Summer Days!

    I can't believe we are halfway through the summer already!  It's been one thing after another around here lately...and I'm sure y'all can relate!  For not having our normal schedule, it sure does seem like we are just as busy around here.  Not sure how that happens...

     We had a couple of firsts this summer.  The two older boys went to a local church camp for the first time this summer.  They had a great time, and are looking forward to heading there again!  You might be thinking that 14 and 13 is a little late for the "first summer camp" experience.  Confession: I am paranoid about who my kids spend time with when I'm not there.  It amazes me that some people can just drop their kids off at a day camp, or zoo camp, or ball practice or whatever and not even bother getting to know the people who are in charge of their kid!  I want to know and I want the people in charge to know that I want to know.  I don't think that this is "helicopter parenting"...just intentional parenting.  Thankfully, we are good friends with the people who work at this camp, and so the boys were able to enjoy this experience. 

     They went to Scout camp this year too.  (Not by themselves, though!)  Spent lots of time learning and growing in new experiences.  Came back with bruises, bumps, bug bites and a bit of sunburn, but also with memories and confidence in new skills.  The first was that First-Born filled out his first job application to work there next summer!  Side note: how do I already have a kid who is old enough to fill out JOB APPLICATIONS?! 

     Stitch has been growing and learning how to be a big kid.  He is in that middle stage of childhood where he feels too big for some things, but is too little for other things.  But he is weathering it fairly well... he is our hands on kid and has been learning how to use the grinder to make wooden swords.  He also spends a lot of time climbing trees and "adventuring" outside.

     Little Sister has had a couple of firsts this summer too.  She started taking piano lessons, which she was excited about.  And I don't have to nag her to practice!  (Yet...)  She enjoys doing something "big" like the boys.  She also learned how to paddle and steer the kayak all by herself.  I was really impressed that she was able to manage it on her own!  This week she will get to do one first she is really excited about....her first library card!  She is really looking forward to this important day! 

    As I think about these milestones I am reminded of that saying about how the "days are long but the years are short."  Seems so true as I look back.  What happened to all those days that I thought would never end?  Where did they go?  Now, my kids are big enough for another first...one I though would never get here.  They can stay home by themselves.  I can leave them to run to the store, or even go out for a lunch date with Hubby.  Y'all... I remember thinking that time would NEVER come!  And now that it's here, I wonder where the time went. 

    So, my thought for today is even if you're stuck in the middle of something stressful (potty-training, juggling toddlers and babies, working on a specific "attitude adjustment"), take heart.  Even though it seems like it will last forever, it won't.  I'm not going to tell you to "enjoy every minute" because really...that's a little silly.  I'm never going to enjoy cleaning up bodily fluids or stepping on toys I've said to pick up a MILLLION times or reminding someone (not so nicely) to do the chore I've already told them to finish 25 times today.  But I will tell you to take that 5 minutes at the end of the day (when they are all in bed!) and sit and think about the day you just had.  To remember that it is done, and tomorrow is a new day.  For new starts and new mistakes and new grace.  And it's one day closer to not having those little people under your roof every minute of every day.  Which, frankly, sounds amazing most days...but one day it will be reality, and you'll be busy in different ways, and you'll long for those days when they were little enough to pick up and hold...even if it was just for a few seconds.  Enjoy those moments while you look forward to the new ones that seem so far away.  And when those bigger "firsts" start happening, enjoy those too!  :)

Crops or the Cross?

     Well, it is nearly the end of a whirlwind month!  May is always an extremely busy time for our family as we wrap up school, Scouts, and a few other things.  Middle Biscuit turned 13 a few days ago... I now officially have two teenagers!  How did that happen so fast?

     We didn't get to celebrate with him on his actual birthday, because we are on a school trip.  For the last two years, our school has attended the International Student Convention hosted by ACE, which is the curriculum program we use in our school.  So, every year at this time, we prepare to attend this major event.

     This year, we have First-Born with us, and two other school students.  They have competed in events ranging from chess to table tennis to music performances. It is a very fun, although tiring week!

     Confession time: when Hubby told me several years ago that one of his goals for our school was to attend Regional Student Convention, and then Internationals, I admit I was reluctant.  (Read: whiny.)  It was too much work; too much money; not enough time; encouraged bad attitudes; I had a million excuses.  But he was persistent ( no surprise there!) and so I finally caved and said we could work on it.  Five years later, here I am, 5 Junior Conventions, 4 Regionals, and 3 Internationals under my belt.  It is work.  It is tiring.  We do have to be apart from the younger kids.  But he was right; it's totally worth it.  (Shhh...don't tell him I said that!!)

