Friday, January 3, 2025

Word for 2025

 

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Back in June of 2023 I blogged about the book I was reading Having a Mary Heart in A Martha World and in that post, titled Busy, Busy, Busy I shared an expanded version of the verse above.

 "Come to me, all who [labor until worn out] and are [loaded down, burdened] and I will give you [refreshment for your soul].  Take my [bar that unites us in work] upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and [lowly in spirit relying on God] and you will find [blessed tranquility of soul].  For my yoke is [good, eternally useful] and my burden is [easy to bear, not burdensome]." 

I found this expanded version to be such an encouragement.  The different definitions for the burdens we will face and the different types of rest Jesus provides shows how His care is so complete for every circumstance we will face.  The ideas of refreshment and tranquility especially spoke to me; similar yet different and nourishing our souls in different ways.  We can be refreshed to carry on and we can carry on in tranquility when we are united with Jesus in His purposes and relying on Him for every step.

A few months ago I was chatting with one of our girls and she suggested the word rest for 2025.  The more I thought about it the more I realized how well it dovetails with my word for 2024.  I had chosen faithful as my word for 2024.  As God has been teaching me to be faithful, regardless of if things change or don't change; learning to rest in His faithfulness and to leave those things that burden me in His hands, is an important thing to focus on in 2025.  

The other side to this is the day-to-day practice of learning that it's okay to rest.  In a world where we're constantly told to be more, do more, learn more, find our value in more.  We need to  remember that we have value in Whose we are not what we do, that being united (yoked) with Jesus means we just have to follow His lead and it's okay to let the rest go.  To not be distracted by things/busyness that doesn't really matter.  To find our rest in Him is what we really need to do. 

So, my word for 2025 is rest! 

Thursday, January 2, 2025

2025 Bible in a Year

I've posted a few times about plans I've used for reading the Bible in a year.  If you have never read through the whole Bible I encourage you to make that a goal. 

Over the years I have used several different plans and in 2024 I used a plan that went through just the New Testament in a year.  It was great to take it much slower, some days only reading a few verses.  This year I'm once again reading the whole Bible.

Back in 2020 I chose the Historical Sequence plan on Youversion and have decided to once again use that plan.  This plan is split into 12 parts, which feels nice to complete a section each month.  It's much more reading than the New Testament one I just finished but it will be good to make it through the whole Bible again.  

Whatever plan you choose, whether a New Testament, Old Testament, full Bible or another plan. The most important thing is to be in God's Word each day.  We so often ask for God's leading but then leave the "map" unread.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all!  As with the start of any new year I'm pondering what I want to focus on this year.   I already have a reading plan for reading through the Bible in 2025 and I already have a "word" for  the year.  I'm hoping to blog about both of these soon. 

One goal that I always seem to have is to blog more often.  I go through spurts of blogging regularly and then get busy and it falls to the side for awhile.  I've realized that, while I love blogging, it's just something that for now will stay a bit sporadic.  Life is still very busy with home,  four kiddos and their activities, along with school and church volunteering responsibilities.  I've never had a large readership; which for the most part I'm okay with. I would love to grow this blog into something to really bless others; I'm just never quite sure what that would look like.  I mostly blog to keep track of things God is teaching me; I love to teach so it's encouraging when God uses those things in the lives of others as well. 

I've debated starting another blog.  As some may recall, a few years ago this blog was flagged as "inappropriate" on Facebook by someone I had as a connection (still don't know who and it really doesn't matter).  There is no appeals process so since that time it has been blocked from being shared on any Meta platform (Instagram, Facebook, etc.).  I don't have a clear direction of turning this into something bigger so I'll just keep it as is for now.  

I'd love to hear suggestions of what you enjoy reading for content or what you would enjoy seeing more of here in this little spot on the web.  

So, those are my rambling thoughts on this first day of a new year.  I am excited to see how God will guide this year.

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Advent Season: December 1st

Back in 2021 I took the suggestion to read a chapter in Luke each day beginning December 1st. I would read a chapter and then note what I learned about Who Jesus is from each chapter.  There are 24 chapters in Luke so you end on Christmas Eve (I ended a bit after this).  

