scandinavian so we have all sorts of fun food at Christmas, the only time I can be persuaded to make such labor-intensive goodies.  How did those ladies of long ago have time to do this daily??

Working at rest

I've been doing pretty well in my goal to be cool and relaxed this Christmas--no stress (right), enjoying all the sweet and special things of the season.  But I can feel "acks" creeping in around the edges...Ack!  We don't have our family photo taken yet.  Ack!  I haven't even begun our letter or Christmas cards.  Ack!  I've done no baking and have nothing ready in the freezer for those quick gifts.  Ack!  It's only two weeks until Christmas and I haven't wrapped our shipped my out-of-state gifts.  Or finished my shopping.

But one of my Big Lessons for 2010 has been to learn to be at Rest and let the Lord manage all the 'stuff.'  Hard to do, but so rewarding when I'm doing it right.  I determined in November that I was going to have a simpler Christmas this year, so I'm bravely facing all the "I haven'ts" with "He will--I just don't know how!"  In keeping with this lesson of Rest, my philosophy is, if it doesn't get done, it must not have been that important.  Very Type B, I know.  Another one of my goals.

So I'll keep you posted on how the Lord handles all this for me.  "His yoke is easy and His burden is light"!

Why do I have hope? Because...

...God loves me:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

...I am chosen:
...but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.   (I Peter 2:9)

...when the world seems to have gone crazy, He is still God:
In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.   (John 16:33)

...when I fear for my future, He says, Fear not!
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.   (Jeremiah 29:11)

...no evil purpose can stand against me:
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.   (II Timothy 4:18)

...the testing of my faith has great purpose:
These [trials] have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.   (I Peter 1:7)

...when I pray, I get answers:
I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.   (John 16:23)

...when my body suffers, I can know His healing:
...[He] healed all the sick.  This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."   (Matthew 8:17)

...when I'm tired, He gives me strength:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.   (Matthew 11:28)

...when I don't know what to do, He gives me His wisdom:
If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.   (James 1:5)

...when my heart is breaking, He wraps me in His arms:
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.   (Psalm 147:8)

...when I stumble and sin, He forgives me:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.   (I John 1:9)

...when I've been wronged, He is my Defender:
I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.   (Psalm 140:12)

...when the money doesn't stretch, He provides for me:
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.   (Philippians 4:19)

...when I'm worried and anxious, He promises peace:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   (Philippians 4:6-7)

...when things are falling apart, He has a plan:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   (Romans 8:28)

...when I fear for my family, I can trust His care:
...because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.   (II Timothy 1:12)

...when conflicting voices confuse me, He shows me the right way:
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.   (John 16:13)



Why do I have hope?  Because Jesus came, and...
He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.   (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Thanksgiving in the slow lane

What's Thanksgiving without family?

Quiet.

Hubby got slated to work the whole four-day weekend, and the only family we have within a few-hour radius left the state for the holiday, so it's just us.  SweetPea and I are having a very quiet--and restful!--holiday weekend.    And you know what?  This year I don't mind.  The weeks have been so full for so long, that it was actually euphoric to think that we could just kick back for four days, without schedule and demand, and catch up.

We did the traditional meal thing yesterday, eating late when Dad came home, and watched an old movie by a crackling fire.  Today I tackled some major mess in the basement and made significant progress--there's now room to wrap Christmas presents.  (Groan.  Don't you feel like you're hurtling to the next holiday at warp speed?)  This afternoon SweetPea and I got a two-hour start on the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, a garage-sale find with four hours left to go.  Very fun.

Tonight I took Doug Phillips' idea from his Vision Forum email and read out loud Chapter 4 of William Bradford's "Plymoth Plantation" at the dinner table.  This chapter tells of why the Pilgrims felt compelled to leave Leyden, Holland and come to America.  Interesting that a primary reason was that they were losing their children to the culture, watching them walk away from God and family.  Sound familiar?  They faced grim alternatives to stay or go, but I love what they based their ultimate decision on:

"...all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enterprised and overcome with answerable courages.  It was granted the dangers were great, but not desperate; the difficulties were many, but not invincible.  For though there were many of them likely, yet they were not certain; it might be sundry of the things feared might never befall; others by provident care and the use of good means, might in a great measure be prevented; and all of them, through the help of God, by fortitude and patience, might either be borne, or overcome."  (modern spelling my change)

A bracing word for us parents today, wouldn't you say?  The challenges of raising children in a culture opposed to the things of God require this same gutsy faith in Lord.  I pray I will have "answerable courage."