simple woman's daybook 10.9.13

 

for today:

outside my window... it is a beautiful fall day. the trees are just starting to turn their warm red and golden tones, but still have patches of green intermingled. the wind is biting though. i had a dream last night that the wind was going to stay. let's hope that isn't a God dream.

i am thinking... about so many things. i haven't blogged for so long. i am sorry friends. it has been one of those seasons when i just needed to step back and be silent. i needed to write in the paper journal sitting by my bed. i needed to process without any friends reading over my shoulder. i have missed this space though.

i am thankful... for the Lord's faithful provision towards us. we had a very hard couple months - some of our hardest since we started living on missionary support 4 years ago. i have to say that i had very hard days when i wanted to doubt the Lord's ability to provide for us. so immature of me. He still came through, even with my threatening doubts, and has been so merciful and kind to even take care of the things on my heart. i am so thankful today that His goodness has nothing to do with me. He is who He is and i get to benefit from that reality.

remembering... my dad. i have been remembering him a lot. so much of him that i am missing right now.

from the learning rooms... we have survived our 1st month of homeschooling. it has been quite the adventure. with 5 kids, i just have the littlest 2 along for the ride without doing any specific activities for them besides their own drawing pads. i just can't plan and manage one more thing right now. we are making it. i have so much more in my heart i wish we could do, but i think we are at least learning and becoming closer to each other, which is good.

from the kitchen... even though this is my favorite season for the kitchen, i haven't been motivated to cook or bake much. i have made granola for an easy breakfast lately. i love honey, maple syrup, molasses, good butter, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and big chunks of coconut in mine.
 

i am wearing... a light grey short sleeved turtleneck chunky sweater, dark jeans, gray sweater boots, and my hair up in a back knot.

i am creating... some christmas gifts. if i am going to do homemade, i better get started or it just won't get done.

i am going... to go on a date with my hubby tonight. i love time with him one on one. i am such a quality time person, even more now with 5 kids than i was before kids. i am sure glad that i still like him as a friend even after being married 11.5 years.

i am reading... through isaiah again, and picked back up my intense isaiah study. i was about halfway through, so i am about done reviewing what i had done before and about to start in on going deep in the rest of the book. i just love this book. so rich. so deep. so full of hope.

i am hoping... that i can participate in the annual turkey trot here. i got out of the rhythm of running for several reasons, and am trying to get back into it with the cooler weather.

i am hearing... matt gilman's last set at the international house of prayer. did you know you can download your favorite sets now? i am so happy about that. this set is on july 3rd, 2013 if you want to look it up and listen to it yourself. so full of hope.

around the house...we are trying to switch out clothing sizes and seasons for the boys. one thing i am thankful for is i have been able to hold onto clothes that the older boys have grown out of to pass on. just a lot of work to go through the closets for 5 little boys to see what fits and what is the right season.

  
one of my favorite things... is the color of the trees during autumn. just gets me every year.

pondering... eternity. i mean, really, i am. i think the more i experience the pain of this age, the more i want to anchor my heart in the time when He wipes every tear away. there is so much that is so hard to understand right now. there is so much injustice that happens. there is so much loss and grief. i don't think it is escapism to long for Jesus' return even more when bad things happen. He is the Promised Seed that will reverse the curse of death forever, and take away all grief and pain.

a few plans for the rest of the week: we have a homeschool co-op we are part of on thursdays. it feels like a lot of work, since i have to mobilize all the troops to get there are also teach writing to a class full of kindergarteners and 1st graders. but my kids really enjoy it, so we do it. it has been worth it so far.

picture for the day:

go here to 5 minutes for faith to read a post i wrote a couple months ago and haven't been about to share here yet. it is on my thoughts on heaven anchoring my heart right now.

i am linked up with other lovely ladies at the simple woman's daybook.  

charis

simple woman's daybook 8.2.13

 

for today:

outside my window... blue skies, a hot sun, and a light breeze blowing through the green leaves of the giant oak tree in the middle of our front yard (which saves us so much on energy costs in the hot summer months!).

i am thinking... about our new adventure of homeschooling that lies right around the corner! i am just starting to get excited about it, but still feel so not ready.

i am thankful... for the very full summer we have had with so much activities and laughing together. we have not been bored at all.

remembering... that it has been a month since i last blogged. sorry friends! wondering how this blogging adventure will mesh with the upcoming homeschooling adventure.