You can read my thoughts from Luke chapter 1 here.  As I was looking over my thoughts from that first chapter I noticed the truth that Jesus keeps His promises.  He is faithful and trustworthy.  

This year the theme for the advent series at church is A Season of Promise and today the message was about the "Promised Forerunner" John the Baptist.  We were encouraged to keep praying and trusting that God's promises will be fulfilled.  

I recently saw a quote that said "when we get to Heaven it will feel like a big sigh of relief" and I felt that to my core.  The striving and struggles and sin will be over.  The promise of Heaven is real and available to all who come to Jesus, repent, and submit to Him as Lord of their life.  This Advent season I pray that you will come to Jesus, rest in His promises and find joy and rest. 

We sang this song at church this morning and the message of promised rest was such a gift:


** You can find the complete series I blogged about the book of Luke in 2021 by going to the posts from December 2021 in the side bar**

Friday, November 8, 2024

Encouragement for Public Schooling Mamas

The subject of public schooling has been on my mind for awhile. I often get so disheartened when I see Christians blasting other Christians as bad parents who don't really care about their children's faith, simply because their kids go to a public school.  I also see a lot of fear mongering and just plain false information posted.  For example, before we sent our kids to public school I was told that they would never hear the national anthem, say the pledge or learn anything about religion.  These are all false!  Not only do they say the pledge and hear the anthem daily, they also have entire units dedicated to learning about world religions.   Does public schooling bring certain challenges, yes!  But I want to give encouragement that God does lead some Christian families to public school their children, and in that choice there are also many, many blessings.

Our kids did not always attend public school.  For several years they all attended a local private school.  However, over a couple of years God made it very clear that it was His plan for our kids to move to the local public schools.  I want to share a few things I've learned and some encouragement for others who God has lead to this path. 

10 lessons I've learned from being a public schooling mama:

1) God is doing amazing things! - Students are hungry for faith. They are asking questions of other students.  Believing students are sharing their faith; and through this God is bringing kids to faith in Him. My kids are so excited to see other believers at school!  My daughter recently had a birthday party, she invited 8 friends from both church and school...all the girls knew each other as some attend our church and her school and some only the school.  These connections are so important and encouraging.  There are SO many things God has done over these years.  Many are not my story to tell here but if you see me in person I'd love to share some of them.

2) We are called to be salt and light.  If there are dark places we are called to shine God's love and truth into those dark places.  We cannot shine into those places if we are all huddled in one corner.

3) Get involved!  - A couple years ago I took one of our daughters to a school event; as I stood there watching her run around with her friends I realized that I didn't know anyone.  It was a very humbling moment. I decided to get involved with the PTO; it has been such a blessing (and a huge step out of my comfort zone) to meet the kids, teachers, admins and other parents.  I love volunteering, interacting with the kids and getting to know those that work in the school.  

4) Don't compare! - This is a hard one for me because as mamas we are always wondering if we're doing enough, making the right choices.  Over the years I have had doubts if we made the right choice, I'm thankful for my husband who reminds me how clearly God made it that this was His desire for our kids; and to not look back with "rose-tinted" glasses.  When I start to compare (in many areas) my husband always says "This is what works best for our family; who cares what other people think." 

5) God is always in control!  - We are not called to live in fear!  Do we want to protect our kids? Absolutely!  But if our motivation is to only protect our kids we have failed them.  We are called to be in the world but not of the world.  The truth is we can't protect them from everything; and often God uses the hard things to help them grow in their faith...so it can actually be a disservice to try and keep them from ever facing hard things. 

6) Prayer is key! - I remember when I first had my kids; I prayed that they would feel comfortable talking to me about anything.  There have been times that I would jokingly say to my husband "what did I ask for?" of course I didn't mean it; but it's hard to hear your kid's struggles when you can't just "fix" it for them.  God has shown me over and over again how prayer is key.  I recently saw a saying "I can't...but I know a Guy".  I love this!  There's SO much I can't do or know, but I can always take it to the One who does know, who can do abundantly more than I could ever ask or think. 

