Can You Thank Me?

I am reading an amazing book called Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  It was recommended by a sweet friend and I have since texted several people a picture of it and said you need to get this book now!

So I am saying, all my friends- you need to get this book right now!

We find ourselves in a crazy time in history.  No doubt, Corona Virus is not as life-altering as some of th- things our ancestors have gone through, but for sure it is life altering in many ways.  Life as we know it is different.

Grocery shopping takes more thought and effort.

Prioritizing errands and "essential" activities takes more time.

Schools are adjusting or canceling classes.

If you wear a mask people think you are silly.

If you don't wear a mask people think you are selfish.

Opinions on how you can get the virus change everyday.

Businesses are closing their doors.

Hospitals are maxed out and so are healthcare workers.

Depression and suicides are on the rise.

Some everyday grocery and health items are hard to find.

Travel is limited and vacations are cancelled.

There doesn't seem to be much to smile and be grateful for.

But...

Early on I saw a meme that said something to the effect of "when things get back to normal, let it be a better normal."

AMEN!

One of the things DeMoss reiterates in her book is that it is much easier to be grateful when things are all good or going our way.

The challenge is to be grateful when things are not going our way.  When things are hard.  When we don't understand.

Anyone else there?

The Word says to "...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ' (Eph. 5:20)

For EVERYTHING

When we are grateful we feel compelled to say thank you!

God is saying "Can you thank me?"

Even when it is hard? Or hard to understand?  Even in fear?  Or sadness?  Or in the middle of a pandemic?

How can you thank the Lord today?  What are you grateful for?

For health.

Healthcare workers

Scientists

Hospitals

Friends

Family

Food on your table

A bed to sleep in

Birds

Flowers

Sun

Rain

Delivery services and mailmen

Books

Games

A cool breeze

The sunrise and sunset

Teachers,Vets, Mechanics

Amazon ;)

I know my list could go on and on.  And it should!

My challenge to myself is to go to bed each night saying,

"What am I learning through this trial?"

and

"Yes, God, I can thank you!"

Join me and be blessed!

A Letter A Day Challenge

Okay, I know we are now week two into social distancing so I am a little late to the game in this post, but I figured we all needed a week to just be still and figure out what our new normal looks like for a while.  I pray you have had some sweet time of rest with your family and that you are all staying healthy!  As we have said before, let us know how we can pray for you!

For this coming week though, I decided to get creative for you.  I know being at home all day is hard for some and when it is not your norm, you can struggle to figure out what your day should look like.  Instead of fretting, I encourage you to take a deep breath, re-evaluate, have some fun, and BLESS OTHERS!

So blessing others is what we are going to concentrate on this week and we hope you will join us!

Our first challenge- A Letter a Day!

Since we cannot be around so many that we love, we are going to commit to writing a letter a day to someone, to hopefully brighten THEIR day!  Yes, that is one letter per person living in this house, and yes, snail mail!

We want a letter to show up in someone's mailbox, but if stamps are in shortage at your house right now, email! Now that we have extra time on our hands is the perfect time to reconnect!

Who's joining us?  Make your list of five people to bless this week, grab a pen, and get started!

A Letter a Day!  Ready, set, go!

Blessings,

A Month of Thankfulness

I do not want too much time in this month to go by before I mention thankfulness.

It is after all, the month to spotlight that theme, right?  While I fully believe that we should teach our children (and ourselves) the many lessons of thankfulness, I must admit that it often gets buried beneath the piles of schoolwork and laundry if I am not careful.  Therefore- I am thankful for a month to highlight THANKFULNESS!

Here's how we are doing it!

Thankful mirror!- Each day we will decide as a family one thing we are thankful for, write it on a construction paper leaf and post it on our big mirror in our living room for all to see.  Yes, you can make a tree or put them on your door or what ever location you choose, just make sure you put it where all can see!

Read scripture!- Do you know how many scriptures there are that talk of thankfulness?  What a great theme to use as memories verses for the month of November! Here are just a few, but there are so many more you can find!

• Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18)
•  So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col. 2:6-7)
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16)
• Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (1 Chron. 16:34)
• I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High. (Psalm 7:17)
• I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. (Psalm 86:12)
• Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (Psalm 100:4)

Study the first Thanksgiving!- Whether you read a book, google the info, or use a specific unit study, November is a great time to read about the very first Thanksgiving and remember how thankful we should be to the brave souls of the past who came to this country and paved a way for us!