from the learning rooms... we joined in our library's summer reading program. the boys have loved earning prizes for reading. we read all of the original winnie the pooh stories out loud together this summer, and is was quite bonding to share a little of my childhood literature with my kids. you will find us quoting a. a. milne a lot around here now. :)

from the kitchen... i really try to not use the oven in the summer here. we frequently have days that are between 105-115... so adding oven heat inside just is no fun. we have eaten lots of salads, tons of stone fruit (that means peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, apriums, plouts, and cherries), and bbqing a lot to keep the heat of cooking outside. we also have been in this kick of this awesome yellow curry dish that i make on the stove top - not quite as much heat as the oven - and i crave it now. we are eating it about once a week. i took 3 different yellow curry ideas and made up my own version, which changes based on what is in our veggie box. let me tell you one thing: turnips are a surprise favorite in curry.
 

i am wearing... just some running shorts and a light weight cotton shirt. did i just go running? no. i wish! i haven't been able to get myself out of bed early enough to run before bill takes off for our prayer room in the mornings. i would be running at like 4:30-5am to make that happen, and that just is not happening folks.

i am creating... a pair of knit socks for myself. i made bill a pair of socks for christmas, and in this in between time of making gifts, i thought i would work on a little something for me.

i am going... to my son's t-ball game tonight. he is 5 and it is his first sport that he has played. he has spent lots of time watching his older brothers play sports, so it is especially fun for him to be the athlete this time.

i am reading... the book of the revelation of Jesus again in my bible time. it has been about a year since i last read it, and i felt the Lord prompting my heart that it was a good time to crack it open again.  

i am hoping... to participate in some local short races in about a month. which means... i need to find a time when it isn't too hot to run again.

i am hearing... the sounds of piano practice. music to this music mama's ears.

around the house... is a big old mess. i am serious. we had to do some work on our bathroom because we inherited a mold/moisture problem (our house was built in the 50's). we had to tear out some of the dry wall, put in a super duper bathroom fan, paint on some hard core mold and rust treatments... so it is truly a mess that has leaked out into almost every room of the house, as any house renovation seems to do.

  
one of my favorite things... is going swimming with my boys. 3 of the 5 are fully swimmers and the other two are quite eager. we have tried to be by water almost every day this summer.

pondering... how to make more hours in a day...

a few plans for the rest of the week: well, we have t-ball and then we hope to take the boys fishing up at mt. shasta for a family fishing day tomorrow. hopefully we can get some swimming in some time too. :)

picture for the day:

go here to 5 minutes for faith to read the story behind this picture. i usually share with you all when i write over there, but it has been so busy i never shared the link here.

i am linked up with other lovely ladies at the simple woman's daybook.  

charis

for the times when you feel like you've really blown it

we were sitting in the car driving back from a lovely summer afternoon at the lake. i gazed out the car window at the rolling hills, lush evergreens, and aqua skies that where sprinkled with fluffy white clouds. my heart pounded and i opened my mouth in a confession, looking out of the corner of my eye at my husband who was driving, "so...iI lost it with the kids this morning. again. and it was all over a lost library book. it's not how i wanted the morning to go."

my eyes looked down at my sandy tanned toes as my heart felt like a ton of bricks filled with a bit of shame and a lot of regret. "when am i ever going to get victory in this area? when am i going to stop having outburst of anger at my kids? i just want to be a good mom... 

click here to read the rest as i share over at 5 minutes for faith about a place of brokenness in my own life. i hope it can encourage you in your own areas of brokenness.

charis

when you feel painfully alone

there are painful times in life when it seems that all we can do is grasp for some sort of encouragement to get us through the present moment. these times can either be full of a flood of excess emotion or the opposite absence of emotion. both are a sign of a heart in intense pain. it can be hard to tell which way is up, and time is blurry and abstract. it can be hard to have vision for the current day, let alone the grand scheme of life.

if you aren't in a time of life like this right now, chances are you have been or will be in not too terribly long. as believers, how are we to navigate through these dark nights of the soul when all our hearts want to do is shut down?

come and visit me at 5 minutes for faith to read more. i would love your feedback on how you have walked through one of these seasons.

thanks friends!
charis

the greatest lesson

i was asked to be a part of a series over at 5 minutes for faith about lessons i learned from my mother. not everyone is a mom who is a reader of this blog (and some are not even women), but every one of us has a mom.

i feel so blessed by the way i have witnessed my mom live her life. please come visit me at 5 minutes for faith to read the greatest lesson i have learned from my mom.

would you consider leaving a comment there letting me know you dropped by? we also are giving away an 8 by 10 print of this beautiful painting "growing in love" by my dear friend gina of silverlakesound! details are at the end of my post on how to win it! 

see you over there in the comments! click here!

