Word-Filled Wednesday: Kicking Up Gold Dust

Quote-Filled Tuesday: Marks of a Godly Woman

“One of the marks of a godly woman is that she takes responsibility for her soul's need for joy and delight. A woman is a conductor, who leads the orchestra of her surroundings in the songs and music of her life. God is a God of creativity and dimension, and so He is pleased when we we co-create beauty in our own realm, through the power of His Spirit.

It was a profound realization when I understood that I could become an artist with my very life.”
― Sally Clarkson, Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe

Joy Dare - June 22nd

3 Gifts that are Difficult:

1- Learning to glory in my infirmities

2- Learning that weakness = strength. Laying down pride and measuring human ability against what it is.

3-  Finding the blessing in the persecution.

Joy Dare - June 21st

3 Gifts Found in Light:

1- The sun, which causes life to prosper.

2- Growth.

3- Encouragement.

Soul-Food Sunday: Broken Hallelujahs

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." ~ Hebrews 13:15



"One of those days." 

Have you ever had one?

You know, one where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong?

The kids are screaming and fighting. Work schedules don't work out. Babies are crying and simply needing mommy. Constantly. Appliances are breaking. Pipes are leaking. The repair man was rude. You drop your phone in the toilet and it fries. The land line is down again...

And then you stub your toe. 

And it's like all the overwhelmingness of the day, the week, the month just wash over you all at once and threaten to drown you. The waves come out in the form of hot, scalding tears. Almost as raw as your throat and your shame from yelling at the kids who really just want to know that they're loved anyway. 

And your left thinking, in your pool of tears holding that baby who still won't nap while her twin sister cries from the confines of the crib, again, because she doesn't like being alone...

Thinking... who could possibly love me like this? Who could possibly look at me, this fuming, shamed, mess that I am and think "I love her, mess and all?" All that I've done... the yelling, the frustrated words and responses, the ultimatums when there should have been hugs and "redos" and all... who could love this? 

And more importantly, why would they want to?

In the midst of all the chaos, all the discouragement and self-loathing... that is where we find it.

A passion so powerful that it makes our shortcomings and misgivings seem just as trivial as they actually are, in the grand scheme of things anyway. 

This is all temporary. It's all going to burn up one day anyway. The bad days, the frustration, the imperfection, it's all going to be discarded one glorious day like so many filthy rags that our works will prove to be. 

But grace, grace is eternal. Grace trumps scorn and self loathing every time. God's grace was planned before it was exercised and purposed before it was imparted. 

This is what makes sacrifice so exceptional, and what makes a sacrifice of praise possible. In the middle of every hurricane is an eye, and in the hurricane of this life Christ is our eye, and in the grace found in the ever reaching arms of Christ we can rest in the knowledge and faith that this too shall pass, just as everything passeth, and still praise as the storms rage around us, tearing apart everything that we've ever held dear. 

We can praise Him, knowing that even though all things may pass away, slipping so hopelessly from our outstretched arms as we look on helplessly with red-rimmed, exhausted eyes, but Christ will always remain...

And Christ is enough. 

He specializes in miracles, because miracles are the artwork testimony to His goodness, grace, and presence in this wayward and prodigal world. Beauty from the ashes can only be unveiled when everything else around us has burned away in a spiritually and emotionally agonizing trial by fire. 

Faith tells us that every. single. moment. of our trials can work a purpose in our lives. 

Grace carries us through when it all gets too overwhelming, because it will get overwhelming, and it WILL be too much to bear. We were not meant to bear it all, but to rest in God's grace and let Christ bear it all, because He is the only One capable of bearing it. The Master of all humbled Himself to bear our sin, and it is He who is able to bear our troubles as well. Nothing is stronger than He who created all. 

In the sacrifice of praise is where our broken hallelujahs reside, so precious in the eyes of our Lord. Expressions of a faithful soul who simply has been trying to bear it on her own shoulders for too long. A heart reaching out for Christ, even in the midst of her shame, regret, and self-hatred. A child seeking the refuge of the One who has arms enough to reach down and hold her, no matter the physical divide. 

