Longing for something different...

Finishing well to the end... easier said than done.  The pool is open, berries are calling to be picked, our summer bucket list is itching to be chalked out, and mentally, we are all done!  Next week should finish up our school year in the amount of days required.  A few books will continue throughout the summer to keep those wheels-a-turning.   

Change is the only constant part of life.  As humans, we are often longing for something different... a change of pace, a change of scenery, a break from the mundane.  I am ready for a little change!

I'm ready to read more, at least things that I want to read and not just what's listed in our lesson plans.  I look forward to curling up on the couch with my girls and reading some of our favorites and some new ones too.  

I finished Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma.  The subtitle says it all:  A Mom's 12-month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement. She begins the book by asking the question, "Why am I standing with my arms up to catch my kids before they even get a chance to fail at work?  Instead of encouraging independence and an ability to assess a situation with an eye to what needs doing, I've taught them to be utterly dependent on me."  Guilty!

But by the end, she challenges and encourages parents.  "Culture doesn't determine who people become.  People determine what the culture will be.  Might our equipped, empowered, unentitled kids be the ones who set the course for the future."  Excellent book, but probably geared more towards parents of older elementary to high school children.  I've definitely learned a lot and hope to incorporate some of the advice gleaned from this book.

My current read on my nightstand (purse, pool bag...) was given to me by my sweet husband.  Treasuring Christ (when your hands are full) by Gloria Furman and has been exactly what I needed to read at this time in my life.  When I can't get through the introduction without underlining half of it, I know it will be a keeper.  What I have loved the most about this book is how scripture is infused within every paragraph.  She doesn't just write fluff to make me feel good. Everything word written is based upon God's word.  

"Day and night, moment by moment, we must choose to rest in Jesus.  That's what it means to treasure Christ when your hands are full, whether you have one child or a dozen." 

"Advice on things such as choosing a safe car seat or teaching a finicky preschooler to eat a well-balanced meal is easy to come by. Instructions on how to love your neighbor and nurture your children are also readily available.  What we are less likely to come by is encouragement to consider how the gospel transforms our motherhood." - G. Furman

Grace Goals...

For some, goals may be determined as standards demanded to be met, for others they are laid out as a form of accountability, yet even others find goals to be traps for failure for all those plans unmet.  I can easily fall prey into the last category.  Here it is mid May, June drawing close, and in the blog world, I'm far behind.  But there is grace...  No one else may care whether I blog about goals or not, but it does (in some weird way) hold me accountable, pushes me to step out of my complacency, and strive to just get out of bed sometimes.  

Aspirations for April...
1.  Plan a new spring menu (less grains, more veggies & protein). - almost completed!  
2.  Point my girls to the real meaning of Easter. - not as I had hoped, but yet no regrets. (read more about it here.)
3.  Start every day with a clean kitchen table. - I maybe accomplished this goal every other day.  Not perfect by any means, but on the clean days, there was more freedom in starting off with an open surface.
4.  Finish two of the books I'm reading:  Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman & Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma. - Whoo hoo!  I read Not a Fan with my homeschool group and it was convicting once again.  I'll try to write more about Cleaning House in the near future.
5.  Truly rest on our little family spring break. - such a blessing!

So for the rest of May and June, my goals will be layered with grace, thought through and laid out with the hopes of fulfilling them, but given wide enough boundaries that I pray God will glorified through them.

Grace Goals for May & June:

1.  Finish our school year well, not just surviving.

2.  Plan and enjoy my 10 year old's (oh my goodness!) birthday party.

3.  Make our summer bucket list.

4.  Read Treasuring Christ when Your Hands are Full by Gloria Furman and A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman.

5.  Find and try healthy recipes for summer essentials (sunscreen, fruit wash, insect repellent, etc).

6.  Declutter my closet.

7.  Prioritize my mornings.

8.  Open our home to others (& choose to let go of my expectations).

For my mama...

Mother's day is only a few hours away where my mother is right now.  She will wake up in a tiny apartment with my dad showing his sweet appreciation for the wife and mother she is and has always been.  How blessed we are!  Memories fill the walls with pictures of the growing generations, the computer screen keeps her in tune with the daily ups and downs of her offspring's lives, and the phone close by is a constant reminder that we are only phone call away. 

My mother is amazing...  I'm sure I didn't always say that as a teenager, but I know I believed it even then.  As a Nana, she can't be beat.  The patience to teach my girls how to sew, the support she and my dad have shown by coming to every recital possible (even over Skype), the tea parties, the walks, the list could go on...  

But what I love the most is the legacy she's given to my sisters and me, and to our children. Her greatest desire is for us all to know her Lord and redeemer who (as she would say) pulled her up out of life destined for destruction.  She is constantly pointing my girls to Jesus.  For this, I will be eternally grateful. 

Even though, you're on the other side of the world, "Happy Mother's Day, Mama!"  Thank you for being the most amazing example of what a godly wife and mother looks like!

What happens after Easter...

Now that Easter has past, what happens now?  We remembered His death, so amazing, so sacrificial. Those crosses still sit on our kitchen table.  I'm afraid to take them down for fear I'll forget...  for fear that life will go on and that amazing grace will seem lost.  Sometimes the colors of the world stand out bold and clear while the cross and the tomb that could not hold Him seem dim in the background.

