God’s handwriting, His very signature, is everywhere. We see it in the rays of sunrise every morning, painting broad strokes of red, orange, and yellow beauty in the eastern sky. We see it every evening as the sun completes its steady, unwavering course, giving us a final wave of beaming rays before it sets in the west. We see it all around us.
His handiwork whispers to us as we walk thru the woods, as the whitetail deer quietly dashes away with a baby fawn tip-toeing behind her, its white spots, too. It speaks in the leaves crunching under our boots and in the light rustle of the wind. He is calling our name.
Look! Stop! Rest! I have made this all for you! Enjoy the beauty of My creation all around you! I love you and care for you. In this. In this, I am showing and displaying My glory. I have given all of this so generously to you. For you to care for, to nuture, and to see Me in all of it.
So, come away and listen. Look. Rest. Amidst the busyness of life, the rushing of days, and the piling up of laundry. Come, and find Him in the glorious array of creation calling your name to worship Him.
These summer nights have been so lovely with the glow of the sun’s rays splitting through the green leaves of the trees. Beckoning to come and linger awhile in the warmth of the air, the smell of the wildflowers, and the sound of the crickets in the thicket.
We have several patches of berries on the land that we own. If you take a walk in the middle of July, the deep purple berries will catch your eye on the edge of almost every section of wood. My daughter and I love to take evening walks together, and so when we do, we make sure to bring a container for berries with us.
In our summer sundresses sandals, we venture out into the dusk of the evening. The woods call our name, whispering to come and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation all around. We see bunnies, squirrels, deer, robins, geese, and many more cute little critters. The woods seem alive, and you can’t help but want to join in.
Peter Rabbit let us get really close!
Last night, while we were walking and picking berries, we were being pelted with mosquito bites on every open area of skin. We were slapping them and hopping around trying to avert their sting. Along with the mosquito bites, we had gotten into a nasty patch of brambles. The prickers were stabbing us relentlessly while we were picking their berries. The pain seemed endless.
And we began to ponder what it would be like without the sting of the mosquito and the prick of the brambles as we picked fruit, and we thought of heaven and the new earth. What a glorious thought. To be in heaven one day, with our Savior, with no pain, no tears, no mosquitoes, and no thorns. I can imagine a gloriously green orchard with every fruit one can think of. An endless sea of fruit for all eternity.
Adam and Eve were able to live in a similar garden. With trees full of fruit, with no sin, with no doubt, with no fear, anger, jealousy, selfishness, bitterness, or ANY sin. My mind lingers on what it must be like. It must be the best place imaginable. And this place is possible! Only through the one and only Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Savior. The One who broke the gates of heaven open for His followers, his children. Do you know this Savior?
How thankful I am to be counted as one of His. How thankful I am that He chose me. Before the foundations of the earth were formed, He knew me. He knew my name would be written down in the Book of Life. And I would be His child, His dearly beloved.
And now, here on earth, I pray that I may serve Him. Serving Him by serving my husband and children, my church, my community, in the name of my Heavenly Father. He is the One I aim to please. In all I do, I desire to serve Him.
Though I fail miserably. Each and every moment. I am so desperate for His grace to carry me through each and every day. My mind so often gets drawn to myself, to the world, to the flesh of what I want. So I go back to the Word to find HIS WILL for my life. In His Word, I find that He calls me to love Him above all things. In His Word, I find that He wants me to love my husband and children. Not just tolerate them or put up with them, but an intense feeling of deep affection toward them. This is the love that He calls me to. He also calls me to be busy at home as a homemaker. He calls me to be chaste, to be holy, to be good, to be kind. He calls me to be hospitable without complaining. He calls me to wholeheartedly worship Him. Daily. Moment by moment, placing my trust in Him, my joy in Him, my life IN. HIM. And then when I take back the things out of worry and stir them up in my mind of what bad things could happen, or what could go wrong, I am called to repent and lay it back again at His throne. He has all these things under control! He is working all things for my good, and I must trust Him. I must trust Him even for the hard times, the good times, the sad times, and the fun times.
Stepping out into creation with my daughter is a glimpse into our lives, filled with the thorns of sin and the sting of pain. But God takes that sin away, and we can have JOY in Him as we look forward to the day when we will worship Him face to face with no sin. No pain. And no tears. What a day that will be when My Jesus I see.
When your heart hurts and aches with melancholy you just can’t shake. When disaster and sadness seep in like the black of night. And the rain keeps pouring down into your soul drenching even the sunniest of days. What is the purpose of this pain? You keep turning but to what end? What is the reason for this? What, then, is the focus of your soul?
There. There is a glimmer of light. You squint your eyes and you can barely see it. You cannot turn away from the sliver of warmth that it brings in. You take a step towards this small ray on the worn and weary path. Your eyes see nothing but the small glowing light slowly growing bigger and bigger. As you near the light your soul feels the one thing it’s been searching for, longing for: hope. Hope that there is relief in the pain. Hope that there is a reason for the pain. Hope that in this pain you will see a rescue.
You continue towards the light until your entire being, body, mind, and soul is enveloped in the light. It provides warmth. It provides peace. It provides rest. You lay down in the light letting your soul, your entire being, be healed. You feel the pain that was once so sharp gradually fading away, being released. You rest there for days just reveling in the presence of the light. Communing with the light. Being completed by the light.
