Surprised Myself!

You know those times you do something and you really surprise yourself? Pleasantly surprise yourself? I have had those times and they sure are fun. Unfortunately I had an experience last week that surprised me about myself, but it wasn't so great! *insert sheepish grin*

Have you ever seen one of these?



It's a roof rat and I woke up to one in the early morning hours last Thursday. Waking up to a roof rat in your bedroom that is so big it is scratching at the door to get out like a cat is not a way I recommend! Fortunately I had the presence of mind to turn on the light before I put my feet down on the floor and I saw it turn and run into the bathroom! I crept out of bed and over to the bathroom door which I quickly slammed shut and put a pillow in front of. I am not quite sure what I thought the pillow would do, but it made me feel better!

I then called Tim, who had already left for Bible study, and shrieked into the phone that there was a rat in the bathroom. We knew we had rats. We just thought they were contained in the basement. Silly us! Being quite a few miles from home, Tim called our friend, Dustin, who was meeting with our other friend, Ronnie. Not too many minutes later, Dustin and Ronnie showed up at the door at 6am, hockey sticks perched on their shoulders!

I'd like to say they came in, found the rat, killed it and left...all before my first cup of coffee! (A girl should not have to deal with stuff like this before a morning cup of coffee!) That was not how the story was to unfold, though. They did manage to get the rat out of my closet (*insert frantic face at the thought of a rat amongst my clothes*) and closed off the closet and toilet area. They put a trap in the bathroom and Dustin promised he'd be back later if the rat was still around.

Seeing my knights with shining hockey sticks leave was not a good feeling! I did what any smart-thinking girl who has a rat in her bathroom would do, though...I duct-taped the bottom of the bathroom door to eliminate any possibility of it slipping out. And thus began a very long day of listening to rat sounds on the other side of the wall!

Shortly after Tim got home, Dustin arrived with several shotguns slung around his neck! Just playing, of course, he declared he was really going to use his "fist" to kill the rat! Fist? Are you kidding me? Makes me shiver to think of it again!

So Dustin-the-Brave and Tim-the-not-so-Brave (he helped from the safety of the bathtub ;O) ) entered the bathroom with a mission on their mind. At various points it sounded like ultimate fighting was taking place in the bathroom. There was shouting and banging and the rattling of coat hangers designed to fish the rat out from its hiding place under the cabinet. Eventually it did, in deed, emerge from its hiding place and attempted to launch itself into the tub. (Wish I could have seen Tim's face then!) A chase ensued and the rat was pinned in the corner!

At long last there was a shout and a very vocal declaration of victory coupled with much jumping up and down! Dustin emerged from the bathroom to pronounce the rat had met an untimely demise at the bottom of his fist! Yes, true to his word, Dustin had punched the rat to death! I still am not exactly sure why he chose that means of eliminating the rat, but I must say it was rather effective. Wanna see?



Now the whole purpose of this post was really to talk about the dilemma I now find myself in! One of the guys at Bible study told Tim he was surprised I was freaking out so much because he thought I was tough! I must admit I have to agree with him. I surprised myself, too, with the depth of my panic and fear upon finding this rat in my room!

While I am thankful this rat and the 4 others we have trapped in the basement are gone, I feel like I may need therapy to get over this one! *insert face twisted in shame* I truly have been traumatized by this experience and have continued to feel the effects. As someone who has always walked around the house in the dark at night, I now find myself with a flashlight on my bedside table. I am accutely aware of every sound going on around me and I may never again, at least until the memory is not so firmly ingrained in my mind's eye, simply get out of bed without counting the potential cost.

So I am here to declare...I am not as tough as we all thought. I can birth a huge baby standing up in my bathroom, but I have a very real and somewhat irrational fear of rats!

Been a While...

It's been a while since I have posted and I am not sure why. Fatigue, stress, jumbled thoughts or writer's block...any and all of them could be the culprit.

I am not a person who struggles with stress as a general rule, but there have been a number of things that have been weighing on me lately. Rachel has had some major difficulties she has encountered at school in the form of bullying and it has been a burden to my Mama's heart.