7) Communication is key!  - This is both with your kids and with the school.  We have always encouraged our kids to talk with us about anything, to question things but always be respectful when doing so, and to advocate for themselves. If they have a school issue, we encourage them to go to their teacher or guidance counselor.  If we need to step in, we will.  There have only been a couple of times when I've had to communicate with administration and both times they were very quick to resolve the situation and we still have a very positive rapport with them.  Also, learn to embrace discussing things that, at first, might be uncomfortable.  God's Word does not shy away from teaching about hard things and neither should we.

8) Salvation is by grace not their works or yours!  - No schooling choice is a guarantee of strong Christian children neither does a schooling choice doom them to a faithless life.  As parents we pray, we disciple, we try and do our best to raise our kids in the Truth; but they are humans and have free-will.  I have seen kids from every schooling choice walk away from God and I have seen kids from every schooling choice dig deep in their faith and do amazing things for God.  This does NOT mean we don't do our best to raise them in God's Truth but we must not give into a prideful attitude thinking it's all up to us; or our way of schooling is the only "right" way.

9) God does not stop at the school doors!  - This is something I remind my kids all the time.  God is always with them.  Prayer is always available.  The Holy Spirit in them is always with them!  I have a friend who says "when our kids become believers they don't get a "junior" Holy Spirit; they receive the full power of the Holy Spirit".  Now, yes, there is a difference in their human maturity but the Holy Spirit is not limited by that. 

10) Knowledge can lead to greater confidence in God and greater compassion for others.  - It is important for our kids to know what the world believes.  Truth is stronger than lies because God is greater than the devil.  One of our kids came home and was frustrated about a lesson on evolution and how it was being taught as fact.  One of our high school kids came home frustrated about a lesson on abortion and how it didn't cover a lot of facts about the risks of abortion.  In both cases we sat down and discussed how that just because someone says something, you don't have to agree or believe it.  BUT, it's so important to know the thinking behind these issues because you can have more productive discussions about issues.  To know what the arguments are and to dig into why we believe differently, why God instructs us to live certain ways can strengthen our own faith and help us to not be so reactionary and combative.  It can lead us to reach out in compassion, with greater understanding.  We tend to fear the unknown, things that are different or that we don't fully understand, knowledge helps battle these tendencies.  Instead of seeing people as "others" we can, instead, see them as those that God loves and wants to come to repentance and belief. 

BONUS: Don't be afraid to change direction if God so directs.  We have always tried to have an attitude of "this is where God has us now".  No one knows the future, we certainly never planned to public school our kids when we were first having kids; but this is where God has lead.  God may change that path again, we take it one year at a time.  

One final thought. The other day I was having a discussion with one of our kids about why people voted certain ways.  As I was explaining different issues and the views on both sides of those issues, suddenly, my kiddo said "oh, so people really are just looking for someone to give them hope."  Yes, exactly!  Our world is so hungry for hope.  Let's be sure to be out there living in the world but showing them that we are not of the world.  Not living our lives in fear of those different than us or being afraid that God's Truth isn't strong enough to battle the devil's lies.  We have a hope and peace that they too can have.

If you are following God's path for your family...then you are doing awesome Mama!  Keep praying, keep trusting and when you see those posts disparaging us for public schooling our kids...pray for the one who posted it, and then go hug your kiddos and give a high five to their friends!

Thursday, September 26, 2024

My 10 Tips For Road Trips For Larger Families

We love to travel!  When we had kids that did not change; however, how we travel did change.  We love to hike, so we invested in carriers for when the kids were babies.  We love to bike, so we invested in bike seats and a bike trailer until the kids could all ride bikes on their own.  Just because you have a larger family does not mean that you have to give up doing what you love; it just may look different for a bit.

We have always done road trips with our kids.  From the time they were infants we have traveled.  One of our daughters was 3 weeks old when she did her first road trip (about 9 hours to visit family).  Over the years we have done countless 17+ hour trips to visit family.  We have flown a few times with them but mostly have driven.  There are many ways to travel with kids and each family is unique.  We tend to be spontaneous and not over-plan.  The tips I'm sharing are pretty general but are things we've found to be helpful.