Write notes of thanks!- Let's face it, snail mail and beautiful letter writing is almost a thing of old.  Sad, but true.  This month we are writing a note of thanks to someone in our lives each week to thank them for who they are.

What about you?  What are some ways you are showing Thankfulness this month?

Blessings,

Blessings...

Blessings in Waiting

Did you know that the word wait is repeated in the Bible 88 times (ESV)?  And that does not include any variations like waiting or waited. That's a lot!

It is also a word I do not particularly like a lot.  Does anyone?

I mean really, when someone tells us yes, great!  When they tell us no, well, at least we have an answer.

But, wait?  It is so ambiguous.  It requires much more action on our part.  Or inaction even.

Either way, as my kiddos used to say when they were little, "No thank you!"

It is one thing to say "no thank you" to a parent.  It is a another thing to say "no thank you" to God!

I think the thing I have to tell myself, repeatedly it seems these days, is that "wait" from God can be a blessing.  Or, at the very least, you can find blessing in the "wait."  Guys, sometimes I really need to find a blessing!

Let me tell you a quick story.  Grab a cup of tea and some chocolate.  Lots of chocolate!

We got the adoption referral for Colby Jose when he was four months old.  We brought him home when he was 21 months old.  For those not so fast at math like me, that was a 17 month WAIT!  I always tell people, I could have almost birthed TWO kids in that time.

If you are a visual type of person, here is what that looks like.

This is the first picture we saw of him.

This is what he looked like when we were finally able to board that airplane from Guatemala to the states.

That is a BIG WAIT! Colby said, "Wow, I grew!"

It was no fun, and hard, and heart breaking at times.  But there were blessings in our time of waiting.  Many!

For example, near the last few months of our wait, things had gotten pretty rough.  We thought we had lost Colby a few times when Guatemala shut its doors to international adoption, we stopped getting updates for a few months, and then we moved, leaving behind a group of some of our biggest cheerleaders and prayer warriors.  It was a lonely, and scary time.  Somewhere during that time flowers showed up at our door from a friend with a note of encouragement.  It made my day!  The following week flowers showed up again, this time from another friend.  By the time the third week of flowers showing up, I knew something was up.  Y'all, it continued to happen until that boy of ours came home.  Some cards were signed, some contained scripture, some just a few sweet words, but every week it was like a ray of hope in the darkness and just a reassurance that we were not alone!  A friend had rallied the troops to surround us with love!

It. Was. Amazing!

And to this day I am still in awe at how God used a sweet friend to bless us beyond measure in the waiting.

I will admit I do not prefer it when God says wait.  It is against my nature to wait.  Yes, waiting is hard.

Whether you are waiting for that child you long for.

Or for the perfect job.

Or for the spouse of your dreams.

Or for that degree you want to have.

Or whatever desire God has placed on your heart.

But know this, if you look hard enough, and with an open mind and an open heart, you WILL see the blessings in waiting.

They might not all be tangible blessings, but if God has said wait- there will be blessings that await you.  Look for them.  He has a better path and a better plan, even when we cannot see it at the time.

And praise the Lord, He will often use His people to bless us during that time.

I am thankful for those people in our lives- past, present and future!

Blessings,


Linking up with Caroline at The Modest Mom!

Beyond Blessings

With our official homeschooling year coming to an end soon, I once again find myself thinking back on our year.  What the kids have learned, yes, but more importantly, what I have learned.  Each year as we pray about decisions for our upcoming school year, I like to evaluate what we have done as well as WHY we have done it.

Each year it seems to come down to one main things-

The Blessings!

Our time spent together.  I know some people talk about how they can't wait to send their children off, but really, I love having mine around.  No, that does not mean every minute of our day is fun or easy, but it does mean at the end of each day I am thankful for the time I have with them.

Sibling Bonding.  My kids are close.  And there is no doubt in my mind it is because they spend so much time together. Through the years they have learned a lot about conflict management as well as how to love others even when they seem un-lovable.  They know each other well and they love each other despite that knowledge. ;)

Freedom of Religion.  God is welcome in our school at any time.  I love that we can do math one minute and read the Bible the next. Or Bible in math. I love that we can stop and read the Bible when we need some time in the Word.

