Always room to learn...

I tell my children this all the time. There is always something new to learn if you are just looking for it. Always. Same is true with prayer. 

Used to, I would pray and think "Why didn't you answer my prayer Lord?". Now, I'm learning to pause and respond more with, "Ok, Lord. So you have something else in mind. It's obviously not what I was thinking was best and I don't fully understand right now, but I trust you. I know you love me. I know your hand is actively guiding my life and the lives of my precious family. Looking forward to seeing what you've got in store. It's gonna be good isn't it!? Way better than I was able to dream! Thank you for loving me so fully in spite of my failings. I love you too."

This, my friends, is not always easy. It's not always my immediate reaction. However, it is where true peace waits. Today, I want to linger there. The longer I linger, the more familiar it becomes, and that is good. Very good.

DREAM BIG!!!

Today has offered me many reminders to dream. And dream BIG!

It started this morning with a bed piled with my 3 youngest watching an animated movie far to early, as I let their older sisters sleep in from a long day/late night yesterday. As I lay there snug in the middle of the pile, I paused to absorb the moment. To fully soak it in. As I did, I remembered that this wasn't the happily ever after I had imagined for myself. No, it was God's plan that became my life when I gave it over to him. And WOW!!!! It is soooooo much better than anything I could have dreamed! I immediately felt like God whispered to my heart that he wasn't done yet. 

~Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV~

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory!

This verse first spoke to me years ago when I was pregnant with my second child. There were some anxieties tied to the pregnancy, and this verse spoke directly to my heart, by a friend giving a passionate message about God's work in our lives. I have carried this verse closely ever since. I believe it fully! I have witnessed it in my own life over and over. I'm confident that he isn't finished, and that frankly, I have no where near seen his best yet!

He had my sweet boy walk through the room I was in singing the song, "Would you dare, would you dare to believe? That you still have a reason to sing? The pain that you've been feeling can't compare to the joy that's coming...." Ah yes! A beautiful reminder from a precious messenger.

The baby having to wear her new Princess shirt, as in undressing herself to have you put on the shirt she wanted to wear. The message on that shirt just so happen to be, "Daring to Dream". 

A random message across facebook that said, "Dear one, May you walk through this evening with the calm assurance that your life is safe in My Hands. Trust Me. I have everything under control. - God"

While some days my eyes can fog and my heart grow weary, today I am encouraged. Humbled. Careful. Patient. Unknowing of the future, but certain of his hand at work. And with that, he has given me repeated reminders this day to dream! To dream big and watch him blow me away!

Thank you Lord, for lifting my heart today and not only allowing me to dream, but challenging me to.

 Exodus 14:14 - "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Ideal vs. Realistic....finding the balance

As a homeschooling mother, this is the time of year I begin planning for the upcoming school year. We school pretty much year round, with our new fiscal year beginning in July after our summer break. This year will be my first year with 4 students and also the first year of "official" education for my youngest son....my most active and spirited child. Which of course makes it all that much more interesting! ;) It also makes me feel an even greater need to be well prepared for our days. My struggle is finding balance. I don't want to create an unrealistic, unattainable idea of the perfect school day or else it will seem as a failure, or at least a disappointment, on the days that we are unable to achieve for whatever reason. Our lives at this stage demand flexibility. So where is the balance? Where do I place the emphasis? How much advanced preparation is necessary? How do we maintain a natural learning environment while still fulfilling the necessary academic requirements? How do I incorporate grades K-8th? And how do I keep it fun for us all?

 I think I cycle through a similar list nearly every year at this time. And the truth is, while we have developed routines and consistencies with curriculum and learning styles, each and every year has been different. The one thing that remains the same....the reason I even entertained the idea of homeschool in the first place....I absolutely LOVE spending my days, every day, with my children! I love watching them learn and being the one that not only encourages that, but first hand experiences those moments when it all comes together. When words come to life. When numbers create traceable rhythm. When storytime and storytelling are a choice greeted with anticipation. When life is learning and learning is life.

So, while we may not achieve that "perfect" day....whatever that may be, we are growing. We are learning. Together. And it is good.

Living a Blessed Life!

From my Streams In The Desert reading this morning...

"This is the blessed life---not anxious to see far down the road nor overly concerned about the next step, not eager to choose the path nor weighted down with the heavy responsibilities of the future, but quietly following the Shepherd, one step at a time."

Trying,   

Where I'll start...

I officially declare this my song as a "foster" mother. 
As a mother period for that matter.

 It's so easy to want to hold back, to be guarded, to try and pretend that perhaps you don't care as deeply as you do. Somehow hoping that this will ease the pain if.... But that's not me. And trying to live as such is only robbing me and my precious family of God's design for my life. So in declaring this "my song", I also declare to give ALL of me. 

1 Corinthians 13:13

"And now these three remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Living, hoping, learning to love like Him,