I have a number of speaking engagements coming up the next few months and that has me a tad wound up. The biggie is the Midwest Homeschool Convention next April and I am wondering what in the world I was thinking when I said yes to that one. My formerly dear friend ;O) , Amanda, is the one who convinced me I should do it and that I was more than able and qualified! Hmph! Fortunately she'll be there to hold my hand when the time comes. I normally start dreading tax season around about Jan 1st, but this speaking engagement may make me welcome the mundaneness of doing the taxes this year! LOL!!

I share all this to let you know that I am here and I am learning, yet again, to rely on the Lord and encourage my thoughts to dwell on Him and not what I see going on around me!

Isaiah 55:8-9 (MsgB)
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Psalm 139:23 (NASB)
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

Philip. 4:8-9 (MsgB)
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Join me in meditating on these verses that remind us that He is the only One who can direct our thoughts, change our perspective and allow peace to wash over us!

Thank you, Papa, for your Word that gives perspective and insight into where we should allow our thoughts to wander and how we can choose the thoughts we allow our mind to dwell on. Please keep me from getting mired in my circumstances and what I can see and remind me that "there's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." 2Cor 4:18

Simple Things!

Simple things make me happy!

My bathroom had those ugly kinda metal blinds in them. I don't mean any offense if you have them and like them, I just can't stand them! ;O)

I have always liked some of the old windows I have seen that people painted. I like simple designs and usually ones more naturish in look. I went to an antique show with my friend yesterday and this was what I got...



Now, instead of leaving me feeling blah, my bathroom window makes me happy!

Point of View!

(The view of the sun coming up from my back porch!)

I love this time of year when the leaves start to change and the temperatures get crisp! One of my favourite things to do is to sit on my back porch while I drink my coffee, enjoying the feel of the coolness around me.

The other day I had fixed a big breakfast, we had all eaten and Rachel and Benji had left for school. The little ones were momentarily occupied tidying up their rooms and I seized the opportunity to retreat. I took my coffee out to my favourite chair and sat down to watch the sun come up. The evidence of my breath mingled with the steam from my coffee and I sighed a most contented sigh...until I made the mistake of glancing in the kitchen window.

Crumbs scattered across the table among the dishes and utensils which were strewn about. Jars of homemade jam and apple butter dripping their contents down the side. Pots and pans with their remnants hardening before my eyes. My morning respite had been intruded upon by the realities of my life! I had a brief moment of disdain for what my immediate future held before the clouds of self-absorption parted and were replaced by a litany of holy thoughts.

I get to share life with 6 messy people who mean the world to me. The sight before my eyes was suddenly transformed from a big, huge mess shouting for my attention to a celebration of the rhythms of the life He has gifted me with!

We are all healthy. We have a beautiful house with a table big enough for all of us to sit around it. We have bellies full of yummy food. We have love and laughter and a lifetime of memories! This scene was one to rejoice in...mess and all!

I felt my pulse slow and my breathing again deepen. I inhaled the aroma of the fresh brewed coffee and gently closed my eyes to the rising sun!

Thank You, Papa, for allowing my point of view to be witnessed through holy eyes instead of those of a tired Mama! Thank You for a husband who is such evidence of answered prayer and 5 children who fill my heart to overflowing. Thank You for entrusting me with their care and for allowing the most basic routines of life to be an offering of praise to You! I love You!

Led By a Child!

1 Tim. 4:12 (MsgB)
And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.

Seems like we could learn a lot from little Hannah!

What Kind of Girl Am I?

Well, upon seeing this title, you may have some answers that instantly pop into your head...loving wife, devoted mom, Jesus-follower, good cook, gardener and you could even throw a stunningly beautiful in there if you felt so inclined! (Quit snickering...I'm just kidding. :insertrollingeyes: )

I love to write on my blog. It helps me make sense of the thoughts that are always careening around in my head, vying for some of my mental energy. Once I write these thoughts down, it frees me up to move onto another thought and down a different mental trail. I have loved the outlet my blog has provided.

I am part of an online community and I take my ministry there very seriously. I head up the prayer ministry on a homeschool board and it has been an amazing way to encourage women to seek Him in all they do! I am also on FB and have a number of blogs that I follow, so the computer really has become an invaluable friend to me. I type out a lot of messages on it, personal and public, and I appreciate having it at my disposal.

