Revive Us Again

The title of an old hymn is being sung to me by the dry side of my humor as I dust off the possibility of blogging again. So, I am doing just that tonight. I'm reviving Field Lilly Press with a chorus of frogs and crickets singing background. For me, like singing and piano, especially piano, this is therapy. It's my thinking spot and my reflection pool. Its part of what He's made me to do. 

The Divided House

I am disheartened at the inability of  Christians who differ in opinions and passions to be able to discuss them in a civil manner between one another. What has happened to us?  Where did this begin?  Our speech, which is to reflect our heart, is no longer seasoned with grace, and is instead peppered with clear bitterness and anger.  Not a good sign.

This is grevious.  Now even we believers are divided. A truly un-glorifying time in the history of Christianity.

Wisdom vs. Do's and Dont's

This morning as I read Hebrews 13, my mind went back to the words I've heard so many say, even those who have "abandoned" their faith, that Christianity is just a bunch of do's and don'ts. Let's take a peek at chapter thirteen. I made a few underlines of phrases which might support that view, and here they are:

1. Let brotherly love continue
2. Show hospitality
3. Remember those who are in prison
4. Let marriage be held in honor
5. Let the marriage bed be undefiled
6. Keep your life free from love of money
7. Be content with what you have
8. Remember your leaders
9. Imitate their faith
10. Don't be led away by diverse and strange teachings
11. Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God
12. Do not neglect to do good
13. Share what you have
14. Obey your leaders
15. Submit to them
16. Pray

I was awakened as I read this chapter. I was reminded that there are attributes which ought to characterize my life as a Christian, and this chapter summarizes some of those exhortations in list form. Call them do's and dont's if you wish but I believe a better word choice is wisdom. A wise individual can take a list such as the one from Hebrews 13 and ask themselves, "Does this describe me? Am I this kind of person as a Christian?"

Walk gladly on the path of wisdom. Be willing to inspect yourself, Allow God to kindly show you where you've deviated from His heart which is to be reflected in us. Psalm 139 begins with the words, "You have searched me," and it ends with, "Search me, O God."  May our days fall willingly  within these lines.

Worth It All

It's been over a year since I've written in Field Lily Press.  I would now consider titling this post, "Missing You Too Many Times to Count!"  My dear heaven-found friend, Mary Lee has since established her forever home in the Lord's presence, and I cannot even imagine how awesome and wonderful it is.  For all of the things that Mary Lee endured in her life of which I have no clue, they're forever in the past. For the things that I knew of that I couldn't control or fix, those too are a vapor. All things are in perspective now and she sees things through the eyes of total healing and perfection. Praise God for that, is all I can say. To my dearest friend whom I miss, every hour spent with you and for you and on your behalf, it was worth it all. I would do it all over again, yes, every suffering portion and joy shared, many times over.  You lived so well. You walked so well. You friended beyond what anyone could ever hope or ask for. Thank you.  To and for God alone be the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

 

Mary Lee taught my children to fish. Her  life's shadow crosses over ours daily. As we approach her birthday on the thirteenth of this month, it's one day in a string of  many's that we will love and celebrate her.

Mary Lee, Day Too Many to Count

Well, that was a lofty goal and an admirable one.  I'd hoped and set out to write daily on this passageway being traversed with our friend, Mary Lee. I have pages of notes on medications, dosages, nurses and doctors I've spoken with, as well as scriptures scattered throughout those notes. On some of the pages are random to-do's and grocery lists. 

 My life with Mary Lee is busy and varied. The road to the hospital is well-traveled, and even though our surface streets are fairly level, in the highway of my heart  there have been unanticipated turns and hills and valleys mixed in with a few flat tires of the soul. How I love Mary Lee, dear friend and role-model extraordinaire to my two children.

These last nearly 8 weeks now have been dedicated to walking out devotion. I decided last night that I would set my alarm for seven this morning. I'm happy to report that I didn't get up until 8 a.m. Ah, rest. Rest is needed on devotion's way.  A morning for coffee. The windows are open. The birds choose their notes carefully and with unpredicted punctuation, they sing.  As I sat waiting for the coffee to brew, I opened my Bible to Isaiah 61, where I'd also read last night, and re-read the passage. It didn't take long to find the verse that my soul needed to camp on. Verse one says, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good new to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound..", and the passage continues to verse two. Upon reading it, I closed my eyes as the tears began to fall. And in my weakness and slight weariness, I cried. " I can't do this, I can't do it." It was a quiet plea for help. I can't be any of this: I can set no one free, I can't bind anyone's wounds, I can't open anything for anyone. Not me. Labor without God is just that, labor. Labor with God brings life. So today my prayer is that the Spirit of the living and sovereign Lord would be on me, and that the outgo of labor would be an overflow of God's life, the life of Christ in and upon me. 

