October | 2011 |

Grace in the Darkness

31. October 2011 · 10 comments · Categories: Gratitude Community

It can come seemingly out of nowhere.

Those dark thoughts, stinging eyes and feelings of hopelessness take root and grow like a vine, twisting around my heart and threatening to choke off all hope.

But, is it really so unexpected?

We race from one place to the next, barely taking time to breathe. There’s always a project, a trip, a deadline. Sleepless nights pile up. The kids are irritable and fighting. My thoughts are jumbled and all aswirl in my head.

When life gets this busy, I can’t hear the whisper of His voice.

Rather, I all I hear is the voice of depression saying, “It’s too hard, I can’t do it.” “I’m so alone in this.” “I’ll never make it through today.” “Why is this happening?”

I take a deep breath, and breathe in the words of Him who said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Why do I allow my life to get so out of control? This hectic pace of life keeps me from sitting at the table and feasting on the Bread that sustains me. When I’m not saturated with the words of the gospel of grace, my soul thirsts and pants for the Lord.

It’s when I haven’t feasted on grace that depression sneaks in and covers me in darkness.

Slowing down, savoring, and truly tasting the truth of what has been done for me begins to break the chokehold depression has on my heart. The more I feast on grace, the more hope that fills my soul. It’s the truth of grace that strengthens me when I feel most weak.

It’s the light of the gospel that shines into the darkness of my depression and I can see the hope that is before me.

Stepping into the light this week and continuing to count each moment of grace:

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That God loves me as much as He loves the Son.

That even when things seem to be swirling out of control, He is in control

That when I stumble, He is there to remind me of what He’s already done

Celebrating our birthdays at my in-laws house

Ian turned four!

I turned 36! Yikes!

The peaceful lake behind my in-laws house

Making progress on the Sunday school curriculum for our church that I’m helping with (using the Jesus Storybook Bible)

Making new blogging friends:)

The boys had their first tennis lessons this week and had a blast!

Going out with my three favorite boys to my favorite restaurant to celebrate my birthday

Hearing the deep baritone of my grandfather as he sang “Happy Birthday” to me over the phone-a priceless treasure!

Going out for another birthday dinner with some of my favorite friends

Free Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte on my birthday-thanks Starbucks!

The boys first Cub Scout outing-and me with a whole day to myself, making it the best birthday present:)

This passage from Habakkuk:

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:17-19

Calming the Soul

29. October 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: Ploughing Hearts, Uncategorized

May the Lord be with you in whatever storms that are stirring your soul into turmoil this day.

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” Psalm 57:1

“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26

Time for Mom

28. October 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: Parenting · Tags: Christian Stay at Home Moms

Do you ever feel like you’re pushed to the edge of a cliff? Just one more step and you’re sure to fall. Are you one proverbial straw short of the one that broke the camel’s back?

I’ve often had days where I’m afraid that if just one more thing happens, I’m sure to fall apart.

As moms, we often give and give and then give some more. Because I am a stay at home mom, my job never ends. I don’t get a break or two during the day as I did when I worked outside the home. However, when I do get a few hours away by myself, I return refreshed. I always think to myself, “I need to do this more often. This is just what I needed.”

It’s true, moms need to schedule regular time to ourselves. Restorative time. Time to regroup and step away from whatever chaos is churning in our lives and see it from a fresh perspective. We need time to pause, reflect and feed our starving heart and soul.

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM.

Teach Me Jesus Thursdays: In Celebration of the Discovery of the Gospel of Grace

27. October 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Teach Me Jesus

Reformation Day is this coming Monday (I know, everyone thought Monday was a different holiday:). On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther attached a list of theses (or problems) he had with the church at that time to the Castle Church door at Wittenburg. That one list (95 items in all) began the Protestant Reformation. In reading scripture, Luther had come across the passage in Romans that says, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is
by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (1:17) This passage opened his eyes to the gospel of grace and the church hasn’t been the same since.

In effort to teach my children about this discovery of grace, I’m reading to the boys about Martin Luther and other reformers from that time in history. I want them to know how important Martin Luther’s quest to understand the gospel of grace means to Christianity today. This gospel is worthy of celebrating wouldn’t you say?

A few of the books we are reading:

The Church History ABCs: Augustine and 25 Other Heroes of the Faith

Thunderstorm in Church

Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed The World

What about you? Have you any teaching moments to share?

Blog Bash with Women Living Well

25. October 2011 · 15 comments · Categories: Uncategorized

Today I’m linking up with other bloggers to the Blog Bash at Women Living Well. We are sharing posts about our blog.

About Me: Once a child psychotherapist, now a stay at home mom. This journey of motherhood has been a life changing one. God has used parenting in His process of transforming me. So far this journey has been filled with joy, tears, laughter, challenges, precious moments, fears, and lots of love. A broken and wounded mom, I transparently share my struggles on my blog. I have long battled depression and I openly share how this impacts my ability to parent. God is good and gracious and it is my prayer that His grace is reflected in my writing.

Some of the differnt types of posts I write:

“Teach Me Jesus Thursdays” are posts I write each week about spiritual teaching moments with children. I often include practical ideas for teaching Jesus to our children everywhere, all the time, and in all situations (Deut. 6).

I write many posts related to God’s work in my heart. These are often related to spiritual growth, depression, worry and how God is transforming me. I write for a couple of other web sites as well and I often link to the spiritual growth or devotional articles I’ve written for those sites.

I’m also a homeschooling mom so I like to write about what we have been learning in school.

Thanks for visiting!

Remembering Grace

25. October 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: Spiritual Growth · Tags: Bible Study for Her

Have you ever walked our nation’s capital? It is full of memorials and monuments. They tower and awe in their magnitude, causing the viewer to pause in their simplicity and meaning. Memorials give us an opportunity to remember those who walked before us.

