I have had so little time for blogging lately. Since school has started my life is so structured which is great but I don't have more than just five minutes now and then to update my facebook status and that's it. I hear some people chat how they never could have time for facebook but if you just check in with people by reading updates, and you put your own, it is the quickest way I know of connecting. It's the blogging that has taken a back seat in my life for now. It's hard too because I have so many blogs go through my head.
So, you would think that a mom with three kids in school would have so much time on her hands for her hobbies and what not eh? Nope. No matter what situation, a mom's work is never done and I am never bored. Keeping the house ready for the next thing once the family is home keeps me hopping every moment. On top of that I'm taking some big time to exercise this fall and once I do that a big chunk of my time for the house is even gone. It's wroth it though and I've needed to get myself back on track from years of putting other things first. It's a great benefit to my family and husband for me to drop a few.
I've not had time for a Thankful Thursday this week but I have to say I've been so thankful for some heavy teachable moments with my children. It would seem that having them out there in school is just a different approach to preparing them for life. When we had them at home we prepared them hypothetically and now we do it experientially. The thing with the hypothetical was that I was not creative enough to think of all the hypotheticals and they were not real enough to demand being teachable moments. Now, very interesting things happen that give us wonderful springboards of conversation. How is the right way to deal with this? What would bring glory to God? What do you do when you are tempted to do what your friends are doing? Do you obey friends or God? Are you patient when being wrongly judged? Do you kindly learn to speak up for yourself? Here were some situations this last week or two:
-Victoria has a friend who comes up and acts like she is going to get something out of her hair and instead proceeds to just yank a bit of her hair out. This girl is a quiet aggressive and has shown some signs of being jealous of Victoria for some reason. Her ways are manipulative and unexpectedly insulting. Victoria had to learn to be forgiving but to speak up when someone does something like that and not just take it quietly.
-Caedmon got caught up in a 1st grade tease of a little boy who all the other boys were saying "wore his sisters underwear". We discussed how something being funny does not make it okay. How the one being teased will possibly even laugh but that does not mean they like it but rather that they are covering their shame and embarrassment with laughter. How God convicts us in the middle of these times as to what is right. Caedmon did feel that convicting but decided that since the boy was not saying he didn't mind that it was okay. We talked about the good meter to use of thinking how we would feel if such things were said about us and to always trust the conviction of the Holy Spririt of God.
-Caedmon did a fake stutter back to a little boy at school who stutters. This one was hard for me. It actually made me tear up to know he had done that. Having had a brother who was disabled and standing up for him when he was teased made this a sore spot for me. I needed a moment before we could even talk. We discussed how some children have to be even more brave than he ever will have to be to say what they want to say and always be teased for not being able to speak clearly. How blessed he is to be able to communicate well and how he can be an encourager to the child who struggles instead of making him shammed through mocking.
-Victoria makes a project in science and turns to her supposed friend to ask what she thinks and her friend replies "it looks like crap!". This friend was the one girl who professed to be a Christian and who Victoria had high hopes of being a good pal for her in school but the girl flips between wanting to be cool and popular and wanting to be a faithful friend. She is one of those what I use to call "light switch friends". I seemed to gravitate to girls who did that to me. They are your friend when THEY want to be but when it's inconvenient or uncool they want nothing to do with you. You are kind of their fall back plan. It's a painful thing to go through and she has weathered it very well. Thankfully there is a new girl in her class who has been a cheerful companion to her this year and who has also been troubled by some of the same girls Victoria has so they can relate on that level. Victoria is learning to love her friends even when they are sometimes unkind. The group that has been rough for her are the three girls we usually take to Awana so she has had to stay dedicated to taking them there with her to hear about the Lord even though she has been badly treated by them many times at school.
Those were just the ones off the top of my head.
I marvel sometimes what God must have in mind for my children. Knowing that he has called them to this place tells me that he has a specific set of preparation for them unlike what I could give them by keeping them home. He is building their armor and sharpening their defences as well as their convictions to bring Him glory through all things. I feel honored and challenged to give them what they need at every barrier they face. To seize those teachable moments even when they come fast and plenty! I definitely think you can prepare a child at home for the world and I definitely think you can prepare them from home while they are facing it. There are unique outcomes for both that God will use in their lives. Where we are fits us. It's where the rubber meets the road and for me that's where I can teach the best. Give me the situation Lord and I'll shine your light on it. Throw me one and challenge me to catch it. There is no time for hit and miss training when your kids are in school now days. You have to talk a lot and connect on everything. You have to be all ears. They are out there, in the real world with real people facing real issues. We are so much better at this part with our kids than the academics and I thrill at the challenge. This is why I love working hard on the home all day as well. That way, if we need to sit and talk at the dinner table longer about something, or just congregate in the living room for the evening to discuss life, we can.
I have no fear of what will come next. I look forward to it. There is always sufficient truth in God's treasure house of wisdom to give them. It is a privilege to hold their hands through it until someday we let go and they walk with Him alone through this world. As He leads and we walk through some places I may have chosen to shelter them from, I am thankful that He knows better how to build the foundation of their lives. Other wise I may have opened their cocoon for them thereby disallowing the full development of their spiritual muscles and when they hit the freedom of their transformed lives they would fall in weakness completely unable to survive.
As I work lately to build back my own physical muscles I think of God's goodness to stretch and build my children. Our job is to feed them well from truth and care for them between times so they are stronger and stronger each time resistance or challenge comes their way.