We are reminded that our hardships and failures do make us, but they do not define us. Not anymore.

Then hope is born, 

Out of faith,

Because of grace,

And we find the strength to get up, wash our face, fix our hair, take a breath, and get through one more.

Because... grace. 

"Broken Hallelujah"

I can barely stand right now.
Everything is crashing down,
And I wonder where You are.

I try to find the words to pray.
I don't always know what to say,
But You're the one that can hear my heart.

Even though I don't know what your plan is,
I know You're making beauty from these ashes.

I've seen joy and I've seen pain.
On my knees, I call Your name.
Here's my broken hallelujah.

With nothing left to hold onto,
I raise these empty hands to You.
Here's my broken hallelujah.

You know the things that have brought me here.
You know the story of every tear.
‘Cause You've been here from the very start.

Even though I don't know what your plan is,
I know You're making beauty from these ashes.

I've seen joy and I've seen pain.
On my knees, I call Your name.
Here's my broken hallelujah.

With nothing left to hold onto,
I raise these empty hands to You.
Here's my broken hallelujah.

When all is taken away, don't let my heart be changed.
Let me always sing Hallelujah
When I feel afraid, don't let my hope be erased
Let me always sing Hallelujah.
Let me always sing Hallelujah.

I will always sing
I will always sing
Here's my broken hallelujah."

Soul-Food Sunday - To Love

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Joy Dare - June 14th

A Gift...

Unexpected: Our twins!

Unwanted: Trials and testing of faith when everything seems to go wrong and you can't seem to get a leg up for being knocked back down again.

Unlikely: Compliments from strangers on days when I feel like everything is falling apart, that remind me that it's not so bad, and the battlefield of the mind is a trying one. We're our own worst enemy sometimes.

Joy Dare - June 13th

3 Gifts Smelled:

1- The sweet Ivory Soap like scent of my newborns.

2- My autumn/cinnamon scented wax melts in the wax warmer I got for mother's day.

3- The musty, humid scent of summer outside.

Joy Dare - June 11th

3 Gifts Painted:

1- The eastern sky after the evening rain

2- The long shadows of the Autumn sunset

3- Even humanity reflects His handiwork

Homeschool Thursday: A Well-Rounded Education

Let me kick off my Homeschool Thursday series with a bit about my homeschooling "method" or "type."

I don't have one.

I have nothing against different methods or types, it's just that I don't necessarily wholly subscribe to or carry the cross for any one in particular. All methods have pros, and they also all have cons. They can all be used very efficiently in many different situations. That's the glory of homeschooling: we can use whatever means, method, or curriculum necessary to give our individual children individual education tailored to their specific strengths, weaknesses, interests, and needs.

I am a supporter of a well-rounded education for all children. This means that I don't personally believe that adhering to only one specific schooling method or type will give a child the best education. I don't believe that any one method alone can challenge a child or inspire him to rise to his best effort, and then surpass it. At best, streamlining home education via the ropes of a single method does a child a great disservice. Personally, I believe that only utilizing one homeschool method in education is no better than what public schools have to offer, and that the best way to have a well-rounded child with a well-rounded intellect and well-rounded education is to use a myriad of methods, techniques, curricula, and resources that all work toward the common goal. Draw the good out of each method, technique, or resource, utilize it well, and discard the extras.

For example, I love Montessori's approach to early childhood education. I reference her materials and techniques a lot in my preschool and kindergarten routines. She respects the child at a level that not many other 'experts' do, and she regards children as capable and more intelligent than society realizes. However, I do not agree with her in regards to elevating the child to the status of a god in that he is primarily good and must be taught bad behavior through modeling or through neglect [I believe that children are human first, and by nature are inherently selfish and self-absorbed, good must be taught. I also believe, however, that the desire lies within each child to please the ones they love. This makes early education at home easier.], and I do not believe that a child imitating another child is a sign of an inferior intellect. Children learn by repetition, by imitation. A child imitating another child is part of the natural process of learning, not a sign of a lesser intellect.