In the Old Testament, Joshua made a memorial out of a pillar of stones after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan. “Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over.” (Joshua 4:21-23)

The Old Testament is full of stories reminding the Israelites of all God had done. Often, holidays and special ceremonies were developed to aid in that remembrance. In the OT, the Hebrew word “zezher” is used for the word memorial. It is used in the sense of remembrance. Sometimes it was an actual monument that was built to remember something that had happened, like the stones Joshua set up on the other side of the Jordan. Jacob also set up a pillar in Genesis 28 to remember when he saw the face of God and lived. God’s very own name is referred to as a memorial in the OT for his people to remember all that he is and has done. In Isaiah 56, God made this promise “I will give them—within the walls of my house— a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!”

To read the rest of this post, visit Bible Study for Her.

One Blessing After Another

24. October 2011 · 8 comments · Categories: Gratitude Community

“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” John 1:16

Indeed, all these blessings flow directly from His grace. In His kindness and love He provides, cares for, disciplines, trains, loves and blesses us. Everything that happens in my life, from the annoying inconveniences to the once in a life time experiences, are gifts of grace from the Father.

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After months of calling country clubs around the area to find tennis lessons for the boys, I finally found a place that fits our schedule and is very close by. Yay! The boys are so excited!

Cooler weather because of rain

Hearing Ethan tell his brother that he misses him on the days that Ian goes to preschool

Seeing God work in Ethan spiritually as he tries to understand the idols we put in our hearts. Having wonderful teaching moments with the boys about it.

Chocolate Babka at Panera

Girls night out at a new coffee house in town, talking for what seemed like hours

Encouragement

That He gives us all we need to live for Him: 2 Peter 1:3,5

Exploring my favorite local antique shop and finding a few treasures:)

Getting a birthday suprise in the mail-a Starbucks cup I’ve been wanting and some espresso beans to go in it:)

Fun at the pumpkin patch

Hot apple cider

Invitation to dinner at a friend’s house-when you’re the one always doing the inviting, you hardly get invited anywhere so this was a special treat!

Fall Fest-Florida style

How Great is our God!

Homeschool Highlights, Week 10

22. October 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: Homeschooling

Have we really been homeschooling for ten weeks? Wow, time goes by quickly! I was gone the past two weeks of homeschool with my husband on a trip. In a perfect world, the kids would have kept up with homeschooling with their sitters, but alas, we do not live in a perfect world. So we’ve had some catching up to do. Not a big deal. The kids have had some difficulty getting back into a routine but we plowed ahead.

Art: Ethan continues to love going to his art class. It’s only once a week at a woman’s home nearby. He’s learned a lot so far. The amazing thing is, he accepts her correction and critique! I was concerned that he would have trouble with it but he accepts it and doesn’t get upset that he doesn’t get it perfect every time. That alone is worth the money:)

History: We are continuing to learn about the beginning of our country. We’ve been studying the Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the Boston Tea Party, etc. Our History Pockets: The American Revolution has been a wonderful aid to enhancing the curriculum. On Wednesday, we checked online to see what happened that day in history and learned that the Revolutionary War pretty much ended on October 19. We also made a map of Paul Revere’s ride using Interactive 3-D Maps: American History: Easy-to-Assemble 3-D Maps That Students Make and Manipulate to Learn Key Facts and Concepts-in a Kinesthetic Way!. Other fun activities this week: we made hasty pudding (like from the song Yankee Doodle) which is really a lot like grits and made ink out of blueberries to write with using with a feather. I was also able to teach Ethan what I had learned about French history during our trip away. I showed him a picture of a restaurant Ben Franklin frequented while he was in France during the early days of our nation.

Math: We are half way through our math curriculum! I’m hoping to order the second grade math program to begin in January. While he has breezed through the first grade math, I was hesitant to skip the first grade math altogether because I have learned the hard way that if you miss one thing in math, it messes you up for a long time.

Science: We did a few experiments using water and learning about why certain items can soak up water and others can’t. We also did a few experiments on evaporation.

Linking up with:

I’m Just Pretending

21. October 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: God's still working on me, Spiritual Growth

I am a pretender.

I recently purchases a few new clothing items to wear on my trip to Paris. When I wore the clothes in public, I received a lot of compliments.

Yet, while wearing these clothes, I didn’t feel like myself. I felt like I was merely pretending to be something I wasn’t. In order to wear the “Parisian style” scarf I had wrapped around my neck, I had to study a downloaded tutorial over and over. I felt certain I would choke to death. Because I’d really rather be in my comfy shorts, tee-shirt and Birks.

Do you ever feel like you are a pretender? Whenever you leave the house do you put on your pretend self, the one you show the world?

To read the rest of this post, visit CSAHM, my other writing home.

Teach Me Jesus Thursdays: The Lost Get Found

20. October 2011 · 3 comments · Categories: Parenting, Teach Me Jesus · Tags: Christian Parenting

My investigative skills are used on a daily basis.

They come by it naturally-this skill of losing things. The firefighter often asks this detective to help him search for lost keys, wallet, phone, etc. For the boys, it’s lost Lego pieces, favorite toys and shoes.

And the world seems to stop spinning while we search high and low. Everything else is of less importance. The missing object must be found! Tears are shed while we search under couches, beds and in plain sight. “Where did you see it last?” becomes my daily inquiry.

Teaching moments can appear in many situations. Lost Legos become an opportunity to share about lost sheep. We read in Luke about the shepherd searching for lost sheep. “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:4-7

The joy my boys feel when they find their lost treasured Lego man is just a glimmer of the joy expressed in heaven when one sinner repents. We meditate on the love the Father has for us.

And this teaching moment is one that can be referenced each and every day.

How about you? Have you had any “Teach Me Jesus” moments this week?