I have begun to do a good bit more speaking and I am currently working on a number of messages. This is what I am getting at, though (in case you're trying to figure out what the heck my title and the body of this message have to do with each other). When it comes right down to it and I need to prepare and truly capture my thoughts...

I am a paper and pen kinda girl!

Really...I love them! In fact, office supplies stores are my favourite stores (outside of a really good antique store, of course). I love the smell of paper and almost every pen you'll see me writing with is purple. I am not sure when the purple pen obsession hit, but I once had a woman with whom I had had a number of written correspondences meet me and say, "Ah, the lady with the purple pen!" Pretty pathetic, huh? I guess if you have to be known for something, it could be a lot worse than a purple pen, though.

I really do love everything about the process of actually writing. In our day and age of computerized everything, writing truly is a dying art. Tim just had a bunch of young guys fill out a questionaire and he said he was shocked by their handwriting. It used to be that even men had a lovely, flowing handwriting because a pen and paper was all they had to work with. Nowadays, there is rarely a reason to hand-write something unless you are a homeschool child whose Mama insists you become proficient at it! :insertslightlyevillaugh:

Maybe you think I'm weird and you are thankful beyond words for this age of computers and phones with texting capabilities. While I make ample use of them, I just don't think they come close to comparing to words inscribed on paper.

Well, you'll have to excuse me now because I have a message brewing in my mind and a pretty purple notebook and pen waiting for me!

That's just the kind of girl I am! :O)

Weather and Other Such Craziness!

The weather in Georgia has been bizarre the last couple of months. After a few years of drought, we have more rain than we know what to do with. While I am thankful for the rain we so desperately needed at one time, I am sad for so many people who have lost everything in unprecedented flooding. Many did not have flood insurance because they don't live in flood plains! So sad.

We have also had quite cool temps part of the time with warm days scattered throughout. I realized just how unpredictable the weather has been when I got in the car the other day and looked over at my forsythia bush that is by the driveway. It is so confused that it's leaves are changing colour and falling off AND it is blooming!

BLOOMING!

Craziest thing I have ever seen! It has never bloomed any time but during the spring and it is at about 50-60% capacity bloom-wise right now! I considered having a talk with it and letting it know its timing was a little off, but I decided to appreciate its effort and just enjoy the yellow blossoms.

I must admit I keep checking the Eastern sky to see if there any imminent signs because the weather indicates something is up! Between the current state of affairs in our government coupled with the weather, surely it can't be too long off!

Celebrating Her!

Yesterday we got to celebrate our girl, Rachel! She turned 17!

Rachel is an amazingingly beautiful, sweet, fun, smart and loving girl! She has brought us much joy and she was the one Papa used to fulfill my dream of being a Mama so many years ago. \O/

I can't believe she is a senior! Doesn't seem possible that enough time has passed for us to already be reaching this milestone. I look forward to seeing what Papa is going to allow Rach to accomplish in the days to come! Whatever it is, I pray she always desires to walk with the Lord and keep her ways pleasing to Him.

Happy Birthday, baby girl! We love you more than you'll ever comprehend...at least until you have babies of your own! XOXO

Blah!

A few of us are under the weather. Nothing terrible, just slight fevers, sore throats and...blah! Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to not be really sick, but sometimes the in-between sick is tough, too...especially when you're the Mama!! You're not really sick enough to lay around all day and get away with it, but you don't feel like doing much of anything either.

I compromised today...I did a little school, fixed a big pot of chicken soup, worked on some birthday stuff for Rachel and then laid down and watched a movie this afternoon. We had breakfast for dinner because it was easy...and comforting...and I am picturing an early bedtime in my future!

I did order some black elderberry yesterday and it should be here tomorrow. My friend had posted about it and I did some reading last night. It is supposed to be a powerful immune builder and I figured I would add it to our arsenal of natural ways to fight bugs of the infectious kind! I'll let you know if we deem it a winner!

Here's hoping you all have a healthy rest of the week! At least we can have the doors and windows open and so I am hopeful we are blowing the germs right on out! One can hope, right?! ;O)

She's Seven!

