A-typical Day in the Life

There aren't "typical" days around here.  They are all unique unto themselves.... though there are typical Tuesdays or typical Wednesdays, etc.  Due to our outside activities, each day is different... HOWEVER, I do try to keep our morning routine as best as possible.

It is supposed  to go like this....

• Wake up and quite time for mom... (0600 every day baby!) LOTS OF COFFEE!!! Sweet time with the Lord and planning out the day happen at this time... I also check email, FB, and other stuff.
• Wake Hubby and kids (0700ish)  Sigh.... wish the quiet time would last all day!
• Every day it is my HOPE that in 1 hour they will be dressed have finished chores and finished breakfast...I cook while they clean (or Hubby does the cooking sometimes!) We rarely make it in 1 hour!
• Then we start school with our gratitude journals, hymn study, Bible, and Scripture memory.  This usually takes about an hour, but I don't limit it...ok... I do clock watch, always hoping to be done with school as early as possible!
• Then we split and Bean Boy goes onto his independent studies while I work with the girls. ***Survival mode so far has meant a focus on Bible, math, reading.  And I try to finish those by lunch (1200). I used to do nature study, composer study, art, etc.... maybe one day.... sigh
• After lunch I try to work with Bean Boy on things that he needs a "grown-up" for...  Some days though he gets left behind because Mom just needs a nap... I'm working on this!!!  This is also when we do our science lessons. 
• Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons are our gymnastics days... Monday afternoons we go to the chiropractor.  Thursday is the only I don't have to leave the house, but we usually do end up out somehow or other...  

The last couple of weeks we've done a good job reading in our Apologia Science book, and I even got creative and found a documentary on Netflix that we are really enjoying...one part at a time.  We watched that one night before bed with Hubby.

We are going to take a break for at least 2 weeks.  I plan to plan!  I'm really hoping to ramp up our history and get better at doing some of the activities SOTW recommends, since we seem to have gotten the rest under control. I hope to add in some of the readers too.  It is hard for me to do all of those extras.... being a Type A and wanting things to be just right, put in their place, and already dealing with so much out of place (refer to School Room- The Ugly Truth), knowing the activities require messes and "things" to be pulled out, and then knowing that it will take TIME.... oh well, do you get the picture?  I tend to find it more stressful than enjoyable.  I know my kids don't though, and that the memories of both the fun times and the lessons learned will be worth it.  This is one of the areas I refer to when talking about self-sacrifice...I'd much rather be a textbook/workbook mom, but that's just not who we are as a family and I believe my kids would hate it...except maybe one.  I wonder if I could have a little fairy come along and pick up after us so we can move right on to the next activity!!!

Every so often, we take planned breaks from school. During this time I re-evaluate what is working, what isn't, and try to gear up for the next go round, fixing what's not working along the way.  Every so often, we have unplanned breaks from school.  Someone gets sick (though unless puking, I tend to make them do some school work so our days off are fun days!), someone outside of our home needs help, or last minute plans come up with family or friends... I'm flexible.  Every so often, we take mental health days for mom's sake!  Every so often, you can find me hiding in my room with the door closed...the kids are so good at hide and seek though...it never lasts long enough! ;)

*Of course, all of this is altered any time I have to work during the week or on a Sunday night!  But, we're flexible! And, I'm ever so grateful for the opportunity to be with my amazing chilies!

I'm really looking forward to reading what others are doing and gleaning some insight through this bloghop

