Weekend reads

For the courage impaired....@Amy's Humble Musings p.s. The comments in this post are worth reading as well.
Too special@Hope With Feathers
How green and simple living becomes generous living@Simple Organic
Moms need to constantly pray @Justin Taylor

In our own backyard. Part I

Sometimes, in the chaos of everyday living, we lose our perspective. We forget what our purpose is, we forget what the Lord has us here for, and our priorities are not in the right place. It is good to every now and then assess our priorities and perspective.

One of the most important (if not *the* most important) "thing" that I need to keep in perspective is the people that the Lord has placed in my life. It is so easy to find myself focusing on other things besides relationships and putting those priorities above people, as well as putting (how can I say this?) "wrong" people before the "right" people the Lord has put in your life. Figuring all this out takes careful prayer and much thought.

Who is in my "backyard"?

We often miss very clearly the people the Lord has asked us to minister to. They are most often the people we see on a regular basis, yet if we do not take time to think about these things, we could miss the very people the Lord has asked us to serve.

If we are walking in the spirit, we will begin to see how the Lord uses everyone for His glory. We begin to see how I might be the finger for someone else's hand. We were not created to live life alone. We were not created to go on without the support of family and community.

Each Christian is a dispenser. God has supplied each one with gifts He has selected (He does not offer an array of options), with the good of all in mind. When we imagine that these gifts are for our own mere satisfaction, we are forgetting they are intended for service. All that I have is meant to contribute to the needs of others, and what I need will be supplied through God's dispensers. Thus He unifies and harmonizes the whole church, which is his body, making each dispenser indispensable, for each dispenses a grace which is peculiarly his. ~Elisabeth Elliot

Where do I start?
"We'll start at the top: the first thing we need to do is ask ourselves whether we are being obedient to the call of God in our lives. Are we faithfully working at what He has assigned us to do? The reason we want to ask ourselves this is because we are going to do a little spiritual de-cluttering. I'm just going to leap ahead here and state this as plainly as possible: if you are married and/or have children, your very first calling is to your spouse and those children. A spouse must be nurtured, supported, listened to, cared for, served. It is the same for children, but they must also be brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. If you have a special needs child or ongoing health issues or unusual circumstances in your home, this is going to take an even larger portion of your priorities. Are you obeying God?" ~ Tonia

This quote from Tonia is a good place to start. What I've started with is a group of concentric circles, quite like this. Who is in your "inner circle"? If we start with the basics, and "declutter" like Tonia suggested, we find that our husband and our children are in the innermost circle. They are the people we come into contact every day, they are the people the Lord has placed in your life on a daily basis, these are the people that you live with.

How do I minister to these people?

"Unless the Lord build the house, the work of the builders is wasted." ~Psalm 127:1

"Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit." ~Leviticus 26:20

The message is simple. If you try to figure this out on your own, your labor will be in vain. We need the Lord's help to open our eyes and hearts to understand how we are to minister and serve others in our lives. Set aside time to pray for these people in your inner circle. What are their needs? How can you best serve and minister to them? Are you doing too little? Are you doing too much? Be open to what the Lord says, not your own thoughts (Proverbs 3: 5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.... In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.)

A special thank you to Kari Jo for the concentric circle thoughts. And a disclaimer: this is a huge work in progress for me. I do not have it all down. Just me organizing my thoughts here and preachin' to myself. Let me know if you've done anything similar to this and how it works for you.

Multitude Monday

101. {a friend sitting behind us in church took this picture of my husband and I on his cell phone and sent it to us during service. It's of us praying together. So very touching and sweet of him to do that.}

102. {Laundry on Monday morning. Lots and lots of laundry means lots and lots of people to take care of. And that's a good thing.}

103. {one week til summer}

104. {a clean office}

105. {making a prayer book}

106. {a friend giving me her jogging stroller!}

Join Ann Voskamp as she counts the endless gifts of our days. All is grace!!

Weekend reads

You don't have to be balanced: Hurray "When we get stuck--when we always say "yes" or always say "no" then that's when we need to be concerned. Because we're called to freedom, to flow, to embracing whatever God puts in front of us whether it's little or much."
By the grace of God
"Four children eight and under, including two nursing babies, with a traveling husband?
I am powerless. Only God."
How to follow Jesus without being Shane Claiborne YES!
Grace for moms Moms, read this. Now.
Good thoughts for busy mamas

Have a wonderful weekend. Hope the sun is shining wherever you are....