I also love the Waldorf approach to early education. There isn't much I expressly disagree with, other than the fact that you don't need waldorf specific tools to utilize the method, much to the chagrin of those expensive private schools and their tight-knit recommendations.

I utilize many box-curriculums with the understanding that the box is only meant to be a foundation that the rest of the education is built on. Reading is not limited to the box reading curriculum. Measures of knowledge are not limited to workbook answers and test results. However, the box curriculum can be a great tool for children who thrive on more structure and/or for parents who are not natural teachers, such as myself.

The idea of unschooling or "natural learning" has many great concepts, most of which are common sense. A child learns better in a low-stress, high-interest environment. Tools for self guided learning should be readily available at all times. A child should be able to learn at their own pace. However, my criticism of this method in particular is the idea that a child will learn something when it interests them and until them, we should not push them to learn it. I do think that it is our job to guide them through their education, so that by the time they reach 18 they will be well-rounded and prepared for whatever path they may choose. In college they aren't going to get professors who say "Here's the syllabus, do whatever you feel like doing," or employers who say "Do whatever you feel like to contribute to the workforce." No, there will be specific jobs, and specific expectations, and deadlines. Who really ever wants to learn algebra, or clean toilets anyway? Yet both are essential for a well-rounded education. It can also quickly turn lazy. Many well-meaning parents have launched the unschooling ship only to find that, at 10 years old their child cannot read simple three letter words because even though they dutifully read to their children, they never pushed learning to read or decipher and their child never got interested. Again, in my opinion, the basis of unschooling should be the basis for all education: low-stress, high-interest environment. However, this is probably the most slippery slope when it comes to the downfalls of using only one method in home education.

I am also a supporter of family-integrated education. Meaning, it's not ONLY about what is best for the child. It's about what is also best for the family, the other children, the parents, and the primary educator of that child. No two families will look the same when it comes to this. And you know what? That's okay! I may have strong opinions here, but there will likely be many who do not agree with me, and that's okay too.

I have (so far) three dyslexic children, out of nine, so working with them has caused me to reevaluate my own methods and reasons quite often.

Homeschooling takes up a large chunk of my day right now, but only because I insist upon sitting down with each of my children and working through English, Language Arts, and Math with them personally. That way I can be sure that I am in tune with their strengths, knowledge, and weaknesses, so that I may constantly revamp my approach to suit their needs. Education is a living organism, ever changing and moving as it grows. Putting it in a box and expecting it to stay there is a great way to fail, or at best, barely get by.

We are on summer break right now, so my posts may not always happen on Thursdays, but consider this my intro. ::smile::

What methods do you utilize in your homeschool, and what strengths do you find in them?

SongWatch - Soon We Will See

 Soon We Will See - Greater Vision

Soon I may face a dark storm of trouble and have to sail through a tempest so rough.

Or I may have to climb a mountain of sorrow, it's coming if I live long enough.

But there's something ahead that keeps me from dreading the sadness I'll face here below

You see the stage is prepared and soon the curtain will open to a city where I long to go.

Soon we will see the portals of glory
Soon we will see the great I Am
Soon we will hear the angels cry, "Holy!"
Soon we will see the Lamb

So what could I face that could steal the excitement of this that'll soon come to pass?
You see these burdens down here sometimes they're so heavy but it's written that they will not last
Oh, for soon they will be overpowered by a trumpet announcing it's time to move on
To a place that's prepared for those who've been made ready for a meeting with Almighty God.

And soon we will see the portals of glory
Soon we will see the great I Am
Soon we will hear the angels cry, "Holy!"
Soon we will see the Lamb

Soon we will see the portals of glory
Soon we will see the great I Am
Soon we will hear the angels cry, "Holy!"
Soon we will see the Lamb


Soon we will hear the angels cry, "Holy!"
[Holy!]
Soon we will see the Lamb

Joy Dare - June 5th

A Gift of Peace, of Hope, of Love:

Peace: For the first time in a very long time, I am at peace with our situations and circumstances. I no longer give too much heart to what other people think. This paves the way for Joy.

