Finding the Blessings in the Busyness

It's already one third of the way into December and I'm still trying to catch my breath.  Even before Thanksgiving, I knew that December would be busy.  I knew that we would have something every single evening from December 1 until the week of Christmas. My insides fought it hard.  Some of scheduling could have been avoided, but once a commitment is made there is no turning back.  

So instead of focusing on the busyness, I want to focus on the blessings in the busyness.  

As we rushed to and from ballet yesterday, I glanced over to see a grandfather and small boy standing in the rain without an umbrella as they tried to cross the street to the store.  My heart broke and I was humbled by my grumbling heart.  I have a running vehicle that is warm and dry.  My girls are all healthy and we are so fortunate to have a close, affordable, and fun ballet studio for all three girls to participate in.  Count the blessings...

The simple pleasures of clean laundry, coffee every morning, Christmas lights, baking cookies with my girls, an amazing church family, friends who not only watch my girls, but make it fun...

The list could go on, and I pray it does.  I've neglected counting His ways.  I'm so quick to focus on the stress, to get overwhelmed, and to lose sight of what this season is all about.  May we all find the blessings whether busy or not.

Choosing to Wait...

I awake, already behind schedule, and my mind starts whirling with all that needs to be done.  What should I do first?  Thankful for enough quietness to hear, the Lord reminds me, "Do this one thing and then after that, you can do another.  But don't worry about all that the day seems to hold."  

Coffee in hand, I choose what I need the most - time with my maker.  He blesses me with this verse, "Wait for the Lord, be strong & take heart and wait for the Lord."  One season of busyness is ending, yet another one is rapidly approaching.

Weeks ago, I felt this same weight of stress laying heavy, but from two different sources in the same day, I was reminded of this verse, "Wait for the Lord; be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."  I couldn't help but smile and savor the words.

When I looked at the previous verse, Psalm 27:13, I was even more encouraged, for the psalmist wrote, "I am still confident of this.  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."  Did you catch it?  The land of the living!  So instead of always focusing on the past or what's ahead in the future, I need to find goodness among the land of living, with those who are living around us whether in our homes, our neighborhoods, our work places...  May we be fully present in the upcoming season of busyness.  May we patiently wait for the Lord.  May we open our eyes enough to the beauty all around us and be thankful...

for homeschooling on location or just in the backyard...

for dog walks and baby dolls...

for the love of books...

for days of craziness and days of quiet solitude...

for my daily bread (and oatmeal)...

God is so Good!

"God is so good..."  It's a song I've known since I was a young girl.  My girls all know it in both English and Japanese.  It's one of the few nuggets of my childhood that I've passed on to them.  It is probably one of the simplest songs we sing, yet the words are more profound that we can ever comprehend. God is so good...

God is good when He sets the sky ablaze reminding us of His awesome power, yet God is still good when a country faces loss and sorrow and absolute fear of what's to come...

God is good when life gets simple, even for just a morning, with eggs & hashbrowns and playing with baby dolls, just for the fun of it.

God is good in the mundane, in the school work and the raking of leaves because later it leads to jumping right back into them.  

God is good when the arguments cease for a little while and sisters work together, showing patience and love that, Praise God! only comes from Him.

"We won't stop confessing He is good and we won't stop thanking Him for grace and we won't stop holding out our hands - and taking His hand.  We won't stop believing that 'God is good' is not some trite quip for the good days but a radical defiant cry for the terrible days.

That 'God is good' is not a stale one-liner when all's happy but a saving lifeline when all's hard." - Ann Voskamp

Day 30 - Nuggets of Hope

Over the past few days, despite my trivial struggles that I put myself through, I have been given nuggets of hope.  Hope that what I'm doing is not in vain...  Hope that they are hearing the truth, in spite of their mother's bad example at times...  Hope that one day they will make a difference in this world for eternity...

I was so encouraged this morning through a podcast that reminded me of this verse in Philippians (1:6).  "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  It is God who has placed this desire in my heart to teach and to train my girls.  It is God who gives me the strength daily to get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other.  It is God who is doing a good work in my children who I do not deserve to call my own.  It is God who is already impressing upon my little middle one to one day live and serve in Japan.  It is God who impressed upon my oldest to sacrifice her Christmas gifts this year to send the money to Samaritan's Purse.  It's all God.

Here is a simple nugget of hope of a sister reading to her sisters.  (In the effort to keep things real, let me give you the whole picture:  A chair was fought over to see the pictures.  One sister purposefully tried to irritate another as soon as the book was finished.  Another thought it was her duty to critique the handwriting of a younger one, just for the fun of it.  Perfect by no means...)




All credit for attaching the video to this post goes to my husband.  He's pretty amazing like that!

Day 28 - A Key Ingredient: Love

 

Love means helping a sister up when she can't do it on her own.

  

Love means passing the baton (the baby) to free the hands to make the climb.

Love means including those who may be a little unlovable at times.

Love... It's been the word that keeps popping up everywhere I turn. On a day to day basis, it's a struggle to always "feel" love towards my little pupils.  But thank goodness, love is not just a feeling, but an action.  I was reminded this morning of the verse in I John 4 that says, "There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (v18)  One of my prayers is that my girls will not obey and listen to me out of fear that they'll get in trouble or do something wrong.  I know they have felt that fear many times.  But how I long for my love for them to overpower any fear.  That my love may be like God's love, "His never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love." - Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

I love this 10 Point Manifesto of Joyful Parenting by Ann Voskamp and have it printed and tucked into the sleeve of my homemaking journal.  A few of my favorites point me back to this love.

- Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong.  Grace words.  Grace is the only non-toxic air.  All other words I breathe are death words.

- Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child's behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.

- Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals - because children's hearts feed on touch.  I'll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible - the taller they are, the more so.

Day 22 (a day late) - Frolicking in the Autumn Festivities

 

2155. pumpkin picking with my girls

2156. "That's yucky!" over & over by my three year old and her baby doll, Yuko

2157. pumpkins large enough to sit on

2158. the search for the perfect one

2159. a quiet rain to help wash away the harsh words and furrowed brows

2160. my hubbie close by to bring keys after discovering I had grabbed the wrong ones

2161. cutting open pumpkins with the To-Do list growing long

2163.  pulp and goop reminding me of my inner feeling at times

2164.  cleaning, drying, and baking of seeds 

2167. Maple syrup cotton candy, pickles, & buttery corn on the cob
2168. watching my oldest milk a cow like a pro
2169. riding the "horsies up and down" with my Sophie
2170. the emotional ride of the ferris wheel with all my girls
2171. learning about NC culture through the people, the mill, and the animals
2172.  watching my sweet husband as he rode rides, held hands, and shared his food with our girls