May our children remember that it's more than a story.  It's our reason for living.  It's the daily dying to self so that His glory may be proclaimed.  For us as mothers & fathers, "we look to Jesus not only as our example; we also see that He is our power to love God and our children.  Because Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves, with His power we can ask forgiveness of our children when we sin against them, because God in Christ has forgiven us." - Gloria Furman

Let the light never fade.  May we teach our families daily to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength... impress them on your children... talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." All day, every day, everywhere! (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

Treasure the blessings God has given us!  "Because of the gospel, we can rejoice as we find our hands full of blessings in Jesus, because all we know is grace." - G. Furman

Hold tight to family, yet be willing to let them go.  Savor every moment, every holiday, every phone call, and every picture-taking moment.

 

"Let the rest of folks go ahead and pack up their Easter decorations and turn the calendar page over and they can roll up the banners and swags but there's this Resurrection People who aren't going back to before and we refuse to live like that stone's been rolled back.  

He is alive and He is risen and I'm going to keep that on the chalkboard and keep saying it over the burnt pots and the overflowing sinks and I'm going to keep singing it like a refrain:  He is Risen Indeed - because I want Him to be risen in me." - Ann Voskamp

Losing the love...

Some weeks are just harder than others, not visibly to other people, but only known to the ones closest to you.  Humility is a hard dose to take, yet so vital to growth.  

"You have forsaken your first love" (Revelation 2:4) - lost or abandoned your first love, referring to the first commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart...

Conviction filled me as I realized how often I do that.  I idolize other things before my Lord.  I worship the devotional, the author, the blogger, the newest song, more than our God they are writing about.  

I fail to stop at the instrument without going further to the conductor.  

These instruments are still important.  The fault doesn't lie with them, but instead with the musician.  When I place someone's words, someone's thoughts at a higher level than the origin behind them, then the love is lost.  Let my words not be misunderstood.  I am so thankful for the men and women that God is using daily to help me to grow as a child of God, a friend, a mother, and a wife. There have been many seasons in my life in which I firmly believe God has used the words of others to point my eyes back on Him.  But I also know there have been times in which my eyes fall short and instead of keeping my eyes on the conductor of this amazing piece of music called "life", I focus on others.  I may even idolize them.  

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) 

Not always as easy as it sounds.

Aspirations for April...

Can I just start by saying that God is amazing?!  This may seem like nothing to most, but to me, it was kind of cool so I had to share. The other day, on my morning crawl (which has still not reached 4 miles again), I glanced down at this lonely dandelion.  I couldn't help myself in capturing this little weed, front and center on such a gorgeous morning.  When I got home, the verse in II Corinthians came to mind, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  This weed will be gone tomorrow and so will my to-do lists and my monthly aspirations, but God's word will remain, the souls of my family and those around me will remain, and that is where my focus is to be.  Those are the things that will last forever. Then, the very next day when I woke up this verse came to mind again (which is rare for me, considering my horrible memory these days.) But then... (this is the amazing part to me) what was one of the verses in my devotions?  II Corinthians 4:18!  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  That was a God thing.

Reviewing my Musings for March:
1. Teach at least one essential oils class.  Nervous, oh my!
2. Plan (with my older girls) a ballerina/pirate party for my youngest (who is turning 4!!!)
3. Focus on discipling my girls (with an emphasis on Bible memory).
4. Let go of some things of the past... (more may be shared in the future.)
5. Spend as much time outdoors as possible (more bike rides, park visits, picnics, and maybe getting back to running 4 miles again... maybe.)

- Teaching my first essential oils class was terrifying to me.  I'm still learning and researching, so my inadequacies overwhelmed me. Yet God is so good and anything good that came from the class was only from Him.  The time with old and new friends shared over Peppermint Patties and lemon water made it worth it all.

- Sophie's party was a blast!  As usual, I eliminated half of the ideas and expectations I had for the party, but the time spent watching her dance with her sisters, cousins, & friends made the party a success.  Naomi was my planning partner, helping me sew the little tutu's for the garland (which then became doll tutu's), bake the cupcakes, make the frosting, and browse Pinterest for party ideas.  Special times with my little middle!  Chloe took the role of ballet teacher, choosing songs for both ballet and tap, planning steps for each song, and fully embracing the role with great maturity on the day of the party.  I couldn't be more proud of my girls!

- Discipling my girls has been heavy on my heart for a while.  They have worked hard on their verses for Wednesday nights at church (not quite completing all the verses, but we'll keep trying).  But through studying these important scriptures (with the use of the Evangecube), something greater has occurred that Marty and I have been praying for. 

- Little by little, I'm letting go.  

- With our crazy North Carolina weather, we did the best we could getting outside.  It would feel like spring one day, then forecasting snow the next.  I'm looking forward to more walks and trips to the park this month.

Aspirations for April...
1.  Plan a new spring menu (less grains, more veggies & protein).
2.  Point my girls to the real meaning of Easter.
3.  Start every day with a clean kitchen table.
4.  Finish two of the books I'm reading:  Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman & Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma.
5.  Truly rest on our little family spring break.

Click & print one of these great Easter reminders