Rest and Hope for 2014

As a preface you may want to read my recap of 2013. Or not.

This year when I started to prepare for my New Year's Resolutions I asked the Lord what I needed in this year. What does this year need to be for me? The first word that came to mind was Hope. I think as a part of the healing I went through in 2013 I let go of a lot of cynicism. I finally feel the freedom to Hope. And, Oh My, I'm in daily need of Hope.

But it also seemed like I kept hearing a whisper saying, "Rest."

"Two words?" I thought, "I can only have one. I need to decide between the two."

As I slowed down and starting thinking about both of these words I realized they are inseparable. Hope and Rest. Rest and Hope. I need them both.

You know when you get a new car and you you suddenly start seeing cars exactly like yours everywhere you drive though you ever noticed that model before? Well, after I decided on Hope and Rest for my words this year it was like that. Songs on the radio, messages at church, blogs I read, all talking about Hope and Rest! One blog post had the most beautiful way of explaining the relationship between the two:

Hope is really about rest. Resting in the imperfections of today because you believe that tomorrow there is possibility.

I had written this down on New Year's day:

"Rest, because I feel I need a reminder to slow down and focus. Also, because I want to rest in the promises of the Lord. Which leads me to HOPE."

This is the song I sing the most right now. It is my prayer. My meditation. I want it to be my breath prayer.



 So, I wrote out a list of things I'm hoping for in 2014:
~ House sold
~ Our New House!!!
~  Financial freedom and peace
~ Better job (for HH) or Peace and Favor at current job
~ A year of health (No more ER trips, please!)

There are other, more immediate things I am hoping for right now and I'm sure there will be more through out the year, but this is my list of "big" hopes, if you will.

I sat down to use a portion (#22) of Ann Voskamp's Grace Plan for 2014 and ended up using her whole list as a base for my goals. Much of what she listed is what I want for myself. Why re-write what has already been so poetically penned.

For my specific 2014 goals I decided against "fixes" I wanted in my life and decided for the things that I felt just make me more whole person: daily disciplines, intentional/relational parenting, respecting and joyfully serving my husband, pursuing friendships.

And, of course, I always have a long list of books to read. This is just my "serious reading" list.

Books To Read:
These are the books on my shelf (minus one I still need to purchase) that I want to use to help me be a better me, mom, and wife. The ones marked (devo) are those that I plan to use in my morning devotional time. The others will probably be my night time reading books. Most are carried over from last year's list. Some I have already started.

Shepherding A Child's Heart
Love & Logic for Parenting
Sheet Music
Dare to Be (devo)
David (devo)
Children: In Life, In Meetings, In Our Hearts
The Power of a Praying Wife (devo)
The Love Dare (devo)
Preteen Wise
The Father Heart of God (devo)
Practical Theology for Women (devo)
Love and Respect 
I Will Look Up (devo)

I know we are already a month into the New Year and this may seem like a late post I actually waited on purpose. Although my goals, thoughts, and desires for the year were written down on the 1st of January, I like to wait a bit to see if anything changes. Posting a month late is also a good reminder to stay focused or to get re-focused.

I'm still excited about this year and I know it holds good things for us all. May we seek them with the eyes of a child.

Did you set goals for the New Year? Do share!

Favorite Things Friday Kid's Edition: Books

It's no secret that I love books. I could live in a library. As long as it had a cafe of course.

I've tried and am trying to instill my love of reading in my children. One way is by surrounding them with a zillion books to browse and read. I also try to read to them as often as I can. They, of course, have favorites that we have read so many times we've memorized them and the bindings are coming loose.

There are a few favorites, though, that have caused me to stifle my giggles.

The first was a favorite of Amelia's when she was about two. My MIL got the book for the kids thinking Abiah would especially like it because it was a narrative about Daniel Boone. No one ever assumed that the two year old would be the one to drag it out everyday over and over.

She had very little patience, though, for the actual story. She just wanted us to turn the pages until we got to this one:

She would point her chubby finger and say, "Buns! Him's buns is sowing!"
 

The next book is a favorite of Jackson's. I bought it at a resale/antique store this last fall because it is old and I thought we could incorporate it into our schooling or family time. It's called Wise Words for Little People. It was written in the late 80's.So, never mind. It's not old. It's very young.

When I started reading it to the kids I was so happy. Every little story is based on an encouragement or admonition from the book of Proverbs. My kids loved it and they could understand how the Proverb applied to them.