You know that you must get up and continue on the path. But now, as you stand the light is surrounding you. You take a step forward and notice the light does, too. It moves with you. What JOY! What STRENGTH! The light continues on with you, encircling you, down the path lighting each step you take. You thank the light for being such a help and an aide in the darkness. You hear the light saying it will never leave you. The promise is sure. As the path is uneven and you stumble along the way the light is still there. You continue to fellowship with the light to give you the focus you need. The light tells you where to go and which step to take and you are safe. Your steps are already planned and the light knows the way. You trust the light and are safe in the arms of the light. Forever.
Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tender-hearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” I Peter 3: 8-9
This passage is a lifeline to the very heart of the Christian’s walk here on earth. It gives us our duty as a believer, one that is incredibly hard to complete. When someone is evil towards us, we are called to return a blessing. When someone insults us, we are called to love them. It’s almost as if we are incapable of this very thing! And we are. Without the Lord’s ever presence constantly guiding us and refining us to be like His Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus. He is the One example we follow. For in the midst of the most extreme suffering during His excruciating death, we see Him in a posture of “sweet, submissive, silence.” -Kelderman.
And instead of fighting back, cursing back, He says, “Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.” He is calling a blessing upon their souls. This is life changing. This is nearly impossible for us! Except thru Him. The complete and perfect example of humility, grace, and love.
May we each display this gentleness. This lowliness of heart. This humility in the face of intense suffering. May we each return good in the face of evil, knowing that God promises to bless us! With an inheritance that will not fade! What an honor to serve our King in this manner. To silently submit to suffering and graciously offer compassion in return.
Creating beauty and all sorts of cozy this season is what motivates me to this. I want the Christmas season to be one of many memories for my kids, memories of Christmas tree hunting, hot cocoa by the fireside, gift-giving, Silent Night singing, and their favorite meals with their favorite people. A time to truly reflect on the deepest most generous gift of ALL time: Jesus Christ in the manger. The One who came to this earth to lavish on His children an eternal life of fellowship with Him. Our Savior. Our Friend.
One of my main goals as a homeschooling mama is to make sure my children have large portions of God’s Word hidden in their hearts. I do not know what the future holds for each one of them, but I do know that a soul focused on the Word is a soul ready for battle. Whatever battles may come, I pray that the Word that is hidden in their hearts may multiply into a bounty of fruit in their lives.
I’m pretty sure that I bribed them with something for getting this passage memorized! If that’s what it takes to get the job done…why not? 😉
A great 💡enrichment idea for your kids is to make something and sell it! Have them brainstorm what they would like to sell, explore the costs, and test the market. Anything from bracelets, bags, earrings, firewood, or a good old-fashioned lemonade stand will bring in the buyers! This will encourage your future entrepreneurs to continue researching, writing down costs, depositing earnings, and selling their products!
We recently moved and found our street was a great spot for a lemonade stand. The kids started baking our tried and true recipes… the caramel corn, cookies and lemonade flew off their table! We have now upgraded to a stand that we made together out of skids and added some mums and fun fall items to the stand.
One is 16. The other is 6. The relationship between them has been built over the last 6 years of homeschooling. The 6-year-old is the reason we started homeschooling. God brought us home. Together. I would never trade the extra moments we are able to spend together and the relationships being built. So thankful.
Our house sold and we haven’t closed on the new one yet. This trailer is going to be our home for the unforeseen future. I have been searching for a trailer that would work for our family. We do not know how long we will be living in here. And we have 5 kids. And we homeschool. Check out this trailer! This trailer has a door to the kid’s side and 4 bunks! It has two slide-outs in the kid area! This is the BEST setup I have found.
Yet I’m still overwhelmed by the thought. Anxious and unsure. Living in this tight space is going to take lots of organization and patience.
We are so very thankful that the Lord provided a home for us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Duet. 31:8
God, you wanted me to write this blog. What do you want me to write about? YOU. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is my closest companion. The One who gives me constant strength to make it thru each and every day. Without Him I would be a mess. A confounded mess. Not knowing which direction to turn to. As a mom of 5 children that I home school my days are full of dirty dishes, crying kiddos, spills, fights, wrong answers, impatience, and chaos….but through Christ my days are full of thankfulness for dishes to clean because we have food on the table, sweet moments of wiping tears from cheeks and giving kisses and comfort, and bringing my children to Christ amidst all of the craziness and the chaos. Pointing them to the One who made them, who desires to know them, and the One who wants to be known thru a relationship with Him. This is the reason WHY I home school. God put this responsibility on my shoulders when these sweet babies were born. When He graciously gave me these gifts, these souls to minister to, to show the love of Christ to, to bring daily to Him. He is the One who has so clearly called me to home school.
Yet the struggle runs deep. I doubt myself daily. I see the holes. I see the sin. I see the attacks. I wrestle with so many feelings. So many more than I did when I was in the classroom teaching 25 kids that weren’t my own. I have skin in the game with my own children. The holes, the attacks, the sin are all personal. I see my heart walking around outside my body with these five kids. They are part of me and so the struggle is all the more real. My desire is for them to succeed and so my emotions run higher. My expectations are higher. So we continue to battle the sin. And we continue to fill in the holes….knowing that there are holes in EVERY education. I saw it in the schools I taught at. No education can fill every single hole. So I fall to my knees and ask the Lord to be the One to fill the holes. To cover what I cannot. And He is there. Always there. He is answering me saying, “It will be Ok.” “You are doing your best.” “I am a faithful God that will be with my covenant children from generation to generation.” His promises are true and I will rest in Him today knowing that He is a God that never fails.