Opportunities to serve.  Since we are not tied to someone else's calendar we are free to drop what we are doing to help others.  I pray we are teaching our kids to serve others by cooking meals, visiting friends, and doing life with those whom we love.

Travel!  While many people have to follow a school calendar, we follow dad's calendar.  When he is off oftentimes we are off as well, and where he goes we go.  Lucky him!

Well rounded children.  Yes, people still ask me if my kids are socialized.  Yes, I assure you they are.  Not to 20 like-minded kids their own ages however, but a wide variety of people of different ages, cultures, race, and religions.  They know how to carry on a conversation,  how to speak politely to others, and manage not to embarrass us too often. ;)

Specialized Academics- I love choosing curriculum each year.  There are so many things to choose from and so many good choices.  What is even better is that I choose according to each child.  What are their interests?  What are their learning styles?  I make decisions based on the individual, not a state checklist.

I could go on and on, but you get the point.

Blessings!

Beyond blessings!  Gifts from a God who make this path for us a reality!

Wanna read about more blessings from homeschooling moms?  Click on the banner to get started!

Your BIGGEST blessing- 52 weeks of family scripture memorization

A conversation with my youngest took the funniest turn this week.  First he wanted to know why I, and not dad, did everything.  Easy mistake to make.  After all, he spends his day with me, watching me cook, clean, teach and on and on.  So we had a big talk about what dad does.  How he goes to work to provide for us so mommy can stay home.  How he blesses us by earning money to provide for us, and all the other things he does.

Then we also talked about how our Heavenly father blesses us.  Everyday in every way.  It was fun to hear him list his blessings.

But look at this...our verse for this week, because I failed to remind him of what our greatest blessing is.

Salvation.

Yes, God blesses us with many things.  But, salvation, well, who needs anything more?
This week, let's teach our kids about the blessing of salvation!

Blessings,

Also linked up to Wake Me Up Wednesday linky at She Can Talk!

Together Again!

Well, if you know me, you just had to know that I could not go through this week without posting pictures of our family time!  You see, our college girl has been home for the week and we took the week off school here to just spend time together.  Family time!

Could there be anything better than being together again?

The house is full of noise and laughter!

The house is full of music!!

The house is full of sisters!

The house is full of game time!

The house is full of  snuggling! (yes, she let them get in bed with her!)

The house is full of baking!

The house is full of sewing! (this is a long story- They will have to explain it sometime!)

The house is full of creating blogs! (watch out friends!)

My heart is full!

We are together again!

Blessings,

Home four years. Happy Home Day, CJ!

Happy Home Day, Son!

Yes, it has been four years since our sweet boy joined our family.  Four years since we traveled from Guatemala and landed in Houston with a new US citizen, and then on to Wyoming.

For those who don't know our story, here is a short version.  I wanted to adopt for years.  Longed for it really.  My husband did not.  Yep, no longing.  So for years I would bring it up occasionally, show him a few pictures of the beautiful orphans waiting for families, and he would reply, "if God wants us to adopt he will have to sky write for me."

A few months would go by, OK, maybe a few weeks, and I would bring it up again.  Him- same answer, waiting for the sky writing.

It went that way for years.

Then, God did a little sky writing.  He can use anything, right?  This time he used the military and sent my husband to Africa for 7 months unexpectedly.

And a few weeks into that adventure my sweet, wonderful, loving husband called and asked if I still wanted to adopt.  Ummm, YES!

If you asked him what changed, he can't really seem to  say, but obviously God changed his heart.

Fast forward many months and this is the referral we got...

3 days old

 

4 months old at referral

How could you not just fall in love with that sweet baby?!

God's timing is always best, but I will tell you that after waiting for years to get a yes from my hubby, waiting another 17 months to bring our son home was hard.  Very hard.  Extremely hard.

But he did come home...four years ago today.  And we were blessed beyond measure.

This kid brings me laughter.
And love.
And the sweetest kisses.
And sometimes challenges beyond belief.  ;)

But mostly he brings me the reminder that God is faithful, that He loves us, that He wants the best for us and that He loves the orphans of this world.

So do we.  We are called to.

James 1:27- Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress..."