charis

keeping faith in the Reason for the season

christmas can so easily become one big swirl of commercialism and hype.  i know that we all fall into the trap of the lists of gifts, parties, deadlines, baking, etc becoming THE focus.  in fact, while i am typing right now, i am also feverishly trying to work on a knit scarf for my oldest son... read more


come over to 5 minutes for faith today where i am sharing about one of my favorite christmas traditions that helps me keep focused during my favorite time of year.

let me know you stopped by!  hope you are having a wonderful christmas season!

charis

how's the fruit?

we were running late.  the baby was screaming though his diaper was clean and he was freshly nursed, shoelaces were needing to be tied, one child was still in the shower, dinner plates were strewn all over the kitchen with some still on the table, and my hair still up in the disheveled knot on the top of my head that had kept it out of my face during the early morning garage sale we held and the 2 soccer games we played in (well, i cheered at) immediately after.  one child yelled from the other room how he couldn’t find the matching shoe, another was digging in the basket of clean clothes that had sat in the living room corner all week trying to find socks, while one more ignored every effort to insist he get ready quickly.  and the phone kept incessantly ringing.

it was then, in the midst of the mounting pressure and decibel level in my house, that i completely lost it.  yes, i opened my mouth...

i am sharing today at 5 minutes for faith about my struggle with my words.  i would love for you to stop by!

charis

maybe all we really need...

it is the living who give thanks to You, as i do today,
a father tells his sons about Your faithfulness. isaiah 38:19

it is so easy to look at our lives and only see what we are lacking.  maybe it is money.  maybe it is a lack-luster marriage.  maybe it is opportunity in career or ministry.  maybe it is friendship.  maybe it is a family.

for me, though it seems trite, it was just about chicken tonight... or my lack of chicken... 

come and visit me at 5 minutes for faith to read the rest.  i really love you all visiting over there and offering your thoughts and feedback in the comments.  i hope to encourage you today with what i am sharing!

i am linking up with barbie this week for fresh brewed sundays.

do you like this post?  consider subscribing to this blog and/or liking our facebook page to stay connected.

charis

when it feels like no one sees you...

ever felt a bit invisible?  ever wondered if anyone ever notices all you do?  

join me over at 5 minutes for faith where i share about my own struggles with craving recognition and despising hidden-ness.  

would love for you to join in the discussion over there about feeling invisible.  

charis

prayer simplified

 

photo credit

have you ever thought, "i don’t really know if i feel connected to God when I pray?"  if so, you are just like me (and probably the rest of the world if we are honest).

head over to 5 minutes for faith and join me as i share a bit about simplifying prayer.  it really doesn't have to be as complicated as we make it at times.

come and join me!

charis

raising lovers of Jesus in the midst of the chaos

have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the world tells us we need to do to raise our kids to be successful well-adjusted members of society?

well, first there is the private school... or if you can't foot the bill then the must of homeschooling.

then there is the college savings account... in our case times that one by 5!  ouch!

don't forget the team sports that take up several nights a week, maybe all night if you have different kids on different teams, and most weekends.

...oh and music lessons.  or art classes.  or drama auditions.

they need that latest and greatest piece of technology... you know, the device that will take average to genius?

remember as well to make them cultured by traveling and experiencing the world around them: visiting art museums and libraries, seeing a ballet, camping, fishing, going to other countries...

and then there is the healthy, whole foods, organic eating at home - you don't want to mess up those young minds or bodies with all the additives in the standard american diet.

the problem is, though none of these are bad in and of themselves, the pressure gets so great and the schedules so full that life becomes more like chaos.  it may be organized chaos, but it is chaos still.

it becomes a distraction of what is of greatest importance - raising lovers of Jesus.

the question we are often left with is, "when do we have time to teach them to love God?  how do we even start in the pursuit of producing lovers of Jesus?"

i am sharing today at 5 minutes for faith on this very issue.  i would love you to drop by and add your thoughts and experiences in the comments over there. 

click here to read more!  hope you can visit me there!


charis

photo credit

when life doesn't make sense

sorry i haven't been on for a couple days.  i actually had a different post i wanted to put up on monday, (which now you will have to wait for!), but our internet has been down for the past couple days.  let's just say that my in laws who live in a 3rd world country have a better connection than we do.  hopefully we are getting that taken care of soon!

today i am at 5 minutes for faith writing a guest post about when life just doesn't make sense.  here is just a snippet:

He is near the broken hearted.  i imagine Jesus’ favorite place to be is sitting right next to each one of us when we feel the most alone and unseen.  He loves at just that precise moment to wrap His arms around us and tell us He is for us and not against us.

for He is not a God who is far removed...

click here to read the rest and to add your thoughts!  leave a comment and let me know you read it and if you can relate.

thanks 5 minutes for faith for the opportunity to guest post.

charis