God, if  you don't do it through me, then it's merely labor and in labor there's no freedom, no liberty, no binding up of broken things. Let this labor of love result in life; life for anyone whose heart is touched and awakened as devotion is walked out in sincere love before them.  

Dear Mary Lee, Day 8

Yesterday, was park day for our family. Daniel stayed home because he had a cold, but Bethany went and then she had a dog training session with Carly at which Bethany was there to assist and learn. Danny took her to the session as I was having a Mary Lee visit.

Yesterday, I came up after your bronchoscopy. They found no mass and the secretions were minimal. They sampled those and sent them off to see what they look like....looking for infection etc.  Of course, we're praying that it will be minimal. We should know by Sunday or Monday on the results.  I had Colleen call and check in on your nurse, just kind of quiz her, ....it just throws me a little when they're  young looking....I just wanted to make sure you had the best.  She was very pleased with who you had. Said she was matter of fact and straight forward, and that ER nurses, even when they're young and fresh out of school, are excellent nurses and are usually kind of cutting edge.  That brought me lots of comfort.

While I was there, I opened my Bible to read, and came upon the scripture where Jesus was explaining to His disciples to continue to pray and not give up hope. That was a good word for ALL of us!

You got a new bed yesterday.....a blow-up mattress type of a bed. You look SO much more comfortable.  You also stood up for a little today which I think wore you slap-out!

I came back in the evening for about an hour, and you asked to have your phone plugged in with the blistex nearby. :)  I moved fluffy brown dog to the table so it wouldn't be in your way. It felt SO great to be with you yesterday.

I've come to love your family even more.

Dear Mary Lee, Day 1

The next  posts, which I hope to write daily, will be in honor of our one and only best family friend ever on the planet, any planet, actually, Mary Lee Glassburn.  Mary Lee, following chemo and radiation for esophageal cancer, recently went through a very serious surgery: an all-out esophageal remodel! It's not nearly as unexciting as I just made it sound. It's....well, Mary Lee will have to fill in that blank someday.

Anyway,  when our family went on an 8 week trip to Georgia about 3 years ago, Mary Lee wrote daily posts called  The Vacation Chronicles, and posted of her daily events in our absence. I should mention she house sat for us as well.  So, in her honor and during each day of recovery, I'm writing Dear Mary Lee posts. It'd better not take 8 weeks of her being in the hospital, by the way! We miss her terribly, and we're praying for her full recovery and healing.

Dear Mary Lee, Day One:

I  transported your humorous self to the hospital for a 6 a.m. checking with an 8 a.m. scheduled surgery. Much of our discussion prior to that was whether or not I should pick you up at your house,
 or if you should meet me here and leave your car. We eventually decided that you would come here, and then we could keep our eyeballs on your car. A couple of times I've look outside of our kitchen window which faces the cul de sac and I have seen your car. Your lovely orange Element! It's so you!  Anyway, as I have seen your car, it's been my God-reminder to pray. Yes, pray. Even more than I'm already doing so.  Each time I drive into the cul de sac, the sight of your car brings me comfort.We miss you. Your car is cool. Hurry up and get well soon!

Regrets

What do you do with regret? Regrets?  At what point and how do you let go of those regrets?  A dear Christian friend of mind posted recently about a regret in her own life, a hefty and hasty decision she made. I understand regrets. I have some of my own.  Here was my reply written not in a scolding or reprimanding manner whatsoever, but just a reply because her words brought the question forth in my own heart.

"I'm asking this question only to ask but for no other reason: When we pause and reflect at a place of regret in our lives, where would our Forgiver have us turn our gaze? It is wise to pause, but only to pause, and then we move forward or at the least, turn our eyes upward, tear-filled though they may be, whisper our unending gratitude, receive His grace, and keep giving thanks as we ponder the depth of the cross and the power of what took place then and afterwards. Hmmm.....just thinking here because we must."