Weekly Wrap-Up: Standing Strong

So last week was simply fantastic while I seemed to do amazing with very, very little sleep... but this week. Well, I seem to be paying for my lack of sleep! I worked 3 in a row this weekend. And, I'll be working Thurs/Fri/Sat this week... one of those being an overtime day. Monday we had Grommy here while I got about 2.5 hours sleep. My poor kids... I woke up asked my son to make PB&Js for them, texted Hubby that mommy wasn't going to make it, and went back to bed! If I remember correctly, Hubby tried several times to wake me. He was finally successful around 5:00ish, and we made it to our chiropractor just in time. We came home, and I was back in bed by 8:00...unfortunately 6 hours in bed is all my body can stay in bed at a time. I was up for a couple of hours, down again, and up by 0700... It is Wednesday night as I sit here and write this... I'm still not recovered! Geesh! And I'm back at it tomorrow! Being as I hadn't recovered, I loaded the kids up and we went to visit my grandparents. We rarely go out to seem them. It's hard to take 3 kids, but we had a great time. The girls showed off one gymnastic move after another, I took my SD card and we looked at pictures on the computer... had my camera, but didn't take any pics! :( Then we came home and had a nap! :) Baby T started her 2 hour gymnastics class this week. This was one of the highlights of the week. It really was a terrible class all together, but I received a huge blessing. Her Tuesday teacher subbed in her Wednesday class. Most of the girls in this class are also in her Tuesday class, so they know each other really well and the teacher too. And boy did they really take advantage of it! They were incredibly wild. All of the kids were jumping on equipment they were supposed, they weren't listening, they were looking, they were doing a poor job at their gymnastics... all of them... except Baby T! She was focused, obedient, pleasant, and completely following directions! We talked about it afterwards, and I asked her if it was hard to be the only one not goofing around... she said yes. I commended her, and told her that this was a time Jesus was shining through her! I know she finds it frustrating, and feels like it takes away from her time in there, but she handles herself like a 50 year old instead of a 5 year old. She inspires me! So- I may not have time to add anything to this wrap-up... there was school done. I figured out we have 1 more week until the 9 weeks is over, and I'm taking a 1-3 week break...I'll get to the school room then (hehe)... Hubby figured out our hymn because all the kids and myself are walking around singing it! (isn't that great?) There are 3 days of work to come. BUT, the highlight is definitely Baby T standing strong and doing what is right, even when it is hard. I hope one day I can be like her!


 Linking with Kris, yet again!
 

Gratitude Guardian

God has really been calling out to my heart. I've had such a struggle lately with contentment. I've struggled as I've mentioned before with contentment in many areas of my life. But, as I read through Scriptures, it is clear, painfully clear, this is not the mark of a believer. This is part of why I have started our Thankfulness Journey/Journal. It is a start, not the answer to my problem, just a start. 

I listened to another sermon by John Piper.  It was another sermon about gratitude.  I absolutely love the picture he painted, about a city under siege and surrounded by the enemy.  I am that city.  The enemy is constantly throwing temptations, distractions, blocking my concentration and my thoughts. I'm surrounded every where I turn around!  But Piper says that there is a song I can learn that makes the enemy fall back, one the enemy hates!  If I could just stop being distracted long enough to learn the words and to remember to sing the song of thankfulness...of gratitude!  It is a guard against the enemy and I could walk right through enemy lines, untouched, unscathed, without scar!   That excites my heart. 

But, I have doubts.  I'm so forgetful.  I'm still so ruled by my emotions and feelings.  I forget to thank God... even for the big things!  How can I remember to thank Him for all things and in all things?  I do feel as if I will never be intentional enough, at least not in this lifetime!  But, that doesn't mean that I have to give up.  I can continue to put effort into remembering. I can continue to try and plan to be intentional.  One day, the Holy Spirit will make my heart one that is abundant and even overflowing with thanksgiving. 

I sat the kids down today and shared the verses from Colossians 2:1-8, that John Piper's sermon covered.  I told them how he said thanksgiving is a guard for our hearts.  I then showed them how in Proverbs God said that Above all else.... I mean, it must be really important if He says above all else.... He says, Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23).  And here, Piper has helped me to unlock one of the keys to guarding my heart with all vigilance, as the ESV states:  Thanksgiving and gratitude.  Then I showed the kids, excitedly, as God was speaking to me, that in Phillipians we are given another key....