God in the Yard: Silence

In L.L. Barkat's book God in the Yard she explores the spiritual practice of Silence. "Listening is the path to intimacy," says poet John Fox. Do you agree?
In our large group study of this book, we were encouraged to sit in silence for 10 minutes and write or sketch what we "heard" in the silence. It happened to be pouring rain on this morning, and I listened to the rain, watched the green leaves outside becoming wet and wrote this:

Bare empty sticks
become
lush fragrant
in due time.

Things are Always Changing.
The Way I Feel Now
Will not last forever.

God is constantly changing Nature.
But He never does.
He stays the Same.

We do not stay hidden in the tight bulb.
We are let out to bloom
To have new life
To Change
to Become
lush, fragrant
not always
Bare, Empty Sticks.

Warm with generations of human touch.

My husband initially found a partial set of these vintage dishes at a thrift store about 15 years ago. We have always used them for special occasions--it is our "special" china. Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Thanksgiving... And of course any other time we would like to get them out such as Sunday dinners or birthdays. We've never had enough big plates, so we always used the bowls that went with them in addition to some of the smaller plates, so you could get more food on your plate. *smile*

Last Friday, I made a quick stop in my local Goodwill. As usual, I went to the housewares department and I saw a whole set of my vintage china on the shelf!!! I'm talking cups and saucers, gravy boats, creamer, sugar canister, big plates, little plates.....it was too good to be true. I immediately filled my cart with everything I thought we could use to add to our set. I didn't even take everything, there was so much! Hands down, my best ever Goodwill find--two boxes of china for $20!!!!

Yesterday my husband and I took at day trip to the famous Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Three miles of antiques. Talk about treasure trove. We found a console table and an entry table for our home. I also found a beautiful bowl that looks like McCoy, and a big Pyrex bowl.

Our console table.

Beautiful etching on an entry table we purchased.

My beloved collection of vintage seltzer bottles.

There is something to be said for buying used or antique goods. There is a quote that I came upon recently:

Fewer and fewer Americans possess objects that have a patina, old furniture, grandparents pots and pans -- the used things, warm with generations of human touch, essential to a human landscape. Instead, we have our paper phantoms, transistorized landscapes. A featherweight portable museum. ~Susan Sontag

I like antiques in my home because they are made better, last longer, and have a history. (By no means am I a purist. I love my Expedit!)

Simply, I love old things because they are "warm with generations of human touch." Beautiful.

Mail and letter writing

C.L.A.S. friends, I have not forgotten you. I've been savouring your letters and waiting for the "perfect" time to sit down, uninterrupted, and write you all back on these second round of letters. Which we all know that uninterrupted time is hard to find!
It has been so satisfying to write and read these letters. I love that I can get them out and savour each word over and over, and instead of font, it's your actual handwriting. It makes it so much more personal and heartfelt than an email. I remember my grandmother always had a writing desk that she saved just for writing letters. She was good at that. Even in the assisted living home that she lived in the last years of her life, she had a spot just for writing. It was an important part of her day. It was also her way of ministering to others.
Never underestimate the power of words and the power of written words. Written words tell others that you took the time out of your day to focus on them, whether it is in an email or a handwritten letter or a text, or in person.

"The sturdy, dependable nature of a piece of mail is is really the crux of its charm. Mail has long been a way of showing that you've taken the time to consider what you want to say to someone; phone calls and even e-mails don't require the same level of reflection. It's also a way of transporting a bit of someones essence in a way that no technology since has been able to replicate. Even just a dashed-off note shows off your penmanship, your stamp choice; your return address label may belie your support of the ACLU. An envelope can even carry your scent--try doing that, Yahoo!. What's more, postcards and letters are objects that represent a specific moment and place in a way that an email time stamp can't do. You might never make it outside of your hometown, but you can touch something that has traveled halfway around the world or that was postmarked more than over a hundred years ago. In second-hand stores and attic drawers, boxes of old postcards give us three-sentence glimpses into former existences, preserving candid snippets of lives long finished. E-mails printed out for posterity are likely to capture not nearly as many ephemeral details about your life other than, perhaps, the fact that your toner was low." ~Anna Jane Grossman Obsolete

Related:

How words can weave a friendship
The Society for the Prevention of Empty Mailboxes
Collegiate pen pal society revives art of letter writing

Weekend reads

There were so many great reads out there this week. Here's some of my favorites:

For the mother of teenagers who aches but a bit. Must read. Especially if you have a teenager, like me. Ann understand a mother's heart who has a teenager.

It's gonna take some crazy "I am beginning to think that we don’t have a grid for the reality of what will happen when abortion is made illegal in this nation. 4,000 babies are aborted every day in this nation. Where will they go when Roe v. Wade is overturned?"

Why I adore

The 5 Ps of Personal Bible Study

In the school of prayer: Prayer Book

Happy weekend! And Happy Mother's Day!