I never thought Jackson would catch on to this book so early. This is the story he wants me to read the most:

"If you're acting naughty, Your parents may spank you. But when you get older, You'll want to say, 'Thank you!'

You can see in the picture that Little Bear is getting into the medicine cupboard. Here's what happens next:

Yup. Little Bear is getting a spank. I think Jackson is drawn to this story because he's been in Little Bear's shoes. Of course after the spank Mommy and Little Bear hug and kiss. I'm sure Mother Bear is saying, "I don't want to spank you, but I can't let you be disobedient. I love you very much. Please obey Mommy." Which Jackson is also familiar with.

Books are a lovely thing.

What are some of your family favorites?

Homeschool Q & A: A typical day and schooling with a toddler

For the first Q&A post see here.

I started this series to answer some questions for a friend. Since they are questions I get asked often I thought I'd write my answers out here for anyone else interested.


Q: What does a typical day look like for you while homeschooling and what do you do with Jackson during school? 

A: Because of our extra-curriculars everyday looks a little different, but I try to keep some schedule and routine for our actual schooling. 

Although I'd love to run everything Von Trapp style with time lines and whistles, life really just doesn't work that way. (smile) I go by a To-Do list and organize from there. I try to get up before the kids for quiet time, but this can be difficult with kids who still crawl into my bed half-an-hour before I plan to be up. I've learned to be flexible and remember that this is a short season. Abiah is up at 6:30 for Bible reading. The rest of the kids are almost always up before that, but I'm trying to train them to stay in their room until 7 so I have time to finish my devotions and shower.

Our mornings are started with kids getting dressed, chores getting done, piano practice, breakfast, and breakfast clean up. Most days HH is home for breakfast so we get to eat with him. 

I try to get us started with school by 8:30, but it's usually more like 9 or 9:30. First I get Abiah going on the subjects he does on his own. Then I spend about an hour working with Amelia and Jackson. Really this time is to give them some special time with me. Amelia is my main focus scholastically, but Jackson is her tag-a-long so we find things for him as well.

This is just one room. And it looks like this everyday. They have to have it all cleaned up by the end of the day. And then they start over as soon as they wake up. :)

When they get done and I send them off to play I do school with Hazel. Her curriculum takes 1-1&1/2 hours to do. Of course everything takes a bit longer because I'm working with children who have a mind of their own, a will of their own, and a bathroom schedule of their own. There are lots of interruptions, to put it plainly. 

Hazel was upset and refusing to do her math because there was a girl apple that had four worms in it and that was disgusting and unfair to the girl apple. Also, the girl apple should have been at the top of the page. Her least favorite memory verses are the ones that talk about rotting bones. She generally puts up a fight about rehearsing those ones. But, obviously, she's a princess and princesses shouldn't have to talk of such things... Oy vey! Puberty is going to be thrilling.

Though I aim to train my kids to show me and each other respect by allowing me to work with each one individually, really this is just part of being a family. Kids have to pee and poo. They need to express their ideas and thoughts. And they need remind you they have a will of their own every now and again five seconds later. 

After I finish with Hazel we have lunch. I usually make lunch while Hazel finishes up a writing task or puts her books away. Amelia and Jackson are usually cleaning up toys and Abiah is finishing up the subject he is on. After I've eaten I read aloud to the kids. Abiah has scheduled read-aloud books with his curriculum so that's what we read. Afterward we clean up from lunch and I settle Jackson down for a nap. 

While he's napping the girls play quietly-ish and I do school with Abiah. Depending on the day, scheduled lessons, and Abiah's work ethic we can be done anywhere from 1-5. I try not to carry work over to the next day, but sometimes it is unavoidable. 

Abiah is in a music class on Mondays and Hazel is in one on Tuesdays. The class is at 3 so we aim to be done with school in time to leave for class. Wednesday is a rather busy day for us. I only do school with Abiah and Hazel on this day. After school in the morning, we go to our homeschool group at 1:30, come home for dinner, and then leave again for mid-week church by 6:45. Thursday is a quiet day usually, and it is also our last day of school for the week. HH is off for the weekends beginning Friday morning so we spend Friday with him. Our curriculum is mostly scheduled for a four day school week so we just do any Friday work on Thursday.

I've found that our schedule has seasons because we have seasons. Last year looked very different. I like this year way more than last year, but the kids are a little older and are getting the hang of the routine a bit more.