Do not be anxious in anything, but by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus... (Phillipians 4:6-7)

This is the second tool God gives us to help us guard our hearts... pray and petition with thanksgiving (there is is again!) lead God to give us peace which protects... It guards our hearts and minds the verses say!  How awesome is that?  God Himself will give us what we need to guard our hearts!  I'm so excited to learn this....

Paul tells the Colossians that they will be guarded from plausible arguments, empty deceit,  human tradition, etc. Piper warns that the opposite of thanksgiving which is grumbling, complaining, snide remarks, sarcasm, etc. leads to just that...it is a subtle, yet effective, way for the enemy to pry us away from our song. 

I feel it!  The city of me is crumbling.  I look back to my life that is void of that song and I cringe to think how effectively the Enemy has pulled me away from the Love of my life!  How dare he!  Just this weekend my mouth was full of complaining and my heart downcast over the silliest thing.  At work, my unit has moved to a brand spanking new floor!  It's beautiful.  Everything is NEW! I got to tell each patient that they were the first one to ever sleep in this room and in this bed.  Now you would think that I would be excited, happy, and grateful.... nope!  I spent the entire time complaining about how this affected me!  How much longer and farther we had to walk, how our team is separated by having a desk in the front and back, and how much I disliked it.  This led to complaining about other employees, and well, it's all downhill from there! 

So, as my journey of thankfulness continues, I will purpose to stop complaining first!  Then I will purpose to continue recording what I am thankful for in my journal.  I have other "projects" in the works that I will write about later.  But for now, know that I am attempting to be intentionally thankful... with hopes that soon my mouth will abound with thankfulness and that my song will effortlessly, vibrantly flow from my lips and heart so that the enemy will have no choice but to fall back.

Linking with Darlene at Time-Warp Wife

Spilled Praise

At the suggestion of a friend, I listened to an incredible sermon by John Piper.   It was a sermon based on Psalm 145:4.  You can read it or listen to it here.  The verse is a simple command; One generation shall proclaim your works to another and declare your mighty acts.  Piper does an excellent job of explaining our responsibility as the "one generation".  He then delves into how we need to be infatuated with the Kingdom of God in order to be effective.  In other words, we aren't just teaching our children history, or even just HisStory. We are to model a burning, ravenous, all-consuming love for the Kingdom of God.  Our hearts should be so filled with the treasure of God himself, that it overflows out through our mouths (Luke 6:45). 

Piper had an amazing phrase that made my heart quicken... Spill over in praise to the next generation.... Words that God has had on my heart for some time (just not worded as well as Piper did!)! It goes hand in hand with the Deuteronomy mandate... I've been purposefully looking for ways to share with the kids God's goodness, specifically His goodness to me and our family. Ways to make God "real" and personal, not just a list of stories and facts...

Just this morning I was telling God how my head is usually swimming with thoughts....This is what I wrote in my prayer journal this morning:

Oh how slow I am to learn Lord!  I feel as if I have one of those brains that can't think beyond what is in front of me, which often means I'm not thinking about you!  How many opportunities have I missed to thank you, praise you, talk to you, ask you for help, meditate on your Word, (share you with others-namely my kids), etc.?  But Lord, how can I change this, especially so that my kids can see my good example more than my bad!  How can I "think" about you more so that my love for you flows out of the over-abundance of my heart and others may see it? Teach me.  Guide me.  Show me and help me! My head swims with thoughts of what needs to be done at home, in school, and work...the how to's and what to's and need to's of my life.  But, I want it to be swimming with the things you have told me, how great you are, and what is lovely, pure, and noble, etc....

I admit, I'm not as infatuated as I could/should be and that my other thoughts so often push thoughts of Him out. It is an area He and I have been working on.  So, with God's help, I will continue on my journey of thankfulness.  I'll continue to put good, namely God's Word, into my heart so that it becomes the treasure of my heart, and from the abundance of my heart, my mouth will speak.  (Luke 6:45).  I will rely on the Holy Spirit to continually renew my mind, to shift my focus, and to guide my heart.  I will continue to be purposefully looking for opportunities to share what He personally means to me, has done for me, has given me, and spoken to me, and loved me, and been good to me, and faithful to me, and how is is just absolutely wonderful and worth more than all I could ever give with my babies, and others.  I will do this as often as I can remember, and pray that God will continue to remind me more and more often.  I want my kids to see my love for Him and have no doubt that He is worth it!

