Showing posts with label mom stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mom stuff. Show all posts

June 13, 2016

Progress = Change


That little graphic was created quite a few years ago.  It was an idea about what we envisioned for our home school journey with our kids.  A solid bridge into their future.

I can identify my best moment of our home school journey...

teaching my kids to read.

They love to read and are rarely without a book or two (or more!) in progress.  It used to make my mother upset that we allowed our children to read at the dinner table.  I loved it then and still do - yes even as young adults they read at the table during dinner fairly often.

Now we've come to the end of our (at home) home education journey.  It has absolutely been a success for our family!

Jess has graduated high school and is a full-fledged undergraduate student at Franklin Pierce University with a dual major, in the honors program and officially advanced class standing due to all the college work she completed during high school
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In September, Ben will begin his advanced college work at Nashua Community College for the remainder of his high school years.  Most likely he'll be finishing or fairly close to finishing an associates degree by the time he graduates high school.

Also new this summer is Ben going away to work at Camp Spofford for the next couple of months. My mama-heart is trying to sort out the varying emotions around this adventure but mostly I'm thankful that God has given him this opportunity and excited to see how he will grow this summer. We all prayed desperately for this door to open for him and several men in our church stepped up to offer recommendations and encouragement along the way.   He will come home just before his college classes begin - literally - as in two days before they start!

Other relationships in our lives are also changing.  Unexplained distance and estrangement has grown in formerly close relationships.  Physical distance is about to become a reality with some of our closest friends as they are embarking on a life-changing move to a different part of the country.
However God has brought a wealth of new relationships and opportunities for new friendships within our church family and we are tremendously thankful for the gift.  Monadnock Congregational Church is a wonderful place and I'm so grateful we challenged our presuppositions about the name on the sign.  It is now very clear that a name/label attached to something doesn't always mean what we think it does.  This church is sound in belief, has a Pastor who is bold in proclaiming the truth of the Jesus Christ, and has a congregation made up of genuine people who are trying to live honest, Christ-like lives by God's grace in a broken world.  We are all sinners, we fail, we stumble, we blow it big time even.  But there is Jesus and therefore there is grace and forgiveness... restoration and on-going sanctification.

As for me... I'm praying about what God is going to have me do next.
I don't think I'm having a mid-life crisis or anything... there is no desire for a sports car or crazy adventure.  More a quiet waiting to see what's next in the journey.  I've been dabbling in some new sewing ventures and finding things I love and things I don't.  Made a little bit of money for some things, helped some people with a few different things and continue to learn new skills and techniques.  I'm also considering the possibility (though a remote one) of a job outside home someplace.  If God opens a certain type of door, I will walk through thankfully.  If not, I shall continue along doing what He puts before me as opportunities.



Blessings on the journey~


December 3, 2014

Another Birthday - My Amazing Daughter

It seems just a few days ago that I hit publish on this post for her last birthday, and now here we are again and the year has flown!

How can it be that my girl is already 17!

She is the best and I could not be more proud of the amazing young woman she has become.  God has so richly blessed our family to have her as our own.


She has an awesome sense of humor and is a loyal fan of Dr. Who.


She shares important events with her brother and is a great friend to him.
They laugh a lot and are always there for each other.



She is really smart, beautiful, caring, quick witted and sometimes sarcastic, kind, loving,
thoughtful, talented in more ways than I can count, works hard, dreams big, and loves Jesus,
her family, and her orange cat (hopefully in that order!).

Every day I am thankful that God gave me this wonderful person and I'm honored to be her mom. 

Happy Birthday Jess!  I love you more than you can know and I continue to be amazed by your gifts and your joy in life.  Follow Jesus and dream of great things because God has big plans for you my girl!

With all my love always,
Mom



March 11, 2014

Another Chance to Change the World (or at least a small part of it)


A few years ago I stumbled across a blog with a cool name "The Gypsy Mama" (aka Lisa Jo)... how fun and interesting and real she was to read!  She has since stopped wandering as much to keep the moniker she had and even has become a US Citizen!
Today I still read her blog sometimes and follow her on Facebook to keep up - as I'm pretty well beyond the stage of littles that she is living and my focus is shifting as God leads my heart to different things.  But I'm still a mom obviously and my heart cares deeply about 'mom' things.
So today she posted this on Facebook and I clicked through to her blog to read... and immediately clicked further through to be part of something that God is building on the other side of the world.  Because the moms there matter... to God and so to me.  He is the one that provides opportunities for everyday, ordinary people like me (and you!) to be part of enormous Kingdom projects!  Even if only through our prayers.
Photo from Lisa Jo's site
Blessings on the journey~

February 17, 2012

Pray

Kat from over at Inspired to Action had this amazing post today.
It comes on the heels of a conversation I had with J & B yesterday.  God's timing is always so cool.

I was talking to them about how I pray for them... and that I had recently come to realize that if ... and it's a BIG IF... but IF I had to choose between them being happy, healthy & having all their dreams come true... OR them following Jesus, I would choose for them to follow Jesus.  That is not to say I want my children to be miserable... but I know that true joy comes from Christ - not from the things of this world and especially not the things the world will tell them will make them happy.
Of course I pray for them to be safe, for God to bless them and guard & protect them in all ways (physical, spiritual & emotional).  But my most fervent prayers for them are to follow Christ...sacrificially...completely... sold out to Jesus with every beat of their hearts.  The way that I want to live... the way I struggle to live.

We clicked through from Kat's blog and watched this video of this song... it took my breath away at times.  Watch it intentionally... THINK... FEEL the depths of the words ringing into your heart.  I so hope that someone prays this way for me.

And the beginning of Francis Chan's sermon after the song has me intrigued... I'm going to see if I can scout up a link to that as well to watch/listen.  If I can find it I will try to come back and add it here later.

UPDATE: Found it!  Go here and scroll to the sermon "Power" by Francis on 7/6/08.  We are listening to it while J does her Algebra test (at her request).




Blessings on the journey,

September 26, 2011

Link Love

This post from Teri Lynn was awesome!