So, you would think that a mom with three kids in school would have so much time on her hands for her hobbies and what not eh? Nope. No matter what situation, a mom's work is never done and I am never bored. Keeping the house ready for the next thing once the family is home keeps me hopping every moment. On top of that I'm taking some big time to exercise this fall and once I do that a big chunk of my time for the house is even gone. It's wroth it though and I've needed to get myself back on track from years of putting other things first. It's a great benefit to my family and husband for me to drop a few.
I've not had time for a Thankful Thursday this week but I have to say I've been so thankful for some heavy teachable moments with my children. It would seem that having them out there in school is just a different approach to preparing them for life. When we had them at home we prepared them hypothetically and now we do it experientially. The thing with the hypothetical was that I was not creative enough to think of all the hypotheticals and they were not real enough to demand being teachable moments. Now, very interesting things happen that give us wonderful springboards of conversation. How is the right way to deal with this? What would bring glory to God? What do you do when you are tempted to do what your friends are doing? Do you obey friends or God? Are you patient when being wrongly judged? Do you kindly learn to speak up for yourself? Here were some situations this last week or two:
-Victoria has a friend who comes up and acts like she is going to get something out of her hair and instead proceeds to just yank a bit of her hair out. This girl is a quiet aggressive and has shown some signs of being jealous of Victoria for some reason. Her ways are manipulative and unexpectedly insulting. Victoria had to learn to be forgiving but to speak up when someone does something like that and not just take it quietly.
-Caedmon got caught up in a 1st grade tease of a little boy who all the other boys were saying "wore his sisters underwear". We discussed how something being funny does not make it okay. How the one being teased will possibly even laugh but that does not mean they like it but rather that they are covering their shame and embarrassment with laughter. How God convicts us in the middle of these times as to what is right. Caedmon did feel that convicting but decided that since the boy was not saying he didn't mind that it was okay. We talked about the good meter to use of thinking how we would feel if such things were said about us and to always trust the conviction of the Holy Spririt of God.
-Caedmon did a fake stutter back to a little boy at school who stutters. This one was hard for me. It actually made me tear up to know he had done that. Having had a brother who was disabled and standing up for him when he was teased made this a sore spot for me. I needed a moment before we could even talk. We discussed how some children have to be even more brave than he ever will have to be to say what they want to say and always be teased for not being able to speak clearly. How blessed he is to be able to communicate well and how he can be an encourager to the child who struggles instead of making him shammed through mocking.
-Victoria makes a project in science and turns to her supposed friend to ask what she thinks and her friend replies "it looks like crap!". This friend was the one girl who professed to be a Christian and who Victoria had high hopes of being a good pal for her in school but the girl flips between wanting to be cool and popular and wanting to be a faithful friend. She is one of those what I use to call "light switch friends". I seemed to gravitate to girls who did that to me. They are your friend when THEY want to be but when it's inconvenient or uncool they want nothing to do with you. You are kind of their fall back plan. It's a painful thing to go through and she has weathered it very well. Thankfully there is a new girl in her class who has been a cheerful companion to her this year and who has also been troubled by some of the same girls Victoria has so they can relate on that level. Victoria is learning to love her friends even when they are sometimes unkind. The group that has been rough for her are the three girls we usually take to Awana so she has had to stay dedicated to taking them there with her to hear about the Lord even though she has been badly treated by them many times at school.
Those were just the ones off the top of my head.
I marvel sometimes what God must have in mind for my children. Knowing that he has called them to this place tells me that he has a specific set of preparation for them unlike what I could give them by keeping them home. He is building their armor and sharpening their defences as well as their convictions to bring Him glory through all things. I feel honored and challenged to give them what they need at every barrier they face. To seize those teachable moments even when they come fast and plenty! I definitely think you can prepare a child at home for the world and I definitely think you can prepare them from home while they are facing it. There are unique outcomes for both that God will use in their lives. Where we are fits us. It's where the rubber meets the road and for me that's where I can teach the best. Give me the situation Lord and I'll shine your light on it. Throw me one and challenge me to catch it. There is no time for hit and miss training when your kids are in school now days. You have to talk a lot and connect on everything. You have to be all ears. They are out there, in the real world with real people facing real issues. We are so much better at this part with our kids than the academics and I thrill at the challenge. This is why I love working hard on the home all day as well. That way, if we need to sit and talk at the dinner table longer about something, or just congregate in the living room for the evening to discuss life, we can.
I have no fear of what will come next. I look forward to it. There is always sufficient truth in God's treasure house of wisdom to give them. It is a privilege to hold their hands through it until someday we let go and they walk with Him alone through this world. As He leads and we walk through some places I may have chosen to shelter them from, I am thankful that He knows better how to build the foundation of their lives. Other wise I may have opened their cocoon for them thereby disallowing the full development of their spiritual muscles and when they hit the freedom of their transformed lives they would fall in weakness completely unable to survive.
As I work lately to build back my own physical muscles I think of God's goodness to stretch and build my children. Our job is to feed them well from truth and care for them between times so they are stronger and stronger each time resistance or challenge comes their way.
Had to have one of his own. Those little baby teeth are spacing out and getting ready for bigger things I think. 
The kids pasta day today was fun. If you read my Domestic blog, you know I've been on a creative pasta kick. This was fun because I let them pick out the shape at the store and then I just put in cheese bits, ham bits, and frozen peas that thawed the instant they hit that hot pasta so they were crunchy and sweet. Just some 