Hannah Joy rocked our world 7 years ago today! We had planned to have a homebirth with our dear midwife Gay, but Hannah decided she was tired of waiting and made an early appearance with only Tim to catch her and help me welcome her arrival. We should have known then that Papa was letting us know we needed to buckle our seatbelts and get ready for a ride! ;O)

Hannah is a joy to our hearts and brings so much fun to our days! She is sweet, bossy, fun, demanding, cute, girlie, decisive and...my constant sidekick! She likes to cook, clean, do school and wants 5 babies (only she wants 3 girls and 2 boys because she wants the girls to win in her house)! She wants her first car to be a mini-van and was relieved to find out you don't have to go to college because she just wants to be a Mama! Aaahhhh, a girl after my own heart!

Happy Birthday, sweet Hannah-girl! Your Mama and Daddy, Rachel, Benji, Jesse and Caleb love you so much...but Jesus loves you most of all!! XOXO

HOPE!

Our daughter has been struggling with some things lately and she has become very discouraged. She has shed many uncharacteristic tears and we have seen her retreating within herself. As a Mama, it has pierced my heart to witness her pain and my tears have mixed with hers.

The one thing I have prayed fervently for her the last few weeks is that Papa would give her tangible evidence that her HOPE has not died. I have encouraged her to not give up HOPE, but to cling to it. I bought her a bracelet that says HOPE all over it and she found a keychain someone had given her last year that says HOPE! It has become a theme for this current season in her life as our whispered prayers have gone forth!

I was conversing via email with a new friend (I can sense a kindredness ;O) ) and she mentioned that HOPE is an anchor for our soul. I knew that was found in scripture and so I looked it up tonight. I read the passage and then I looked it up in The Message. I loved how Eugene Peterson worded it and it ministered to my heart so deeply ~

Hebrews 6:18-20 (MsgB)
God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised HOPE with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us.

Isn't that just exactly what HOPE is? It's our spiritual lifeline to the One Who has God's ear...the One Who intercedes for us and is our greatest cheerleader and soul comforter!

So thank you, Dee, for pointing me once again to the the Anchor of my soul and allowing me to use the encouragement I have received to encourage my precious girl!

And you know what? Today I saw the clouds part in my daughter's heart and the Son began to shine in her again and...I have HOPE that tommorrow is a new day!

Thank you Papa for always knowing just what we need and who we need to hear it from. Please continue to encourage my girl and remind her that...

tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, HOPE; and HOPE does not disappoint.

Heightened Senses!

If you know me or have followed my blog at all, you know I am Canadian by birth and southern by marriage! While I love living in the south, my thermostat remains Canadian through and through! That's why I am so happy today!

We have a very lovely, fully-equipped home gym in our basement, but on days like today I simply cannot stand the thought of exercising in the confines of those 4 stuffy walls. Because of that I eagerly donned my workout clothes...shorts and a UPI t-shirt...and set out on my trek. The cold front has pushed through and the rain is gone,taking with it the humidity! Today has emerged cool and crisp...maybe a tad cold by some people's standards. I found myself instantly exhilarated as I set off, my exposed limbs experiencing the cold from without as they warmed from within. Aaahhhhh...I was loving it!

While my sense of touch was heightened by the cool sensation on my skin, my lack of glasses had a couple of other senses heightened as well. You see without my glasses, details are blurry and anything not in my immediate realm of vision remains hidden in the shadows. I can see, but all is not clearly defined and so a shift takes place.

I find myself hearing things I may otherwise miss...the hoot of an owl or the call of bird to its mate. I hear the siren at the local fire station just around the corner that signals a change of guard. I hear dogs barking and roosters beckoning the day! Acorns hit and roll out of sight and crabapples thud as they drop. It all blends together in symphony-form and I smile at its sound.

My ears, however, are not the only thing on high alert and I walk with head raised, sniffing out my surroundings. There is jasmine in the air, tucked out of sight but making its presence known in its uniquely fragrant way. As I pass the neighbor's house, I detect the slightly musty smell of the fallen leaves that have formed a haphazard carpet beneath their former home. Those for whom garbage day has come contribute to the aroma, too, but I hasten my steps to try and leave THAT unwelcome smell behind. Fall is in the air and I can smell it as surely as I feel it its touch.

As I neared the end of my walk I was reminded of this verse ~

Psalm 19:1 (MsgB)
God's glory is on tour in the skies,
God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

I found myself so thankful for everything I was taking in. I found myself thanking Him for allowing me to sense His presence with more than just what my sight could take in. I found myself overwhelmed with all He has created!