If you want to take a closer peek at our homeschooling world and some of the things the Lord is putting on my heart to share, please wander on over to Bright Hope Passage.  It'll be my thinking spot, my reflecting place with more of an open door-type look into what God is doing in my heart through homeschooling. Please come by any time.

Finding the Edge of Your Skeleton

Today I had this conversation with my son:

"Mom, you know how in a skeleton there're holes for the eyes?" Me: "Yes?" "Well, I just found the edge of my skeleton. (I loved that!) See....???" Son proceeds to rub his eyes and then we talk about why the skeleton is needed and how it protects the eyes. All in one swift moment brought to me by the beauty of homeschooling. Thank you, Lord. 

In homeschooling, and in living, each day may be  filled with seemingly ordinary moments about common things of which you may know much about.  Today, however, the commonly known  becomes the launch pad for my question. Have you found the edge of your skeleton? Of course, I'm speaking metaphorically.  To be more specific, what is the most recent ordinary and common thing for which God, your Creator, has given you a fresh appreciation?  I'd love to hear about the edge of YOUR skeleton!  

Ask the Lord to show you a new and fresh detail of an aspect in your everyday life  that often appears mundane and routine, and then give Him great thanks!

Family Glue

1. loyal, 2. admirable 3.faithful 4. stubborn 5. nice 6. loving 7. Godly 8. bold 9. obedient 10. stick-to-it-ness 11.laughs 12. smiles 13. strength 14. fast runner 15. fast jogger 16.steady 17. willing 18. alert 19. attentive 20. unbowing.

Tonight, I had Daniel make a list of 20 things he admired about his sister. This was my idea of a gluing exercise. Sometimes our reactions are snapshots of our own coming unglued, and as quick as God gave me the thought, I had him make out a list to snap him out of it. Even in the depth of his irritation, this is what he came up with. I especially loved #20: un-bowing.  This is actually a pretty decent list. I could take issue with the fast-jogger thingy as I wasn't sure *how* someone could be a fast jogger??? but I loved the rest too much. Admired Bethany. Learning and loved Daniel. Thanking God tonight for His wisdom and the assurance there's more where that came from.

Lesson planning: One of my strategies is to plan the hardest subject first. By that I mean, plan the subject or subjects that are most often pushed to the side. At our house that includes science. We meet weekly in a co-op and often find ourselves scrambling at the last minute to finish our notebook journal, or in my case, the lesson plan if it's my week to teach.

 Next up to plan will be Latin. We are working with a new curriculum and I can't wait to sink our teeth into Visual Latin! Writing keeps giving us a run for our money as well, so I need to make some decisions on that.  For History, Bethany is creating and monitoring, I should say, her Ancient History reading and notebook activities on her own, but tonight, I'll make some suggested reading assignments to help her along. Daniel's history is planned out (Notgrass's "America the Beautiful"), so I'll be checking his answers and making sure my planner is up to date with assignments completed and those to come. The children's math and english are mostly planned, and it's a matter of me reviewing the week's upcoming lessons and making a note in the planner of the lessons they'll work on this week.   

I also make a note of the week's appointments and activities to make sure I don't double-book any where.  For the record, I've done that before!  I always say that I don't plan because I am organized, but that I plan because I'm not naturally organized.

Have a great week, and may the Lord crown our efforts with His measurement of success!

Last Night I Dreamed That...

Last night I dreamed I had comments waiting to be moderated on my blog! {insert smile.} And while you're imagining that, here's a brief timeline of the good news of the gospel in video form.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Honesty Monday

This is my brain on  a Philippians 4:13 Monday.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (That's the Philippians 4:13 part.)
I can teach language arts. (I love language arts!)
I can decide between Analytical Grammar Jr. for my 5th grade son OR First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind.
I can pick up the phone and call CBD and ask about their return policy. (Did it!)
I can place the order for both with full knowledge that one will be returned.
I can then choose the best course for my son.
Then I can TEACH that course and return the one we choose not to use.
I will not let this frustration and apparent obstacle deter me from my mission of teaching my children, and how I love the mission!
The end. 