Empty Places

I've got empty places

Empty dreams, withouts, expectations not met, words not spoken.

People not there, resources not there, just...empty places.

Where are your empty places?

And what are you filling them up with?

"...and she said, "I know not the secret of these mysteries. Yea, mine own heart acheth over some of the Empty Places. But say unto those who are able to hear that the person who useth not the good things which he hath but complaineth against God for those he lacketh, is like unto one who rejecteth a Doughnut because he Knoweth not the Mystery of the Hole." ~William F. Barton, Parables of a Country Parson

Family sketchbook

The Family Sketchbook idea came from a couple of places. 1. From Soule Mama's "Little Nook" post and from 2. from Ann Voskamp's Visual Homemaking Journal ideas. And probably other places through various home school readings, but if I had to say, the inspiration mainly for this came from these two posts.

It's very simple. You buy a big{ish} spiral sketchbook. (It must lie flat.) I keep it the kitchen, laying flat and open on a table. Every day I write the date at the top of two pages. You may only use the two pages for the day. In passing, children can doodle, or write, or paste, or whatever strikes their fancy. Mama writes what we did today, and important milestones or funny sayings, whatever strikes *her* fancy. Get Dad involved, too. This will be something to look back on in the future and see what your days looked like.

Mama Monday

Today's Mama Monday is the absolutely beautiful Megan of the absolutely beautiful blog Contented Sparrow. If you do not know about Megan's blog, then right after you'd better click on over because you are in for a treat. But a warning: you *will* get lost in her colorful, thoughtful, and inspiring documentation of her home life. And let's not even get started on her home and garden set on Flickr.. I could get caught up in there for days, ignoring my children and all that.;) Also check out her home school set. Happy, happy!!

Describe your family--We're a cozy, laid-back yet kooky family of five living and learning and growing together in Michigan by His grace alone. My best-friend, teacher husband and I have been married for 14 years and we're blessed to be the parents of Eli, 9, Oliver, almost 8, and Lucy 4-1/2. We're farmers at heart in suburbia, carving out a purposefully-slow, quiet life in the midst of the loud.


Greatest thing about being a mom—Oh, Andrea, I could never say just one thing. Squishy baby thighs with pinch able rolls, seeing what my husband must have been like as a child, one that can always make me laugh, their quick forgiveness, firstborn's spontaneous "I love you so much, Mommy", learning right alongside them, wet curls on her neck, dirty boy fingernails, him up a tree, serving them, worshiping together, glimpsing God's creative hand in their uniqueness, sleepy morning hugs, glee in their faces, introducing them to the wonder of Christ, on and endlessly on.

Hardest thing about being a mom— Sigh...that would have to be me. In short, sin and fear. My failings and flailings and painfully seeing those mirrored in my kids. Realizing how close to the surface selfishness and impatience are in my life. Fighting the fear that I'm not stewarding well the gifts that they are. Worrying I'm going to screw them up! Getting it through my thick skull that God loves them more than I do and that they are always in His hands. So, the hardest thing(s) also turn out to be gift because they keep me on my knees, desperately relying on God. Breathing His grace in and out.

Favorite blogs/websites—

Around 4 years ago, naive about what a blog even was, I "stumbled" upon A Holy Experience and I was immediately enthralled with the words and life of this Spirit-led poet/woman. I've made no secret of my admiration and respect of Ann, whom I'm now beyond blessed to call friend. She mentors me in the ways of Christ-following. She's my if-I-only-have-five-minutes-online read. And, if not for Ann, I would never have been given the gifts of you, {Andrea}, and {Tonia} and {Aimee} and {Anna} and {Elise} and {Elizabeth} and {Susan}. Susan's words are ones I return to again and again whenever my homeschooling anchor has come loose and I need it battened down. Yes, there are many more beautiful women who write words that I enjoy reading but just too many to list here.

I will say that crafty inspiration comes from Ashley Ann, etsy, flickr, pinterest, One Pretty Thing, and too many more to list. Often my screen is opening solely to fill our home with worship music from Pandora. And if I start listing my go-to Bible teaching sites, we'll be in for a long, loongg list. I'll just mention Desiring God, Revive Our Hearts, Walk in the Word/Harvest Bible Chapel, Mars Hill (Seattle).....eeks, I must stop!!