Hope: I have hope for the future. That hope gives me a new song every morning, and makes life worth living.

Love: I'm a hard person to love. My husband loves me anyway. Completely and entirely. His love, like Christ's love, is healing to my soul.

Linky Friday: June’s The New January

This month marks the beginning of the middle of the year. This revolutionary year for my family is almost halfway over, and this realization hit me like a hot, humid summer wind. Another year is almost gone. Our summer birthday season starts this month. In two and a half more months, almost all of my babies will have turned another year this year. I have battled depression as deep as the ocean itself, and come out victorious. Babies have been born. Autumn is coming.

With social media exploding with hatred, anger, bitterness, and rage.... this post really made an impression on me this week, because sometimes we DO need a second January.

How You Can Do A Reset in the Middle of the Year: June’s The New January

"You can realize: A year can evaporate before you know it.

In the middle of a culture of outrage, where judgement can be be our dialect of choice and angry, finger pointing posts can go viral and sicken our communal well, you can just want to stop at the end of the lane and watch the sun over the fields.

You can want to smell the flowers and inhale deeply, you can want to make your moments make your days make something meaningful, that will last beyond the loud.

You can walk into the house, sort the mail, put the farm paper down on the table, turn and look at the calendar and just quietly exhale:

The best way to live a good year is to do a reset halfway through the year.

June is the Second January.

Get up early and watch the sun rise. Open a window so you can breathe it all in. Open His Word. Pour a cup of orange juice. Don’t try to face anything until you’ve faced Him: First 10 Minutes always with  your First Love. Word In. Work Out. Work Plan.

...successful people are the ones who choose to let the joy and satisfaction of simply getting to show up be their payment.
Keep practicing the presence of being aware of His presence.

He lives that everyday: Genius is only one percent cleverness and ninety-nine percent a very long endurance.

Genius is only one percent cleverness and ninety-nine percent a very long endurance.

 Keep going and never, ever give up.

He chooses that everyday: When you work faithfully, creativity comes faithfully. Keep showing up — because this is how you never, ever give up.

...You can even tell by the way he wears his cap, by the way his smile comes easy out in a field of seeds: He makes it a habit to hope. Even in the middle, even when you have to begin again.

Change your habits and you can change anything into a possibility."

Read the rest of the post at Ann Voskamp's Blog Here.

Blog Schedule

Meaningful Mondays - Where I blog about a topic that is close to my heart.

Quote-Filled Tuesdays -This day I will blog a quote that inspires me.

Wordless Wednesdays/Word-filled Wednesdays - On Wednesdays I will participate in one or the other.

Homeschool Thursdays - On Thursdays I will share something that I've done or that I've found that falls into the homeschooling category.

Linky Fridays - Fridays I will share (and link back to) a post, a link, or a website that made an impact on me this week.

Random Saturdays - Speaking encouragement, health, and life is one of the biggest gifts that we can give ourselves and others around us. Life is harsh enough, we need more love in the mix.

Speak Life: Soul Food Sundays - Food for the Soul, every Sunday.

Daily - I will be doing Ann Voskamp's Joy Dare each day.

Joy Dare - June 3rd

3 Gifts from Today's Conversations:

1- Hubby: "Are you talking to yourself?"
    5YO: "Yes."

2- 8YO: (Sitting next to 9YO who is holding Twin B) "She's so cute! When do you think we can start homeschooling her?"
    9YO: "When she's older, like three or something."

3- Hubby: (Seeing how exhausted and frustrated I was) "GO TO YOUR ROOM! Give me that baby and GO to your room!" ◕‿↼

Wordless Wednesday

Joy Dare - June 2nd

3 Gifts Funny:

1- My husband with his crazy sense of humor. He can always make me laugh, even if I'm spitting mad the moment before.

2- Clean comedy routines on Vines and YouTube.

3- Puppies. Honestly, puppies are hilarious to watch.