    Because it's about more than the competitions.  It's about more than the new experiences.  It's about more than the fun and games and new friends.  It's really about getting away from the comfortable box you've been in.  It's about being away from other influences that distract you.  It's about the time every night that God speaks and moves in the hearts of the people sitting under the sound of His Word.  Which brings me to my title...crops or the Cross?

     The speaker last night spoke about Cain and Abel.  Everyone knows the story.  Cain brought an offering; Abel brought an offering.  God accepted Abel's offering; Cain grew angry and killed Abel.  But he brought out an application that really spoke to me.

     You see, what Cain brought was the sum of his efforts.  His sweat and hard work.  "Look what I have brought.  I worked so hard for You.  I did my best."  It was beautiful.  It was fragrant.  It was his.

    Abel brought what he was asked.  What hurt him.  He loved these little lambs.  His sacrifice was messy.  It was bloody.  It was hard.

    Cain brought crops.  Abel pictured the Cross.  And it made me think.

     What am  I bringing?  During the message, raising kids came to my mind.  Am I raising "crops" that will reflect my hard work and effort?  Am I working to make them good, and helpful, and nice so I can say "There's my hard work.  Look what I worked hard to raise."

    Or am I raising up the Cross?  Am I being a reflection of God's grace and mercy?  Am teaching and training, not so it is a testament to my effort, but so that it a testimony of God's love shining out?  Am I offering a picture of the Cross to those around me?

     So, maybe take a minute and ask yourself the same question I did: crops or the Cross?  And really stop to listen to God's answer.  He wants our sacrifices, but He wants them the right way.  Not our own efforts and struggle.  He wants our trust and rest in Him.  He wants to see the Cross, not our crops.  :)

Strength From the Storm

     Hey y'all!  It's almost the end of the month, so it was time to get back to the blog!  (I'm trying to keep my goal of one per month!  So far, so good!)  Plus, today came with some reflection time for me.

    Most of you know, eight years ago, all of my immediate family went through a tornado.  Or, to be more specific, a tornado went through us!  Ha!  If you want to read more about that, check out my post here.  We were amazingly protected and preserved through this major event.

     Today was also the volunteer appreciation picnic hosted by the pregnancy resource center I volunteer at.  I spent a couple of hours of fun and fellowship with some great friends I have met through this ministry opportunity.

    Well, the coincidence of these two events got me thinking.  Really, that storm marked more than a miraculous preservation of our lives.  It was a beginning of an overall shift in the focus and direction of our family.  Not long after that event, we went mostly full time in the work here at the school and church.  We said goodbye to the financially stable, full-time job and stay-at-home mom lifestyle and said hello to going to work together at the school every day and focusing our energies on growing and nurturing that ministry.

     You see, it became time to think, "Why are we here?"  God preserved us miraculously...He has a plan for our lives...are we living it?  Is there more we could be doing?  Turns out, the answer was "yes."  And since that time, we have seen even more evidence of God at work in our life.  Stepping out on faith was just easier when we had just been shown evidence of God's active work in our life!

    In the Bible study I've been attending the last couple of months, we've been studying the fruit of the Spirit.  This week's fruit was faith.  And one statement really stuck out at me.  The two enemies of faith are fear and familiarity.  And it was the second one of those that caught my attention the most.  How easy is it to become too "familiar" in our Christian walk?  We know the Bible, we may have grown up in church.  It's so easy to just make it our "culture."  To simply exist rather than be active.   Our faith cannot be really strengthened if it is never exercised.  So, sometimes, God needs to shake up your life to see if your faith is able.  Able to hold.  Able to believe.  Able to trust His plan even when we can't see what is good.

     So, my faith grew because of that storm.  I was able to trust that God would provide for our still-growing family even without a "real" job.  I was able to face with faith the next storm.  I was able to deal with relational challenges, personal sorrow, and the day to day busy-ness of our new life without thinking, "Why is this happening?  I can't do this any more."

    Because I knew why.  God had more for me to do, and to be able to do it, He needed me to grow up in faith.  To overcome that trap of familiarity.  So that when He whispered, "You need to do this for Me," I was able to believe and move forward.  When He said, "You could teach that class," I didn't say, "But I'm already doing so much...how can I do more?!"  I simply moved.  Because I knew how I could do it.  And it wasn't me.  It was Him.

    So, if you are just coming out of a "storm" in your life, it's a good time to think about what your faith level is.  Is God sending you through some "growing pains?"  Is He challenging your faith because He has even more planned for you?  It's a good possibility.  It may be that God is getting you ready for your next big adventure.  I promise you, it will be amazing, and you won't want to miss it!  :)