 

Stiff-necked

Sometimes it's really hard to explain just how in the world discipline can be a good thing!  But sometimes, God gives you insight that is just incredible... (or, in my case, He gives it to my hubby!)  The last several weeks have been a time of high intensity discipline for my son.  The results, as God has promised, have been good... and, it should be noted that their was high intensity love and compassion to go along with the discipline... At the height of the conflict, or maybe right at the breaking point, Hubby and my son had an interesting discussion.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace. Hebrews 12:11

First I should explain that for just under a year, I have been seeing a chiropractor.  I started at 3 times a week, and have backed down to 2 (most weeks).  We have "therapy" first where the muscles are loosened so that when Dr. Burke adjusts us, everything moves more readily back into alignment.  At first, Bean Boy, Baby T and I were the only patients.  Recently my husband and Little Bit have begun going as well. Hubby was very amused to sit back and watch.  He would giggle, ask a million questions (we wonder where Bean Boy gets this) and just really be an active observer.  But, when it came to be his turn...well, it was my turn to sit back and giggle!  He really does not like to be adjusted.  He complains, stiffens up, and later says things I can't repeat!  It is so funny!  Laying completely still makes him feel completely vulnerable.  Because he won't relax and lay still, the effectiveness of the therapy is lessened. He also won't go as often as recommended.  It makes Dr. Burke's job harder and it makes it take longer, with more repetition in order to achieve release and properly align the spine, and a longer course of therapy in general due to his less frequent visits.  Once he is properly aligned, he will agree that he can feel improvements, and apparently, they are good enough to keep going back for more.   

Back to the discussion at hand.... Hubby was able to use the analogy of the chiropractor to show how discipline is good.  He pointed out how Bean Boy has made far greater improvements than Hubby as far as his alignments go.  But, Bean Boy has been far more faithful to go, to do therapy at home, and to cooperate while there at the chiropractor.  Bean Boy has been far more willing to be vulnerable to Dr. Burke and to trust her with the work she does than Hubby has.  He just gets right up there on the table and lets her do her thing.  Hubby then explained that when we are "stiff-necked" and stubborn before authority, whether it be parents, a boss, or God, we are much like Hubby is at Dr. Burke's.  If we do not submit, allow ourselves to be vulnerable, and trust, we cannot see progress in our hearts.  However, when we trust our authority, submit and allow ourselves to be vulnerable, God is able to adjust our hearts, and it won't take as long, or be as painful. The only thing I have to add to this analogy, is that the therapy that keeps us "loose" and ready to be "aligned", is meditating on God's Word.  If we "hide His Word in our hearts"....we might not "sin against Him." Psalm 119:11 (my paraphrase). 

I'm afraid that sometimes, this analogy isn't just applicable to my son.... sometimes I resist God's therapy. I resist God's discipline in my life.  I won't trust Him. When I find myself under some sort of discipline, I find it especially difficult to submit, and am more likely to rebel.  I want to argue and stiffen up, and go before Him less and less.  Isn't that just like us?

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of His reproof, for the Lord reproves those He loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.  Proverbs 3:11-12

Hubby and I will fail Bean Boy.  We won't discipline perfectly. We will make mistakes.  Not intentionally of course, but obviously, we don't have all the answers, can't see every situation perfectly, and can't truly judge his heart.  But our Heavenly Father has none of the limitations Hubby and I have.  He can see every situation and all sides of it.  He won't make mistakes and He does have all the answers.  His discipline for us is perfectly selected to adjust our hearts back into alignment with His will.  Isn't He good?