Thank you, Papa, for the amazing sounds and smells you allowed me to experience today! Thank you for allowing Your glory to be made evident in such a powerful way! May I be found faithful in declaring You and all that Your handiwork has created!

Forgotten?

John 3:16 (NASB-U)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesse and Hannah are attending Awanas this year and are having fun memorizing their verses. Although Caleb is not an official Spark, he has been working on memorizing Hannah's verses, too.

One of the first verses she had was John 3:16. She worked diligently and got it down and Caleb came to me proudly after the others had left for church and told me he knew his verse, too! He proceeded to recite John 3:16 from memory. He had it down almost perfectly except for one word...one word that vastly changed the verse!

Caleb's version said that God gave His only "forgotten" Son! Begotten is not a familiar word in our vocabulary these days and his mind had unconsciously searched his word bank and come up with the word that sounded like it should fit.

While it made me laugh out loud initially because it sounded so cute, I found myself pondering the implication of his wording and how sadly true it was. For a country that truly was founded on the principles of God by men who really did desire for His will to be done in their lives and their decisions, we have largely forgotten Him. Decisions that affect our lives and our futures are made every day without any thought being given to Him and what He would desire to see done. Seeking Him before making a decision that will affect the multitudes is largely a foreign or looked-down-upon concept.

Prayer is no longer accepted in too many public places. Nativities are being removed at an alarming rate so as not to offend and be exclusive. The day-to-day walking-it-out of other religions is being ushered in while He is being ushered out. He is being forgotten!

Funny how grown adults cannot see what is going on right in front of them on a daily basis while a 5yo can stumble upon it without even meaning to!

Deut. 4:9 (MsgB)
Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

Perspective...

Note: This is one of the pictures Mike took of his home away from home!

You've heard the saying, "Perspective is a beautiful thing." I was reminded yesterday just how important perspective can be in our daily lives.

We have had copious amounts of rain for the last week...like multiple inches of rain for days...enough rain to make Noah sit up and take notice. Whenever we have weeks like this, I am reminded just how much I love the sunshine. Now don't get me wrong, after a couple of years of very serious drought, this rain is a very welcome sight. It has just dragged on for so long, with another week of it in the forecast, that I found myself grumbling and complaining in my mind about how sick and tired I was of rain, clouds and humidity! Really complaining!

As I was driving yesterday, attempting to see through the swipe of windshield wipers which were doing little to make conditions better, I heard that Voice! The still small One that can bring you to your heart's knee in the blink of an eye!

You see, we have a friend who has been serving in Afghanistan for the last 6 months. He is home on furlough for 2 weeks to visit his wife and 4 precious daughters and then he has to head back. I have seen pictures of where he is stationed...hot, brown, dry, sandy, dirty...as far as the eye can see! Land that has obviously not seen much, if any, precipitation and is parched as it can be.

I realized that this rain, and the lush green that it is producing, is probably a most welcome sight to this one who has endured these harshest of conditions! To Mike Brown, rain on his face probably feels glorious! Seeing the long, green grass and humidity hanging in the air is probably something he is thanking the Father for while I am grumbling away about it! How wrong of me!

I promptly asked the Lord to forgive my grumbling and told Him it could rain as much as He saw fit and I wouldn't say another negative thing about it. I would rejoice in the fact that Mike, and others like him, were able to experience this rain! I thanked Him for setting me straight and reminding me that life is about so much more than what I can see or what matters to me! I am but a small piece of His very big puzzle and He is quite capable of controlling the elements without my help!

Philip. 2:14 (NASB-U)
Do all things without grumbling or disputing;

Thank you, Mike, for all the sacrifices you make on a daily basis to help continue to provide for our freedom and safety! I pray this rain has been a tangible reminder of how much Papa desires to minister to your needs and wants and I pray His blessings on you as you prepare to return to that dry and dusty land! Thank you, Mike, and thank You, Papa! You have both blessed my heart this week!

A Great Movie!

We saw a great movie tonight! It is called The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry and is very open with its Gospel message! It was so refreshing to be able to go to the theater to see a movie like this and I highly recommend it!