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Have you ever been clearly called to do something that when you do it your heart is pulled to utter despair and complete bliss all at the same time? You go from wanting to quit to absolute wonder at the blessing of the task at hand? This rollercoaster of emotions hits me almost every single day. This beautiful chaos of learning, curiosity, growing children and souls is such a privilege, I am blown away by the idea that God would entrust my husband and I to the raising of these gifts. And yet, my sinful, selfish side gets so weary and worn from the battle that I have a difficult time talking my self down from despair, knowing the task at hand is so huge, so vast, so all-consuming of my mind and time. My heart knows there is sin to wrangle, pain to endure, hardships to grapple with. I see God working daily in me to bring me thru the fire just as gold is refined thru the heat of fire seven times to get the impurities out, so too, is scorching out the impurities in my soul. My selfishness, my pride, my envy, my desire to be seen is being melted out so that Christ can shine thru in kindness, love, gentleness, humility and a servant’s heart. My heart’s true desire is to be more like Christ but I feel like such a failure each and every day as sin sneaks in and steals my joy, my wonder. My heart is under a type of open heart surgery, each and every day as God sanctifies me. And as this push and pull happens and the scalpel of God’s loving hand reshapes my soul, I must daily preach the Word to myself, preach God’s promises to myself, rest in Him and His unfailing love for me, his beloved daughter. How I long to be in His arms. Complete. Whole. Having the battle finished and resting in who He is…all the things that I am not. So I choose to be grateful today that even though my heart is constantly under construction, the pain of today will be worth the joy that is to come when I see my Savior face to face in His glory. Oh to worship at His feet and cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” I can’t wait to sing this for all eternity. So I press on in Him, battling the sin, allowing the heart surgery to continue until the day He calls me Home.

Excited to share that my YouTube channel, Onemorepileoflaundry, is LIVE! Read Alouds from our current curriculum is included! We are reading Squanto, Pilgrim Stories, and history based on our U.S. History!

We attend Four Square, a local co-op, for our children. These are the books which are included! Enjoy listening to a read aloud book!

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. 

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.

What a Savior we serve!

Christmas Porch Pot Season is here! The anticipation for the Christmas season seems to last all year long…and the time is upon us again! It’s time to start cutting pine boughs and berries and filling any container I can find with a lovely mixture of reds and greens! We live on 20 acres with access to several different kinds of pines here in Michigan.

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.