 In no particular order; here are my top 10:

Set Expectations:

We have kids who tend to be more introverted so "personal space" is a priority.  We have another child who likes to know all the details of a plan and has a harder time with unexpected changes.  While we didn't have a complete itinerary we did explain that we would be stopping somewhere each night and that they would all have to share beds.  We also set the themes of "go with the flow" and "for the next two weeks there is no such thing as 'personal space' ".  Knowing these things ahead of time helped set the tone. We also explained that once we got to our rental unit there would be more room for some time alone and less kids would have to share a bed.  

Be Flexible:

Being flexible made this trip, probably, one of the most fun trips we've taken.  At one point we had our oldest girl just googling what was on the road we were currently on and then we decided if/where we wanted to stop.  The kids loved getting to help decide.  Hotels were booked a few hours before we were set to arrive at our stop for the night. 

Prioritize hotels with free breakfast:

Eating out is expensive!  Feeding a family of 8 (4 of those kiddos being teen or adults) is a lot.  Finding hotels that included breakfast took away any added cost/hassle each morning.  Since I don't typically eat breakfast everyone would get ready, head down to breakfast and I would have that time to get myself ready.  It worked wonderfully! 

Check if membership is cheaper (factor in if you'll use reciprocity):

This is something we have done since the kids were little.  We used to buy a family museum membership each year; when we would go to visit family we would check which museums had reciprocity.  The program has changed a bit, with many museums only giving a 50% discount but many still do give free admission.  This trip we decided to stop at the Columbus Zoo; it was cheaper for us to buy the family membership than to pay for day tickets.  Now that we have that membership we can go to museums closer to home for free for the year; using the museum reciprocity.  

Using the reciprocity program over the years for museums and zoos has allowed us to take our kids to many places that otherwise would have been out of our budget. 

For longer stays have a kitchen & cook:

This tip is similar to the breakfast one.  Eating out is expensive!  Due to the size of our family we usually have to stay in rental properties  (we do have a timeshare but I do NOT recommend those!  a decision made when we were younger that, while it has been useful over the years, is not one we would repeat; especially now that short term rentals are so prevalent.)  

Having a kitchen is a huge bonus.  My hubby and I enjoy cooking together; and while usually I handle the cooking when home; while on vacation it's fun to have more time to cook together.  We typically do some simpler, fun recipes with ingredients that can be used for multiple meals.  On this trip, the grocery bill was higher than our normal grocery bill but it was still much less than if we had eaten out every night.

Truck stops:

We have found that truck stops are generally a better choice than the smaller gas stations.  We found that the gas is often cheaper, the bathrooms cleaner and their snack choices are better. This trip we grabbed some meal boxes which included hummus, veggies and pita breads.  The truck stops also often have pre-made sandwiches, etc.  Which are less than buying a full meal but more nutritious than chips, candy, etc that the smaller stores typically have available.

Everyone tries to go at every bathroom stop:

Okay, so this tip is one that we learned quickly when the kids were little.  We would ask who needed to use the restroom, a couple of them would go and then we'd get a bit down the road and suddenly someone else had to go.  So, now every time we make a bathroom stop; everyone has to try.   Live and learn. :)

Bring comfort items:

It can be tempting to try and minimize packing but allowing the kids to bring a small bag with a few "comfort" items, such as a blanket, stuffed animal, etc.  really makes life easier.  We are fortunate that all of our kids will sleep in the car, having that special blanket helps.  Also, each of them having a smaller bag of activities/items that they keep at their feet minimizes having to get into the back for everything.

Pack cooler/snacks:

Having a cooler and snack bag helps minimize stops and money spent.  We typically pack crackers, hummus, veggies, granola bars, dried fruits/trail mix, cheese sticks, etc and drinks such as water, seltzer, cold coffee and sometimes we'll bring yogurt drinks.

It's their vacation too; let kids have some say:

Trips with the kids look very different from trips without kids...and that is great!  We have been to Disney with kids and without kids; same place but the experiences were very different.  While we do plan most of the trip we also fully recognize that this is their vacation as well. We want them to have fun and have a say in what we do too.  For example, we took a side trip to Niagara Falls because one kid wanted to use their passport for the first time and a couple other kids have wanted to see the falls for a few years now.  Another, very simple example from this trip.  We mentioned how that once we got to the rental unit two of the girls would have to share a bed, while one of them could have their own bed (two double beds in the room they would share).  All three of them did not like this idea; so our youngest asked if we could bring one of our twin air mattresses for her.  The mattress didn't take up much space in the car and she was more than happy to use it for the week to have her own bed.  It was a minor thing but made all of them happy.  