So, this may appear infantile and ridiculous, so yes, I'm a tinge blushed to admit  that these are the kinds of conversations I have every now and then. Yep, honesty can be humbling all right!

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' Matthew 25:40

Excess, Extravagance, and Simplicity

Three words: excess, extravagance, and simplicity, and they're all related. In my life I see excess. At times I trip over it, and other times, it is distracting and becomes the fastest shortcut  to a divided heart. It's in those moments where I become lonely for what drew me to Jesus to begin with, and that is the extravagance of His expressed love. There's not enough excess of material things in this temporal world  that could ever compare to the  beauty and the wealth of the eternal extravagance of Jesus. I look again at the excess  in my life, and I become aware that my tendency toward it is an arch enemy to being able to receive the extravagance of the Lord. I cannot receive His extravagant love when I'm so preoccupied with excess.  In the process of the glance upward to Him and then over here and over there, viewing the much, my heart then longs to simplify. When the much is used to fill the place reserved for  His simple extravagance alone, then it must go. This process; the return to simplicity on all fronts,  becomes that wide open basket where He can place the extravagance of His greatness, His love, and His presence.  It's  an act of grace. It's His loosening of my roots out of the material world that causes me to hear better, to see better, and to live more purely in a place that is really not my home.

Random Thoughts for a Saturday

1. Whether or not I'm rested, take a shower first thing. My day will most certainly be more productive.

2. Today I'm not rested, and I haven't accomplished much. That tells you how I came about to the conclusion I've listed in number one.

3. God's grace is sufficient. This is one 24-hour period that I'll not be able to do over again. No sense stressing over that. It's going to be okay.

4. Fast food drive-through's are very cool, and should be easily accessible on days such as today.

5. Children can sweep and scrub too.

6. Tomorrow is a brand new day.

7. Jesus' Lordship isn't dependent upon my sleep. Amen to that!

Today I'm posting an article from Simple Homeschool.  As a family, we've made an effort to not allow pride to be a part of the reflection on our decision to homeschool. We've not desired to isolate our  friends  who do not share a conviction to homeschool. I will say, however, that I've had moments of giving thanks more profusely than others about our choice to homeschool,  and the day of the Newtown, Connecticut school massacre was one of those days. The author of this article writes from the perspective of an event that, for them, hit very close to home. Key word: community.

"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:35

Antartica

In our homeschool we're finishing up our study of  My Father's World's "Exploring Countries and Cultures" this week, after a year and a half of study.  We could've completed the study in a years time, but  we were not always consistent with doing geography each day. I'm okay with that!

Bethany has always loved Geography and has an excellent working knowledge of the world and how God laid it out. She can name way more countries than I can. Easy.  Daniel didn't used to like maps or geography, but as a result of our studies, he's become much more informed and curious about the world he lives in.  I've loved watching him grow in his knowledge of the world, and in his abilities to use the tools we have to learn more. 

We'll watch this movie to see the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica. I thought the children would really enjoy this film.  Here's yet another video. I'm wondering what makes the penguin decide to walk or slide?  Here is a glossary of penguin terms that may be helpful. Oh, gee whiz, just pop some popcorn and call it a movie day. Here's another video.

The first movie is about 10 minutes long. Watch it if you're curious. There's no dialogue, rather there is plenty of footage of penguins being penguins. You may want to put on your sweater though. It's chilly in Antarctica!

We'll do some mapping activites, and we'll also do some crossword puzzles and word searches. The children love those.  Here's the link that we're using for the puzzles and word searches.

We love the resources that My Father's World has provided for our studies. After this more specific overview of what we'll be studying this week, I am remembering all of  the fun we've had learning through Exploring Countries and Cultures.

This Is Why

How we spend our time has a silent ripple effect. Though the pebble makes a slight noise when it's first dropped into the water, the ripples continue outwardly from where the pebble first dropped. As we began our day of rain, reading, and breakfast - all together in the living room, I couldn't help but stop and ask what affect this would have? What contribution is this one solitary moment destined to make in the future of the children who are sitting with me? I cannot know the answer. But I can be very sure that it will be of affect, and that fills my heart with immeasurable joy. I nearly feel unworthy to have this time, but the gratitude I have outweighs the consideration of worth having anything to do with this. I had to stop to consider this and to make a note of it as I did not want the moment to pass with no record of it.

This is why we homeschool.