Links:

Holy Experience (Ann)
Study in Brown (Tonia)
Living Learning and Loving Simply (Aimee)
Pleasant View Schoolhouse (Anna)
A Path Made Straight (Elise)
Real Learning: Elizabeth Foss
High Desert Home (Susan)
Ashley Ann Photography
Etsy
Flickr
Pinterest: Megan
One Pretty Thing
Pandora
Desiring God
Revive our Hearts
James MacDonald
Mars Hill Church

How do you find balance in your life—

For me, taking to heart and putting into action the fact that God created me with needs that require filling is something I have to be proactive about. My default is doing. There's always something to be cleaned, folded, fed, taught, weeded, etc. But when I'm feeling depleted and am intentional about "filling my bucket" as my Lucy would say, there's a marked change in my attitude. Besides, of course, dedicated quiet time with God, reading, praying and listening, I'm completely refreshed by time out with my husband, also solitude, fellowship with friends, creative interests, fresh air, nature, exercise, counting His gifts with my camera. Intentionality in this area makes me a better Mama! "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30

I've always loved what Elizabeth Foss has written about balance in her children's lives...great advice for us, too!
As much as I am able, every day, I will ensure that my child will: * Live the Liturgy * Experience loveliness * Breathe deeply: Fresh air and exercise * Serve others * Listen to, contemplate, and exchange ideas. * Develop expressive skills. * Practice logical reasoning. Math. * Receive focused attention and affection

And, finally, I ADORE what Susan has to say about daily balance here.


One word that describes you— Or two? Colorfully curious.

I will always eat--cookie dough, always + forever

Favorite color--Oh, it's ever changing. Right now, turquoise with citrus for the home. Charcoal and yellow for me.
Hobbies/interests---Being outside and soaking in His creation with the family, capturing bits of beauty with my camera, digging in the dirt, fleshing out head ideas with my hands which could involve a thread and a needle, or a paintbrush, or a hammer and nail, or pencil and paper, researching-learning-living a curious life.


I couldn't live without—Grace. Prayer. His living words, the Holy Spirit's whispers. My family. And, things I literally could live without but wouldn't want to....sunshine, blue skies, and fresh air!!! Flip-flops. Coffee. Worship music to put my praise to words. A camera. Chocolate. It would be truly hard to live without some way to connect with distant friends and family.

What helps me through tough days---Remembering, Lamentations 3:22-23,
"Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
What the Lord has been speaking to you about lately—So many different things. Hmmm, I guess the most prevalent thing would be how He's been pouring His love over me, whispering it in my ears. Using people's words to teach me things about His grace and acceptance that have never really and truly sunk in before. I need not strive! I'm not condemned! Yes, I fail but His love for me never does. We're ALL a mess but He's already done the clean-up work. "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16 doesn't say that we have to jump through 10 hoops and THEN approach the Throne, then He'll accept me...NO, Christ was that hoop for us, that doorway! Ya-hoo!

What do you like best about yourself—{cringe} Why is it that cringing is my natural reaction to that question....why so many of us women are hard-pressed to find an answer for it? I guess talents and gifts and leanings and personality traits are the best parts of me because they're just what God had planned for me! Creativity? From Him. Aptitudes and abilities? From Him. And I am thankful that by His grace, He's shown me the great value in living out 1 Thessalonians 4:11, Deuteronomy 6:6,7 (I could add verse upon verse upon verse) and a life of curiosity and a willingness to learn.

If I could encourage a young mother, I would say--
I am NO fount of wisdom but I guess it would be to cherish your children. Every moment. When they cuddle and have that baby smell. When they're nursing and drowsily gazing up at you. When they're screaming and needing you. When they're testing and gaining independence. Don't wish their babyhood away. Or any season or stage way for that matter. It's fleeting! Truly know that.
Also, one more tidbit for a first-time, exhausted mom...
Baby keeping you up all hours of the night? Look at it this way, think of all the time you get to share, grasp the privilege it is to nurture that baby's need and strengthen your bond, and, remember that those tired nights (and days) will be a foggy memory someday. I promise! I was utterly exhausted with my firstborn who didn't sleep through the night until almost a year. My blood would boil and I would cry right along with him in the wee hours. But by the time my third child arrived, I was so much more laid back and relaxed knowing how short babyhood really was, I actually looked forward to cuddling her in the night. Seriously. Aww, I can just feel her in my arms now...sniff.

One book you would recommend to read--(besides the Bible)
One, seriously, one? (I know, I know.)Ann Voskamp's 'One Thousand Gifts' would be my obvious answer but that doesn't count because you've all read that, right?
A book that's a friend to me is my dog-eared and falling apart copy of 'A Diary of Private Prayer' by John Baillie.
And, umm, I can't resist mentioning a few authors that, in particular, have influenced me in my role as wife and mom, OK? Great, thanks!
I've been blessed by Sally Clarkson, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Turansky and Miller, Elizabeth Elliot, and many others that I'm certainly forgetting!

Thank you Megan!!!!!