BONUS TIP:

Credit card points!  We have a credit card that we use for pretty much everything.  We pay it off each month.  This credit card gives us points that we can then use to cover travel expenses, etc.  We have used these points to cover airfare, hotels, uber trips, etc.  We have taken trips where the airfare for all 8 of us was covered by credit card points.  Credit cards can be a wonderful tool when used responsibly!

Have FUN!  


Monday, September 9, 2024

Happy Homemaker Monday 9/9/24

I've been wanting to jump back into this weekly post for some time now; the end of summer and beginning of the new school year have been very busy and it seems the weeks just keep flying by.  I'm thankful for a minute or two (which I probably should be using for other things...) to sit and blog

Let's jump right into this week's Happy Homemaker Monday with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom.  

The Weather:

The weather is sunny and in the 70's.  It's definitely feeling fall-ish in the mornings and warming up throughout the day.  I was joking with one of the girls that this season should be called Layer Season.

Outside my Window:

Sunny, gorgeous blue skies.  Some of the leaves are just starting to change color a bit.

 
Right Now I am:

Blogging and drinking my coffee before starting the to-do list.    


Thinking and Pondering: 

A lot of different things. A lot of things going on here lately and more fall programs restarting this week.
  
 Health Goal Accountability:
Haven't been great about doing yoga since the kids started back at school; hoping to get into the swing of this once we are in a good routine. 

Podcasts I'm listening to this week:
None this week.

On my T.V this week:

Probably will just watch some YouTube as new episodes come out.  .

On the Dinner Plate:

Salad with chicken
 
On the Menu this week: 
 

Lasagna

Red beans with rice & pork

Salad with chicken

  

 
What I'm Reading:
Bible
On Bended Knee by Crickett Keeth - study on prayer the women's group is doing through the summer. We are finishing this up this month.
 
I just finished reading Yet In The Dark Streets Shining: A Palestinian Story of Hope and Resilience in Bethlehem by Bishara Awad; the founder of Bethlehem Bible College.  This is a book that I'm still processing.  It challenges some of the thinking of western Christianity (in a good, Scriptural way) and calls on us to see past our earthly identities of culture and nation and see that all Christians are heirs with Christ and part of the Body.  I highly recommend it!  
 
 


On my To-Do list today:

Laundry (working on this)
Blog ✔
Clean up kitchen
Take care of kiddo that isn't feeling well
Pick up kiddos from various places this afternoon

 

Plans for this week:

Catch up on laundry

PTO Meeting

AWANA Open House

Work on basement project

Drop off donations & get some needed clothes for the girls.

What I'm Creating:

I'm playing around with making an alpine stitch blanket/throw with all the leftover blanket yarn that I have.  I love the look of the alpine stitch and started working with some leftover yarn. I don't like the colors I started with (red & black) since I mostly have neutrals.  So I'll probably start over and just use the neutrals and leave the bit of red and black for something else.  Sometimes it's fun to just play with different stitches and make it up as I go.  UPDATE:  I have started this throw.




From the Camera:

  We had a wonderful family road trip a few weeks ago; I posted several pictures of our adventures in that post.  I haven't really taken any pictures since getting back.  You can see the pictures and read about our adventures in the post Family Road Trip 2024
 






Highlight from Last week:

Highlights from last week were: watching one kiddo start a new adventure, and celebrating a family birthday.
 
Bible Verse/Devotional Quote:
 
 God's Blessing (Genesis 12-22) — saralandchristians.com


On My Prayer List:

Family & Friends who are ill.

Kids as they get back into the school routines and other fall activities.

Wisdom in parenting.

Direction, time & diligence for a project.

Peace & the willingness to let go of things that are not mine to carry.

Wisdom for how to deal with difficult things and to trust God with all!