Joyfull Living

One of the biggest surprises since we began homeschooling has been how much I have learned!  I love reading history lessons now that I am older and want to understand the 'whys' and 'how's' instead of a bunch of facts, dates and names!  Another important lesson is that I can't effectively teach if I don't have good understanding myself.  Often I must review the lesson to refresh myself before I teach it to my son.   While raising our children, sometimes the day to day duties and needs to be met would be about all that I could handle.  As our two older boys  have grown and are now on the threshold of being on their own, I find myself wishing I had done a few things differently.  Maybe some more time training them, being deliberate in teaching and preparing them, things I should have said, or have not said, it could go on and on!!   A recent article I read shared some descriptions about children.   1 You have a child...

Other than 'joyful' one of the favorite words to describe my life would be 'settled'. Relaxed, content, at ease, slow paced are some of the characteristics I strive for. There is no constant desire to change radically, but new habits are embraced at times and made room for in the lifestyle.    As we approach our 24th anniversary next month, I'm reminded how we purchased our first home, which is the same home we have lived in the entire time!  Shortly after we moved in, some neighbors moved in.  They are also family being husband's cousin and her husband.  This arrangement worked out well for so many years as we had put down roots together, shared meals visits, raised children together, weathered sickness, troubles, trials, kept in constant contact and were always there for one another.   As life does, things change and my dear neighbors are living in another state right now.  I'm so proud of them for seeing an opportunity...

We often hear about the character trait " faithfulness".   Being faithful can be looked at in many big areas, such as marriage, finances, work, church ministry etc.  But, faithfulness in a Christian woman is a reflection of her faith in God that moves her to be faithful in all areas of her life - faith in action.   One of my favorite authors - Elizabeth George recently shared an interesting devotion of being a faithful woman.  It is too good not to share and keep close by! "In all areas of our lives, including family life and friendships we should be ready to embrace an active faith. So, how can we put faithfulness in action?   Let’s consider the actions of a faithful woman. She is a mom, wife, and friend, who walks faithfully with God and follows through on whatever she has to do, no matter what. She shows up for her family and others. She keeps her word. James 5:12 says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” So, we must keep our com...

Most every mom knows or can remember many a trip to the pediatricians office while the children were young.  The pediatrician we used was in the next town and about a 30 minute drive.   I remember the days of being a young mom with my first baby.  We went to the doctor for every sniffle, fever, rash, stomach trouble etc.  This ride to the doctor usually produced much anxiety within me as by nature I am a worrier.  "What will they say?", "How serious is this?" on and on my mind would churn on that drive.  Many a time a glance to the back seat to see the feverish child encouraged me to speed up to get there quickly.  How I hated that time driving to the doctor!   When the second child came along, I learned a little more about how tough children really are.  For a few months, that baby quickly went to the doctor for every ailment, until the process became a bit more complicated - chasing a toddler, tending to a crying...

Spring has arrived at my home!  I love this time of year where flowers bloom and thrive and my ‘sorta’ green thumb comes to life!  Here are a few things in bloom around here: White petunias:   I found an 18 pack of these on clearance a few months ago, brought them home, watered and fertilized them and they are gorgeous!   My little garden: Kale, onions, cabbage and broccoli more petunias: Fresh eggs dropped by from an aunt! I love this time of the year!! 

Spring is here in the south!  Warm weather, wildflowers, green trees bring a freshness and beauty to behold each day.  In the midst of all this beauty, some of our trees are looking a bit funny.  The brown leaves which died back in the fall are still partially hanging on the trees, along with the new green growth.  It makes the tree look both dead and alive!    Through the years, we've learned about these spring leaves at our home.  In certain oak trees, the leaves die back and hang in the tree through the winter.  Winds, rain or cold can't shake them out.  But, when spring arrives and the new growth comes, it forces the old leaves to fall to the ground and allows the new growth to take over.  Many a spring day at our home finds us raking up these leaves!!   In our lives, sometimes we have some habits that seem to be hard to shake.  Like those dead leaves, they seem to hang on and on.  Like the harsh wint...

Humility.   The word is lovely, but it tends to bring up images that falsify true humility.  Humility doesn't mean dressing plain or ugly, being a doormat, letting others boss you around or feeling worthless.  Humilty is much more than that.  It's basis is thinking rightly about who you are in relation to God.  It is right, realistic thinking.   It is knowing your real strengths your true weaknesses your genuine talents your real worth Humility is a balance between the opposing and extreme ends of boastful pride and false humility.  When our eyes are on ourselves and whether we think we are better or worse than others, it is pride.  When our eyes are on God, we can't help but be humble.  Here are a few points from a recent Sunday School lesson which brought out some great points about humility. 1.  A humble person has the right perspective about who they are in relation to God.  God is God - w...