One of the things that helped me relax about our daily school routine and my need for it to be perfect was a comment I read in our curriculum. The author was sharing their family's daily schedule and she used the phrase "we've trained our kids to..." a few times. I realized if I want my kids to follow a routine I have to train them to. And because they are still so young I can't just expect them to know on their own. So a lot of what I do is training. This year, thankfully, I don't have to do so much of that with Abiah. It's been a breathe of fresh air especially since I have three others who still need so much of my time in that area.

We have good days where I think we've finally, finally figured it out. And then we have no good very bad days when it feels like we have so far to go. Honestly, most of that depends on my hormones, though. I've learned to be aware and make adjustments in my attitude and our work load, if need be.

I hope this encourages you.

Do you have a question about homeschooling or about ours specifically? Leave me a comment and I'll add it to my list!

Blessings, ya'll!

Wordless Wednesday: Paper

Ok. Mostly wordless. I need to explain. My SIL's boyfriend, so my boyfriend-in-law, works for a paper company and he gave us a huge box of paper. And this little Miss, especially, makes the most gigantic messes with it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! She loves to color and goes through at least 100 sheets a week.

I sent my boyfriend-in-law a message thanking him for fueling my children's need to draw on a new piece of paper every few seconds. I also thanked him for fueling our wood stove, because that's where it all ends up.

I do love that I don't have to constantly replace my copy paper that I use for school. It was getting ridiculous. And I was getting stingy. We're all happy. :)

A Book Review: Happy Wives Club

About a year ago my heart was burdened for some marriages of the people in my life. It was a small flood of my circle of friends and family, from the past and currently, who were facing huge struggles and were going through situations I'd never even imagined. Although HH and I were doing good at the time I felt an uneasiness. It wasn't that I was questioning the rightness of our relationship. I just needed to know how we were going to make it work.

I remember sitting with a group of ladies, most of who are much older than me, and asking, "What is the one thing you would say is the most important to a marriage? Besides Jesus, because that's obvious."

One lady replied instantly, "Sex." There were some heads nodding in agreement. I countered her response with, "Really? Sex? Is that what you need or what he needs? I know sex is important to marriage, but is it the one thing, other than Jesus, that it takes to make a good marriage?"

Another woman spoke up, "I heard a message on marriage many years ago. The speaker was talking about the passage that says, 'A husband must love his wife, and a wife must respect her husband" (Ephesians 5:33). He said that the reason husbands should love their wives is because it is very hard for men to love. They are logical beings and love is an emotion.  And woman are called to respect our husbands because it is easy for a woman to love. We do that unconditionally.  But, if someone does something we can't justify it is very hard to have respect for that person. The Lord stretches us by asking us to do the things that are difficult in our way of thinking. So for women it is respect and for men it is love."

What she said was as a thick healing balm poured over the burden my heart was feeling. I had an answer. I left that night with hope and a plan for my own marriage and a determination to pray for the ones that I'd been burdened for.

This last month I jumped at the opportunity to review the book, Happy Wives Club, hoping that, maybe, I would discover a little more of an answer to the question I had last year. Within the first few pages I felt right at home. The author, Fawn Weaver, had been on a journey that took her to six different continents to find, for herself, an answer to the same question I had been asking.

I was confused a bit at first because there was so much back story of the author's travels and experiences. I think I was expecting the book to mostly be stories about the couples she interview. The beauty I found in her writing was that Fawn, through her personal journey in marriage and the mundane of her travels incorporated with the beauty of the relationships she encountered, found the answer she was seeking. Her journey was as important as her mission.


Another thing I liked about the book is that it wasn't one sided. I seem to see a lot of "Women, here's how to be a better wife" books, but I've often wondered if there are as many for men. Though this book is titled Happy Wives Club, Fawn really stresses the mutuality of the relationship.

It's funny because the book almost felt anti-climatic. But in the end that felt right because, of course, the answer to happiness in marriage is more simple than we think. In our over dramatized culture and world we expect the secrets to life to be filled with magic and fairy dust and unicorns. They should definitely be far fetching and almost difficult to reach. But Fawn reminds us that happiness is as simple as mutual respect and service and friendship.

It was a book I could hardly put down and when it was over I felt a renewed determination to pursue true happiness in my own marriage.

Disclaimer: I received this book through booksneeze.com in return for my personal review. 

In addition, because this review isn't long enough already, my dad and I were talking about this post and the book and he had an amazing point that he illustrated with a song I remember him playing for my mom.






Be blessed, ya'll!